Marketing Communications

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Marketing Communications
Promotion Planning And Techniques

DISADVANTAGES OF CENTRALISATION

1. It isolates the promotion function from the operating division or department whose
   marketing activities it is supposed to support.


2. Immediate decisions cannot be made on local problems by division management.


3. Division managers may feel their products or markets are not getting adequate
   promotional support.


4. Since division management has no final authority over the use of promotion, decisions
   made at higher levels may not reflect the thinking of the division planners.


5. Promotional decision making ability is not developed at the division level.


6. Top management is tied up with many administrative details that could be handled at a
   lower level.

TACTICS FOR OVRCOMING THE DISADVANTAGES OF CENTRALISATION

1. Division management should be allowed to take part in developing promotion plans and
   budgets that relate to their products and markets.


2. Central promotion managers should encourage consultations with division planners
   through periodic meetings with division planners.


3. Limited promotion budgets can be given to the division manager to be used anytime an
   adaptation need arises for the promotion efforts because of his closeness to local markets.


4. The central promotion department can be broken into compartments and each compartment
   assigned personnel to work permanently with each operating division.

DECENTRALISATION OF PROMOTION

Divisional firms usually decentralize their promotion functions; authority and responsibility for decision-
making are delegated.

ADVANTAGES OF DECENTRALISED PROMOTION

1. It allows divisions to have major responsibility for promoting their own products.


2. Decision-making at the division level will allow quicker decisions to be made on
   local problems.


3. It assists the development of executive ability among subordinates.


4. It helps more effective meeting of competition.


5. It eliminates overlapping authority and responsibility.


6. It frees top management from avoidable administrative details and allows such executive
   to pursue other companies’ wide policies and programmes.


7. A firm with diverse products and markets will be able to adapt promotions to each division’s
   customers, distribution channels and products.


8. Each division could be separated as profit center and the division’s management could be
   made accountable for the profitability of the division.