Marketing Communications

CONSUMER PROMOTIONS 385

Although consumers prefer promotions to the regular offering, not all promotions are equally liked. Research shows,

for example, that bonus packs are generally liked better than price cuts. The reason for this is that bonus packs are

perceived as ‘gains’, as ‘getting something for free for the same price’, whereas price discounts are interpreted as a

‘reduced loss’. Also in the longer term, bonus packs lead to less harm for the brand as the focus is on the ‘bonus

part’ and not on the ‘monetary value’.^17 The foregoing may hold true in general, but there appears to be a difference

according to the product type that is in promotion. Recent research, for example, shows that people react differently

to promotions for healthy food as compared with promotions for unhealthy food (also referred to as ‘vices’ and

‘virtues’). Apparently, bonus packs score poorer than price cuts when promoting unhealthy food. The reason for this

is that it is much harder for consumers to justify why they responded to a bonus pack promotion as it would mean

consuming even more of something they should actually avoid. A price cut, on the other hand, can function as a

guilt-mitigating mechanism as it gives a better reason to buy the unhealthy food. For healthy food, neither justifica-

tion nor guilt applies, and consequently for these types of products, the main effect of bonus packs being preferred

to price cuts holds.^18

RESEARCH INSIGHT

Different promotional techniques for ‘vices’ and ‘virtues’

Photo 12.2 Buy one, get one free

Source : Corbis: Richard Cummins.

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