Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Review and Discussion Questions
Chapter 16: International Sales Promotions and Public Relations
Review questions
1. What elements comprise a firm’s promotional mix?
a. Advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations
2. Define sales promotion and name its two primary activities?
a. Sales promotions are marketing activities that are designed to stimulate consumer and
3. Describe a push strategy and a pull strategy in international marketing.
a. A pull strategy focuses on stimulating product demand at the consumer level. When a
consumer expresses interest in a product at the retail store, retailers are encouraged to
carry the item. The product will be ordered from wholesalers who purchase the product
from the manufacturer. Consequently, demand for the product is “pulled” through the
marketing channel by consumer from the intermediary and then the manufacturer.
4. Define consumer promotions and name the major types of consumer promotions.
a. Consumer promotions are sales promotions directed at retail customers.
Coupons
Premiums
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
5. Name the forms of coupons and how they are offered in international markets.
a. Print media
b. Direct mail
c. In or on-package
6. Describe a premium and a bonus pack.
a. A premium is an item offered as a reward for purchasing another item. The reward item
is usually given free of charge, but it can sometimes be priced modestly, sometimes
under the guise of a shipping and handling fee. Premiums take the form of gifts or
prizes. A premium represents an additional incentive for a consumer to buy a product.
7. What is the difference between an international contest and an international sweepstakes?
a. Contests are promotions with game–like qualities that rely on consumer skill at some
activity.
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
8. How can international marketers use social networking sites in marketing campaigns?
a. International marketers employ social networking sites for advertising and send
promotional materials such as coupons and contest entries directly to consumers.
Consumers are able to register for contests and to print coupons directly from these
9. What three types of consumer reactions are present when individuals encounter
international consumer promotions?
a. Promotion-prone consumers
b. Price sensitive consumers
c. Brand loyal consumers
10. Describe trade promotions and the forms they take.
a. Trade promotions are aimed at marketing channel intermediaries. Trade promotions are
particularly useful for establishing initial support for new brands, for encouraging
intermediaries to promote existing brands, and for building and maintaining strong
working relationships with marketing channel members. Intermediary cooperation is
essential to the success of international marketing campaigns. Trade-oriented
promotions help ensure cooperation from channel members.
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
f. Training programs – Manufacturers often offer training programs to marketing
intermediaries as part of a trade promotions effort. Although training does not
necessarily apply to every industry, it can be an important form of trade promotion for
complex products. . Training programs have been positively correlated with increased
sales and productivity.
g. Point-of-purchase materials – POP materials take a variety of forms, but the goal is the
same: to encourage the immediate sale of the product by the end user. Point–of–
purchase materials can be classified as trade promotions, because they assist
intermediaries, most generally retailers, in promoting a product to the end user. POP
materials are effective because many items that are purchased in retail stores are chosen
on impulse with little or no pre-planning. Marketers understand that making contact
with consumers at the point of purchase increases the probability a product being
chosen.
11. What are the major forms of trade allowances?
a. Off-invoice allowances
b. Bill–back programs
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
12. What is cooperative advertising?
a. Cooperative advertising results from an agreement between a manufacturer and an
intermediary. Under a co-op advertising arrangement, a manufacturer agrees to pay for
part of the advertising expenses of a retailer when the retailer promotes a product in a
13. Define public relations and name the types of internal and external stakeholders reached
by public relations programs.
a. Public relations is the management of communication with all organizational
stakeholders.
b. External stakeholders
i. Unions Customers
ii. Shareholders Local community
c. Internal stakeholders
Employees
14. What is damage control?
a. Damage control is reacting to negative events caused by a company mistake, consumer
grievances, or unjustified or false claims made by the press or others seeking to injure
a company.
15. What methods can a company use for damage control?
a. Crisis management programs
16. Define entitling and enhancement.
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
a. An entitling involves the company taking credit for a positive outcome, such as when
pharmaceutical company takes credit for reducing illness and mortality rates by
vending its products in a less developed nation.
17. What positive publicity and image-enhancement programs are used in international public
relations efforts?
a. Sponsorships
b. Event marketing
Discussion questions
1. Which do you think are more important for an international marketer who is introducing a
new product: a push or a pull strategy? Why? What specific types of tactics do you think
are most important in introducing new products?
I would say that a push strategy is more important for a new product, this will create
2. What consumer promotion technique or techniques would work best in a country that does
not have wide-scale access to mass media technologies such as television or the Internet?
Defend your answer.
Coupons, sampling, bonus packs would all work without access to TV and the internet.
3. What role does social media play in international consumer promotions? How will the use
of social networking grow in the future?
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
Social media and social networking sites such as Facebook have become important
components of marketing strategy. The majority of international Internet users visit
social networking sites regularly. International marketers are therefore increasing the
focus on these sites and including them in their consumer promotion campaigns.
Consumers can request samples through social media. International marketers employ
4. How do trade promotions differ in developed versus developing nations? In what ways
could an international marketer use this information when developing sales promotions in
these countries?
Point of purchase displays will differ in developed versus developing nations – the sizes
of the stores and space allowed for these will vary. An international marketer will need
5. Explain how a public relations program would be different in a country in which the media
is owned and operated by the government, as opposed to those that operate freely.
In these countries the government would influence how the public relations messages
6. Describe an incident that occurred in another country that caused a company negative
publicity. How did the company respond? Was the response appropriate? Why or why not?
Instructor Resource
Baack et al., International Marketing, 2e
SAGE Publishing, 2019
British Petroleum (BP) had an oil spill take place in the Gulf of Mexico. This caused a
huge amount of extremely negative publicity. The company’s response will be regarded
as one of the worst responses ever. The CEO came off as uncaring and conceded –