(and 6) Advertising: Communication vs Gifts

When analyzing what can and cannot be done with an advertising budget, it’s essential to address the topic of gifts—an element that all companies use, yet very few know how to leverage effectively.

6. Communication vs Gifts
 
We’ve already discussed how, in any promotion, far more of the budget should be allocated to advertising—to communicating the promotion—than to the gifts it offers. What’s the point of giving out numerous or extraordinary prizes if hardly anyone knows about them? Only the customers closest to each salesperson, who will personally inform them about the promotion, will find out. But what about everyone else? 
 
What we often see in many companies is that the idea of offering a great prize or attractive gifts in a promotion seems so appealing that they overlook the importance of communication. They know about it internally, sure, but will all the customers find out? And even more crucially: Will they feel motivated to participate in the promotion based solely on a simple announcement or a casual “word-of-mouth” mention? As with any advertising campaign, persistence is key—a compelling message that reaches people repeatedly through various channels. 
 
We’ve observed that in many companies where promotions fall under the Sales team’s responsibility rather than the Advertising Manager’s, the budget split is often 90% for gifts and just 10% for communicating the promotion. In reality, it should be the exact opposite: 10% for gifts and 90% for communicating the promotion and persuading potential customers to take part. 
 
(To be continued…)
 

A journey through the history of the pharmaceutical industry and one of its great laboratories that had its origins in Alfred Nobel...
“From Alfred Nobel to AstraZeneca”: https://a.co/d/9svRTuI

(4) Advertising: Media Mix

In this overview of what to do and avoid with the advertising budget, it’s only logical to address the media mix:
 
4. Media Mix

The concept of an advertising campaign inherently involves the synchronized and complementary use of multiple media. Any campaign worth its salt must employ various advertising channels with a unified message, over a specific timeframe, and in a consistent style (graphic, audio, and visual). These media should work together so that the message reaches each potential customer not just once, but repeatedly, and not through a single channel, but many. Television, radio, press, internet (nowadays), outdoor advertising, promotions, demonstrations, public address systems, mail (now solely email), giveaways, contests, offers, brochures (digital or printed), sponsorships… Anything a creative advertiser can dream up fits into a campaign, and these channels can complement each other. It’s not about using them all—that would be overkill—but selecting several in each case to shape the campaign.
 
Sales teams, however, often settle for a single medium and smugly declare, “We’ve done advertising.” But no, “doing advertising” isn’t just “making an ad.”
 
(To be continued…)
 

A journey through the history of the pharmaceutical industry and one of its great laboratories that had its origins in Alfred Nobel...

“From Alfred Nobel to AstraZeneca”: https://a.co/d/9svRTuI 

(3) Advertising: Concentration of efforts

Now, onto the third point about managing the advertising budget:

3. Concentration of efforts (Products, Regions, Time)
 
For an advertising campaign to succeed, it must be “intense,” ensuring messages hit potential customers hard. But budgets are limited—always less than ideal. The only viable solution is “concentration.” This doesn’t mean sacrificing intensity, but avoiding scatter.
 
Concentration can take many forms: targeting a specific region, focusing on one product, or shortening the campaign to cluster impacts within a tight timeframe for maximum effect.
 
Often, we’ll need to narrow efforts to smaller areas, fewer products, and less time.
Sales teams, however—great at sales but not advertising—don’t grasp this. With a small budget, they aim to cover vast regions, promote multiple products, and stretch the campaign over months. The result? Scattered, weak impacts that might reach a customer once, if at all, far from the “bombardment” they intended. Spreading ads this way wastes money; it’ll never achieve its goal. For instance, 30 radio spots on one station in a single day will outshine 30 spots split across three stations (10 each) over 10 days (one per day). Equally critical is choosing the right medium to reach our target audience effectively.
 
(To be continued…)

A journey through the history of the pharmaceutical industry and one of its great laboratories that had its origins in Alfred Nobel...
“From Alfred Nobel to AstraZeneca”: https://a.co/d/9svRTuI

Sales prefers Promotions over Advertising

Sales teams in a company love promotions more than advertising. Why? Because promotions let them “see” the results of the money “spent” on the accompanying campaign. I’ve put “spent” in quotes because sales managers typically view advertising as an “expense” rather than an “investment.” That’s why they favor promotions: they can clearly measure their impact on sales, something advertising doesn’t allow, at least not with the same precision.

This preference, however, exposes a deep-rooted mistake among sales leaders—whether Sales Directors, Sales Managers, or Commercial Representatives: they prioritize the gifts over the advertising essential to publicize the promotion and persuade potential customers to participate.
 
When I started working at this major agrochemical company, that was the first thing that struck me. As Head of Advertising, I managed a hefty budget of 200 million pesetas (about 1.2 million euros at the time, in the 1980s), part of which went to promotions. But how was that money allocated?
 
Ninety percent of the promotion budget went to gifts. Sales leaders believed that the more expensive and appealing the prize—or the more giveaways offered—the greater the customers’ eagerness to join in, leading to higher product sales. But how did potential customers even learn about these promotions? Advertising to spread the word received just 10% of the budget.
 
There was a glaring imbalance between the funds allocated to prizes and those invested in communication. They assumed “word of mouth” was enough to get the message out, perhaps supplemented by a stray ad, a poster at sales points, or a commercial letter sent by mail. Back then, there were no computers, mobile phones, or emails, so mailing letters was as routine as sending promotional emails is today.
 

A journey through the history of the pharmaceutical industry and one of its great laboratories that had its origins in Alfred Nobel...
“From Alfred Nobel to AstraZeneca”: https://a.co/d/9svRTuI

Should you congratulate someone on a promotion?

Over the years, I’ve watched a former colleague climb the professional ladder. He started as a mid-level manager, then moved to a department head, and later to an executive position. It didn’t stop there. He left the company where he’d built his career to join a bigger competitor in a high-ranking role. Some time later, he was promoted to CEO of that company. All in all, his journey looks like one of success and well-deserved congratulations, but… 
 
Now I’ve learned he’s no longer the CEO of that company; instead, he’s been “promoted” to an even higher international position… in another European country. Should you congratulate him on such a promotion? I have my doubts. 
 
It’s certainly a more significant role with a better salary, but it forces him to uproot all his family ties since he must relocate abroad. What about his family? His friends? His daily life with hobbies, leisure, and enjoyment? His connection to the social environment where he grew up and developed? All of that gets shattered as he lands (who knows if alone or with his family) as an expatriate. Is that promotion and salary worth it? 
 
Perhaps when someone is single and the promotion involves working in a field they love, moving to another country feels like a reward worth celebrating. But when you have a family, a home, maybe a mortgage, relatives, friends, a close-knit environment, the promotion might come at too high a cost. 
 
What’s more important: professional success or personal and family fulfillment? What’s more valuable: a high-paying executive role or a lower position doing what you truly love? 
 
A former coworker once told me how her friends were shocked when she said she loved going to work because she enjoyed it so much, had fun doing it, and got paid for it. Isn’t that true happiness—enjoying the work you love while earning a living? 
 
Because when you’re torn from your environment, what awaits you after work each day? A hotel room in a foreign country? An empty apartment in another city? You, alone, without loved ones nearby—or having dragged them along, uprooting them from their own lives. 
 
No matter how prestigious the role or how high the salary, there comes a point when a promotion isn’t a reward but a punishment.

A journey through the history of the pharmaceutical industry and one of its great laboratories that had its origins in Alfred Nobel...

“From Alfred Nobel to AstraZeneca”: https://a.co/d/9svRTuI 

Marketing and Sales: Promotions

As consumers, we’ve all taken part in promotions. Most likely, we’ve won small prizes, though rarely the jackpot. Yet the mere act of participating sparks a bit of excitement—the hope of winning something—and fosters a familiar connection with the brand behind the promotion. But what exactly do we mean by “promotion”?

A “promotion” is a marketing strategy where advertising, delivered through various channels, aims to engage potential customers actively. It entices them with the chance to win a prize in exchange for purchasing a specific product, even if just as a trial. The customer feels encouraged to join in because it involves no extra cost (beyond buying the product) and offers the possibility of a free gift or even a big reward. For the company, a promotion ensures that potential customers buy the product, try it, become familiar with it, and form a positive “product + benefit” association. This paves the way for loyalty, as a satisfied customer is more likely to return.
 
Promotions tend to be expensive, requiring two key investments: an advertising campaign to inform and persuade potential customers to participate, and the cost of the prizes and giveaways to be distributed.
 
Yet promotions offer an additional advantage highly valued by sales teams: their direct influence on sales. A traditional advertising campaign may boost sales, but it’s hard to pinpoint how much of that increase stems from the ads alone. Potential customers might see the ad and feel inclined to buy, but they may not act immediately—perhaps waiting for the right moment or need. With a promotion, however, the purchase happens within the active offer period (otherwise, no prize is up for grabs). This allows companies to track sales trends precisely during that time and assess the promotion’s specific impact.

A journey through the history of the pharmaceutical industry and one of its great laboratories that had its origins in Alfred Nobel...
“From Alfred Nobel to AstraZeneca”: https://a.co/d/9svRTuI