Question 1

Tom and Melody have decided to work together to write a news release that describes the benefits of MuscleMaster and cites the rave reviews of the fitness experts who have already tried the equipment. They intend to send the release to a list of columnists who write in fitness magazines or have health and fitness columns in newspapers, hoping that some of these writers will include information about the MuscleMaster in their articles. Tom and Melody hope to utilize
A) publicity.
B) a push strategy.
C) viral marketing.
D) swag promotion.

Accepted Answer

Publicity is any information about an individual, product, or organization that is distributed through the media and that is not paid for or controlled by the seller. Firms often seek to obtain publicity by writing and sending news releases to various media. Of course, one drawback of this approach is that there is no guarantee that the media will use the information to generate favorable publicity.

Question 2

Xer-Wise markets and promotes its products to consumers online. Melody and Tom are considering a more aggressive approach to generate enthusiasm for the MuscleMaster over the Internet. They have discussed offering young adults free T-shirts and special discounts on Xer-Wise equipment if they will agree to hype the benefits of the MuscleMaster on Facebook. They are even considering setting up a program in which customers get commissions for directing friends to the Xer-Wise website. If they adopt these strategies, Tom and Melody would be utilizing
A) secondary marketing.
B) viral marketing.
C) unified marketing.
D) extended reach marketing.

Accepted Answer

Viral marketing is the term now used to describe everything from paying people to say positive things on the Internet to setting up multilevel selling schemes whereby consumers get commissions for directing friends to specific websites.

Quiz 16: Using Effective Promotions