Ch. 18 Sales Promotion & Personal Selling

In chapter 17 from last weeks blog post, I introduced Baldwin&, the advertising agency that Burt's Bees worked with on an award-winning ad campaign for its natural personal care products, The Natural Vs. campaign. Additionally while working with Baldwin&, Burt's Bees created an interactive advertisement in Minneapolis that was followed by sales promotions through the Burt's Bees Facebook page.

The ad was to promote a new line of products called Intensive Hydration. Made of up of thousands of small coupons of a woman's face that was dry and flaky. Throughout the day as people pulled off the coupons, the image changed to reveal a fresh face, with smooth skin that was intensely hydrated. This combined both advertising and sales promotion. From chapter 18 I learned that sales promotion directly supports advertising activities, and while they are very different aspects of marketing they work towards similar goals; to boost sales, establish and maintain brand image, promote customer loyalty, and stimulate repeat customers. In conjunction with this, a YouTube video was posted online and as the video ended it sent the consumer directly to the Burt's Bees Facebook page, where they could get coupons for this new product. The advertisement was only located in Minneapolis, but with the use of the video and Facebook, Burt's Bees and Baldwin& were able to reach a much broader audience nationwide. The use of the internet has huge potential to drive customer growth and in turn increase sales, by promoting new products, advertising on websites like Facebook, and using the tools of the internet to increase brand awareness. 

Burt's Bees also offers an Outlet on its website. Other sites generally call this a sale, and while the Burt's Bees site features no sale section it does have an outlet page. Some of the most popular products like Burt's Bees lip balms are on the outlet page as well as natural care sets, including a line of pomegranate infused items, sets of lotions and creams, and even travel-size friendly products. This is another form of sales promotion. Repeat customers are able to try products that they love and new customers are offered products at a lower price that may in turn stimulate a new customer base and increase loyalty to the Burt's Bees brand.