Sales Promotion-M&S

For the past few years everyone has watched M&S advertise their food and drink products and salivated, regardless if you were a '21 day matured rump steak skewer eaten in slow motion while listening to Groove Armadas 'By The River' kind of person or not.

They have concentrated their promotional activity for the past few years at making us believe that their food is the way to go. That M&S food is luxury and decadence and for all intents and purposes it has been effective, certainly on me.
During a time of recession where people were reluctant to go on the usual big nights out, spnd mney on holidays or new cars they still needed a treat, an affordable expense that they could look forward to. This has been classed as the lipstick effect, an effect that M&S have used to their advantage.

M&S offer a price discount meal deal that they have named ‘Dine in for Two’ which cuts through communication clutter to offer a full meal including wine as a way of creating a special night in at a discount. This was especially effective as it was released at a time of economic downturn.

This promotion was aimed at giving consumers the same ‘weekend treat’ that they may have been used to but without the cost.

It as so effective that other companies such as Tesco, Morrisons and The Co-Op decided to follow suit and offer their own range of ‘dine in’ deals. This was aimed at increasing sales in existing customers and generating new ones.

These discounts are one way in which an organisation can delay the decline of their products. When a product reached maturity introducing a new element can continue this phase. It is known as product extension. Discount and offers are not methods used for extension. Rebranding, where a new name or a new image is created can be effective as can Re-Packaging a product to attract different consumers or those in different demographics.