.1 Email marketing Email marketing can be defined as the use of email in marketing communications (Brownlow, 2008).

One of the more frequently used types being short promotional emails which notify the recipient of new products or services and special offers. Another form of email marketing is information-rich emails which aim to inform and educate the readers. Email marketing is beneficial to organizations as it provides low cost advertising as opposed to other forms of marketing strategies. Furthermore it also allows firms to send customized messages to specific target markets. On the other hand, the effectiveness of email marketing can be hindered by various factors such as poor quality of the emails; unauthorized email distribution which can lead to recipients blocking the emails or reporting their emails as spam. Email spamming is an example of email marketing whereby a company or firm sends emails to email addresses it has on its database. Email marketing has been developed to include enriched email which allows for the inclusion of audio streaming, order options and video capability. These features assist in creating improved customer tracking and higher response rates (Schumann et al. 2001). Research has also found that the response rate of enriched emails is 12.5% whereas traditional text based emails receive only approximately 10% (Gunn, 2000). 2.2Social media A new trend that has recently emerged and has the potential to be an extremely powerful promotional tool is social networking which can be defined as various online technology tools that enable people to communicate easily via the internet to share information and resources (Ezinemark, 2008). As an offshoot of the internet, it provides a platform for marketers to interact with viewers/ consumers. There is a large potential consumer base and it is a more personalized way of broadcasting promotional marketing. Organizations can use social networks such as YouTube to promote their products or services in some unique way, for example Nissan and Toyota. Social networks have also had a major influence on the purchasing decision and preference formation of the millennial generation through interactive dialogues on social networks (Kohler, Rohm, Ruyter & Wetzels, 2011). For example; Facebook and Blackberry which has Blackberry messaging (BBM). 2.3 Search engines

Firms have realized that in order to increase their market share, it is vital to have their products and services on the internet. Companies which are available on the internet make it easier for consumers to access information about the products they require. Therefore, increasing the possibility of customers finding a companys homepage becomes important. One way of making this possible is ensuring that your company is available on search engines where many firms look for for the products they are interested in. search engine marketing (SEM) is a form of internet marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion. Search engine optimization (SEO) "optimizes" website content to achieve a higher ranking in search results, for example, by incorporating specific keywords or links associated with the website (Green, 2003). One example of a search engine that offers a platform for search engine marketing that firms use is Google Adwords. Google Adwords is the leading search engine marketing tool in the world. Yahoo and Bing are also examples of reputable search engines. There are several ways to have your company permanently advertised on a website including organic search, directory search and pay per click (product placement) marketing. Search engines are

playing an increasingly important role in internet marketing and commerce, having once been marginalized by the major gateways favoring other features such as news. Yahoo has recently spent almost US $2 billion acquiring other search technology providers to compete with Google. The world-wide search market is forecast to grow from US $2.1 billion in 2003 to US $7 billion (Nymark, Ramazan, 2008). 2.4 Online banners Online Banner Advertising uses eye catching multimedia effects such as animation interactivity, sound, video and also 3D to entice attention and draw visitors to the site. Most transactions done online, such as commerce transactions are becoming widely used. It is easier for companies to gauge the customers interest and companies can thus recognize and target the right people at the right place. In addiction innovative technology is emerging that allows online adverts to be tailored automatically to each visitor. Markets can take advantage of this targeting capability to place banner adverts on sites that entice visitors who match the demographic profile for the companys product.

As a result they can increase brand awareness among a carefully targeted audience and drive highly qualified traffic to their site. In addition many sites are performing banner exchanges and advert barter arrangement. Even among top content sites, bartering is a common cost effective way to boost traffic. Companies can take advantage of this low-cost advertising method by establishing method personal relationships and negotiating barter deals with other sites (Hollensen, 2003). Sponsorship of site content is a growing trend. Sponsoring strategic editorial content is an effective way to establish long term brand identification among targeted audiences. This association lends credibility and helps increase customer interest and brand awareness (Hollensen, 2003). Website Endorsements Nike Incorporated works with professional golfer Tiger Woods to promote its products to golf fans this is an example of an endorsement deal. Endorsements have worked their way to the internet with website endorsement being a promotional process that involves a company getting it adverts and website links on popular websites. Companies place images and highlighted texts and when clicked on this will take the user to the advertising companys website. Out surance and First National Bank have their website links on News24 and also pharmaceutical companies like Cipla Medpro South Africa make use of website

endorsements on clinical websites for instance South African Society for Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (SASBCP) . 2.5 Sponsorship Sponsorship is another form of promotional activity that has the potential to be an effective alternative to television advertising. That is because Sponsorship as a marketing tool allows managers to expose their product/brand to a specifically targeted segment of viewers as well as lending credibility and the positive effects of the association to the brand. This gives sponsorship a competitive advantage over the mass media advertising strategy of television and other traditional media. Marketers can align their product with a popular sports team, event, individual, and so on, which gives them the ability to differentiate their organizations corporate image in the following ways; The recipients of this form of promotional activity will naturally associate the organizations product/brand image with the specific activity being sponsored. An example of a well aligned product and sponsorship is SABs Castel lager and sports teams such as, Bafana Bafana

Football Team and the SpringBok Rugby Team (SAB website, 2011). The reason this affiliation is effective is because the kind of people who generally enjoy these sports games also stereotypically like to do so with a beer. The result is sponsorship allows marketers to reach a fairly receptive audience for their promotional message. As a direct result it means that the investment marketers make in this form of promotion is more productive and has a better rate of return on investment. The results indicate that as a group corporations that consistently invested in sponsorship outperformed market averages and those who spent at an above average level outperformed those who spent at a below average level.(Jonathan, 2011 p358). (Please refer to figure 1.A in the appendix), this study is a quantifiable reinforcement that Sponsorship is effective. Another advantage to sponsorship is that it raises less consumer animosity than traditional advertising; this could be accredited to the fact that it is still emerging as a form of advertising and therefore viewers dont associate it as being as intrusive as other forms of advertising can be. Sponsorship has seen a rapid growth in recent years in both the dollars devoted to it and its prominence as a legitimate element of a companys promotional mix. As traditional media have become more expensive and cluttered (Dennis, 1997 pp.163) In conclusion sponsorship is a promotional tool that has the clear potential to give marketers a successful platform in order to communicate their product/brand messages. Therefore it should be strongly considered as a worthwhile addition to an organizations marketing activity for companies that wish to stay competitive. Statistics show that sponsorship of sports and other events is one of the fastest growing areas of promotion. (McDaniel, 1999 pp.163). 3. Advantages of television advertising Television advertising is still the most effective form of advertising creating awareness of old and new needs amongst consumers (Hollensen, 2003). According to statistics almost 99% of all American households have at least one television set. Furthermore, the average individual spends approximately four and a half hours watching television, see figure 1 in appendix. Television advertising allows firms to create an advert that is appealing to specific target markets and thus impacts the consumer positively prompting purchases and sometimes impulse buying especially with infomercials. Other advantages of television advertising include coverage, cost effectiveness for larger firms, captivity, selectivity and flexibility (Belch, G. And Belch).

With viewers being offered a number of channels which show different programs at certain broadcasting times this allows advertisers to position their advert according to program content for instance when Top Gear is being aired. This broadcasting time is favorable for automobile companies to present commercials of their vehicles and purchase deals. There are many misconceptions regarding television advertising, one of which is that advertising takes a long time to have a substantial effect on consumers. According to the advertising response curve, adverts have greatest impact the first couple of times it is shown. It is argued that DVRs, Tivo and PVR decoders have a negative impact on television advertising. However statistics prove otherwise, implying that television ad impact is similar with or without these technological devices. Theres likely a range of reasons for this phenomenon, including people with DVRs watching higher engagement shows, DVRs increasing total TV viewing time, etc. Interestingly, research shows that consumers have the same recall and understanding of your ad when fast forwarded as when viewed in a normal manner, if they have already seen it normally once (Plessis, 2005). 4. Media Planning Media planning involves determining the exact medium to use to pass a promotional message to customers and potential customers. Media planning requires a careful analysis of the target market (Belch G & Belch, M, 2009).Components of media planning include: Defining the Market Problem : A company planning to advertise should establish why it was formed and why it operates, this helps the company to define the needs, wants and loyalty of the target audience. Translating the marketing requirements into attainable media objectives: This involves determining the number and type of audience to be reached and also the coverage to be covered, for instance to reach a lot of people in a wide area mass media like television, radio and news prints are favorable. On the other hand if the target audience is a selected group in a certain area posters and direct mail can be used. Defining a media solution by formulating media strategies: This is a process whereby the communication mediums are linked to the best schedule that suits the company requirements, certain schedules work best with different media. Airing a specific advert on television can be influenced by program content and broadcasting time. The rule of thumb is that a print must run three times before it gets noticed (Entrepreneur, 2011).

5. Media buying Media Buying is the buying of advertising space by independent companies that specialize in the buying of media particularly radio and television from a company operating media properties. Media buying can be seen as a sub-function of advertising management. (Clow, K and Baack, D, 2010).All media buying is done by a media buyer. A media buyer is an individual who is responsible for purchasing the advertising space, negotiating rates, times and schedules for the advertisements. The cost of a media buy varies depending on the specific media property on which the company wants to advertise. These include: The size of the advertising campaign The specific times at which the ads are to be displayed

The media planner works together with the media buyer, the creative and the account executive in the design of an advertising campaign. Each of these plays a critical role in the development of an Integrated Marketing Communications Program (Clow, K and Baack, D, 2010