Thesis Abstract

Abstract
The airline industry is highly competitive, with carriers constantly vying for market share. In this environment, the promotional mix plays a critical role in the marketing strategies of airlines. This study aims to investigate the impact of the promotional mix on the marketing of airline services. The promotional mix consists of advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling. These elements work together to create awareness, generate interest, and ultimately drive customer action. Advertising is a key component of the promotional mix for airlines, as it allows carriers to reach a wide audience through various channels such as television, print, and online media. Sales promotion techniques like discounts, loyalty programs, and special offers are commonly used by airlines to attract customers and encourage repeat business. Public relations activities help airlines manage their reputation and build goodwill with customers through events, sponsorships, and community engagement. Direct marketing involves reaching out to customers directly through targeted emails, brochures, and other personalized communication channels. Personal selling, although less common in the airline industry, can be effective in building relationships with corporate clients and high-value customers. By utilizing a combination of these promotional mix elements, airlines can create a cohesive marketing strategy that effectively communicates their value proposition to customers. The impact of the promotional mix on the marketing of airline services can be seen in various ways. Firstly, a well-executed promotional mix can increase brand awareness and visibility for an airline, helping it stand out in a crowded marketplace. Secondly, promotional activities can drive customer engagement and encourage them to choose one airline over another. Thirdly, the promotional mix can influence customer perceptions of an airline's service quality, safety record, and overall reputation. In conclusion, the promotional mix is a crucial component of the marketing strategy for airlines. By carefully planning and implementing advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and personal selling activities, airlines can effectively communicate their value proposition to customers and drive business growth. This study will delve into the specific strategies used by airlines in their promotional mix and analyze the impact of these strategies on customer behavior and market share.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

1.1   HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE CASE STUDY

In every fact of business, be it profit or nonprofit oriented, the owner of such business concern must focus on techniques to create awareness for its products, services and ideas. For a system of transaction to take place, marketing thus call for more than developing a product, pricing and making it readily accessible to the target market. As firms make good product, they must inform consumer of the products and carefully position these in the consumer’s mind. And to do this, they must use a mass promotion tool called promotional mix.

In the modern economy with dispersed large population, interpersonal communication especially between producing units and their customers is no longer tenable. Hence promotional mix help to stimulate and sustain the vigor and momentum of economic activities through the enhancement of the consumption behavior of the citizens. Also the image of a company is enhanced through the establishment of reputation for trustworthiness of progressive and social responsibility brought about by promotional mix in the minds of both actual and potential customers. But the extent promotional mix is packaged and the awareness created will make the difference both positively and negatively on the intention of gofidr of such business. Promotional mix plays a great role in a nation’s development as the reaction to any customer towards any product or service is enhanced by advertising. The key point of every organization is to sell its product and this can only be done successfully through an advertising campaign.

Promotional mix beyond any drought started as early as 1861 through town criers, local sign post and through local song instruments. (Onyebunagu 1983: 27). Promotional mix involves four elements, the source, massage, channel and receiver. The source is represented by the advertiser who produces on advertisement which is the message through mass media (communication channel) then to the target audience which is the receiver. The vital part of communication known as facebook is measured in terms of sales realized. Promotional mix intervenes in nearly all aspects of economic and cultural lives. It highlights and stimulates certain vitality in production and trade. Promotional mix give industries, companies like Nigeria airways faster access to the market for the introduction of new products and services and reinforce consumer awareness for the existing products. It also tries to transmit feelings, commitments and convictism as well as to transmit them persuasively. For promotional mix to meet it goal it most have a purpose.

Promotional mix has been defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. (Kotler &Armstrong 1989 p434). Ar. Identified sponsor could be forms, companies, airlines, non- profit and individuals who are in a way identified in the promotional mix massage. With reference to the definition above, promotional mix therefore could be regarded as a Mino to our society. As stated by Hobson 1988, promotional mix is not only a means of informing mass market, but a promotional medium in which government and other organizations can channel their ideas and the Airline induct promotional and seasonal fares etc. Promotional mix helps to keep the customers abreast of the services the Airline offers at any point in time. If the Airline falls to promotional mix, the public would not be aware of its services and this could give its competitors the advantage of misleading or taking over its customers.

The Airline uses TV, Magazines, Newspaper and Radio for the bulk of its advertisement. Besides in other advertising programmes, the advertiser has to predict through certain principles of budget depending on the means of communication considered which must be well designed and tailored to meet their consumption. Because of the fact new Airlines are being established everyday and the ones already existing are trying one way or the other to outpace the other importance of promotional mix which are awareness creation of its products and consumer persuasion towards the product becomes imperative. ARIK AIRLINE Ltd. Being a national carrier and competing with other foreign airline should use promotional mix as a strategy to differentiate its service from others.