International Business: The New Realities, 5th Edition

International Promotional Activities

Promotional activities are short-term marketing activities intended to stimulate an initial purchase, immediate purchase, or increased purchases of the product and to improve intermediary effectiveness and cooperation. They include tools such as coupons, point-of-purchase displays, demonstrations, samples, contests, gifts, and Internet interfacing.

Greece, Portugal, and Spain permit virtually every type of promotion, and Germany, Norway, and Switzerland forbid or restrict some. Couponing is illegal or restricted in some countries. Other promotional activities, such as giveaways, may be considered unethical or distasteful. In much of the world, such activities are uncommon and may be misunderstood. Promotions ...