Introduction: As the brand manager for Armor All Car Care Products, I realize that our products including our flagship brand, Armor All Protectant, are sold at retail stores across the United States and in a number of foreign countries. In some instances, Armor All Products are sold directly to major mass merchandisers such as Wal Mart Stores. However, the majority of sales occur through wholesalers and other intermediaries including distributors. I have developed a comprehensive promotional plan that involves both the push strategy targeting the distribution channel and the pull strategy targeting end users in order to promote sales of Armor All Products.
Armor All uses a push strategy. According to an essay published by Tutor2U online, push strategies target retailers and other distribution channel partners rather than at end users. Armor All's goal with a push strategy is to create an incentive for retailers as well as the wholesalers and other distributors to carry a large amount of inventory of Armor All Products. There are a number of ways this is accomplished. One way is to offer channel partners extended dating terms. The longer a channel partner has to pay for the Armor All car care products shipped to them, the less concerned they are about being able to sell through their inventory before the invoice becomes due and payable and the larger the order they place is likely to be (Sales Promotion). If the standard terms of sale are net 30 days from date of invoice then channel partners may be offered extended dating terms of 180 days or longer. This extended dating is offered only in the early spring. Since car care product sales to consumers are seasonal and there is an upswing in purchases in the spring and summer, by offering net 180 day terms Armor All is trying to assure its channel partners that they will have sold through the product before the invoice comes due.
Other incentives can be offered in lieu of...