Cross-promotion
Encyclopedia
Cross-promotion is a form of marketing
promotion
where customers of one product or service are targeted with promotion of a related product. A typical example is cross-media marketing
of a brand
, for example Oprah Winfrey
's promotion on her television show of her books, magazines and website. Cross-promotion may involve two or more companies work together in promoting a service or product, in a way that benefits both. For example, a mobile phone network may work together with a popular music artist and package some of their songs as exclusive ringtones - promoting these ringtones can benefit both the network and the artist. Some major corporations, for example Burger King
, have a long history of cross-promotion with a range of partners (see Burger King advertising
). The Disney Channel
has also made extensive use of cross-promotion. Movie tie-ins are good examples of cross-promotion. On occasion, badly planned cross-promotions can backfire spectacularly - for example the 1992 Hoover free flights promotion
fiasco.
Co-marketing
and co-branding
are particular forms of cross-promotion.
found that US media outlets tend to cover their own company's goods and services much more frequently than others, but only declare the link 15% of the time. For example, CBS
was nearly twice as likely to carry Viacom
products as ABC
and NBC
combined.
In Flat Earth News (2009) Nick Davies
wrote that both Tiny Rowland
and Robert Maxwell
had regularly interfered with their respective UK newspapers to support their business interests. The UK's Private Eye
has a regular "I Sky" column highlighting cross-promotion by News Corporation
's UK newspapers (The Sun and The Times
), focussing on references to the Corporation's Sky
television network.
Richard Desmond
's 2010 takeover of Channel 5 via his Northern & Shell company was partly motivated by the opportunities for cross-promotion of Five from his newspapers (Daily Express
and Daily Star) and magazines (including OK!
); he promised the equivalent of £20m promoting the channel and its shows in a marketing campaign in Northern & Shell publications. One commentator warned that "readers will be bombarded with references to Five. The opportunity for cross-promotion between his publications and TV channel are enormous."
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
promotion
Promotion (marketing)
Promotion is one of the four elements of marketing mix . It is the communication link between sellers and buyers for the purpose of influencing, informing, or persuading a potential buyer's purchasing decision....
where customers of one product or service are targeted with promotion of a related product. A typical example is cross-media marketing
Cross-media marketing
Cross media marketing is a form of cross-promotion in which promotional companies commit to surpassing the traditional advertisements and decide to include extra appeals to their offered products.. The material can be communicated by any mass media such as e-mails, letters, web pages, or other...
of a brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
, for example Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
's promotion on her television show of her books, magazines and website. Cross-promotion may involve two or more companies work together in promoting a service or product, in a way that benefits both. For example, a mobile phone network may work together with a popular music artist and package some of their songs as exclusive ringtones - promoting these ringtones can benefit both the network and the artist. Some major corporations, for example Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
, have a long history of cross-promotion with a range of partners (see Burger King advertising
Burger King advertising
International fast food chain Burger King has employed varied advertising programs, both successful and unsuccessful, since its foundation in 1954. During the 1970s, output included a memorable jingle, the inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King and several well-known and parodied...
). The Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
has also made extensive use of cross-promotion. Movie tie-ins are good examples of cross-promotion. On occasion, badly planned cross-promotions can backfire spectacularly - for example the 1992 Hoover free flights promotion
Hoover free flights promotion
The Hoover free flights promotion was a marketing promotion begun in 1992 in which the British division of The Hoover Company promised free airline tickets to customers who purchased more than £100 worth of their products...
fiasco.
Co-marketing
Co-marketing
Co-marketing is a marketing practice where two companies cooperate with separate distribution channels, sometimes including profit sharing. It is frequently confused with co-promotion....
and co-branding
Co-branding
Co-branding refers to several different marketing arrangements:Co-branding, also called brand partnership, is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy...
are particular forms of cross-promotion.
Cross-promotion in the media
A 2001 study by the Project for Excellence in JournalismProject for Excellence in Journalism
The Project for Excellence in Journalism is a non-profit research organization in the US that uses empirical methods to evaluate and study the performance of the press. It asserts that it is "non partisan, non ideological and non political"...
found that US media outlets tend to cover their own company's goods and services much more frequently than others, but only declare the link 15% of the time. For example, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
was nearly twice as likely to carry Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
products as ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
combined.
In Flat Earth News (2009) Nick Davies
Nick Davies
Nick Davies is a British investigative journalist, writer and documentary maker.Davies has written extensively as a freelancer, as well as for The Guardian and The Observer, and been named Reporter of the Year Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards...
wrote that both Tiny Rowland
Tiny Rowland
Roland "Tiny" Rowland was a British businessman and chairman of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1994...
and Robert Maxwell
Robert Maxwell
Ian Robert Maxwell MC was a Czechoslovakian-born British media proprietor and former Member of Parliament , who rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire...
had regularly interfered with their respective UK newspapers to support their business interests. The UK's Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
has a regular "I Sky" column highlighting cross-promotion by News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
's UK newspapers (The Sun and The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
), focussing on references to the Corporation's Sky
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
television network.
Richard Desmond
Richard Desmond
Richard Clive Desmond is an English publisher and businessman. He is the owner of Express Newspapers and founder in 1974 of Northern & Shell, which publishes various celebrity magazines, such as OK! and New!, and British national newspapers Daily Star and Daily Express...
's 2010 takeover of Channel 5 via his Northern & Shell company was partly motivated by the opportunities for cross-promotion of Five from his newspapers (Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
and Daily Star) and magazines (including OK!
OK!
OK! is a British weekly magazine specializing in celebrity news. Originally launched as a monthly, its first issue was published in April 1993. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006...
); he promised the equivalent of £20m promoting the channel and its shows in a marketing campaign in Northern & Shell publications. One commentator warned that "readers will be bombarded with references to Five. The opportunity for cross-promotion between his publications and TV channel are enormous."