Facing up to below‐the‐line

Abstract

The Nineteen Sixties witnessed a silent yet dramatic revolution, almost unheralded whilst in progress and only chronicled when it had passed its climax. This revolution was the growth of a form of promotional expenditure which came to be known as ‘below‐the‐line’. It was below‐the‐line in the sense that it was not expenditure on promotion in the conventional and time‐honoured form, i.e. advertising through the media of the press, cinema, television and poster. It was, in fact, expenditure on sales promotions; promotions designed to have an impact, albeit short term, on sales volume. These promotions typically have taken the form of offering either extra value for money in the form of money‐off, coupons, or free samples, or have attempted to generate excitement in the product through the vehicles of competitions, games and give‐aways.

Citation

Morris, M., Christopher, M. and Cowell, D. (1970), "Facing up to below‐the‐line", Management Decision, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 45-50. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb000949