Advertising, sales promotion, the sales force, direct marketing, and public relations help the organization to communicate with its customers, cooperating organizations, the public, and other target audiences.

These activities make up the promotion strategy, which performs an essential role in positioning products in the eyes and minds of buyers. Promotion informs, reminds, and persuades buyers and others who influence the purchasing process. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent annually on promotion activities. This mandates planning and executing promotion decisions as effectively "and efficiently as possible