Marketing communication

Marketing communications is a subset of the overall subject area 'marketing'. 
Your marketing plan will be executed by using the tactical elements of the Marketing Communications, or Promotions Mix.

The above are the elements of marketing communication mix. The Marketing Communications Mix is the specific mix that a company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives.

Advertising - Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.It reaches large, geographically dispersed audiences, often with high frequency; Low cost per exposure, though overall costs are high; Consumers perceive advertised goods as more legitimate; Dramatizes company/brand; Builds brand image; may stimulate short-term sales; Impersonal, one-way communication; Expensive.

Personal selling - Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships. It is most effective tool for building buyers’ preferences, convictions, and actions; Personal interaction allows for feedback and adjustments; Relationship-oriented; Buyers are more attentive; Sales force represents a long-term commitment; Most expensive of the promotional tools. 

Sales promotion - Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service.  It may be targeted at the trade or ultimate consumer; Makes use of a variety of formats: premiums, coupons, contests, etc.; Attracts attention, offers strong purchase incentives, dramatizes offers, boosts sagging sales; Stimulates quick response; Short-lived; Not effective at building long-term brand preferences. 

Public relations - Building good relationships with the company’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good "corporate image", and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and events. It is highly credible; Very believable; Many forms: news stories, news features, events and sponsorships, etc.; Reaches many prospects missed via other forms of promotion; Dramatizes company or product; Often the most under used element in the promotional mix; Relatively inexpensive (certainly not 'free' as many people think--there are costs involved). 

Direct marketing - Direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships. It has many forms: Telephone marketing, direct mail, online marketing, etc.; Four distinctive characteristics: Nonpublic, Immediate, Customized, Interactive; Well-suited to highly-targeted marketing efforts

However, when deciding upon your unique marketing communications mix, you should also consider the Product Life Cycle. Here are some general guideline as to how and when to emphasize different parts of the mix according to the stages of a typical product life cycle:

Pre-Introduction: Light advertising, pre-introduction publicity.
Introduction: Heavy use of advertising, public relations for awareness, sales promotion for trial.
Growth: Advertising, public relations, branding and brand marketing, personal selling for distribution. 
Maturity: Advertising decreases, sales promotion, personal selling, reminder & persuasion.
Decline: Advertising and public relations decrease, limited sales promotion, personal selling for distribution