Until the late 1940s when television began finding its way into American homes， companies relied mainly on print and radio to promote their products and services. The advent① of television brought about a revolution in product and service. Today the Internet is once again transforming promotion. Bygoing online， companies can communicate instantly and directly with prospectivecustomers. Promotionon the World Wide Web includes advertising (usually in the form of banners， across the top of Web sites)， sponsorships②， and sales promotions like sweepstakes③， contests， coupons④， and rebates⑤.
Effective online marketers don’t merely transfer hardcopy ads to cyber space. Successful sites blend promotional and non-promotional information indirectly delivering the advertising messages. To encourage visits to their sites and to create and cultivate customer loyalty， companies change information frequently and provide many opportunities for interaction.
A prototype⑥ for excellent online promotion is the Ragu Web site. Herevisitors can find thirtysix pasta recipes， take Italian lessons， and view an Italian film festival， butthey will find no traditional ads. Sosubtle is the mix of product and promotion， visitors hardly know an advertising message has been delivered.
Sega of America， maker of computer games and hardware， uses its Web site for a variety of different promotions， such as introducing new game characters to the public and supplying Web surfers the opportunity to download games. Sega’s home page averages 250，000 visits a day. To heighten interest in the site， Sega bought an advertising banner on Netscape， thereby increasing site visits by 15 percent. Online participants in Quaker Oats Gatorade promotion received a free T-shirt in exchange for answering a few questions. Quaker Oats reports that the online promotion created product loyalty and helped the company know its customers better.
Yoyodyne Entertainment， creator of Internet promotions， develops online game shows for customers like Internet MCI， AT&T， and NBC. One of its most successful games is the “Get a Little Closer”promotion for Arrid XX deodorant⑦. Afterthey input their e-mail addresses， contestants receive two trivia questions， each accompanied by advertising once a week. Later in the week， they receive a hint and more information about the product. Correct answers earn them points， and winners are chosen from top scorers. Prizes include weekend gateways， CD collections， and Ticket master gift certificates. Participants can receive twenty-four different e-mail messages about Arrid during the game. The game appears to be working. Ofthe 45， 000 participants， 25 percent purchased Arrid XX during the game， and brand recognition doubled.
To target specific Internet users， an increasing number of companies are using “push”technology， which automatically delivers customized news and other information to users computers when they log onto the Internet. Although organizations like Nielsen Media Research are developing technologies to enhance audience measurement and tracking， it remains difficult to assess how many times the same person looks at an ad and who that person is. Although online promotions can be glamorous⑧ and sophisticated⑨， they are not perfect. Fora well-designed marketing mix， industry experts advise companies to use the Internet as a supplement to other advertising media.
① advent n. (尤指不寻常的人或事)出现，到来
② sponsorship n. 赞助者的地位，任务等
③ sweepstakes n. 独得的赌金，赌金独得赛马，赌金，比赛
④ coupon n. 息票，商家的优待券
⑤ rebate n. 回扣，折扣
⑥ prototype n. 原型
⑦ deodorant n. 除臭剂
⑧ glamorous adj. 富有魅力的，迷人的
⑨ sophisticated adj. 诡辩的，久经世故的
网上促销
20世纪40年代在电视进入美国千家万户以前，企业主要是通过报纸杂志与广播对其产品及服务进行宣传。电视的出现为产品与服务的促销方式带来了一场革命。如今兴起了互联网，再次使促销宣传改头换面。通过电脑网络，企业可以迅速而直接地与潜在的顾客进行沟通。互联网促销宣传方式包括广告（通常为网站标题广告）、具名赞助以及各种促销活动，如有奖销售、竞赛、优惠券、回馈等。
讲求实效的网络营销者们绝不是简单地把平面广告抄送到网页上。成功运作的网站把促销宣传与其他内容融为一体，巧妙地把广告信息传递给受众。为了提高网站访问率、培养顾客对产品的忠诚度，各企业不断更换产品信息并提供许多互动机会。
网上促销宣传的典范当属瑞谷网。该网站的访问者能够看到36种意大利面食的制作方法，参加意大利语课程或观摩意大利电影节，但这些都不是传统意义上的广告。产品与促销结合得如此巧妙以至于网页浏览者们浑然不觉传递给他们的是广告信息。电脑游戏与硬件的生产商美国世嘉公司利用网站进行各种不同的促销宣传，如向公众推出新的游戏角色并为上网者提供下载游戏的机会。因此世嘉主页的访问率平均每天达250，000人次。为提高人们对其网页的兴趣，世嘉在网景公司的网页上买下了一条标题广告，因而访问率提高了15%。桂格公司的佳得乐网上促销活动的参加者回答几个问题即可获赠一件T恤衫。网上宣传提高了顾客对其产品的忠诚度并增进了企业对顾客的了解。
网上促销宣传的创立者Yoyodyne娱乐公司为MCI，AT&T和NBC等客户推出网上竞赛活动。其中最成功的比赛是为Arrid XX除味剂策划的“靠近我一点儿”的促销宣传活动。参赛者输入自己的e-mail地址之后每周会收到两个很平常的问题，每个问题都附带着广告信息。而每周的后几天，参赛者会得到一个答题提示以及该产品的更多信息。答对题目即可得分，获奖者将从高分得主中抽出。奖品包括周末出游，CD集以及Ticketmaster的赠票。比赛期间，参赛者在此期间收到24条有关Arrid XX的电子邮件信息。比赛效果显然不错：45，000名参赛者有25%在比赛期间购买了Arrid XX的产品，同时对该品牌的认同成倍增加。
为了赢得某些网民，越来越多的公司在运用“主动出击”战术，网民们一上网，这些公司就把特定的资讯及其他信息自动地发送到他们的电脑中。虽然有Nielsen传媒研究这样的机构正在开发对观众群体进行衡量与跟踪的技术，但是对于某一个广告什么人在看及每个人看了几次仍很难估计。虽然网上促销宣传颇具诱惑力也很精致，但并非完美无缺。行业专家们建议，一个精心策划的营销组合应把网上促销作为其他媒体宣传方式的补充。