It is interesting to note that Hoover’s current offer, at the time of writing, is a free mountain bike but only on selected models. This promotion was designed to run through the summer of 2003, showing that the company has not given up on sales promotion as a marketing communications tool. Borrowing from other sales promotion ideas is frequently practised. It is easy with hindsight to say that Hoover might have put more effort in before making this particular decision.

Think about the dilemma of pre-testing ideas when you do not wish to inform the competition. Think also about relations with others such as dealers and retailers and what you might expect of them, and about the minutiae of an offer that allows something like the Hoover sales promotion to get out of hand.