Demand stimulation is a powerful marketing tool. Lately, its popularity has immensely grown. It has found its more proper use in marketing and advertising strategies and is very effective in reaching target customers of various target market segments and of different life styles.

There are three main categories in the demand stimulation marketing strategy:

1. Customers' advertising category;
2. Customers' demand stimulation category;
3. Trade stimulation category.

Let us take a closer look on each of them.

The customers' advertising category goal is all about forming brand asset, promoting main qualities of products and engaging new retailers. Now, the share of the customers' advertising, out of entire advertising budget, would come up to 25 percent.

The Customers' demand stimulation is a stimulation activity, aimed on motivating brand or product customers' buying behavior. The various means, such as coupons, discount cards, gifts or all sorts of contests are used as demand stimulation tools. The share of this category of advertising takes up to 25 percent of the budget.

The trade simulation category's goal is to stimulate or establish new partnership with various product retailers, traders or trading networks. Through this marketing tool, manufacturing companies try to stimulate retailers of trading network personnel, and to promote their products more aggressively. There are some kinds of rewards provided for the highest sales rate trader, such as money gifts, cars, etc. The share of this advertising category in the common budget is about 50 percent. It is one of the most expensive types of stimulation, but, through it, manufacturers hope to gain control of marketing expenses and reach higher level of advertising efficiency.

The most widely spread forms of the demand stimulation are the following:

• Advertising in the locations of purchase making;
• Presents;
• Small advertising gifts;
• Free product samples;
• Event marketing;
• Contests;
• Exhibitions;
• Trade stimulation.

Even though, all these stimulation techniques are rather appealing, an advertiser has to remember, that the demand stimulation tool is effective only when used in compliance with advertising techniques, creating together an integrated and consolidated company brand image. All marketing tools have to work to increase company's brand asset and to create a unified company image.

The demand stimulation, as any other Media, has its strong and weak sides. It definitely has its place in marketing strategy and products promotion, but to reach its highest potential and efficiency it has to become a part of an integrated marketing communications.