Generic versus brand (or type) promotion
There are several methods of categorizing promotional activities
depending upon the ultimate objective. Promotion conducted with respect to a
basic product such as coffee for the purpose of enlarging the total market for
the product is termed generic
promotion. For example the ICO campaigns in China and Russia
did not focus on any one brand or indeed type of coffee but promoted all types
and brands of coffee simultaneously. This helps the entire industry rather than
just one segment or company.
Brand promotion
on the other hand is conducted with the objective of gaining a larger market
share for a particular brand of coffee, rather than enlarging the market for
every brand. Even if the promotion results in an overall increase in the market
as a whole it still represents brand rather than generic promotion, as this was
not the original intention. When individual producing countries use promotion
to encourage demand for their own coffee, this cannot be considered generic
either as it is merely attempting to influence decisions within the existing
market about the composition of supply rather than attempting to enlarge the
market for all producers.