There are two ways in which marketers conduct promotional activities. They either advertise the product for the market as a whole or they create a focused communication for a specific customer group. Today, these marketing strategies fall into two distinct categories – Above the Line (ATL) and Below the Line (BTL) activities.
ATL strategies focus at directing the communication towards the mass market. All promotional messages are un-targeted, meaning they do not focus on a specific target group. The idea behind this is to inform customers about the availability of the product. Marketers seek to encourage customers to visit stores and actively seek the product. These strategies help companies reach a larger audience and create brand visibility. Ex: TV, Radio and Newspapers etc
BTL activities are more focused and they are directed towards specific groups of customers. They are highly targeted, with advertisements being created keeping in mind the demographic and psychographic characteristics of particular customer segments. The communication is highly personalised and the objective is to gain conversions. Ex: Digital Marketing, Events, SMS etc