Which of the following is true about the four elements of the promotional mix?

• A. Only advertising and personal selling require paid media.
• B. Publicity is paid media.
• C. Sales promotion is one of the four elements.
• D. Direct marketing is not part of the mix.

Answer: (C)

Sales promotion is one of the four elements that makeup the promotional mix. The traditional quartet includes advertising, personal selling, public relations (often framed as publicity), and sales promotion. Sales promotion provides short-term incentives—like coupons, samples, rebates, or contests—to encourage immediate action, trials, or purchases and works alongside the longer-term branding and relationship-building roles of the other tools. The other options misstate how media and the mix work: publicity is earned media, not paid; paid media isn’t limited to just advertising and personal selling; and direct marketing isn’t universally counted as one of the four core elements in many standard frameworks, even though it’s still a powerful promotional tool.