Below the line (BTL), Above the line (ATL), and Through the Line (TTL), in organizational business

and marketing communications, are advertising techniques. Promotion can be loosely classified as "above the line" or "below the line". Promotional activities carried out through mass media, such as television, radio and newspaper, are classed as above the line promotion. The terms "below the line" promotion or communications, refers to forms of non-media communication, even non-media advertising. Below the line promotions are becoming increasingly important within the communications mix of many companies, not only those involved in FMCG products, but also for industrial goods. "Through the line" refers to an advertising strategy involving both above and below the line communications in which one form of advertising points the target to another form of advertising thereby crossing the "line". An example would be a TV commercial that says 'come into the store to sample XYZ product'. In this example, the TV commercial is a form of "above the line" advertising and once in the store, the target customer is presented with "below the line" promotional material such as store banners, competition entry forms, etc..

Above the line sales promotion

Above the line is a type of advertising through media such as TV, cinema, radio, print, banners and search engines to promote brands. Major uses include television and radio advertising, web and Internet banner ads. This type of communication is conventional in nature and is considered impersonal to customers. It differs from Below the line advertising, which believes in unconventional brand-building strategies, such as direct mail and printed media (and usually involve no motion graphics). The term comes from top business managers and involves the way in which Procter and Gamble, one of the worlds biggest advertising clients, was charged for its media in the 1950s and 1960s. Advertising agencies made so much commission from booking media for clients that the creative generation and actual production costs of making TV ads was free hence above the line. Everything else they paid for and was therefore below the line. Since then, models have changed and clients are no longer charged for their media in that way.[1] Used loosely, above the line still means mass media. However the media landscape has shifted so dramatically that advertisers have reconsidered the definitions of mass media. According to Altaf Jasnaik, what needs consideration is the definition of "What does the line divide?". For some marketers it is the line that divides the realm of "Awareness or Attention focussed marketing" and that of "Interest + Desire focussed marketing". Since audience numbers in the Interest and Desire phase of the AIDA sales model narrow down

to a fraction of the Awareness audience, the line could be drawn right below the awareness set of activities. For some retail giants the definition of the line is "their floor space" where they convert footfall to purchase. Loosely put, everything done prior to a customer's actual entry into a retail outlet is ATL for some retailers, as they define shop-floor activities as the true BTL set of activities which decide on which brand sells eventually.

Below the line sales promotion

Below the line sales promotions are short-term incentives, largely aimed at consumers. With the increasing pressure on the marketing team to achieve communication objectives more efficiently in a limited budget, there has been a need to find out more effective and cost efficient ways to communicate with the target markets. This has led to a shift from the regular media based advertising. In other words, below-the-line sales promotion is an immediate or delayed incentive to purchase, expressed in cash or in kind, and having only a short term or temporary duration. Below the Line uses less conventional methods than the usual specific channels of advertising to promote products, services, etc. than Above the Line strategies. These may include activities such as direct mail, public relations and sales promotions for which a fee is agreed upon and charged up front. Below the line advertising typically focuses on direct means of communication, most commonly direct mail and e-mail, often using highly targeted lists of names to maximize response rates. Another interesting and very effective BTL is Ssop Intercept. Trained sales personnel, often young women, are deployed at Retail Stores, near the shelves of targeted products. These young women convince customers visiting these shelves about the better aspects of their brand compared with others. This is ideal for new launches as it generates trials, which if successful result in repeat sales. In addition,above the line is much more effective when the target group is very large and difficult to define. But if the target group is limited and specific, it is always advisable to use BTL promotions for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Say, for example, if a pen manufacturer is going to promote its product, it may take the ATL route, but if a company manufactures computer UPS, it will certainly take the BTL route, as the target group is very limited and specific. More recently, agencies and clients have switched to an 'Integrated Communication Approach.' BTL is a common technique used for "touch and feel" products (consumer items where the customer will rely on immediate information rather than previously researched items). BTL techniques ensures recall of the brand while at the same time highlighting the features of the product.

A common term being used by savvy media sales persons these days is of that of a Through The Line approach, which according to Altaf Jasnaik, has been around forever but under a new named coined for media dinners is called the TTL approach. The TTL approach is where a mix of the two (ATL+BTL) are used to integrate a marketers efforts and optimize returns from these separate investments. More recently however the TTL approach has shifted its attention with more weight shifting to the BTL side of the fulcrum. The idea remains to optimize the ROI on marketing budget spent, by focusing ones energy on winning smaller yet more crucial BTL battles than ATL wars which are being raged by Sponsorship and logo positioning crazy big spenders. In a nutshell, while Above-the-Line promotions are tailored for a mass audience, BTL promotions are targeted at individuals according to their needs or preferences. While Above-the-Line promotions can establish brand identity, BTL can actually lead to a sale. Above-the-line promotions are also somewhat impossible to measure well, while BTL promotions are highly measurable, giving marketers valuable insights into their returnon-investment. According to EBS Worldwide, mainstream mass broadcast marketing is increasingly being viewed as uneconomical, in terms of Return on Investment, which is where BTL marketing fits in.