The promotional mix: influencers, sponsorship and own-label brands

Short answer: the promotional mix is the combination of methods a business uses to tell customers about its products and persuade them to buy. In AQA A-Level Business 7138, that means advertising, social media and influencers, sales promotions, sponsorship and personal selling, plus building a strong brand. In the exam, you judge which mix best fits the firm's objectives, budget and customers.

What the 7138 specification asks

Promotion sits in 3.1.3 Marketing, which is examined on Paper 1. In summary, AQA wants you to understand [1]:

• advertising;
• social media and influencers;
• sales promotions;
• sponsorship;
• personal selling, including account managers and sales teams who manage client relationships;
• building a strong brand, brand loyalty and own-label brands.

Promotion was already in the old 7132 course. But 7138 now names influencers, sponsorship, personal selling with account managers, and own-label brands, which the old wording did not. Social media carries over. For the wider changes, see our guide to the new AQA Business course.

The promotional mix methods compared

Each method has a different job. Some build awareness over years. Others push a sale this week.

Personal selling matters most in B2B markets (business to business), where orders are large and complex. An account manager is a member of staff who looks after a set of business clients over time. Their job is to keep those clients and sell more to them, not just win one order. A sales team shares that work across many clients.

Social media and influencers: the rules

An influencer is a social media creator whose followers trust their views. A brand may pay them in money, free products, trips or commission. The UK rules are clear. If a brand pays an influencer and controls the content, the post is an advert and must say so.

The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority, the UK's advertising regulator), CAP (which writes the advertising code) and the CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) publish a joint influencers' guide. The October 2026 edition says to label a post #Ad or similar, at the very start, so people see it before they click or scroll [2]. Labels such as "gifted", "PR", "collab" and "sponsored" are not clear enough [2]. The guide says any incentive, "even if it's not money", counts as payment [2].

The CMA's own guidance applies whatever the follower count [3]. From April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, the CMA can decide itself that consumer law has been broken. It can fine a firm up to 10% of global turnover [4]. So a badly managed influencer campaign is now a financial risk, not just a reputation risk.

Real UK examples: Aldi and Tesco

Sponsorship: Aldi and Team GB. On 4 March 2024, Team GB announced that Aldi would remain its "Official Supermarket" until the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games [5]. The partnership began in 2015. Through it, Aldi runs Get Set to Eat Fresh, a free schools programme on healthy, affordable eating. By March 2024 it had reached over 2.6 million young people [5]. This is sponsorship working on image: it links a low-price brand with health, fitness and national pride.

Own-label brands: Tesco Finest. An own-label brand is a range sold under the retailer's own name rather than a manufacturer's brand. Tesco's preliminary results of 16 April 2026 said Finest, its premium own-label range, grew 15% to reach sales of £3bn in the year to 28 February 2026 [6]. Over 750 Finest products were new or improved [6]. Aldi said its premium own-label range, Specially Selected, grew 12% over Christmas 2024 [7]. A strong own-label range is a promotion in itself: shoppers can only buy it in that chain, so it builds brand loyalty (customers who keep coming back to one brand).

Sales promotions and loyalty: Tesco Clubcard. The same Tesco results said over 10,000 products carry Clubcard Prices, which are lower prices for loyalty card members [6]. This mixes a sales promotion with a loyalty scheme. The data also lets Tesco send personalised offers.

What influences the promotional mix

• Marketing objectives: brand awareness needs reach, such as advertising or sponsorship; conversion or sales needs promotions or personal selling.
• Target market: if the target customers spend more time on social media than watching TV, influencers may reach them at lower cost.
• B2B or B2C: business buyers expect personal selling; consumer markets suit mass advertising.
• Budget: a small firm may not afford TV or a national sponsorship, so social media is cheaper to start.
• Product and its life cycle: a launch needs awareness and trial; a mature product may rely on loyalty.
• Competitors and regulation: firms often match rivals' offers, and must follow ASA and CMA rules.

Notice the structure. The analysis is one chain joined by "so" and "because". The evaluation weighs both methods and says what the judgement depends on: the objective.