Marketing communications and product performance: innovative vs non‐innovative new retail financial products

Abstract

Reports the results of a research project into the marketing communications tools used during the launching of 100 new retail financial products – 58 non‐innovative and 42 innovative – and it is part of a broader study conducted on the development and launching practices of new financial products in Greece. It is revealed that innovative and non‐innovative products, generally, follow a different marketing communications approach. Innovative successful products are launched through the most integrated communications package followed by non‐innovative successful products, while innovative and non‐innovative unsuccessful products receive very limited communications support during their market introduction. Overall, three marketing communications tools are found to lead to enhanced performance, either for innovative or for non‐innovative products, namely intensive selling, below‐the‐line advertising, and telemarketing.