What is Push vs Pull Strategy?
A push strategy uses trade promotion (slotting fees, volume discounts, co-op advertising, sales-force incentives) to push product into the channel — wholesalers, retailers, distributors. A pull strategy uses consumer-facing advertising and promotion to create end-customer demand that pulls product through the channel (consumers ask for the brand by name; retailers stock to satisfy demand). Most consumer brands use both: push to gain distribution, pull to drive turn. Industrial brands rely more heavily on push (sales-force selling to a small number of buyers); consumer brands lean more on pull. The push-pull mix shifts over a brand's life cycle — heavy push at launch (gain distribution), heavy pull as brand matures (drive turn).
How Push vs Pull Strategy actually works
The framework breaks down into the following moving parts. Knowing what each piece is — and what it is not — is what separates a B-grade answer from an A-grade answer in a written assignment.
- Push — trade promotions, channel incentives, sales-force push
- Pull — consumer advertising, promotion, brand-building
- Most categories combine both
- Industrial brands lean push; consumer brands lean pull
- Push first to gain distribution, pull later to drive turn
A worked example: A new packaged-goods launch
A new Pepsi flavor launch combines both. Push: slotting fees to retailers ($1M+ per chain), volume discounts on initial orders, in-store displays, retailer co-op ad funding. Pull: TV, digital, and social advertising aimed at consumers, sampling at events, influencer partnerships. Without push, the product never makes it to shelves; without pull, it sits there until it's discontinued. A typical Year 1 budget might split 40/60 push/pull; by Year 3 it shifts to 20/80 as the brand becomes established and trade is willing to stock without incentive.
Don't lose marks for these
- Pure pull without push (no distribution to support demand)
- Pure push without pull (channel stocks but consumers don't buy through)
- Failing to shift mix as brand matures
How to use this on the exam
Score-maximizing moves
- Distinguish push from pull
- Recommend mix based on brand stage
- Show specific examples of each
When to use Push vs Pull Strategy (and when not to)
Use Push vs Pull Strategy when your assignment asks you to analyze, structure, or recommend — and when you have at least two data points to populate every cell of the framework. Skip it when the question is asking for a numerical answer or a single recommendation, since Push vs Pull Strategy is a structuring tool, not a calculator.