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Marketing vocabulary · Advertising & Promotion

Below the line

Meaning in marketing, with examples

/bɪˌloʊ ðə ˈlaɪn/phraseAdvanced term

In marketing, below the line means: Describes marketing that targets specific groups more directly, such as in-store promotions, events, sampling, direct mail and sponsorship, rather than mass media.

In Turkish: BTL, hedefli tanıtım faaliyetleri, doğrudan pazarlama faaliyetleri

How it is used

Shortened to BTL. Turkish agencies often call event and activation work simply “BTL”. BTL activities are usually easier to measure and closer to the moment of purchase than above-the-line advertising.

Example sentences

  1. The below-the-line part of the campaign includes tastings in 200 supermarkets.

  2. We moved some money from TV to below the line because we need sales this quarter.

Common collocations

  • below-the-line marketing
  • BTL activation
  • BTL agency
  • ATL and BTL
  • above the lineDescribes advertising through mass media such as TV, radio, newspapers, cinema and outdoor, aimed at a large and broad audience.
  • sponsorshipSupporting an event, team, programme or person with money or products in return for showing the brand's name and logo to their audience.
  • point of saleThe place where a customer pays for a product, such as a shop checkout or an online payment page; also the promotional materials placed there.
  • promotionAll the ways a company communicates with customers to persuade them to buy, such as advertising, PR, social media, special offers and personal selling.

More terms: Advertising & Promotion

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