What is Core Promotion?
The Core Promotion field identifies the primary promotion driving the ad when multiple promotions are present within the Promotions field.
When more than one promotion appears in a single ad block, this field isolates the main promotional message, helping users quickly understand the key promotion being featured.
The Core Promotion is derived using prioritization logic applied to all promotions captured in the Promotions field, ensuring the most prominent or value-driving promotion is surfaced.
Where can I find the Core Promotion field?
Core Promotion is available in the Promo Search Results, Dynamic Summary, and the Event Definition Builder. This allows you to filter, summarize, and report on the primary promotion featured within ad blocks across your analyses.
Core Promotion Types
The following promotion types are considered Core Promotion Types. All other promotion types are considered non-core. These are listed in order of priority. For example, if an ad block contains BOGO and % Off, the Core Promotion Type is % Off.
Core Promotion Type | Promotion | Description |
% Off | % Off | The percentage discount advertised on a product or offer. When the discount is presented as a range, the minimum and maximum discount percentages represent the lower and upper bounds of the advertised discount. |
$ Off | $ Off | If an ad states a savings amount, the dollar-off value is recorded in the $ OFF field, and the regular price is calculated using the sale price provided in the ad text. If a savings or dollar-off range is provided, the range values are recorded in the applicable fields, and the regular price is calculated accordingly when not explicitly stated in the ad text. *This logic was updated 7.1.26 with 6 months of historical data. |
BOGO | Buy 1, Get 1 Free | The ad states that you get 1 free when you buy 1. |
BOGO | Buy 2, Get 1 Free | The ad states that you get 1 free when you buy 2. |
BOGO | Buy 3, Get 1 Free | The ad states that you get 1 free when you buy 3. |
BOGO | Buy 1, Get 50% Off 2nd | The ad states that you get 50% off the second item when you buy 1. |
BOGO | Buy 1, Get 2 Free | The ad states that you get 2 free when you buy 1. |
BOGO | Buy/Get - Other | Used for buy/get offers not covered by other buy/get promotion types. |
Loyalty Card Required | E-Coupon | Used when the coupon value is obtained by registering or activating a loyalty offer online. |
Loyalty Card Required | Free With Loyalty Card | Used where the item is free with a membership or loyalty card. |
Loyalty Card Required | Loyalty Card Required | Used when a membership or loyalty card is required to receive the advertised price. |
Made in Canada | Made in Canada | Used when the ad indicates the product is made in Canada. |
Price Reduction Indicated | Everyday Pricing | Used where a product is specifically advertised as an “everyday price.” Typically used for Walmart. |
Price Reduction Indicated | Price Reduction Indicated | Used when an ad specifies a special price reduction other than a normal sale price. |
Price Reduction Indicated | Rollback Price | Exclusive to Walmart ads where a product is advertised as a Rollback Price. |
Price Reduction Indicated | Was Price | Used where the ad includes a crossed-out or “was” price. |
Retailer Points | Retailer Points | Used whenever a purchase earns points as part of a retailer rewards program, even if no point value is specified. |
Other/Non-Core Promotion Type
The following promotions are not considered Core Promotion Types and will fall under the "Other/Non-Core" Core Promotion Type:
All On Sale | Compare To | P&G Brandsaver |
Appetite Appeal | Exclusive | Price Match |
As Seen On TV | Exclusive Buy | Quantity Discount Available |
Available On Line | Fair Trade | Quantity Limited |
Bundled Products | Family Ad | Rebate Included |
Calculated Regular Price | Free Shipping | Shipping Offer |
Cause Related | FSA/HSA | Sports |
Brand From Image | Full Line | Starting At |
Contest/Sweepstakes | Healthy Eating | Sunday Paper Coupon |
Education | Image New Product | While Supplies Last |
Free After Rebate | In Ad Manufacturer Coupon | Z-Image Only |
Free With Other Purchase | In Ad Retailer Coupon | Air Miles |
Includes Free Product | Item Of The Week | Must Buy |
Limited Time Offer | Logo - Branded | Meal Solutions |
Logo - Generic | Logo - Origin | Minimum Purchase Required |
Misadvertised Price/Product/Model | Mix/Match | Movies |
Multiple Purchase Required | New Product | No Price Given |
Online Only | Organic | Other Promotion |
Other Purchase Required | Available On Line |
|
No Promotional Offer Core Promotion Type
"No Promotional Offer" Core Promotion Type indicates that there was no promotional value associated with that ad block. However, there may be other price, offer, or value featured. Find additional values to analyze here.
Use Case: Core Promotion Analysis by Brand
Business Questions Answered:
How is my brand/brands being promoted at my key accounts?
Am I competitively promoting my brand/brands compared to the competition?
How to:
Step 1: Create the Promo Search. In this example, we want to analyze which Core Promotion Types are being used for Allergy/Sinus Remedies at Shoppers Drug Mart across selected Canadian markets over year-to-date this year and year ago.
Step 2: Open the Dynamic Summary module. The following is one way to set up a Dynamic Summary report to analyze Core Promotion types. For a visualization of this data, select a Stacked Column Chart and compare 2025 to 2026 data.
Step 3: Analyze the data. The report shows which promotional strategies were used most frequently within the category and by brand. % Off was used frequently; however, many of the ad blocks in this category featured no promotional offer, indicating further investigation into the price and offer strategy within this category.
Use Case: Core Promotion Analysis by Category
Business Questions Answered:
How is my category being promoted at my key account(s)?
Am I competitively promoting my category compared to the competition?
How to:
Step 1: Create the Promo Search. In this example, we want to analyze which Core Promotion Types are being used for key categories at Shoppers Drug Mart across Canadian markets over year-to-date this year and year ago.
Step 2: Open the Dynamic Summary module. The following is one way to set up a Dynamic Summary report to analyze Core Promotion types. For a visualization of this data, select a Stacked Column Chart and compare 2025 to 2026 data.
Step 3: Analyze the data. This report shows that promotional strategy is different at the category level at the key account. In a key category, Energy Drinks, promotions increased with similar promotion types used; however, ad blocks featuring retailer points promotions disappeared YoY.
Step 4A: Analyze a Key Brand against the competition. Within the Energy Drink Category, analyze if promotional strategy for a key Brand, Red Bull, matches the overall category strategy. One way to do this is to create a custom product group of all energy drink brands except Red Bull, and one with only Red Bull.
Step 4B: Rerun the search with the product groups selected and navigate back to the Dynamic Summary.
Step 4C: Create an updated Dynamic Summary report analyzing Red Bull promotional strategy against the total competition. Visualize this report with a Stacked Column chart.
Step 5: Analyze the data. Red Bull promotions increased slightly YOY while the total category decreased. Red Bull did follow the category promotional strategy of utilizing Price Reduction Indicated promotions while eliminating Retailer Points promotions YoY
Pro Tip! Layer in the Promotions field to understand the Other/Non-Core Promotions that were used.
Optional: Since this category saw a lot of "No Promotional Offer", analyze the data by additional fields like Primary Offer, Offer Description, or other Price/Numeric fields. In this example, the chart focuses on "No Promotional Offer" promotions and analyzes the Primary Offers utilized. Within these promotions, Red Bull increased usage of the 2/5.50 offer while the total category saw a decline in usage, with most usage being of the 2/6.00 offer, showcasing a strategy of slightly increased discounts for Red Bull compared to the competition.
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Last Updated: 07/29/26