Which of the following best defines "push strategy"?

A push strategy in marketing focuses on directing promotional efforts toward wholesalers, retailers, or distributors rather than the final consumers. This approach encourages these intermediaries to "push" the product down the distribution channel, prompting them to promote and sell higher volumes of the product directly to consumers. This can involve incentives, trade promotions, and sales strategies that motivate retailers to stock more of a product and to actively sell it in their stores.

Encouraging higher volumes of product sales at the retail level is a crucial aspect of this strategy because it increases product availability and visibility, leading to greater consumer purchase frequency. By leveraging the relationships and influence that retailers have with their customers, a push strategy efficiently drives demand further down the line.

The other options focus on different marketing strategies and approaches. Making products available directly to consumers relates to a pull strategy, where brands create demand at the consumer level, leading them to seek out the product. Creating awareness through mass media pertains to broader advertising campaigns that build brand recognition. Targeting specific demographics with tailored advertisements is aligned more with segmentation and personalized marketing approaches. However, these strategies do not fit the specific characteristics of a push strategy as accurately as encouraging retailers to sell higher volumes does.