The Promotional Idea Showcase -
Spring 2001 - Updated
Quarterly
Tyson
Foods Inc., the well-known chicken-product producer, ran a campaign involving a free baseball that actually pulled better than the average
redemption offer. But Tyson had expected a higher demand. Consequently, it ended with what in marketing lingo is called a “large
post-promotion product surplus.”
In other words, Tyson had a hell of a lot of baseballs left over – a problem that sometimes crops up in the tenuous world of promotions but,
the company turned what could have been a loss of time, money and storage into an opportunity to create goodwill. Let’s start at the top:
Tyson’s initial offer appeared on packages of its boxed chicken. “We wanted to have some sports theme tied into the promotion … give it a
little better twist than just dropping a coupon,” says Brent Lundstrom, director of marketing for Tyson’s retail division. “We were trying
to give stores some tie-in capabilities out there in the field.”
To attract the attention of children, the products’ primary consumers, the balls featured Tyson’s cartoon mascots – Rosie, Skippy and
Milo, who also appeared on the specially marked boxes. Introduced six years ago as part of Tyson’s “no preservatives, no fillers, no
additives” campaign, the mascots have become a part of Tyson’s marketing mix.
To further emphasize the aspect of all-natural ingredients and its position in the market, the baseball also bore the words “Tyson. We’re
Chicken.”
Unlike many self-liquidators, the ball was available at no cost. All consumers had to do was collect four box tops, fill out the form and send
it in. Seems like a no-brainer, right?
While nearly 3,000 consumers sent for the ball, Tyson had the offer printed on two months’ worth of boxes, and considering that there was no
payment involved, expected a far bigger reaction from the public. “It was a fairly decent promotion,” Lundstrom says. “We had a
little bit better than average redemption ... but we thought we’d get a lot better response,” Lundstrom says. “I guess it’s still an
inconvenience for people to even just pull [the box tops] off and send it in.”
Which led to the surplus. Tyson considered its new stockpile of imprinted baseballs and realized they still represented an effective way to
reach consumers. The balls were given to area nonprofit and charitable organizations – places where they were both welcomed and used. In
addition, the gesture created goodwill within the community and put Tyson’s name in front of people who might not normally buy its products.
“Obviously, as a goodwill item, it’s hard to account for numbers,” Lundstrom notes, “but it’s nice when people call up [and ask for
donations] that we can give them something.”