 |
The Promotional Idea Showcase - Spring 2002
- Updated
Quarterly
|
Real
Problems, Real Solutions
|
|
|
|
|
Milwaukee
Bowls ‘Em Over With Alley-Themed Promotion
 The
meetings and events market is between $40 billion and $112
billion. Getting a chunk of that is a top priority for many
cities seeking to host events from trade shows to sales
meetings to conventions. The most effective place for cities
to strut their stuff is at the annual American Society of
Association Executives (ASAE) Show.
One city, Milwaukee, talked itself up with a two-part
interactive promotion. The Greater Milwaukee Convention &
Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) selected bowling as an overall theme.
“It was selected for a couple of reasons,” says Jack
Moneypenny, GMCVB. “Number one, we still have that Lavern
& Shirley image. The second reason is that bowling is such
an in thing now.”
The promotion began with a pre-show mailing. “We sent out a
regulation-sized bowling-pin bank,” Moneypenny says.
Attached to the neck with an imprinted red shoelace was a tag
with promotional copy.
The booth carried the bowling theme as well with an
arcade-style bowling machine and an embroiderer. “We decided
to use custom-made bowling shirts (300 were ordered, and the
inventory was shortly exhausted) explains Moneypenny. “When
people came to us with a specific business intent for the
future, they got a shirt, which they took to the embroiderer
and had their name embroidered. And [the shirts acted as] a
come-back item; the embroiderer can only embroider so fast, so
many had to come back later in the afternoon or the next day.
We ended up walking away with 119 leads.”
The Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau’s
promotion for the 2001 ASAE Show capitalized on the notion
that popular ‘70s television show Laverne & Shirley was
filmed there. products courtesy Milwaukee
Conventions and Visitors’ Bureau
Back
to Top
|
|
|
Playing
for Synergy …
 To
give golfers a chance to try out its growing apparel line,
Slazenger Golf ran a consumer mail-in promotion that began
during the Father’s Day retail drive earlier this year.
Consumers who bought a dozen of the firm’s premium golf
balls could mail away for a free Slazenger golf shirt with a
retail value of $40. Golfers were given a choice of colors,
and the Slazenger logo was discretely placed on the sleeve.
Not exactly a self-liquidator, the shirts cost the firm more
than consumers paid in shipping charges. “We wanted to take
advantage of the synergies of our business,” notes David
Vogrin, senior marketing manager for Slazenger and Dunlop.
photos courtesy Slazenger
Golf
Back
to Top
|
|
|
Embassy
Suites, Nickelodeon Team Up For Summer Promo
 Every
hotel chain has its niche. Motel 6 caters to frugal travelers.
Holiday Inn seeks those wanting familiarity. Embassy Suites
focuses on families. To that end, Embassy Suites wanted to
further capitalize on the family market.
The hotel tries to get as many guests on the weekends as
possible. A typical hotel might offer romantic getaways or
sightseeing packages. But with families – Embassy Suites’
forte – promoting can be prickly.
“We didn’t want to segment our weekend strategy across a
wide variety of trip occasions,” explains John Lee, Embassy
VP of brand marketing. “What we wanted to do was go after
families, So we aligned ourselves with what we considered to
be the number-one kids (and family) cable station –
Nickelodeon.”
Print ads were developed, as were commercials that ran on
Nickelodeon.
As Nickelodeon was launching the 10th anniversary of its
Rugrats series, Embassy felt that anything tied to the show
would be strong.
It finally decided on a camera, pen, journal and doll in a
clear pack. “We know that because kids are on vacation the
camera is going to be a value,” Lee says. “The pen and
journal were of value because they could write down the things
they did every day.”
Everything in the pack was imprinted with both the Embassy
Suites and Nickelodeon logos, except the doll. Each family
received two packs free at check-in; additionals were $10
each. The program ran from just before Memorial Day to just
after Labor Day, with the hotel noting that any future
reservations made during that time would still be honored with
the gift packs. All told, Embassy Suites ordered 50,000 packs
and distributed 41,000.
What better way to tie into
your core target audience then to team up with the number-one
related cable channel? This Embassy Suites/Nickelodeon summer
promotion provided its younger hotel guests with a package of
non-gender-specific imprinted products. photo courtesy
Embassy Suites
Back
to Top
|
|
|
Calling
All Cooks …
Cooking Club of America wanted consumers to become testers of
new cooking products. A mailing filled with colorful graphics
of food and wine also contained a free imprinted bowl scraper
and notepad, along with a membership card.
In addition, recipients who became members received a logoed
multi-purpose grater to slice, shred and grate various
ingredients. Collateral material described member privileges,
introduced the club’s Cooking Pleasures magazine, and coaxed
readers to visit the club’s Web site to sign up for
contests, giveaways, recipe ideas, expert tips/techniques,
special offers and deals. Now you’re cooking!
products
courtesy Cooking Club of America
Back
to Top
|
|
|
Mousepad
Mania Emptied Inventory – And Customers Called For More!
Company store catalogs are always popular with employees. But
they can also inspire creative ideas.
Lifetime Television’s annual catalog featured a low-profile
mousepad – a lightweight, super-thin item that proved
versatile enough to promote Web sites, build show-booth
traffic and create awareness of women’s health issues.
Lifetime’s catalog has two audiences: the company’s
employees and a few thousand affiliates, which include local
cable companies. In addition, all of internal departments can
order items for their own use. Ginger Chavez, coordinator for
the company’s new ventures department, says most orders come
from marketing and public affairs.
The mousepad appealed for several reasons, one of which was
that it was easy and cost-effective to mail or use as an
insert.
Lifetime ultimately ordered 10,000 mousepads. They sold
steadily for about six months. Then Life-time’s online
department needed 10,000 promotional items for use by its
nonprofit partner, the National Women’s Speaking Foundation
(SWF), which promotes education on women’s health issues,
SWF wanted to distribute the pads at conferences and health
screenings to help promote itself.
SWF reported that hits to its Web site increased. But there
was an unexpected plus: “After this all happened, I got
calls asking, ‘Oh, can I have one?,’” says Chavez.
She ordered 500 more pads but again, the inventory didn’t
last; the network’s marketing department snagged them to
promote its presence at a trade show for cable networks. Now
that’s a hot product.
Lifetime Television’s premium catalog sold out its entire
inventory of 10,500 thin mousepads imprinted with its Web
address. photos courtesy Lifetime Television
Back
to Top
|
|
|
Cingular
Creates Cool PR, Culls Info
 Most
firms that undergo a merger, consolidation or reorganization
launch ad campaigns to introduce the resulting new brand(s).
Several campaigns that can be effective.
A new brand in a competitive industry, Cingular Wireless
blended a direct-mail campaign and
Web site promotion to introduce itself. Cingular came about as
a consolidation of 11 other brands, replacing several
highly-recognized providers.
The campaign bowed in several high-profile outlets, among them
the Super Bowl and the TV show Survivor. “We had 20 million
customers and 211 million potential customers we wanted to
introduce ourselves to,” says Cingular President/CEO Stephen
Carter. “We did something new; we emphasized the importance
of self-expression. We’re not about technology; we’re
about our customers, their communication.”
The promotion lasted from mid-January to the end of February.
Cingular mailed out about 15 million pieces. The orange
mailers featured the Cingular icon – a dotted “x” –
and copy welcoming the customer. It also featured a gift
offer: Customers visiting Cingular’s Web site to answer a
few questions got a logoed T-shirt.
At the site, customers provided e-mail addresses, information
about how they use mobile phones and noted services that might
interest them. Cingular also gathered data about customer
expectations, and asked if the individual wanted to receive
promotional e-mails. The information was used to segment
existing customers to target messages/offers to them via
direct or e-mail.
Approximately 500,000 Cingular T-shirts went out to existing
customers who visited the site. This represented a 3.6%
response rate, meaning, simply, that the program exceeded all
expectations. Now, that’s communication.
Cingular’s combo direct mail/Net promo was designed to
introduce the brand and its friendly icon as well as gather
information about existing customers. products courtesy
Cingular Wireless
|
|
|