ith collective nationwide belt-
tightening and a general air of
pessimism influencing the moods of
Australian consumers, the drive to get more value
out of shopping dollars is stronger than ever.
Consumer promotions are a great way to tap
this feeling, simultaneously endearing your brand
to existing customers and luring new ones. With ad
budgets currently shrinking, consumer promotions
can be an ideal way to develop a sustained two-
way dialogue. They do, however, have to be
executed properly. There are far too many
competitions currently running in Australia that
are at best a waste of time and at worse,
damaging to a brand.
The following tips should ensure your
promotion remains in the game.
It’s about building a long-term relationship.
There has been a tendency for companies to view
competitions and giveaways as a means of
generating a short-term spike in sales and
revenue. This is very old-fashioned and short-
sighted. Instead, they should be seen as a way of
capturing a database of loyal fans who want to
learn more about your brand over the upcoming
months and years. With marketing budgets being
slashed, this new two-way engagement method is
highly targeted and effective because the money
spent on campaign one helps a brand to engage
consumers in campaigns two, three and four. One-
off promotions may generate that ephemeral spike
in sales, but that is only a small part of the value
they can offer marketers. Consumers within every
demographic now want value for money and they
are taking the time to shop based on the value a
brand gives them. The brands creating truly
successful campaigns are generating up to one
million entries in a competition and up to 40%
sales increases. Off the back of these campaigns
we are building qualified databases which give us
extensive knowledge about the customer to
continue the conversation well past the campaign
end date.
Make entry easy. Different target audiences
favour different entry mechanisms. Make sure
your promotion utilises the medium that best fits
with your target market’s lifestyle. I would
recommend the following entry mechanisms. For
youth – web entry, email and SMS. Gen Y/Gen X –
web entry, email, SMS and mobile sites. Baby
Boomers/family – web entry, email, SMS, 1900
numbers and mobile sites. Seniors – 1900
numbers and post.
Make prizes relevant to the target audience.
While the suggestions below have been offered
plenty of times in the past, there is a reason – they
work. For youth – technology such as iPod, Wii,
phones. Gen Y/Gen X – iPhone, Blackberry,
PlayStation and XBox. Baby Boomers/family –
cash, debt repayments or petrol. Seniors – prizes
for the grandchildren. In terms of the structure of
the competition, instant win campaigns are
increasingly popular as they satisfy the urge for
instant gratification, particularly in younger
consumers. Similarly, multiple smaller value prizes
are generally preferred to one large value prize as
they have (generally) proven to attract a higher
number of entries.
Encourage repeated interaction. Daily prize
giveaways are booming in popularity because
brands want their digital and mobile platforms to
be visited more than once. And once the consumer
is on your site, you need to engage with them by
offering further enticements to lure them back
again and again. Promote the hell out of it. If you’re
going to go to the trouble and expense of running a
promotion or competition you must make sure that
people see it by promoting it across all available
channels. Too many competitions aren’t promoted
appropriately and close with an embarrassingly
low number of entries.
