There are many benefits to leveraging Promotional Marketing within your marketing mix. In both B2B and B2C marketing, contests, promotions and giveaways are excellent ways to solidify your brand, build awareness, generate sales, and increase loyalty.

But incentive-based marketing can also have its challenges. Consumers are bombarded with opportunities to win everything from cars to trips to lawn mowers. A recent study by the Incentive Foundation shows that traditional incentive programs, such as cash bonuses, no longer have the same impact that they once did. In fact, four out of five executives surveyed believe that travel and merchandise awards are more popular than cash awards. [1] In order to engage audiences, marketers need to create smart, engaging promotions that motivate responses through a unique, but relevant offer.

Here are a few strategies to consider:

Choosing your prize before determining your strategy is literally putting the cart before the horse. Often, people become fixated on what prize to offer rather than thinking about why they are running a promotion, what they want people to do, and how they want them to do it. Prizes should be determined in order to create the best possible response from your target audience. Offers that seem too ordinary, or seem spectacular, but out of reach, will discourage people from participating.

Not all promotions are created equally and not all have the same type of return. If the goal of your campaign is to increase brand awareness, then the benefits will be seen over a longer term. If the goal is to increase sales, then the results will be more immediate.

Understanding your target market will help to determine the best vehicle to use for your promotion. Demographically unique markets will make buying decisions in different ways. For example, many marketers are using text messaging and QR Codes [2] to capture the rapid-fire impulses of younger audiences. What works for this group won’t be successful in an older market.

Always practice permission based marketing to ensure that you are in compliance with PIPEDA Regulations and that you have clearance to use any data that is captured.

[1] The Incentive Foundation, 2005

[2] As we mentioned in our last issue, QR codes (Quick Response Codes) are two-dimensional bar codes that let marketers communicate with consumers through posters, stickers and other materials. Want to learn more lingo? Visit http://www.kaleidoscoperesults.com/thescoop.asp for all previous issues of The Scoop.

A successful promotional campaign is a substantial financial endeavor that should have well thought out goals and tracking
capabilities and the results should be measured regularly. Savvy marketers build measurables into their promotional strategies so that they can measure the results in the early stages and then modify the campaign if it isn’t delivering the desired results.

Here are some additional strategies for your next campaign:

The first strategy is to always have a strategy – set realistic goals and know how you are planning to measure them before you start.

Develop self-tracking tools to create additional branding opportunities by letting your audience track their number of entries, monitor their progress or get a sneak peek at the winners.

Consider running an Early Bird Draw to measure interest. The results can then be leveraged in marketing materials to be used to generate interest.

Put your technology to work for you. Send out email blasts using a software platform that lets you measure the number of “opens” and “click-throughs”. Develop a micro site for your promotion so that you can more accurately track web visits. Structure the response codes in your advertising to gage which ads and advertising vehicles are the most effective.

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