A Seat at the Table

As most promotion professionals will attest, no two promotions are created the same. Even a "simple" sweepstakes has unique variables, such as:

• Relevancy to target audience
• Duration
• Prize pool
• Seasonal factors
• Means of entry
• Awareness vehicles
• Mobile
• Social Media extensions....

Too often, clients ask "how will our promotion do?" when the concept has been fully baked (by others) and collateral is about to hit the marketplace. As such, it is important that clients engage their promotion partners at the earliest phases of the planning process (e.g., ideation, brainstorm, etc.) and include them on discussions on possible media tactics / mediums.

While the industry has yet to provide meaningful benchmarks to help derive promotion success (due to what I believe is the hesitancy on clients to provide proprietary data), promotion agencies (such as Marden-Kane) have the implementation experience (and battle scars) to help guide the discussion.

In presentations to clients, I always include a "Field of Dreams" slide to remind clients that just because you launch a promotion, that in and of itself, will not guarantee participation. Clients need to utilize available media (paid and unpaid) and tools to drive awareness for what is really a brief moment in time. Technology has enabled brands to bring the promotion to where their target resides (think Facebook Fan Pages). Furthermore, viral extensions, such as virtual branded gifts (with embedded content), can help engage your target audience and prompt pass along to friends and family.

Promotions do not need to be complicated. They just need to be relevant , timely and smartly executed.