Archive for February, 2009

Introduction to Online Games, Contests, and Sweepstakes

Posted by Andrew Mitchell in Digital Marketing, Online Promotions on February 15th, 2009

The Web 2.0 explosion in media options has created unprecedented opportunities for brands to engage consumers in the digital spaces where they work and play. Brand marketing budgets increasingly reflect this trend as dollars continue to shift away from ‘traditional’ advertising into new media.

Web-based interactive promotions- particularly contests, games, and sweepstakes -are a key component of this movement because they can target broad-ranging demographic segments, cross diverse brand categories easily, and – most importantly- provide a measurable return on investment while opening up an ongoing dialogue with consumers.

There are, however, subtle differences between online “Sweepstakes” and “Contests” so care must be taken by Marketers to ensure that their online promotion is structured properly to comply with various laws surrounding games of chance and to ensure that it meets the programs objectives.

Online Sweepstakes- These programs generally have two principal components: (1) a registration component and (2) a drawing element for prizes (daily, weekly, monthly or at the end of the program). Interactive elements can be incorporated into the Sweepstakes to create rich user experiences with branded elements but no skill is required by the Entrant

Online Games- Online games are generally a variation of a sweepstakes; however, require a perceived element of skill to engage participants at a deeper level. Viral elements are often integrated to spread the reach of the promotion. They are sometimes referred to by Marketers as “Instant Win Games”.

Online Contests - Contests are not games of chance. Unlike a Sweepstakes or a Game, they require entrants to exhibit a degree of skill (make a video, submit a photo, write an essay, etc.) that must be graded by a panel of judges using an established criteria set forth in the Official Rules. Contests typically require a deep level of brand engagement.

When developing an online promotion make sure your promotional objectives are clear! A promotion designed to generate trial of a new product, for instance, is not necessarily the right promotion for long term loyalty, while a program to drive opt-in email registrations may require yet a different set of parameters. Regardless of the method chosen, baseline metrics should be established so that performance can be quantified.

Online promotions should always attract and engage visitors with content that immerses participants in branded experiences that resonate and should be more than just a blatant prize pitch. While prizes are an important component of any online promotion, they should be incorporated in a way that supports the overarching brand objective while appealing to the target demographic and involving visitors. Whether it is user generated content, an interactive game mechanic, or even just the ability to select from among available prizes, always make visitors part of the experience when structuring your program. Don’t forget to make it viral by leveraging the power of the internet to exponentially grow the reach of your promotion. Whether it is a tell-a-friend email component or a social networking application, online promotions are natural lead generators.

Make sure the logistics are covered. Online games, contests, and sweepstakes programs require careful attention to detail. From web design and development to official rules, privacy policies, prize sourcing/fulfillment, consumer affairs, winner handling/notification, and more- there are a host of issues that must be carefully managed.  There are also a number of legal considerations to consider so engage a professional firm with proven experience in online games, contests, and sweepstakes to help you structure an online promotion that is in compliance with federal and state regulations. Some areas to be mindful of include:

• Laws surrounding Games of Chance

• State requirements for bonding and registration of Games of Chance

• Judging criteria for contests

• Children’s Online Privacy Protection (COPPA) -for Under 13’s 

• Intellectual property rights and patents

• Regulated industries

• International laws for programs that cross national borders

There are also a number of technical considerations to keep in mind:

Flash – Remember that all-Flash sites offer greater creativity but can compromise search engine optimization and make your promotion harder to find. Generally speaking, this is not a concern for limited time promotions – particularly if it is a drive to web offer from an in-store or on-pack call to action. If, however, you want search engine spiders to crawl your promotional site consider an HTML mirror site or an all HTML site with limited or no Flash. Keep in mind too that Flash can affect reporting if using a tool such as Google Analytics.

Load Times – Music files, streaming video, and other large files can affect load time and user experience. If your audience is in largely urban areas probably not a concern but if your audience is more rural consider file size to avoid high abandonment rates. Also, if running a program involving large file transfers make sure appropriate bandwidth is allocated on the promotion’s server and that security measures have been taken to safeguard and protect the integrity of your promotion.

QUICK TIPS: About Interactive/Online Promotions:

• Online promotions are flexible. They can exist as stand alone programs or as bolt-on features to wider integrated campaigns.

• They accomplish a wide variety of marketing objectives.

• When compared to other marketing solutions, they are cost effective, can typically be launched at a fraction of other programs, and are natural lead generators.

• Make sure your promotional objectives are clear when considering an online promotion and that metrics for measuring the success of a program are considered prior to execution.

• Engage a Promotion Firm with proven experience developing online games, contests, and sweepstakes to ensure that all technical, logistical, and legal considerations are addressed.

Posted by Brandmovers Inc

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7 Reasons the PMA is starting this digital marketing blog

Posted by Bill Carmody in Digital Marketing on February 14th, 2009

With all the blogs that are out there today, why in the world would you want another one from the Promotion Marketing Association?

  1. As Promotional Marketers, 2009 Is Our Time to Shine
  2. It’s Difficult to Keep Up With All The Technology Advances
  3. We’re Marketers First, Technology Advocates Second
  4. Benchmarks, We Need Benchmarks
  5. It’s Part of Our Charter
  6. There’s A Lot To Discuss, And We Need Your Help
  7. When It All Comes Together, We’ll Publish The Book

As Promotional Marketers, 2009 Is Our Time to Shine

What’s the last piece of good news you’ve heard lately? With the economy in a recession, the financial crisis, the failed bail out, and all the other woes on Wall Street, the knee jerk reaction is to pull back, and that’s what we’re seeing. Companies are cutting where they can and laying off people as a protective measure against more downturn and bad economic conditions. It’s downright depressing.

But there is an upside to all of this.

Historically speaking, when the market turns sour, the importance of sales promotion becomes paramount. While the drive towards accountability in marketing has continued at a rapid clip, nothing shines a spotlight on the need for sales promotions like poor economic conditions. We will likely see a significant shift from traditional brand dollars to promotional marketing as the need to drive sales increases dramatically.

And we’re up for the challenge. We are fortunate enough to have the experience to know what works. We understand the necessary risk vs. reward scenarios. And we know how to make marketing budgets accountable to sales results – even in this tough economic climate.

It’s Difficult to Keep Up with All the Technology Advances

By starting this blog, we are committing to share our collective insights on what works and what doesn’t. From there we’ll answer perhaps the more important question of “why?” And in doing this, we invite you to share your insights and feedback with us. Challenge us when you think we’re off base. Encourage us to dive deeper on topics that you’re interested in. It’s a collaborative effort, and one that we know you can help us deliver.

We don’t think we have all the answers, but we do know our industry and we have a tremendous amount of experience to call upon. And at the speed at which technology is moving today, we need collaboration to keep up with all the advances, new thinking and new tools.

We’re Marketers First, Technology Advocates Second

It’s easy to get lost in all the excitement of these advances in technology and lose sight of your core objectives. That’s why we will continue to review all of these technology discussions as marketers first. We understand the need to drive the sale and to maximize the return on the marketing investment.

By maintaining our “We’re Marketers First” approach, we will not forget that the technology is always the means to the end, not the end itself. Throughout our discussions and blog posts, we will continue to have this filter as part of our discussions, evaluations and recommendations.

Benchmarks, We Need Benchmarks

One of the most consistent requests from our discussion with our members is the need for benchmarks. When testing various digital components, the first question is usually, “What’s the baseline?” That is, if I go through with this test, what outcome should I expect to see when we’re done? What kind of lift will I see in my sales?

Throughout our exploration with various digital mediums, we’ll work to establish some basic parameters and consistency across metrics. While every program may be unique and different, it’s important to at least understand the fundamental benchmarks to set realistic expectations.

It’s Part of Our Charter

When we started the Digital Center of Excellence, we agreed to focus on four main areas: (1) Community, (2) Education, (3) Resources, and (4) Networking. We believe that this blog will help deliver across all four, but with a special emphasis on education and resources. We invite you to be part of this process and share your insights with us on the key topics.
There’s A Lot To Discuss, And We Need Your Help

This year, the Digital Center of Excellence has agreed to cover the following topics:

  • Analytics
  • Blogging, Podcasting & Online Video
  • Social Media 
  • Online Promotions 
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Digital POS
  • RFID 
  • Wireless 
  • Widgets
  • Integration of Your Marketing Efforts

We’re assembling our expert teams and compiling the information we’ll be posting to the blog. If you want to contribute, you can either email Rob Fields with the topic you’d like to contribute, or respond once the content has been posted.
When It All Comes Together, We’ll Publish the Book

While you can read about and contribute to each of these topics, please note that at the end of the year, this information will be made available via the PMA Book Store in one comprehensive volume. Because technology is changing so rapidly, we wanted to make the information available as quickly as possible, but we also realize the advantages of having this information in an easy to reference book. If you would like to be notified when the book is available for sale, please contact Rob Fields.

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