We’ve heard from a consumer with strong opinions about online marketing, and a 2004 PRO Award finalist who plans to be back this year.

Finishing Third

My co-workers and I eagerly attended the PRO Awards ceremony at PROMO Expo last fall in hopes of bringing home a first-place trophy for our campaign for Ben & Jerry’s

We came as finalists; we left as finalists. No trip up on the stage for us. But surely our third-place finish was justification enough for one round of drinks on the company credit card?

Our celebration was subdued, but we managed a few laughs, devoured several bowls of cashews, nursed our cocktails and decided to call it a night.

I hailed a taxi. The grandfatherly driver greeted me, “Why, hello there young man.” He asked where I had been. I told him about the awards ceremony; I told him we only took home a third place trophy. A lowly third.

He said, “Young man, ain’t nothing wrong with coming in third place. Hell, it ain’t like you came in eleventh. Why, in a horse race, it’s the top three horses that share the money. Win, place and show. At the Olympics, it’s the top three athletes that get the medals. Gold, silver and bronze. Hell, if you was in a beauty pageant, they’d have said you was the second runner up.” We both laughed for a whole block at that one.

Then he said something that sticks with me still.

“Everybody knows Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon — even school children know that. Quite a few people could even tell you that Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the moon. But I’m more impressed when someone knows the third man to walk on the moon. Do you know who the third man was?” I had to admit, I did not.

“Pete Conrad,” he said. “Was he any less proud than Neil Armstrong? No way. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with being third. You just ask Pete Conrad that.”

We drove in silence for many blocks. When he pulled up in front of my house, I told him how much I enjoyed our conversation. As I got out, he offered one last observation:

“I do readily admit that beyond third place, nobody really gives a damn!”

I’m now a firm believer: “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with coming in third…just ask Pete Conrad.” I plan to be sitting at the PRO Awards dinner again this fall. While I’ll be hoping for first place, I’ll never again discount coming in third.
Tim Bell
VP-Managing Director, Hawkeye/ffwd

Flash in the Pan

Advertisers should not be using Macromedia Flash for their Web pages. If they do, there should be a link to a “normal” HTML Web page, readable from a “normal” Web browser.

Why? Because of the message you may be sending to many of the visitors to your site. If they don’t have Flash and can’t download it, you’re telling them, “You don’t count if you can’t see our spiffy graphics.” You’ve just made an enemy instead of a friend.

Running a sweepstakes? If your customer can’t enter the sweeps thanks to fancy graphics, then it’s not performing it’s primary function — getting contact information from the customer.

Flash sucks for contests! (“Sucks” is a technical term, meaning stirs customer displeasure.) Recently, I received an SMS text message on my cell phone from a major fast food chain, giving me a URL to enter a contest. My phone has a Web browser, so I tried to “click it up.”

The site was Flash-only. I couldn’t enter at work either, since my system manager doesn’t allow Flash (or Active X) components on our office-based systems.

When was the last time you viewed your site on a Windows 98 machine with an old version of Internet Explorer? When you see what your customer sees, and not just what your Web design staff wants to show off on the latest hardware that the budget will allow, you’ll start to understand your customer better!
Robert Osband
[email protected]

Also worthy causes

I just received the [February] issue of PROMO and was excited to see coverage on cause-related marketing efforts.

While there were a great number of charities listed that corporations could work with, I wanted your readers [to know about] of two other great charities.

The Surfrider Foundation (www.surfrider.org) is dedicated to the protection and preservation of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches. Founded in 1984 by a handful of surfers, it has over 40,000 members and 60 chapters across the United States and Puerto Rico, with international affiliates in Australia, Europe, Japan and Brazil.

The Life Rolls On Foundation (www.liferollson.org), which recently won the Casey Martin Award from Nike, is dedicated to increasing awareness of spinal cord injuries within youth culture via influential action sports athletes. Through recreational, educational, and developmental programs, Life Rolls On also raises money to fund research for the treatment and cure of paralysis caused by SCI.

We have been able to develop great partnerships with corporate partners for these two charities via their unique connection with Gen X and Gen Y.
Vipe Desai
Propaganda Headquarters, Inc.
Laguna Beach, CA

Following Fiorina

Another “Big Personality” CEO has fallen. With her sudden departure from HP, Carly Fiorina joins the ranks of high profile leaders who failed to live up to the aura they cultivated. Her fall from grace will give ammunition to those who argue that the CEO’s personality should not get more attention than the company. They say, “It’s not about the personality, it’s about the company.”

I disagree. At great companies run by great leaders, it’s all about the personality, and the personality is all about the company. Virtually every great leader projects a very powerful personality. That ability is a core leadership feature. The CEO is the visible face of the company, and investors, customers and employees make judgments about the company and its future based on what they see in that face.

The difference between those who flame out and those who lead their companies to greatness lies in whether they learn to focus their personality for their company’s benefit, or simply project it for their own. [Who has done this?]

Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox: She has worked hard to make Xerox stand for integrity, quality and performance, all attributes she projects in her persona and embodies in her day-to-day work.

Ken Chennault, CEO of American Express: Trustworthy, compassionate, sophisticated and smart. The very characteristics of the company that continues to lead in one of the most competitive categories in world.

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of GE: He turned his personal ideals of corporate responsibility into competitive advantage and branding opportunity for the company. By putting GE’s technology against global human problems, he is creating new business applications, and showcasing the company’s solutions.

Andrea Jung, CEO of Avon: Her personal glamour and charisma are as powerful in driving the company’s success as her smart business decisions and savvy marketing.

David Kenny, CEO of Digitas: Like the agency he took from obscurity, he is respected widely for his brilliance, vision, and single-minded commitment to client success.

Each of these leaders is scrupulous about making sure their words and deeds match the attributes they need to project. And they never confuse their image with results.
Tracy G. Riese
T.G.Riese & Associates
New York, New York

Great ideas

Yesterday, I had the chance to read the October issue from beginning to end. It was very pleasurable to me as an independent creator of original ideas that marketers use to communicate. I particularly liked the Changing Channels article, as my associates and I are creating programs that interest the media buying agencies at this time. Congratulations to you and your team for producing a journal so useful to people like myself. Keep up the good work.
David Hoffman
Thehoffmancollection.com

Thank you! I received your special report on Interactive Marketing via email [PROMO Special Report]. I teach advertising and Internet publishing courses, and I like to post links to relevant information on my class Web site. I’d like to link to this article for my students.
Jacquie Lamer
Northwest Missouri State

Just rewards?

I truly enjoyed your intro to PROMO’s September issue on premiums and incentives. Rather than sugar coat it, you gave it the proper perspective regarding existing employees working harder because they’re doing the tasks normally delegated to larger staffs.

I’m freelancing for an agency here with a person who was let go (along with 40 others) from a failed agency. This agency booked her for the summer, but she wants a permanent job. However, when she networks with employed friends they tell her how lucky she is getting paid by the hour — they’re working nights and weekends for free.

One of Chicago’s largest agencies is so notorious for squeezing employees, even freelancers don’t like working there. There are people out of work who won’t even apply there. (I won’t reveal which.)

I’m pitching a large project in Minneapolis and the art director and I would normally have no problem price-wise with the competing agencies. We charge less than half what agencies bill us out at. But in these times we’re concerned, because agency employees working all hours of the night are in essence giving employers free work — 12-hours at an eight-hour billing rate. The good news for us is, like Spider-Man, they aren’t at maximum performance levels.

Can it get any scarier? Thanks for your perspective.
Steve Smith
Chicago

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Have a comment, a gripe or a follow up to something you’ve read in PROMO? Write to us — we’re glad to get your feedback and share it with other readers. E-mail to [email protected] or fax 203-358-5834.

Readers liked our coverage of branded entertainment and interactive marketing in October, while we touched a nerve with another with our comments on employee rewards in the September issue

Rod Taylor’s Backward Glance at P&G’s (infamous) Oxydol Circus generated fond recollections from the daughters of producer J.T. “Call-Me-Jim” Hetzer.

Dad was a showman

I was just sent the article regarding the Oxydol Circus…My father was Jim Hetzer, the theatrical and circus producer for this 1967 show. I have continued his business after his passing in 1987. What an enjoyable read, [although] I have another side of it.

Much is mentioned about the large bear, but the most famous part [of the show] was that this was actually a full circus and a full ice show combined! My father actually put a girl ice skating on an elephant’s back — the only time in history! This article has warmed my heart.

Cathy Hetzer Rogers
Hetzer Theatrical Productions

I can’t tell you what fun your article is to read! Now you know why I “ran away from the circus to join the civil service.” My father’s business was either feast or famine, and there was never a way to plan for unforeseen contingencies.

I am currently putting my father’s Depression Era and WWII letters into a book. He was in Special Services, performing with Mickey Rooney and other leading entertainers of the time. After the war, he continued to be a theatrical producer.

Since he was a Shriner, it’s curious to see how one slip of communication foiled an otherwise great plan for [the P&G Circus]. I had moved on to the State Department in Washington, DC, by the time he was negotiating with P&G, but I recall his enthusiasm for the plan and his great disappointment when it didn’t fly.

[My father] did accomplish successfully many other entertainment feats: He was the first to take the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes on tour for the Canadian A Circuit of Exhibitions including the Calgary Stampede; in the 1950s, he produced “Pharoe & Moses” with live camels, Jerusalem donkeys and paired teams of horses behind chariots, playing in stadiums around the country. He was made an honorable “Kentucky Colonel,” the equivalent in his home state of West Virginia, and hangs on the “Wall of Fame” in the Huntington convention center for his many civic contributions.

Thanks for this revealing history. I have printed it for my archives of memorabilia that I trust his descendants will relish.
Carolyn Hetzer Zuttel

Savoring summer

Truly loved the Homework column in the August issue. I was recently in Oshkosh for the weeklong EAA AirVenture convention and fly-in, where we exhibit. More than once during the week I passed a lemonade stand at the end of the block nearest the airfield. Being in convention “on the go” mode, I only thought about stopping. Having read your column, you can bet that the next time I pass such a scene, I will pull over.
Ron Kaplan
Director of Marketing
National Aviation Hall of Fame

I enjoyed Betsy Spethmann’s essay on raspberries [July Homework]. I was waiting for the punchline to be: Don’t be like the typical marketer and cut down next year’s new growth, clean off this year’s too early, and expect last year’s to deliver more fruit.
Jim Holbrook
President, Zipatoni

Language barrier

Thank you for the article on Hispanic-American consumers [PROMO July]. Your readers may not know, however, that many of these consumers’ views and opinions are either never counted or misunderstood.

Pollsters may randomly select a sample, but that is useless if the interviewers cannot fully communicate with a significant cross section of that sample. What happens when the interviewer only speaks English and the person on the other line only speaks Spanish? In most cases the call is terminated, labeled LB (language barrier) and is put back in queue to be reassigned to a native speaker. The problem with this data gathering method is that callers will not answer the phone the second time around thereby further reducing the Latino-Hispanic sample size for the poll. Hence the weakness of referring to such polls as indicative of a “national representative sample.”

What if the poll is being conducted in Southern California (or Miami, Southern Texas, New York City, etc)? At least 30% of the sample may get flagged as a non-response due to language barrier. How valid can the results be if the survey misses a third of the pool?

[Researcher Peter Coy has said], “It’s important for researchers to ask questions in a neutral way and reach a representative cross-section of the public.” Coy alludes to the scientific responsibility of designing an unbiased survey and counting, by representation, almost everybody. In the multicultural U.S., what is neutral? In order to speak with “the representative cross-section of the public,” national surveys and polls would need to be conducted by a completely dual-speaking/bi-lingual interviewing pool of people.

Having interviewing staff that is fully-fluent in reading, writing and speaking Spanish and English makes it possible to switch back and forth, instantly, between Spanish and English, at the first intercept or call. This decreases the chance of miscommunication that occurs when forcing respondents to speak English when that is not a dominant language.

You get a much higher response rate when the respondent can converse in the language of choice. Interviewers aren’t the only ones who need to be bilingual. Supervisors, trainers and managers need to be bilingual. How else could Spanish interviews be monitored, as are English interviews?

For example, an English speaking supervisor would not be able to catch when the Cuban interviewer interpreted “mueble” to mean “furniture,” when the Mexican respondent used “mueble” meaning “vehicle.” (Similar situation to bad meaning good in ‘teen speech’). Standard quality control measures need to extend to Spanish and Spanglish interviews as well.

It makes sense for bilingual interviewing to be a standard practice for polling and surveying today’s USA? Unfortunately, of the thousands of telephone call centers in the U.S., only a handful have this capability.

“Quien bien atiende bien aprende, si ademas de oir entiende.” (“Who pays attention, learns well, if besides hearing, understands.”)
Suzanne Irizarry de López
Eastern Research Services

A reader makes a plea for more conscientious consumer research in more complex ethnic markets

Defending coupons

Your story, “Coupon Crimes,” in the April issue gave the industry a black eye. The tone was negative and gave the impression that coupons are not a reliable promotion vehicle. That is not true.

There is good news and bad news about coupons. The bad news is that fraud and misredemption continue to be problems, most recently affecting print-at-home coupons that are illegally manipulated by computers. The good news is that the industry is taking steps to solve those problems. Real progress is being made due to the work of dedicated executives in the coupon industry. It was disappointing to see Promo Magazine lead off with the negative, which has been completely blown out of proportion by the media. The solutions were not given equal time.

Your readers deserve to know what is being done by The Association of Coupon Professionals to insure the continued effectiveness of coupons.
Ron Fischer, President
Assoc. of Coupon Professionals

Pinning further credit

I the Backward Glance column in the May issue of PROMO [“The Power of Pins”] made for interesting reading, but much of the information was less than accurate. As the account director on the Rainbow program and later president and CEO of McCracken Brooks (following Keith’s departure), I can assure you that the original idea came from a woman that worked for us at the time, Carey Merritt (now Carey Ide).

Carey was also a key part of the team, along with John Ondov who brought Jack Kelly and the U.S. Olympic Festival to McCracken Brooks in the first place. You did get the Ellen Gomoll part right, she was the art director on this program and worked closely with the team at Rainbow to bring the program to life in store. Given the success of this promotion for Rainbow Foods, the USOF and McCracken Brooks, I hope that when people recall it over the years the information is portrayed more accurately.

I personally met with and sold all 47 participating manufacturers, generating over $1 million in sponsorship fees, which not only paid the cost of the promotion but covered the original $300,000 gold sponsorship fee for Rainbow. Interestingly Sid Applebaum did not want to pay McCracken Brooks a $30,000 planning fee. I went to Sid with a proposal to pay us a 10% commission on the total sponsorship fees generated. He jumped at it and later, when handing me a commission check for $117,500, he remarked it was the hardest check he ever wrote, knowing he could have only paid us the original $30,000 for the work.

I am always surprised how time blurs the truth.
Mark Lenss, Partner
Group One

Rod Taylor responds:
I reported what Keith, Sid, Jack and Ellen told me, without changing a comma in any quote. With that many people telling me that, yes, that’s the way it was, I’ve no choice but to write what you read.

I don’t recall Carey’s name ever coming up from anyone, which is a genuine pity. Thank you for taking the time to provide your perspective on this fascinating piece of promotion history.

The letters from our coupon fraud story keep coming; pinning down the details surrounding the Rainbow Foods campaign

Coupon recap

Counterfeiting and altering manufacturer’s coupons is clearly a fraud. However, [every] coupon bears two sources of information — a barcode and a human-readable text. Presumably, these two sources are equal, [but this] is not always the case. What’s the primary source of information, the text or the barcode? Obviously, the Point-of-Sale system goes by the barcode.

Dealideal.com had been a target of CIC because of the “Coupon Decoder” software that simply follows the logic of the P-O-S system. I’m looking for the answer from [a] legal standpoint, to end the controversy once and for all.
Leo Gartsbeyn.
www.dealideal.com

Balancing act

Marketers struggle to determine what promotion vs. loyalty programs yield, and which is right for them. Often, ROI dominates the argument. Not so fast.

Promotions involve short-term, high-impact motivators of consumer behavior. Although [such] programs see incremental lift during the offer period, customers often return to their normal buying behaviors.

Trade-off, discounting and other influencers that contributed to the promotion’s performance need to be identified and considered to credit the initiative appropriately. But discounting has an incalculable effect on brand equity and long-term brand sales. It can devalue products in the eyes of consumers, who may hold out until the next promotion so they can get the product cheaper. Other consumers may forget their relationship with the promoted brand and watch for the next sale, which may be a competitive offer. Or, worse yet, the product no longer seems special and worth its regular price.

According to retail market research conducted by the NRF and STS, discounting represented 8% of retail sales in 1971; it jumped to 35% in 1996; and 2002 sales related to discount purchases reached an all-time high of 78%.

Loyalty programs embrace relationship growth and include strategies and tactics to address customer retention, advocacy, lifetime value and cross/up-sell. Such initiatives are not engineered to drive short-burst incremental lift but rather a steadily increasing baseline performance of individual customers. One way to differentiate your loyalty program from that of your competitors is through promotions. Promotions encourage activity, and without recency of purchase and frequency of visits, the standard recency-frequency-monetary value premise of loyalty program measurement falls flat.

Combining promotional initiatives within a loyalty program builds consumer excitement via pricing, sweepstakes or contest strategies and provides the ability to influence the overall lifetime value of the customer through additional treatments oriented towards such areas as cross/up sell, defection and tenure.

Stand-alone promotional strategy sparks die to cinders without the fanning of relationship building atop them.
Jim Ruszala
Maritz Loyalty Marketing
www.maritz.com

The controversy over coupon fraud continues to provoke debate; and a reader argues for better integration of goals

First, be honest

I read Betsy Spethmann’s article about obesity [Feb. PROMO] with great interest, and found it to be a good overview of a critical and complicated topic. I was impressed at the efforts food companies are making to address health issues, but I did think that the article missed an important point. While the leading food companies talk a good game about obesity, they still participate in a few minor but clearly deceitful practices that undermine their attempts to portray themselves as the good guys.

A good example of this is portion size. As long as Coke, Pepsi or any of their competitors insist upon selling what are clearly single-serve bottles labeled as containing more than one serving (in order to show a ‘reasonable number’ in the ‘calories per serving’ line), I will have a hard time believing that they truly want to inform me about nutrition.
David Diamond
Diamond Associates

Food purveyors know that “thinking consumers” are a rarity, and by the way don’t worry too much about “the consumers who don’t choose to think.”

Walk into any fast food restaurant and compare the weight of the person with the food choices on their tray. At the counter you may hear, “I’ll have a double cheeseburger, order of fries, and oh, I’m on a diet, so give me a large diet soda.” The same scene is played at most family restaurants. Walk the aisles of a supermarket and see what’s in the consumers’ shopping carts. Pre-packaged “bad” foods will significantly outnumber healthier choices. Are consumers stupid or are they just not thinking?

So when your six year old is with you in the supermarket, let’s hope he suggests more healthy foods to add to your cart. Children learn by imitation: examples set by mommy and daddy; not by the repetition of those commercials sandwiched in with cartoons.
Dr. Elliott B. Jaffa
Arlington, Virginia

Super (?) Bowl

I enjoyed reading your editor’s note [Promo March]. Thank you for shedding some light on the Super Bowl subject. Have we become so desperate as a society and marketers to appeal to such a small demographic group of individuals, the individuals that are stuck relishing locker room comedy? Is this really branding? Or is it short-term gains of attention and hype? Have our brands lost their values or have we?
Jeff Madden
Trozzolo Creative

Your March editorial is your best yet! I am always intrigued with the notion that TV spots with promotions outperform those without. (Don’t really know if it’s true or not.) Also wonder what [percentage] of national advertising in fact contains a promotion offer. Bet it’s higher than you might think.

What led you to report that the Pepsi/iPod spot was one of the “best commercials of the entire Super Bowl broadcast?”

Keep pushing that envelope!
Bernie Trueblood
J. Brown Group

Editor’s response: The iPod comment was simply my personal opinion, which I indulge in the editor’s note from time to time.

Readers continue to debate the culpability of food packaging companies when it comes to the obesity issue; and the unsavory taste of the marketing surrounding the 2004 Super Bowl still lingers

[Our January issues got cheers — for our new event marketing research — and jeers — for a story on mall-based pet stores opened by Woof & Co. and supplied by Hunte Corp.]

Event insight

I appreciated PROMO’s special report on the event marketing industry in the January 2004 issue. The editorial team offered some great insights into this growing niche, and I especially appreciated your piece on consumer attitudes. My subscription to the publication just started with the new year, and I look forward to many more instructional articles.
Holly Miller
Audi Event Marketing/
MVP Collaborative

From puppy mill to mall

One very good way to ruin one’s reputation is to open a pet shop and sell un-health-tested, poorly bred companion animals to the general public. And this is exactly what the Ikea and Gap veterans are doing.

Ninety percent of the dogs I rescue are from pet shops. Each dog costs an average of $200 to rehabilitate, vet and rehome. Multiply that times a few thousand and you will understand why this new little business has a number of us in a tizzy.
Sam Anderson
Pacific NW Basenji Rescue

Hunte Corp is nothing more than a “puppy mill.” Bringing dogs in by truck (even if it is air-conditioned) is inhumane and shows no respect for the dog. A 50% profit margin? Ethical breeders are lucky to “break even” on any litter. We do it for the love and improvement of the breed.

Hunte does not test their animals for genetic defects and the “guarantee” is meaningless when your beloved family pet dies from some malady. I wonder: will Woof & Co be doing “house checks”? Meeting families before placing puppies? Screening for appropriate homes? Requiring a “spay and neuter” contract? I doubt it…not when the 50% comes into play.

You mention the health guarantee. What about a return policy? My home is always welcome to any dog I have bred. And most breeders I know have the same policy.

I can only hope that that voices of all reputable breeders and lovers of the dog world will see to it that “Woof $ CO” sees a swift and well-deserved trip into bankruptcy and is soon a distant memory. I would wish the same for the Hunte Corp.
Jan Dykema
Bestuvall Bull Terriers

Despite the cache [sic] of high-profile executives, Woof & Co. is no better than the sleazy pet stores they are replacing. Harte [sic] is a major puppy broker, and is a huge part of the cruel business of trading in poorly bred, mistreated and mishandled puppies. Pet stores that sell puppies are selling the products of puppy mills, and the fact that there is a market is beside the point. If widgets were the product, no problem. When companion animals are the product, big problem.

Don’t be swayed by big names. Cruel is cruel, no matter whose idea it was.
Susan R. Roscoe

EDITOR’S NOTE:

Woof & Co. declined our invitation to respond to the correspondence we received following publication.

In defense of BK

I’m a regular reader of your magazine and e-newsletter. Both of these are great resources that keep me up to speed on industry happenings. That said, I have a slight bone to pick concerning your “PG-13 Trap” article [Dec. PROMO]. Your magazine might have been a little too hard on Burger King.

I have designed kids meal toys for clients including McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC, Jack in the Box and Dairy Queen. Usually, design/production of toys begins from six months to one year in advance of store appearance. Burger King would have had to select the Small Soldiers property at least nine months before the toys’ in-store date, well before the movie was given its final rating.

I also recall that BK was surprised that Small Soldiers received a PG-13 instead of a PG rating. Though it was too late to halt the promotion, [BK] replaced all of its kids meal toy advertising with a generic kids meal commercial not featuring the toys. They also removed all in-store P-O-P and had a sign up saying that parents could request an alternate non-Small Soldiers toy, if desired.

Still, a very informative article.
Michael Hawkins
Red Rover Creations

Truckin’ buddy

As a fellow Hess truck enthusiast, I was delighted to read Rod Taylor’s piece [Dec. PROMO]. He’d be happy to know that I have my two Hess trucks for the year, one for my son and one as an “investment.” Having lived on the West Coast for the last decade, I have also converted many Los Angelenos into Hess truck fans, and have developed creative ways around the “two-truck limit” and getting them to people around the country by holiday season.
Joe Sena
TRIK:Media/US Concepts

Rod Taylor responds: This year’s truck is excellent, but not quite as out of the box as last year’s. I’m going to take a guess and say that in the next few years you’re going to see another Hess boat, even if it’s just a “fantasy” Hess hydroplane on its transporter.

She nailed it

I’m sitting in my favorite chair at home last week in a mood to catch up on some industry reading. I pick up the November PROMO and open to an article titled, “Drowning in RFPs.” As I was reading along I heard myself saying, “Right on,” “You tell it” and “Amen.” And I’m thinking, I want to kiss the author of this piece. When I come to the end I see that the bold and gracious Alison Glander of PowerPact penned the article and a big smile spreads across my face. She nailed it.

Like PowerPact, our company does not wantonly respond to every RFP presented to us. And being located in Bentonville, in the shadow of Wal-Mart, we receive our fair share of RFPs. However, just as the potential client uses the RFP as a mechanism to assess our capability and worthiness to serve them, we, like PowerPact, use an “Ideal Customer Profile” as a mechanism to help assess if the potential client’s RFP is worthy of our time, effort and resources. Alison, you go girl!
Patrick Sbarra
New Creature, Inc.

[A reader second guesses our take on kids meal tie-ins with ultra-violent cartoon flicks; another Hess truck fan chimes in; and a rave (plus a kiss?) for a gutsy guest commentator]

The case for co-marketing

With all due respect, in your roundtable discussions on the evolution of promotional marketing [“Brands at the Crossroads,” PROMO July], the value of “below the line” customer marketing was undervalued. Arguably, the most dynamic aspect of marketing today is the area of customer or co-marketing.

There are more funds available for customer-level marketing than there are for consumer promotion and advertising combined. And, more and more, these dollars are converting from traditional trade, only dollars to more contemporary consumer/customer dollars.

The latest Cannondale study reports that co-marketing investment among CPGs has risen 40% since 1999 while the remainder of the traditional marketing disciplines (consumer promotion, advertising and traditional trade spend) are flat to down. And this trend extends well beyond CPGs to wines and spirits and many hard good manufacturers who must deal with Big Box retailers.

The reason for co-marketing’s sudden and continued growth, from a marketing standpoint, is that co-marketing is the only discipline to deliver a “Three Pronged Attack”: 1) It impacts the consumer, 2) influences the customer, and 3) provides activation of programs at retail, where the majority of purchase decision are made.

Another emerging factor that will further expedite the emergence of co-marketing is the evolution of the marketing mix analysis — the Holy Grail of brand management. Traditional marketing mix analysis includes consumer promotion, advertising and traditional trade spending. However, more manufacturers are incorporating co-marketing into the mix. When co-marketing is included, the results support the power of the discipline. In most of the cases that have been shared with me, the return on investment has consistently been strongest behind co-marketing activity. Co-marketing events have outperformed advertising and consumer promotion. This trend will continue as more focus is turned to the value of co-marketing.
Paul Kramer
Ryan Partnership

Declaration of independence

Excellent article. You scored a bullseye [in “Storm Shelter,” PROMO August].

Having initially come from the “large advertising and promotion agency” side of the business, I experienced much of what you covered so well in your article.

The concept that drove Brigandi & Associates and continues to stand as the core of the business is a simple one — provide a strategic and creative resource for clients who demand exceptional marketing communications support, and require an agency structure that can respond quickly and thoroughly to marketing challenges.

B&A is 13 years old, and happy to be independent!
George Brigandi, President
Brigandi & Associates

Mourning the WUSA?

Since you’ve tracked the WUSA [PROMO August], you might be interested in consumer research we have conducted on the WUSA and related issues:

• The WUSA tried to sell itself to sponsors as the ultimate vehicle to reach soccer moms. Unfortunately, the soccer mom phenomenon is dead. Not that fewer kids are playing soccer, but Gen X moms do not identify as soccer moms as much as their Baby Boomer predecessors. Unfortunately, the WUSA was pushing a societal trend that prospective sponsors had already discarded. (For example, the current Nissan Quest ads declare, “Moms have changed,” and may be the first minivan ads that have turned 180 degrees away from the soccer mom concept.)

• In contrast, our research identified a different trend that should have been relevant to the WUSA — the “obsessed soccer dad.” Most girls serious about soccer are pushed into it by dads who wanted to make sure that sports were a key part of their daughters’ lives. We also found indications that their dads were the ones going out to buy WUSA tickets and merchandise, whether or not the girls were interested.

  James Chung
  [email protected]

Picky partner picking

The article on Internet promotions [PROMO May 2003] made several outstanding observations. However, [contributor Jed Weissbluth] failed to mention the largest exposure facing digital promotions: Is this type of promotion patent protected? We are the patent owners and inventors of all the optically oriented Internet games that you see in the market. We regularly issue cease and desist letters and file suit in Federal court citing infringement. We have prevailed every time.

Your article was accurate, but you also failed to mention culpability. When we find a property violation, we sue the end user, the person whose name appears on the Web site. As they say, stuff runs downhill and the fraudulent vendor will soon be having the legal department from his client calling and wanting answers. You can forget any further business.

Ask plenty of questions and do serious due diligence when purchasing a unique and patented product. Make the vendor prove it (we even go as far as naming the client on our Certificate of Insurance) so if something goes south there is adequate liability coverage. We can make these claims and issue the comfortable level of indemnification because we are the patent and trademark owners. Keep making good sense.
Matt Montesi
www.webdecoder.com

Jed Weissbluth responds: Thank you for the encouraging note. I agree with you 100% about the importance of intellectual property issues. The original article I prepared for PROMO was serialized, including the related subjects of indemnification, insurance, etc. Keep an eye peeled for it and let me know what you think.

Cracker Jack memoirs

I enjoyed your article about Cracker Jack [PROMO April 2003]. I worked on the brand for Geoff Campbell. But the best product I ever developed is still sitting in a drawer somewhere at Borden. Microwave popcorn was still being perfected by Pillsbury, and creating a microwave Cracker Jack at Borden seemed like a no-brainer. We came up with an incredibly delicious product (much better than anything on the market today) that scored a 97% positive purchase intent after in-home trial. But it went into a drawer and stayed there when I left the company.

I really regretted having to walk away from the project, and it continues to amaze me that apparently no one had the vision to champion it. When mentoring junior marketing people, I remind them that “A lot of smart people probably sat in that desk before you, so try to take the time to open the drawers. You never know what buried treasure you might find in dusty old product development and consumer research work.”
Alpha Collins
Plan B The Agency Alternative

Rod Taylor responds Borden may not have killed Cracker Jack, but they did manage to bleed it pretty dry.

Inspiration

Just wanted to let you know that I truly enjoy reading PROMO each month. I direct the marketing activities for three scientific magazines, and I get very few opportunities to produce “cool” promotions. Lots of direct mail, requals, ad sales support, but the society bosses aren’t ready to give away a hybrid car with a Physics Today paint scheme!

Your case studies and articles inspire me to think outside the box and give me lots of ideas that I can act on. Some of these have been popular at trade shows, but there’s nothing really orchestrated and measurable.

Someone only tangentially connected to the promotions industry gets a lot out of PROMO.
Jeff Bebee
Marketing/Circulation Director
American Institute of Physics

Editor’s Response You know what Mark Twain said about the inspiration/perspiration ratio, Jeff! Glad we can supply some of the former.

Mad about the Min

I absolutely loved the Mini Cooper story! I just ordered one (not as cool as the one owned by writer Carrie MacMillan’s dad). Pathetic, we have to order them out of the state here in California, or pay $3,000 over the retail price. But it’s a very popular car right now.
Shelly Burnside
Director, Corporate Communications
The Active Network

CONSOLIDATION CONCERNS

In a story entitled “Moving Targets” (May PROMO), you report that while the in-store services sector increased 3.9 percent, “Growth was slowed by CPG consolidation, which reduced the number of major players in the grocery channel and the demise of one leading in-store company.” This consolidation can be traced directly to what we perceive to be a business climate that precludes some companies from competing in this market on a level playing field and in some cases precludes competition altogether.

What should be an open market where retailers and manufacturers have a variety of in-store P-O-P source options with which to promote their brands is instead dominated by a few select companies. The result is that retailers and manufacturers are often limited to a single option, when many more options exist that could more effectively boost incremental sales. Some marketers are even forced to lock into exclusive relationships with a single in-store P-O-P choice.

We believe it is time for the industry to explore the myriad innovations introduced into the in-store P-O-P market. New, versatile marketing options that actively encourage consumer migration to the shelf are reluctantly precluded from consideration because retailers are forced into exclusive contracts.

We urge retailers and manufacturers who share our concerns to work toward creating an open arena environment that will benefit everyone.
Cy Harris
Promo Edge
Neenah, WI

MIGHTY REPLY

I am writing in response to your May 2001 column (“Home Work”) regarding the Mighty Midols. Notwithstanding your critical review of the Mighty Midols, we appreciate your favorable comments about the Midol.com Web site.

Please note that information gathered from focus groups comprised of teenage girls was central to the development of both the Midol.com site and the Mighty Midols program. We sought the input of teen girls because, in order to provide them with important health information about menstruation that may be of great benefit to them in attempting to understand their bodies, we recognized that it was necessary first to successfully attract their attention.

So far, our research is showing that we’re achieving this goal: Traffic to the Midol site is well above average, and 90 percent of the traffic to Midol.com is coming from the Mighty Midols game. We realize that our approach, which was intended to communicate empowerment through videogame icons that work as a team, may not appeal to everyone. However, I want to assure you that we meant no offense.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to share this additional information.
Heather Shirley
Bayer Consumer Care
Morristown, NJ

Send your opinions, reactions, and ideas to [email protected].

Just wanted to let you know that the article, “Is Promotion a Dirty Word?” (March PROMO), is excellent. It is extremely relevant and very insightful. What is especially interesting is the quote from Jim Petzing that, “It’s not enough today to just be a promotion professional. You need a general background in all disciplines to be an industry expert.”

I can totally identify with this. After 10 years of brand management experience at companies such as Unilever, Campbell Soup, and Diageo (Guinness), I recently made a major career move to the promotion agency side. It has been a very interesting and rewarding experience. One thing that is a tremendous benefit is having the classical brand management training to provide me with much stronger insights from a marketing strategy standpoint, knowledge of how to leverage other marketing elements (advertising, p.r., trade promotion), and a clear understanding of the thought process and priorities of the client.

Thanks again for providing some very interesting reading.
Wayne Hartunian
VP-Account Director
Alcone Marketing Group

I read with great interest your article entitled “A Measure of Success” (April PROMO), and found it well researched and very informative. I do however, take issue with the statement by Brian Clausman concerning on-site interview length. He seems to believe that three or four questions are usually sufficient and that, if more information is required, you should be prepared to offer a reward. I, on the other hand, don’t agree with that idea at all.

We do hundreds of on-site surveys at hundreds of events, so we have the experience to back up our statements. Most of our surveys are five to six minutes long, and yet we only get three percent refusals and three percent who break off before the end. We never offer an incentive. People appreciate being asked their opinions in an intelligent, engaging way. When we prepare our surveys with that knowledge in mind, we don’t have any trouble finding attendees to complete them.

Again, I did enjoy the article as a whole and found it very informative. Keep up the good work.
C. David Willis
President
Real Feedback
Kingwood, TX

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