Get in here!

If you want to generate buzz, give people something to talk about.

That’s what Lane Bryant is doing with its first-ever viral campaign for the Right Fit denim line — it’s getting women to blog about the collection.

The approach is one way retailers are using non-traditional tactics to draw customers to stores.

“Retailers are kind of all over the place,” says Ben DiSanti, director of planning and perspectives for promotional agency TPN. “They’re always [ready to try] new things.”

Last August, Lane Bryant introduced a handful of bloggers to the jeans and encouraged them to give the styles a try. Soon word started to spread. Now between 500 to 600 blogs and Web sites are talking up Right Fit.

“The thing exploded,” says Jay Dunn, Lane Bryant’s vice president of marketing. “Five years ago people would have gotten a letter in the mail; now they’re sharing this online. New media gives people the opportunity to become instant brand advocates.”

The viral effort is part of a strategy that includes direct mail, print ads and e-mail marketing.

So far it seems to be working. The chain is reporting “double-digit” sales increases above its forecast, Dunn says. The campaign will run throughout 2008.

Bloggers are also plugging Lane Bryant’s in-store promotion: People who try on a pair of the jeans receive a redemption card for 35 free music downloads from eMusic. As of last month, more than 11,000 people had redeemed the offer.

Other companies are staging events to lure customers.

Office Max uses its 4,594-pound rubber-band ball to promote store openings or remodelings, giving visitors a chance to see the ball up close and take home branded premiums.

“Hundreds of people flock to see it,” says Bob Thacker, senior vice president for marketing and advertising. “It makes the brand come to life. It’s one way we’re trying to add excitement around the store.”

Office Max is promoting ball appearances via radio spots, remotes and newspaper ads. Its next stops will be in February at five new Florida stores.

“There’s a lot of competition,” says Mike Gatti, executive director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association. “You’ve got to give people a reason to come into the store.”

Stacy Furniture, for example, is staging on-court promotions at Dallas Mavericks games to talk up a conditional rebate offer it launched Jan. 4, tied to the team’s success in the National Basketball Association playoffs.

People who buy furniture from the five-store chain through Jan. 31 will receive scratch-off vouchers ranging from $200 to $10,000. If the Mavericks win the NBA championship, customers will receive their rebate.

Reps will plug the promotion and the team sponsorship through mini-events at select Mavericks games, in addition to running 30-second TV spots and sending direct mail pieces. SCA Promotions is handling the campaign.

“A similar promotion [involving the Boston Red Sox] was done in the Northeast with Jordan’s Furniture. So we thought, why not try it?” says Dorian Stacy Sims, Stacy Furniture’s president. “It’s something that excites the customer.”

E-mail is also a key tool for generating store traffic. Vanity stores send monthly e-mails to the more than 50,000 members of its Fashion Link loyalty program. Offers include everything from sales and coupons to sneak peeks at new apparel. On average, Vanity e-mails have a 37% open rate, says director of marketing Jodi Tollefson.

The 200-store chain also uses text messaging to push people through its doors.

“It’s a smart way to communicate with our customers,” Tollefson says. “It’s immediate and it’s wanted advertising.”

Then there are coupons. Taubman Centers Inc. had toll-booth workers distribute vouchers last Nov. 23 — “Black Friday” — to the first 2,007 people that entered the United States from Canada through the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. Each was good for a $20 gift card at the company’s four Detroit-area malls.

The result? About 25% of the coupons were redeemed. And chances are good the promotion will be repeated this year, notes David Goldberg, vice president of marketing and sponsorship.

“It was a promotion that came off as very fun but truly was very strategic and tactical,” Goldberg adds.

Elsewhere online, C&K Market Inc. plugged a holiday game for Ray’s Food Place stores on its Web site. Customers who spent more than $25 received a coupon at checkout with a code to use on the site for a chance to win a host of prizes. Instant-win prizes were distributed in stores as well.

As of mid-December more than 38,000 people had registered. “You want people to think about your store,” says director of marketing Dan Cepeda. “Anytime you stop customers…whether it’s through radio or something they see, you’re jogging that memory. That’s what helps bring them in.”

TRIED AND TRUE

Don’t get dazzled by the hype. While retailers are using new media, they also know old-school marketing can still work wonders.

Last November, Coffee Beanery sent 28,000 postcards to customers as part of an $85,000 holiday-themed scratch-and-win campaign. The mailer featured images of coffee gift sets, specialty drinks and promotional messaging: People who spent $9.99 or more in-store received a game piece for a chance to win a trip to Jamaica.

“It’s another way to let customers know what’s going on in-store,” says marketing manager Bob Ashley. “It raises awareness that we have more than just coffee.”

Midway through the promotion, the chain reported an uptick in sales and foot traffic.

“A lot of retailers are still looking at traditional means when it comes to driving traffic,” says Jay Zemke, vice president of strategic development for Bard, a marketing communications agency. “Sometimes it’s not the big ‘wow’ idea that your audience wants to see or hear.”

Fage, a Grecian yogurt brand, ran a sampling program tied to L.A. Fashion Week last October. Brand reps distributed 3,500 samples to attendees, models and designers. They also let people know where they could buy the product and handed out brochures.

“Sampling is a great way for people to experience the brand and to drive sales,” says Pam Morrisroe, direct of client services for OgilvyAction, the agency that handled the campaign. “It gets people to change their behavior and make a purchase.”
— Amy Johannes