Brand marketers are finding all kinds of ways to reward customers and others who interact with their social platforms or participate in other social activities.
The Scotts lawn care and gardening company is incenting social tasking to encourage participation in various activities on its Facebook page. Frito-Lay Snacks is rewarding consumers who play online social games like "FarmVille" and "CityVille" with in-game virtual items that can be had with an on-pack code appearing on 5 million packages. Now, Hertz is joining in, enabling consumers to increase the value of special offers by sharing those promotions with their social networks.
Hertz’s promotion appears on its Facebook page and works on the Share It Up! social coupon platform. Hertz’s more than 69,000 fans are encouraged to share a coupon posted on a dedicated page, as well as on the home page, by clicking the “Share It Up!” button. Once a recipient clicks on the coupon it unlocks greater discounts and increases the value of the coupon. The more the coupon is shared the greater the value becomes. Everyone who shares the coupon can take advantage of the savings.
Fans can share the coupon, which reads “save up to $35,” with their friends on Facebook, Twitter and email.
“The more the coupon gets shared within your network the higher the value goes,” Lemore Hecht, manager, communications and social media at the Hertz Corp., said. “After five shares the maximum value of the coupon, $50 is unlocked.”
The promotion began April 11, 2012 and runs through April 30, 2012.
An earlier test last November and December for $50 off airport rentals indicated a solid response, showing that Facebook fans can be good brand advocates. And to encourage quick redemption, this latest coupon is only valid from April 16 through July 16.
“We know that customers who use this coupon are dedicated to Hertz as a brand so when they post and share the coupon they’re giving that referral that Hertz is a great brand,” Hecht said. “We all benefit from it, Hertz as a brand and the fan with the coupon.”
Hertz uses several metrics to determine the ROI of the promotion, including shares and booked reservations.
“The real success of the program is not only how many people redeem and share the coupon, but how many people actually use the coupon for their next reservation,” she said.
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