Security Blankets
Keep a watchful eye over every stage of the promotion.
Security is one of those things you’d often rather not have to think about – but you know better.
By definition, security makes people feel at ease about a situation by eliminating the chances of something going wrong. In the increasingly complex world of promotion, a breakdown in security can occur at almost any point, so taking the right precautions becomes a necessity.
“Marketers are using a much more diverse group of tools to execute their promotions,” states Patrick McEvilly Jr., director and group manager of Promotion Watch, Inc., a division of Valassis Communications based in Livonia, MI, which provides a full range of security and accountability services to marketers and promotion agencies. “In the old days, an under-the-cap program might have been all you did,” McEvilly says. “Now, it’s not unusual to find an under-the-cap component, an in-pack component, an on-premise component, and an Internet component.”
Each of those components carries distinct security risks. Yet they have to be considered together from the beginning to the end of a promotion.
Chance promotions in which there are pre-selected winners contain inherent stages at which security should be addressed. Take, for instance, a promotional game run by a snack food maker that calls for 1,000 winners to be identified by winning game pieces randomly inserted in one million product packages. First, a formula for fairly and accurately seeding the game pieces must be devised. The game pieces must be printed, then inserted into the packages.
In the event that a regulatory or legal challenge ever arises, the initial seeding formula should be documented. The printing process should be overseen on-site to avoid errors, as should the safe handling of production materials and the game pieces themselves. The seeding process should be monitored, too, to ensure that winning game pieces are securely handled and inserted.
Third-party vendors such as Promotion Watch can be called upon to administer any or all of those elements in a promotion. “A manufacturer’s goal is to produce as much as it possibly can without any interference,” McEvilly says. The company’s job is to put the winning game pieces into a production run without slowing down the production process.
In recent years, there has been an increase in the types of game pieces and the methods used to deliver them – from infrared printing of separate words that combine to produce one winner to a single pack of candy that contains the winning pieces. “Some of them get too complex,” McEvilly says. [But] we will advise our clients that the old adage still holds true: keep it simple. Whatever type of game piece you’re using, in most cases, the simple game is the one that’s more successful and gets more play.”
Security must be considered when planning the eligibility of entrants, the notification of prize winners, the fulfillment of prizes, and the publicity surrounding those procedures. A potential winner’s background might have to be checked to verify identity, age, and other requirements. Winning game pieces need to be validated. The actual prize, be it a check for $10 million or a new motor home, has to be delivered. Perhaps a photo needs to be taken or a film crew hired for media or advertising purposes.
Live promotional events often require security services of a different nature: Appearances by sports figures, musicians, or other celebrities may require special security personnel to work in tandem with on-site and local officials. Even such basic elements as credential checks or parking supervision can become an issue.
And conducting promotions online adds another dimension to a program’s security needs. The potential for invasion by hackers must be accounted for, as does the need to protect the privacy of entrants.
“Security should be an integral part of any promotion,” McEvilly concludes. “Make sure you’re not leaving yourself wide open to potential problems.”
And adding a lot of needless worry to your promotions.
