#1 – Don’t Forget The Brand And Never Forget The Sell
A winning promotion delivers the essence of a brand directly into consumers’ lives in a natural way, and never loses sight of its primary objective: to move the needle. Not only does every tactic need to reinforce the brands’ proposition, it needs to strive for results.
#2 – Walk An Aisle In Their Shoes
A Winning promotion has lots of street smarts. It talks to a specific audience of consumers – in their language and on their turf. The only way to get in the flow is get out and mix in. Your homework will pay off with better ideas and a
more plausible sell-in.
#3 – Make It A “Want To Do”
There are promotions you want to get involved in, and there are promotions you don’t get involved in. A winning promotion gets consumers to voluntarily invest their time with your brand. They’re engaging, topical and integrally related to your brand. What makes your idea something you’d be interested in learning more about?
#4 – Make Playing As Much Fun As Winning
It’s a promotion’s dream come true – To engage consumers in a fun and interactive way before they even enter to win anything! A winning promotion is about creating memorable experiences that leave consumers
feeling good about your brand. Leave them feeling bad and you’ve likely lost a consumer for life.
#5 – Feed The Fantasy, Reward The Fan
Have you played the lottery lately? (i.e.: the biggest promotion going) Every game seems to come with at least 10 ways to win. That’s all in addition to the huge grand prize. Deep down, we all believe “we won’t win the big prize,” but that shouldn’t stop us from playing. Lots of lower level prizes give us average Joe’s hope. A winning promotion rewards players
with a fair shot at lower level prizes, too.
#6 – “Where” Is Just As Important As “What”
Content means nothing without the right context. To get the results you need, a winning promotion relies on delivering the right message at the right time and in the right place. The best offer in the world is worthless if the right consumers don’t see it.
#7 – Simplicity Rules
If you can’t explain your concept in one sentence, consumers won’t give it two thoughts. A winning promotion is easy to get, easy to play.
#8 – When Possible, Make It Exclusive
If you’re lucky enough to brainstorm a promotional idea that makes such a powerful statement about your brand that it could only be yours, make it yours!
#9 – ROI (Really Outstanding Investment)
Whether it’s a seasonal spike in sales or increased usage and consumption, the results need to be tangible. Insist on proof. Make it measurable.
#10 - An Empty Page
This one leaves much to the imagination. It’s the clean slate. Try to start every project with one. Don’t assume it’s got to be an event, a star-studded partnership, a million dollar sweepstakes or a one-dollar coupon. A winning promotion is a deft mix of the right tactics, the best media tools and the smartest idea for the job. (Which sometimes isn’t necessarily the biggest idea for the job.)
