Special Report: Sweeping Success

In the age of digital signage, RFID technology and microsites for nearly every new product, manufacturers still rely on old-fashioned sweepstakes and contests to reach brand objectives, excite the retail trade, communicate product news, differentiate or introduce a new product -- or simply collect consumer names and information. But are they worth all the hassle and cost? The companies we interviewed seem to unanimously agree that they are. The time line for a sweepstakes or contest depends on the complexity of the program. Manufacturers say they can take weeks, months or even years to execute. After determining the ultimate objectives, they then have various considerations to contend with, including rules, legal ramifications and merchandising efforts. Plus they have to advertise. Do they limit it to product packaging and in-store efforts, or should they involve the Internet, print and other media? Also, how do you budget for them? Manufacturers were loath to share costs for their promotions, but they all insinuated that their companies budgeted for sweepstakes and contests in advance. Jennifer Seth-Cimini, account planning specialist for East Aurora, NY-based Fisher-Price, says, "Sweepstakes certainly have a higher cost associated with them. There are alternatives out there that aren't as costly. There are also intangible costs, things you don't realize that will add up in the way of time and resources. Ultimately, you give [consumers] an experience with your brand -- you can't do it any other way." One advantage of running a sweepstakes or contest is the predictability of the outlay. Bonnie Carlson, president of the New York-based Promotion Marketing Association (PMA), says she believes these types of promotions are often less expensive than many other traditional options: "It's a fixed liability. You can control your spending. I know if I'm going to run a $50,000 sweepstakes, I'm going to pay $50,000. And I'm going to pay 'X' amount of money for the advertising, but that's budgeted. Whereas if I were going to do a cash refund, I have no idea how many people will actually send away for the cash." Secrets to SuccessRob Swaigen, director of marketing for Fairfield, CA-based Jelly Belly Candy Co., is a believer. He says his company's annual sweeps promotions have brought significant sales increases every year. According to Carlson, there are two main ways to appeal to a consumer: "The prize feels exciting, unique and relevant to me. Second, I think I have a good chance of winning." The better the odds, the higher the customer participation rate. "The prize package must appeal to the consumer base. Insights into who she is and what's relevant to her should help develop the promotion of the prize package," says Laura Keely, director of consumer promotions for Dallas-based Kimberly-Clark Corp. "You also need to have lots of prizes. Consumers don't often expect that they're going to win the grand prize." Her company's "Room-A-Day Giveaway" provided 15 daily prizes on the TV talk show "The View," one per weekday for three consecutive weeks, plus various prizes for audience members. Though Kimberly-Clark ran a multi-brand sweepstakes in the past, the company made a few changes to the new promotion: The life span was extended from one to eight weeks and ran when competitors probably wouldn't be hosting contests. Keely says the brand sold the promotion in at retail first, supporting the sweepstakes with tear pads on pre-built displays. Keely says one of its national retailers, whose name was not provided, even offered a contest-within-the-contest, awarding one winner a trip to New York so he or she could become a "View" audience member. There's no underestimating the value of good in-store displays, Seth-Cimini says. "We know it is proven in terms of driving sales." To that end, some of the companies interviewed say they gladly provide their retailers with customized headers and even send out their staffers to make sure displays are set up correctly and placed strategically. "The decision point is when they're in the store," says Stephen Chriss, director of consumer promotions and digital marketing for the snacks and cereal division of East Hanover, NJ-based Kraft Foods Inc. "There has to be something exciting on our packages." He says he has witnessed customers actually replace the item they originally chose with the same product in promotional packaging. "Integrated marketing is anchored in that decision, but you have to have a lot of arms and legs outside of the store," he explains. For Kraft/Nabisco, that packaging drives customers to the brand's website, www.Nabiscoworld.com. Carlson suggests integrating many facets. "You want [the promotion] on your website, on your package, in print media, in electronic media, event marketing out in the field, etc. The retail environment is a part of that integration; it shouldn't stop outside the store." Paperless Trend Whereas Kimberly-Clark's customers used to submit their entries using only tear pads found in-store, they currently seek paperless ways to connect. To that end, the company beefed up its website and even created a widget (in this case an online video that consumers could add to their social networking sites) to serve as a point of entry. "Now it's so much easier to apply for a sweepstakes. You can go online," Keely says. She says a whopping 95% of entries for the 2008 "Room-A-Day Giveaway" were submitted via computer, which she calls an "overall explosion." Part of the reason for Unilever's success with this spring's "Degree Girl's Ultimate OMG! Contest" was that it kept consumers engaged online. "We created an entire Degree Girl Loft on www.DegreeGirl.com that offered ringtones, a music mash-up studio, interactive arcade games and a gallery for girls to view and share their OMG! moments with each other," says Heather Mitchell, spokesperson for the Chicago-based company. Teen girls were invited to share their OMG! moments through videos and blogs. Mitchell reports the contest brought more than 20,000 entries, assuring that Degree was engaging its target audience. Social networking seems to be a big buzzword among the companies. Kimberly-Clark's aforementioned widget made the rounds, airing on YouTube, MySpace, Friendster and other similar sites and showed up in various e-mails and on blogs. Swaigen didn't say Jelly Belly was using widgets, but he says they make sense. "Widgets allow promotions to live somewhere else. They definitely make them more accessible." Interestingly, PMA's Carlson points out a correlation between what we're seeing on TV and what's going on in the retail environment: "If you take a look at reality shows, they're basically sweepstakes and contests." She also added that there's a resurgence of interest with a younger demographic because retailers are hosting their promotions in electronic forms, incorporating cell phones for calls or texting and computers. New Prizes Prize offerings have also changed drastically. Across the board, all the companies interviewed reported that "experiential" prizes were tops in 2008. "Two tickets to 'something' is always a big thing," Keely says. "It used to be that the grand prizes of the sweepstakes, to really be successful, were cash and travel," Carlson says. Then, "the lotteries were coming out with $300 million. [Companies] couldn't keep competing in that kind of environment." Some of the examples she cited involved winning a date or a day shopping with a celebrity, or trips to the Academy Awards or Grammys. She mentioned a previous contest offering winning kids the chance to ride every major roller coaster in America. Kimberly-Clark recently sponsored a sweepstakes that featured a private concert with Radio Disney star Jordan Pruitt in conjunction with the national fund-raising program Box Tops for Education. And Fisher-Price has invited some contest winners to tour the company's campus, where their children were photographed for product packaging. Unilever's Mitchell says the company worked its way backward for the Degree Girl contest. "The process started with Ashley Tisdale," she says, referring to the popular Disney actress and recording star. "We worked with her to determine a great prize for our target audience of teen girls. The prize was an exclusive concert with Tisdale in Los Angeles, bringing to life an ultimate OMG! moment. From there, we finalized the timing details based on the April product launch. We then determined the number of winners and logistics for entry based on timing and budget parameters." Despite these examples, some manufacturers still believe cash is king. "Given the option, virtually everyone chooses money. It's easy to communicate," Swaigen says. He says he sees the merit in offering "experiential stuff," but feels it is often challenging to get a detailed message across on packaging. Shopper-Specific Contests Kimberly-Clark was also behind another sweepstakes, which began in 2007 and was vastly expanded for 2008. The primary goal for this contest was to link its Scott brand with Hispanic customers, with messaging centered on dichos -- typical sayings heard in Hispanic households. Customers were asked to provide examples, and Keely reports that participation levels were astounding. The company received so many dichos, in fact, that it is compiling the world's first "Dichonario" (dichos dictionary). The campaign won the company a 2008 Gold Reggie award for multicultural marketing. "From the consumer side, having people interact with the brand and getting involved, keeping it relevant, was important to us," Swaigen says. "Now with the technology of the Internet, we can do this in a much more fun way." Jelly Belly jumped onto the user-generated content trend with its annual "Dream Bean" contest. Shoppers were instructed to go to a website where they could name, create and design their own bean. Jelly Belly awarded $10,000 plus 100 pounds of the creation. Swaigen says he is a fan of this type of democratization and believes getting active participation from customers keeps his brand at the top of consumers' minds long after they fill their Easter baskets. Sometimes manufacturers use sweepstakes or contests mostly to educate shoppers. This November, for example, Jelly Belly will launch another flavor-based promotion, "Where's Mr. Jelly Belly?" in an effort to describe the unique ingredients sourced around the globe, explaining why Jelly Belly is considered a gourmet product. Even researchers for Fisher-Price, one of the world's largest manufactures of infant toys and baby gear for more than 75 years, found customers at one of its key accounts weren't making the connection between the product lines. So it ran a promotion linking the two avenues together. Fisher-Price's "Baby Be a Star!" contest was a success, but Seth-Cimini says her company is always careful to represent its brand accurately, stating that otherwise "it would come across as gimmicky." "Gimmicky" may be detrimental to a contest or sweepstakes, but "playful" can work wonders. Laurie Guzzinati, Kraft Foods' associate director of corporate and legal affairs, says the public went wild with Oreo's recent "Double Stuf Racing League" promotion. As an integrated campaign pitted football stars Eli and Peyton Manning in an Oreo licking contest, consumers filmed their own licking contests -- usually involving a competition between friends or family members -- and aired them on YouTube. Partnerships All the manufacturers interviewed say that, when it comes to cross-promotions and partnerships, it's a draw as to whether they are the initiators or if another brand reaches out to them. Kraft can be found partnering its Ritz Crackers with NASCAR, since its Nabisco brand is the official cookie/cracker of Roush Racing. As part of its "Race to Win" promotion, the company is offering prizes ranging from 2009 Ford Mustangs to an "over-the-wall" experience, wherein winners can meet the drivers. Chriss cautions that the brands a company partners with must be of the same caliber in its industry. For example, he says his company matches Coca-Cola (the No. 1 carbonated beverage) with its Planters peanuts. Taking a charitable and environmentally conscious angle, Santa Barbara, CA-based The Walking Co. recently announced a partnership with Smart USA and the Sierra Club for a "Think Smart, Be Planet Friendly" summer promotion. Timed to coincide with the introduction of its new eco-friendly footwear line, this contest will offer four winners a Smart USA ultra-low emission Fortwo vehicle. Aside from promotional partnerships, there's another, more important relationship to consider: the one between the manufacturer and retailer. Sometimes up to a year before a sweepstakes or contest is planned, brands meet with retailers to determine what their common objectives are and how they can work together to meet them. Unilever's Mitchell says, "There is an ongoing dialogue between the brand team and major retail partners, but the brand usually initiates the promotion." PMA's Carlson says she believes retailers would like to have a winner in their chain, or ultimately in each store, citing Wal-Mart as an example of the latter. Swaigen says his company tries to make things run smoothly for both sides by providing turnkey, in-store displays.

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