At my local grocer, I found this shelf card with an actual Ziploc bag sample attached to the card.The shelf card reads - "New Smart Zip. Protection you can hear. Try it for yourself."

Now, we all know how a Ziploc bag works, and I've tried the cheaper brands, which don't seem to work as well. Regardless, I found myself trying the Ziploc sample right there in the store just to see if I could hear the difference.

In the book Brand Sense - Sensory Secrets Behind the Stuff We Buy, by Martin Lindstrom, brands need to 1) take advantage of all available sensory touch points 2) find an innovative sensory mind-set that sets it apart from its competitors 3) find a way for the consumer to associate these sensory signals with this particular brand.

Ziploc has creatively found a way to do this for a very basic, rather simple product. They have focused on two sensory touch points by promoting touch and sound. And I got to sample the product in the store, right next to the actual product on-shelf.

With five senses to explore, what can you do with your brand to promote it's brand sense?

Coupon Articles of Interest

Ten tips for curtailing online coupon fraud.

http://multichannelmerchant.com/retail/news/0308-curtailing-online-coupon-fraud/

Coupons can be loaded with a startling amount of data, including identification about the customer, Internet address, Facebook page information and even the search terms the customer used to find the coupon in the first place. Check out this link. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/17/business/media/17coupon.html?pagewanted=2&emc=eta1--

Making your promotion relevant to today .....

Tying your brand to what is happening "today" makes for an interesting promotional concept.

Icelandic vodka, Reyka Vodka, is promoting a contest that encourages travelers to enter their personal story about how the volcano eruption affected their travels. The winner will win a trip to Iceland.

Check out the article here:
http://promomagazine.com/news/0422-icelandic-vodka-trip-offer/

One piece of advice, if you are going to advertise a contest, your website should be updated. The promotion they have online (Win a trip to Iceland) is no longer available and there is nothing noted about the contest above.

Cheerios - Disruptive Packaging

General Mills has truly created a well rounded promotion with their latest Cheerios packaging.

Inside 2.2 million Cheerios boxes is the winning book written by the second Cheerios® New Author Contest, Lori Degman, a 52-year-old teacher for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. "1 Zany Zoo," is actually showing through a cutout on the package itself.

What I love about this:

1. When I saw this package on the cereal shelf, I actually touched it to see if it was a real cutout in the box. It grabbed my attention. It was disruptive.

2. This contest is part of Cheerios' ongoing Spoonfuls of Stories® program to nurture children's love of reading. They are now running their fourth new author contest.

3. Each winning book will be offered in packages of Cheerios.

4. This promotion has a never ending life cycle......

See more info here:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/talk-about-a-bestseller--winner-of-cheeriosr-new-author-contest-has-her-childrens-book-1-zany-zoo-featured-inside-22-million-cereal-boxes-this-spring-87769492.html

Multiple Prizes or One?

I ran across this article that is still very relevant, even one year later. It discusses the question of whether to offer one big prize or multiple smaller prizes in your sweepstakes.

What motivates a consumer to take action? And how do you know if you have captured their attention with the prize(s) that you are offering?

This article suggests that offering multiple smaller prizes to a greater number of winners is the key for the following reasons:
1) consumers are likely to enter if they feel their odds of winning are enhanced
2) more winners means more people to feel good and promote your brand
3) with today's economy, more people are actively looking for a chance to win prizes
4) offer smaller logo'd items as prizes - enforce your brand.

Another key element is to find a prize that is relevant with your brand's target audience's interests and aligns with the consumption of the brand. You should see greater participation.

To read this article - click here http://promomagazine.com/contests/0301-beat-recession/

Private Labels Running Promotions?

I was looking for coffee at my local grocer and found an interesting package-label design. Kroger’s private-label coffee packaging with race cars and a Daytona 500 logo caught my eye. I turned the can around to find Daytona 500 facts and a message driving consumers to a Web site for recipes, games, and prizes.

Two things about this really stood out to me.

First, private labels are generally all about price, which means they don’t usually have fancy packaging and don’t cross promote. I could imagine the cost to borrow equity from a strong brand like Daytona 500 could be substantial.

Second, grocery shopping is predominantly done by women, especially in the coffee category. So a racing promotion on the packaging was really disruptive from a female perspective. Female racing fans are on the rise. Maybe Kroger is taking advantage of that insight.

I went to the promotional Web site, http://www.racefans.daytona500.com/, and found racing news, downloads, and partner information. And, if you sign up as a member, you get special deals including:
-Chances to enter sweepstakes and giveaways
-Comment on your favorite drivers’ blogs
-Receive discounts on racing merchandise and travel packages
-Play exciting games to win unique prizes from monthly sponsors
-Download recipes and coupons that are only available to members

Posting this Web site on their packaging allows Kroger to change up the content at any time and drives loyal consumers back to retail with coupons and special offers. Will we see more private labels moving in this direction as private-label share tends to grow in this price-conscious economy?

I wonder what insight they latched onto that drove this promotion. Was it the collaboration with a disruptive partner for this consumer? Is it a value-add for a brand that targets a value-focused consumer? Or is it simply the fact that executing a cross-promotion with a private-label brand was disruptive enough? Whatever their strategy was, it caught my attention.