Donna's Promo Talk - Promotional Marketing that Creates Excitement and Gets Results

Corona kicks off the summer season with its largest retail promo in its history

With it being Memorial Day weekend, and the unofficial start of the summer season, I thought I'd write about this fun summer promotion.

The "Corona Beach Getaway" sweepstakes is the brand's largest retail promotion in its history. It offers participants, ages 21 and older of course,  a chance to win one of 100 trips to Mexico. They need to find specially-marked beach bottles and cans that contain unique codes which have been randomly inserted into packages nationwide. More than 10,000 bottles and 1,000 12-pack cans include the new beach packaging.

Once someone has a code they can enter the sweepstakes online at CoronaBeachGetaway.com up until July 31st.  Besides the trips, there are more than 1,700 prizes that include Corona-branded patio umbrellas, rolling coolers and beach cabana tents. The Official Rules include an AMOE (alternate means of entry) without purchase, which directs people on how they can request a code by mail.

The sweepstakes is supported by national TV, in-store displays and radio ads. In addition, Chicago will be home to two large outdoor promotional displays, including a 16-foot Corona Beach Getaway beer bottle that will be used throughout the summer by the brand, which is a part of Crown Imports LLC's Modelo portfolio.

A seperate promotion if running on the Corona Facebook page which also offers participants a chance to win a trip to Mexico. The Grab the Beach Bottle Online Game Sweepstakes actually consists of three games (“Fly into the Fortress,” “Capture the Corona Beach Bottle” and “Swim to Safety”) which are contained in the application. Each game contains three levels. For each level completed a player can receive one entry into the Sweepstakes. So, each player could obtain up to nine entries in total. The games must be played in sequential order, and a player may not move on to games 2 and 3 without having first completed the previous game. All entries must be in by EOD on July 5 to be eligible for the random drawing.

The Facebook app also has a leaderboard, so you can see who has played the game and it also encourages you to invite your friends to play as well. I've played, so I'm currently #3 on the leaderboard.

Corona ran a beach getaway promotion last summer and you can view photos from last year's getaway on their website. Sounds like a good excuse to me to drink more Corona this summer. Better stock up on the lime!

Inception and SCVNGR tie-in opens doors for apps and the movie industry

Last Friday I wrote this post about my excitement over the Season Premiere of Mad Men that was scheduled for Sunday night. Since I still had a couple of days to wait and needed to get my mind focused on something else, I decided it was a good idea to go to the movies and finally see Inception. It was one of those very humid summer nights, you know the kind when you walk outside and it feels like you're in a rain forest. So my husband agreed with me and off we went.

We are now part of the "Inception Club", those that can discuss the movie with others that have seen it and speculate about our different takes on it. Yes, Inception was very good, and yes, you do need to see it a second time to catch all of it, but for me that can wait till it comes out on DVD.

The next phase of social games goes to the brands with the launch of poweRBrands

Most of us that have spent any time on Facebook have probably been invited at some point by one of our friends to play a social game such as the hugely popular Mafia Wars or Farmville. I personally have received the invites, but have to admit that I haven't taken up on any one of them yet.

Social Gaming is growing and is forecasted to become even more popular, especially with women online. Men have always been the major players on console games, such as PlayStation and Xbox, but they are not the dominant demographic playing on Facebook.

Zynga, the social game company that created Mafia Wars and Farmville, announced a couple of months ago a new partnership with Yahoo to offer their games through Yahoo's portal, including the Yahoo home page, on Yahoo Games and on Yahoo mail. They also have a similar deal with Microsoft where the games will be on the company's online properties including MSN Games and Windows Live Messenger.

So it didn't surprise me too much when I learned that a consumer products company just developed it's own social game on Facebook with the intent to promote its own brands. I am surprised however with the company that launched it.

Reckitt Benckiser (RB) the parent of Clearasil, Lysol, Woolite and other household brands, is that company and not one that is a household name by any means. Just launched on July 19, poweRBrands is designed to mirror the real-life experiences of us marketing folks that work for a consumer products company such as RB. By joining the "virtual RB" marketing team, the player progresses through a combination of tasks and teamwork, and climbs the corporate ladder to eventually become global "President".

RB's poweRBrands was not developed by Zynga, put instead in partnership with Euro RSCG Riley and Nudge Social Media. They claim it to be the first Facebook game of its kind, giving the player the unique opportunity to test their marketing and business ability, learn strategy and decision-making skills, and be introduced to the unique culture and challenges that face RB marketers every day.

RB is specifically targeting the 18-30 year age group and wants to use poweRBrands not only to create awareness of the company and the brands it markets, but also as a recruiting tool. Andraea Dawson-Shepherd, RB's global communications director, said:  "poweRBrands is part of a serious initiative to make learning about our industry and marketing both relevant and fun. It is not a direct recruitment tool, but is a great way to introduce students and early careers sales people and marketers to our culture – and we hope that some of them may look further at our website and other career information."

As I mentioned I'm not much of a gamer, however I went to RB's Facebook page and downloaded the app to start playing the game. I got through a couple of screens and made my first decision whether to implement a BOGO (by one get one) offer or a coupon for a Lysol promotion. So now I'll see if I can get any of my other marketing friends to play with me. The Facebook page enables players to exchange news and provide feedback and tips. 

As of yesterday I learned from RB that they already had 6,000 downloads of the apps after the first day. They are planning an online U.S. marketing campaign that won't kick off till late-August and will run into September which will include ads on Facebook, LinkedIn and Yahoo! Hot Jobs.

I'm interested to hear from both other marketers and women, especially women marketers. Where do you think this whole social gaming market is going and how do you think it can fit within a marketing campaign as RB has done with poweRBrands? I'm also curious to know where people are finding the time to play these games? So I invite you to share with us your thoughts.

It's the 4th of July! Happy Birthday America!

Happy 4th of July! With Independence Day falling on a Saturday this year many of us Americans had Friday off as a gift of a long summer weekend. However, the weather has not been acting like summer. We had a very wet and cook week. They have promised us sun today, but I saw just a little peak of it as it was rising this morning and not much now. However I'm still optimistic since we again have plans to visit some friends who have a place on Canandaigua Lake today, one of New York's magnificent Finger Lakes

Today, Lady Liberty who has watched over the New York Harbor for over a century once again opens her crown to the public. Visits to the crown and pedestal were suspended after September 11, 2001 as a security precaution. The pedestal re-opened to visitors in 2004.

Visitors can climb 354 steps from the ground level in the pedestal lobby to the observation deck in the crown. Two narrow, intertwining staircases in a double-helix design are the paths up and down. If your interested in making the climb, beware it's hot up there.

The Statue of Liberty will remain open for the next two years before closing again for additional safety maintenance.Tickets can be purchased at www.statuecruises.com.

If you're not in NYC and if the weather doesn't cooperate there's always the movie theaters.

There's Public Enemies staring Johnny Depp sho plays legendary Depression-era outlaw John Dillinger, the charismatic bank robber whose raids made him a folk hero to much of the downtrodden public and the No. 1 target of the fledgling FBI and its top agent, Melvin Purvis (played by Christian Bale). I'm a big Johnny Depp fan, so I'll see this sooner or later. 

 Also opening is the animated Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs Unlike Public Enemies, this film has a host of entertainment marketing partners including McDonald's who has the cute licensed characters in their Happy Meal program along with a fun, promotional website. Popsicle is also on board with a fun online promotional game for kids called the Slow Melt Game in which kids can smash the treats in order to help Scrat enjoy them.

So whatever your pleasure this weekend, I hope you have a good one and stay safe! BTW - It looks like the sun is coming out!

McDonald's The Lost Ring Promotes the 2008 Olympics

I got to hear Neil Golden, CMO of McDonald’s USA, review with us their strategy of concentrating on their menu and creating products based on customer’s need into what he called “the strongest turnaround in business history.” Neil was another of the top-notched speakers that PMA offered us this year at their Annual Integrated Marketing Conference held in Chicago last week.

Neil also told us that McDonald's isn't doing "Promotions" anymore. Wait a minute, what was that? Instead he said they are concentrating on PROMOTION that adds attention and has relevance to their long-term brands. He went through and mentioned a few of the "Promotion" programs that they've been focused on.

The Lost Ring is a new program aimed at promoting the McDonald's brand and their partnership with the International Olympic Committee. It's an alternative reality game (ARG) which is sponsored by both in anticipation of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The game was officially launched last month after some buzz was first created online through a viral marketing push that didn't have the sponsors' names associated with it. Neil said that the goal of the promotion is to tap into the existing equity McDonald's has with the Olympics as well as the whole social networking trend in order to join forces online globally.

The game is built around the fictional concept that more than 2,000 years ago an Olympic sport was lost to history and that now, five Olympic-caliber athletes have turned up in corn fields around the world, amnesiac but sure they've been tasked with some great mission.

To play the game you have to visit The Lost Ring.com where you first watch a trailer that's been created at the same high quality of most theatrical film releases. Neil told us that 1.5 million people have viewed the video to date and they currently have over 200,000 active gamers coming from all 119 countries that McDonald's does business in.

What I didn't realize is that Jane McGonigal is behind the creation of this game. Jane describes herself as a game designer, a games researcher, and a future forecaster. Her bio on her blog, Avant Game, says "I make games that give a damn". Check out her blog post here where you can learn much more about Jane, how to play this game as well as how it came about.

Anyhow, I first met Jane last year while attending the Interactive Promotions summit that ePrize sponsored in Las Vegas. Jane was one of the keynote speakers and spoke about her game philosophy and the World Without Oil game she was working on then. It was a very intriguing presentation which I wrote a post here about her as well as the rest of the conference.

Neil also did tell us that McDonald's Monopoly Game will indeed be back this fall and they continue to enhance its relevance to the brand each year and bring in some new partners. Last year they showcased the previous year's winner in order to create awareness that people do actually win these games. We'll have to wait on what new enhancements they'll add to this year's interactive promotion.

Back to The Lost Ring, now knowing that Jane is behind this game, I'm very eager to find the time to play it. If anyone has experienced the game please let us know if "You're Lovin it" or not. You're welcome to leave any of your thoughts in the comments section here. Also if you're interested, here's a Wiki that's been created that you can get some additional pointers on as well.

Fred Claus Naughty or Nice Giveaway Promotes Movie, Time Warner and Circuit City

The holiday season is gone into full swing this week now that Thanksgiving is behind us. As promised, I'm trying to cover as many holiday interactive promotions in this blog as I can between now and Christmas. Since today's the start of one of our holiday weekends, I thought I'd blog about an interactive promotion that falls into the entertainment marketing category... The Fred Claus Naughty or Nice Giveaway.

Time Warner Cable and sister company Warner Bros. Pictures have partnered to promote the movie FRED CLAUS which was released in theaters back on Nov. 8th. It stars Paul Giamatti playing Santa and Vince Vaughn as his bad brother Fred. These are some downloads and "buddy Icons" I found on the official website.  The interactive promotion includes a microsite with games based on the film, vignettes of the movie plus a sweepstakes offering consumers a chance to win weekly prizes including a $10,000 home theater system provided by Circuit City. Instant-win prizes include Road Runner mouse pads, Aqua computer mouses, and a notepad.

When you first visit the microsite the elf encourages you to register which automatically enters you in the sweepstakes. The entry form includes some additional questions such as "Are you a Time-Warner customer?", "What services do you have?", "Do you have a HDTV?" and "Have you ever watched shows or movies On-Demand?" which enables the sponsors to gather consumer data. The last question requests separate opt-ins for future emails and offers to be sent from Time Warner, Road Runner, Intel and Circuit City. So they are definitely using the power of online sweepstakes to build their database and start a dialog with these consumers based on their answers.

I didn't win the instant prize today, but I can come back every day now till the promotional period ends on January 3rd and try again. I am entered in the sweepstakes for a chance at the grand prize which is the $10,000 Circuit City home theater system as well as the weekly prize which this week happens to be an Intel powered laptop.

There are also ways to gain additional entries into both the weekly and grand prize drawings by "exploring the environment" and playing the games. Each week features a different game with this week being the North Pole. When you play the game you get an additional entry plus there are bonus entries hidden in the game. I came across some dancing elves that were kinda a scary looking.

Besides the games, visitors can send holiday e-cards and choose between a "Naughty" or "Nice" greeting. A drop-down menu provides additional word choices that comprise the final message. This makes up the viral marketing component of the campaign.

Visitors to the microsite can also view Fred Claus movie clips and trailers. The movie has gotten so-so reviews with Vince Vaughn being Vince Vaughn (naughty) and Paul Giamatti (nice) actually bringing some talent to the screen. However, whatever you think about the movie, this promotional campaign appears to be right on target.

Games and Prizes Grow Microsoft's Live Search Share

MSN and Microsoft Live's U.S. search query volume rose 67% from May to June and 48% over a year ago according to Internet metrics company, Compete, Inc. The main key to this success they are saying has to do with a promotion that gives its users prizes!

A good portion of the new searches are coming from The Live Search Club where visitors can play games and get points which can then be redeemed for Microsoft products. It's sorta of like the old arcade games where you collect tickets and hand them in for cheap prizes, but in this case the prizes have some value. To get the points, visitors have to search with Live in playing the games.

Currently they have created 6 different games. One is called Flexicon, a crossword challenge where you test your skills with four different crossword puzzles that overlap each other. One long answer, the "Flexicon" connects all four puzzles. Another game is Chicktionary in which you are matched up against seven hens who really know their alphabet.  You have to peck out as many words as possible to fill up the Chicktionary word rack.

Some of the smaller prizes include ringtones, song downloads, magazines, digital headphones, earbuds, tee-shirts, flash drives, movie passes. Larger prizes include X-box games and accessories all the way up to the Xbox 360 Pro Console, Microsoft's new Vista operating system and Microsoft Zune. There's even a leaderboard where players can view the scores of others for each game along with a community section that informs you of what prizes that they have redeemed.

So far they have been able to take away about 5% of market share mostly from Google. "If Microsoft can actually leverage this traffic to Club.live into actual search users and string together a few more months like this, they could really threaten Google's top spot," said Steve Willis, a Compete analyst who wrote about this on the Compete blog. Willis said that Club.live.com wasn't generating noticeable traffic in April. In May, Compete tracked some 330,000 unique visitors at that site. In June, that number had risen to 3 million unique visitors.

Microsoft Live's tagline is "Changing the Game So Everyone Wins!" It just goes to support that fact that interactive promotions that provide the right prize incentive to their target audience can motivate and change people's behavior. So, will the trend continue? We'll have to wait and see the numbers for July.