Donna's Promo Talk

Mets Fans Try to Break Guinness World Record with Wise Potato Chips Big City Crunch Promo

We're just about at half-way through the baseball season and I realized I haven't written any posts this year regarding a MLB promotion. Last year I wrote quite a few. This post last May was about MLB teaming up with Indiana Jones on the release on the new film sequel. This post last July was all about Baby Ruth's User-Generated "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" video contest. Then almost two years ago to the day I wrote this post about the MLB and MasterCard promotion that included the MLB Dreams Sweepstakes and another user-generated contest.

So I really felt compelled today to write about this promotion that's taking place this evening, July 10th. It's doesn't include a major interactive promotion or user-generated contest. It is just a pretty creative promotional event. And where else would it take place, but in New York City.

Wise potato chips will be attempting to to set the Guinness World Record for the most potato chips ever crunched at once at the New York Mets' new stadium, Citi Field. The Mets will be playing the Cincinnati Reds tonight as the Big City Crunch gets underway. Every fan entering the new ballpark will be handed a .75-oz. bag of Wise Potato Chips. At a designated time, instructions will be given to open the packages and, when given the go-ahead, to start crunching.

"As New York's favorite snack food, it's only natural for us to support one of New York's favorite teams, the New York Mets," said Jolie Weber, Wise Vice President, Brand Marketing. "We developed The Big City Crunch to give Mets fans -- the most vocal and passionate fans in baseball -- a chance to be a part of history ... a loud history

Representatives from Wise have been in and around the area driving a Wise-wrapped van and distributing Wise Potato Chips. They also have been getting consumers to try the Wise "Spin the Wheel" game where players were given the chance to win Big City Crunch-branded merchandise, as well as tickets to tonight's game.

Representatives of Guinness World Records will be on hand tonight to record the occasion and, if all necessary criteria are met, will certify that a world record has been set.

The promotion was developed to increase awareness for the chips and leverage Wise’s sponsorship as the official potato chip and Cheez Doodle of the New York Mets. Wise's sports marketing agency, Source Communications, came up with the promotion which is a complement to a season-long advertising presence at Citi Field, including outfield and LED ads for Wise brands.  A New York local print, outdoor, TV and radio ad campaign promoting the Big City Crunch and featuring Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, began back in May and will run through tonight's event.

They even have some social media integrated into the mix by creating a Twitter page. So we can follow them on Twitter here to find out if they're successful or not. If anyone can make noise, its New York baseball fans. Yes, I'm a New Yorker and a Mets fan (but not a fan of that other New York team)!

SocialSweeps - Integrating Interactive Promotions with Social Media For a Winning Combination

Last week I wrote this post about the new Wildfire App that enables marketers to easily promote their interactive promotions on social media platforms such as Facebook and MySpace. The real benefit that I pointed out is the viral marketing component that social networks enable. 

This prompted me to utilize a term that I first used a year or so ago called SocialSweeps. I define SocialSweeps as an interactive promotion, such as a sweepstakes, contest or instant-win game, that integrates with at least one social media platform to help create awareness and buzz.

Interactive promotions are powerful ways to motivate interaction on the Internet. They are highly measurable and most of the time can be very effective when integrated with the right incentive, however they certainly can't achieve defined objectives if proper awareness of the promotion is not created.

So now by integrating a promotion with the viral features of social media you can spread the word about your promotion and your company far more widely and cost effectively than ever before. I believe it is this type of marketing that can create positive brand awareness and is a perfect fit with many types of social media, especially social networks.

HBO Promotes Season 2 of True Blood With Sweepstakes & Social Media Created by Vampires

I didn't get a chance to write a blog post yesterday because I was preparing for my daughter's graduation party which we hosted at our home. I believe it was a success and think that everyone had a good time. We were a bit anxious when some huge thunderstorms came rambling through late yesterday morning and some hail was reported. But it cleared up and ended up being a beautiful night.

I've been trying to write my Friday/Saturday posts about interactive promotions tied in with entertainment marketing since there as so many big moives released during the summer season. However, I already wrote earlier about the Transformers, Transform Your Dad, a big promotion Kmart did for Father's Day. The movie opened nationwide this past Wednesday instead of Friday and it's been way in the lead at the box office. So there really isn't another movie coming even close to it this week to report on.

What has been big this week is the start of the second season of HBO's TrueBlood which premiered last Sunday. HBO really used social media in some innovative ways to promote the return of season 2 such as creating a blog called BloodCopy which is written by true vampires and creating a microsite, The American Vampire League, which is all about protecting the rights of vampires. Then there is The Fellowship of the Sun which is the ministry created to protect their members against vampires. HBO also set up Facebook Fan Pages for each: here's the BloodCopy Fan Page, the AVL Fan Page and the one for Fellowship. Fans can follow them here on Twitter as well as various vampire character pages such as @SomniusX. Plus they have developed this BloodCopy Wiki.

HBO is running the Escape the Everyday Sweepstakes with a grand prize of $10,000 towards HBO, TV service, Internet, phone and so more courtesy of HBO. There are also instant win prizes consisting of the True Blood Season 1 DVDs, Fangtasia, Fellowship of the Sun and American Vampire League t-shirts and True Blood Logo mugs. The sweepstakes began on May 23 and ends July 3. 

To play the game you first have to choose if you want to be on the side of the mortals or the vampires. There's a viral marketing component to this as well where visitors can "Suck in Your Friends" by sending them an email post card inviting them to play or posting this widget on their Facebook page or many other social media options.

BMW's Mini teamed up with HBO with a co-branded print and digital ad campaign. Their Mini was one of several real brands being pitched to vampires. The campaign is comprised of national print, online and out-of-home outlets. The ads featuring blood-red versions of the Mini Cooper and Mini Clubman, have headlines like: "Feel the Wind in Your Fangs" and "Type GO." Digital ads ran on Yahoo, CNN, AOL, the TrueBlood home page on HBO.com, and the show's microsites.

Wildfire's Online Promotions App Helps Promote AT&T's Favorite Foursome Sweeps on Facebook

I first wrote this post called Interactive Promotions Together with Blogs Create a Winning Combination back in February of 2008. Well now that social media has really gone mainstream, it's not just integrating promotions with blogs, but also with social networks like Facebook, which is now the largest social network, and Twitter, which has become the fastest growing web brand. Back when I wrote this post I coined the term "Social Sweeps" and I've seen quite a lot of these types of promotions make their appearance since then.

Interactive promotions are highly measurable and most of the time can be very effective when integrated with the right incentive, however they certainly can't achieve defined objectives if proper awareness of the promotion is not created. Well now this new company called Wildfire Interactive has created a web tool and Facebook application that can help do just that. With the Wildfire App you can create an integrated promotional campaign for your brand on Facebook, Ning, MySpace and your website that includes a sweepstakes or a user generated contest.

Wildfire is currently in beta and it's been by invite only. I requested an invite, so I'm on board and just dying to try out a first promotion utilizing it on Facebook. I've got a couple of small programs I'm working on that may be a good fit for this.

A current promotion that I entered and have promoted on my Facebook Page is for an adventure travel agency called Access Trips that's based in New Zealand. They are utilizing the Wildfire App to promote their Brazil Surfing Trip Sweepstakes. So I entered the sweeps and invited two of my friends on Facebook to join me if I win. Then I invited some of my other Facebook friends to enter the sweepstakes.

AT&T has integrated the Wildfire App into one of their big summer promotions. Up until just yesterday, June 22, golf fans could enter the AT&T “Favorite Foursome” sweepstakes to win a VIP trip for themselves and three friends to the final two days of the 2009 AT&T National Tournament, to be played July 4 and 5 at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD.

AT&T offered three different ways to get into the game. One was through mobile using any wireless carrier in which fans could text TRIP to 21234 to be automatically entered for a chance to win. They could also visit AT&T’s Facebook page in which they could enter using the Wildfire App and they could also choose to invite three of their Facebook friends to join their own “Favorite Foursome” and in exchange could get a special AT&T national sweepstakes graphic posted to their Facebook Wall.

The third method of entry into the Favorite Foursome Sweepstakes was by clicking through a banner ad at the AT&T Fan Zone web site and filling out an entry form there. The winner will be selected by a random drawing from all the entry methods and win four round-trip flights to Washington DC, two nights of lodging, transportation passes and access to the Grey Goose lounge at the event, and a $400 gift certificate redeemable at the competition’s Front 9 merchandise area, among other perks. I entered, so wish me luck!

The new twist that the Wildfire App brings to the promotion is the viral marketing component on Facebook. Those that have hundreds of friends on Facebook can promote it on their wall and very easily invite their friends. So I believe it is this type of brand awareness that is a perfect fit for social networks. If anyone would like more information you can contact me or Wildfire. I would be happy to toss around some ideas on how it may be a good fit with your marketing objectives and get one of these started!

Father's Day Photo Blog Sponsorship Giveaway

In light of Father's Day being tomorrow I'm writing this post regarding a Father's Day Blog Giveaway promotion. Now I usually don't do these sponsored posts because I write mostly to marketing folks about online promotions. But I thought that since these types of blog contests and giveaways are becoming so popular, why not see how they actually work. Plus, all of us marketing folks are consumers as well and the majority of us will be celebrating Dad's day in one way or another.

So this giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting.com who even sent me a jpeg image of their logo so I could easily include it in my post, so here it is. They are offering $250 in prize money and and a free 16"x20" Gallery Wrapped Canvas Print to the blogger that they randomly select who follows the criteria for entering. So far I've said that UPriting is the sponsor and I've included their logo. Now I have to post a photo related to Father's Day and include some captions describing it. Here goes:

This is a photo of my dad, Alfred, with me taken back in early March of this year. I went down to visit my parents who now live in the Myrtle Beach area for a long weekend and we had some beautiful weather. We're sitting out by the pool here in my sister Fran's backyard.

My father has been a hero this past year. He's been supporting my mom who has cancer and who had to go back on chemo treatment after a recent surgery to remove her gal bladder. So we're are all so grateful to my Dad for all he's been doing to help our mom and all that he will continue to do. My father has always been so strong and supportive during any major crisis in our lives. It was always the little stuff that we fretted over too much. We love you Dad!

So perhaps I'll win the top prize and get to take everyone out to dinner on my next visit down south. If not then at least my sister will hopefully show this to my Dad since he still doesn't have his own computer.

Now back to the promotion. I also have to tell you a little bit about our sponsor. UPrinting.com is a leading online provider of business cards, color brochures and mailing postcards. They started this Blog Sponsorship Program earlier this year and invited me to register, so I did. I didn't participate in their first promotion in which they gave away $100 last month. Now I wasn't going to participate in this one either, but they were persistent and sent me another email message that they were extending the deadline for Father's Day till June 29. The winner will be selected on Tuesday, June 30th, so wish me luck. The next one is a Summer Photo Contest, so stay tuned for that.

You can learn more about UPrinting and their Blog Sponsorship Program on their UPrinting Blog. They wrote that they weren't sure at first how bloggers would react, "but that all changed during March and April. Applications from those that had participated in our competitions and promotions began streaming in at an alarming rate." So if you're a blogger and interested in registering to participate in their Blog Sponsorship program you can here.

My fellow Kodak friends should take note of this promotion. Hopefull they'll see it posted on my Facebook page! Many other brands are starting to participate in social media marketing programs like this for bloggers. If anyone is interested in doing something like this please contact me. We have a great network of women bloggers and readers you can tap into through the Lip-Sticking.com network. And again, a Happy Father's Day to my Dad and to my husband, Kevin, and all you dads!

A Thanks To Dads Along With a Few Father's Day Promotions

Today is Wednesday, which is my day to blog on Lipsticking.com, and this Sunday, June 21, is Father's Day. So I thought I would write a post about Father's Day promotions that I know of in order to help celebrate dads.

First I wanted to update the Lipsticking readers about Kmart's “TRANSFORM YOUR DAD” promotion which I wrote about here in my last blog post. This is a integrated entertainment marketing campaign that Kmart developed that they've tied into the upcoming theatrical release of the film “TRANSFORMERS: Revenge of the Fallen” which will be in theaters beginning on June 24.

After that I felt I had to write about at least one Father's Day promotion that has a golf-theme and I came across this one. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants are celebrating Dad's day with a sweepstakes called "Something Special Fore Dad". One lucky dad will win the grand prize of a set of custom-fitted Titleist golf clubs and golf bag and a first prize winner from each restaurant will receive a free round of golf for two at any ClubCorp course. Entries are being accepted both online and in-restaurant. They are also offering menu specials during Father's Day weekend and a complimentary dessert for all fathers on Father's Day.

Also this weekend in honor of Father's Day, Wendy's restaurants will be giving 50 cents from the sale of every frosty to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. You can also purchase a Frosty pin for $1 each to support the organization. Or you can make your dad a Father's Day e-card at frostycard.com and 25 cents from each card will go to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

So I reminded all the women to not forget to make this Sunday a little special for the men in their lives. Plus I just want to say a quick thanks to my Dad for all the year's he's had to deal with a mostly female family... there's three of us girls and one younger brother. Now my husband has had it very similar with a house of females as well... two daughters, no son, just a male golden retriever. I wish a very Happy Father's Day to you both as well as to all the other great dads out there.

Pixar & Disney's UP Partners with Northwest Airlines on a MySpace Sweeps

Today's Friday and new at the box office this weekend is the much anticipated animated film "UP" from the folks at Pixar and Walt Disney Studios. So let's take a look at who ended up as the prime entertainment marketing partner associated with this family film.

Northwest Airlines WorldVacations teamed up with Disney to create the “Up Adventure of a Lifetime” Sweepstakes. To enter, users have to be registered on MySpace and then list the UP MySpace profile page as one of their top friends on their own profile page. Next they need to add a comment to the UP MySpace profile page. The winner will be chosen randomly and receive a three-night trip for four to any European location serviced by Northwest Airlines. The sweeps is open till June 8.

Besides offering a way to enter the sweepstakes, UP's MySpace page let visitors view trailers of the film and watch short episodes with the movie’s main characters, learn more about the characters, read a plot synopsis, view a gallery of stills, and download wallpapers, posters and buddy icons. The MySpace profile page links to both the movie’s official page and to a dedicated movie page on Yahoo with videos, stills and a countdown widget.

Reviews from both the critics and the viewers are both giving UP an A- so far. So it should have a great weekend at the box office. Walt Disney Pictures also has some surprises for their guests who attend a Disney movie on opening weekend. The Jonas Brothers are scheduled to show up at radom at a few select theatres.

So let me know if any of you go to see the movie this weekend, and if you run into the Jonas Brothers!

Night at the Museum Teams Up with Hershey's & Post for Chances to Win Sleepovers & Cash

Hope everyone is having or had a good Memorial Day Weekend. I meant to continue my Friday blog posts on summer movie promotions but I was a little busy that day. We hosted the before and after party for my daughter's senior ball in which there was a total of 33 kids all going together in a limo bus that they chartered for the evening. Which meant that we ended up with over 100 people on our side lawn for photos! Anyhow, all went well and everyone seemed to have a good time.

So now that it's Monday morning and I've had a chance to get the house back in order I thought I'd visit the computer again and start writing. It appears that Ben Stiller beat Christian Bale in the North American weekend box office duel between their respective "Night at the Museum" and "Terminator" sequels, according to estimates issued on Sunday.

The 20th Century Fox comedy "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" sold $53.5 million worth of tickets during the three days beginning Friday, far exceeding the $30.4 million debut of its 2006 predecessor.

Hershey's is a major sponsor of the film and leveraged this with the launch of several promotions. First is an on-pack, instant-win game titled “Win a Night in the Museum” that will give five winners a night at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum that includes a sleepover in the gallery associated with film, a VIP after-hours tour and $500 in spending money.

Specially-marked packages of the following Hershey’s products are participating in the promotion: Hershey’s Kisses Brand Chocolates, Reese’s Pieces Candy, Whopper Malted Milk Balls, Good & Plenty Candy, Milk Duds Candy, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures, Hershey‘® Miniatures and 8-packs of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat Wafer Bars and Almond Joy Candy Bars.

Hershey's also has an online promotional component that consists of the Unleash the Loot Sweepstakes.  Visitors can experience a fun and interactive way to "explore the museum" and enter the sweeps for a chance to win cash prizes which include a grand prize of $50,000 or one of 10 first prizes of $1,000 Visa Gift Cards. The sweeps runs through Oct. 31.

Hershey's also had been running a national TV commercial for their Hershey’s Kisses where the candy appears in a museum setting and movie characters Rexi the Dinosaur and Dum Dum the Easter Island Head eat them up.

Post Cereals also teamed up with 20th Century Fox to promote the film with an online instant win game, Win A Smithsonian Sleepover. One Grand Prize winner wins a four-day trip for six to Washington, D.C. with a one night sleepover at the Smithsonian museum, private screenings at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Imax Theater, guided tours of Washington, D.C. and at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, and $1,700 in spending money.

Other prizes include 300 first prizes of $100 Museum Cash™ Card to spend at any museum or any merchant that accepts any major credit or debit card and 1,000 second prizes of glow-in-the-dark tee shirts. The promotion runs till June 30. There is also a Wonder Widget available for download on the promotional website.

Anyhow reviews seem to be mixed on this fim with critics giving it mostly a C, but users a more favorable B+ commenting that it is entertaining. It's a sequel and it's Ben Stiller, so you can't take it too seriously, just have some fun.

Happy Belated Mother's Day - Post Holiday Insights

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I did actually take the day off and I was away from my computer for most of it. I checked in on Facebook though in order to wish my friends and family members there a happy Mother's Day. I did not get to spend it with my mom unfortunately, but I did spend it with my two daughters, my mother-in-law and my husband and we had a very nice day.

So I still wanted to wish all my readers that are moms a Happy Mother's Day. I hope you enjoyed the day. As I mentioned, I had both my two daughters home with me which was the best present I could ask for since we just brought my older daughter home from college the day before. She finished her first year of college at NYU and is now part of the household again for a few months. I did receive some gifts such as three hanging flower baskets for the patio from my husband, who also cooked us another fabulous meal, and the girls gave me a digital picture frame which is really cool since I've been wanting one for awhile for my office.

Now according to a release from industry research firm IBISWorld, many moms missed out this year since gift giving was down an estimated 14.7%. The recession apparently has impacted Mother's Day as consumers scaled back purchases to $12.9 billion. They reported that those who did make purchases were staying away from department stores and specialty retailers and instead shopping in discount outlets. Their data also showed a strong trend of shoppers downgrading their gift purchases to smaller, lower-priced merchandise and services and choosing to make a home-cooked meal for mom, like at our home, rather than go out to a restaurant. This chart shows the  percentage by category for this years gift spending.

Sortprice.com, a fast-growing shopping search engine, reported higher traffic and user visits compared to this time last year, indicating that more consumers were utilizing the internet to find Mother's Day deals. They included a full list of gift ideas on their site here. Sortprice compiled data on traffic and user searches between April 27 and May 4 which the following data on the most popular categories and products is based on:

• Flowers - Mother's Day
• Women's Fragrances - Daisy by MarcJacobs
• Digital Picture Frames
• MP3 Players - iPod Touch
• KitchenAid Mixers
• Hugs for Mom Gift Set
• Vacumm Cleaners - Hoover Platinum
• Chocolates - Godiva Chocolates
• Women's Sleepwear - Bath Robe -
• Women's Handbags - Prada Handbags

Since flowers are the biggest selling gift item for Mother's Day I just wanted to mention this fun, interactive promotional website that Telefora created for the holiday. Their  Mother's Day Gift Guide includes different "Mom Types" such as the Super Mom, Classic Mom, Stylish Mom, Gourmet Mom, Modern Mom, Down-to-Earth-Mom and even Grandmother. Each type has a collection of different gifts associated with it.  

Teleflora also maintained a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, and its website linked to this flower blog. They offered bloggers a special promotion that enabled them to give away a mother's day bouquet to their readers, providing they gave Teleflora credit in their blog. They also have this sweepstakes going on now that anyone who makes a comment on the blog will automatically be entered for a chance to win a bouquet of flowers.

Lasting, my blogging buddy, Yvonne DiVita, included this in her Mother's Day post on Lipsticking which I utilized to send to both my sister and my mother-in-law and wanted to share here as well. It's very cute and a clever use of viral marketing to help celebrate the holiday and you can still send it today. "Visit this link and have your Mom recognized on TV! Thanks go to Moms Rising for that one".

Happy Mother's Day!

Recession Marketing to Moms - Tips & Insights

Today was again my guest blogging gig at Lipsticking.com. Here's the post:

Lately we've all been seeing many marketing messages aimed at us women that are embracing the fact that we are in a recession. Some are good, some not so great. If you now Google the term "recession marketing" you've find quite a few recent articles on the topic as well as some paid "sponsored" ads from those jumping on the bandwagon as well. 

I wrote about this marketing trend last month in this post here which was about giving value for consumers as well as values! The recession today is affecting most people, but specifically women with children, no matter what age their kids are. Young children are just not in tune with the economic concerns of today even though moms are trying to teach them. And teenagers, well there teenagers, and even though they are aware of what's going on, the world still revolves around them and they "need" many things. 

So one thing moms today are doing is seeking more products that are durable. We need to make things last and brands and companies that are offering this are experiencing growth. This image is an example of "brands that last" which I've included courtesy of John Gerzema, author of  "The Brand Bubble".