Launching a New Website

A lot of time, money, and energy goes into the development of a company website.  So when it’s finally ready to be announced to the public, you want to shout it out to the world!  This insurance company wanted to as well, but they went about it a little different.  Check out this success story shared from PPAI.

Objective – A health insurance company needs to drive people to its new website.

Strategy Execution – After investing a lot of time and money into redesigning their new website, the company wanted to get as many people to see it as soon as possible.  At first, the company was going to implement a plain direct mail campaign giving the user the URL for the site.  However, the company realized that that method would be too passive and take too long to get the numbers they were looking for.

To make the campaign more interactive, they decided to include in the mailing a USB Web key.   When inserted into a computer, the web key automatically launched to the insurance company’s new website, inviting the user to check it out.

Results – The results were higher than expected and very pleasing to the insurance company.  Over 60 percent of the recipients of the web key direct mail package accessed the site, well above industry results for a plain direct mail invitation.

Now that’s some fantastic results that you can’t get anywhere else with the exception of promotional merchandise!

Little is the New BIG

With their sizable impact, small promotional items prove that oftentimes less is more.  And this is exactly what large companies such as UPS, Wachovia, Liberty Mutual, Chase, Nationwide, and Honeywell have found out.  They’ve all promoted themselves with smaller items such as antibacterial pocket sprayers, even though they certainly could utilize big, impressive, expensive promos.  Why would they use smaller items?  Consider these exerpts taken from an article from ASI’s Advantages magazine.

Lower Cost
The first consideration is the obvious one, a lower cost.  When one financial services consulting firm wanted to give its clients a classy holiday promotional gift, they considered items such as a 5″x7″ digital photo frame.  They believed the frame would be a very useful item for many demographics because everyone likes to display pictures of family and friends.  But the cost of the frame exceeded their budget.  What their distributor found instead was a digital mini photo keychain, which holds 56 photos and displays them on its 1.1″ screen.  The function was still satisfied and the price difference brought the gift promotion down right where it was needed.

Good Traveler
In addition to helping clients stay within their price point for gift promotions, miniatures can also offer portable, practical giveaways for a general end-user.  Smaller items are perfectly sized for the pocket, purse, briefcase, and drawer.  One hotel wanted to provide their customers with a small, attractive momento of their stay.  They decided to use mini stain removers which met this need perfectly.  Their diminutive size also ensured that airplane travelers could take their souvenir home in their carry-on luggage.

Quality Counts
Selecting a smaller item may allow the advertiser to ensure a higher quality item, which reflects more positively on the advertiser’s image.  One Realtor wanted to give mini flashlights to his clients as a closing gift.  The problem with most mini flashlights, however, is they are provided with a watch-type of battery.  The concern was that these types of batteries would expire before the Realtor was able to hand them out because they would need to be stored (the Realtor did not close a lot of houses per month).  What his distributor found to fit this need was a higher quality mini flashlight which used AAA batteries.  With this flashlight the Realtor was able to buy fresh batteries for a high quality promotion at every closing.

Cross-Generation Appeal
Mini items do not just appeal to one or two demographics or age groups.  It works across the board.  Folks 65 and older, for instance, like getting almost anything free.  But they prefer quality items and American-made goods, particularly if it’s a thank you gift.

Many Baby Boomers, upon retirement, downsize their digs and whittle down their stuff.  They may be more likely to keep a smaller item than a big one, especially if it fits in with their pared-down lifestyle.

Generation X likes portable items that help them maintain their on-the-go lifestyle.

Generation Y has grown up with their favorite techno toys shrinking with each new release.  Smaller is better to this age bracket, especially wth anything technologically savvy.

And, finally, children like things that are small, like them.  They like items that older people use, such as lip balm or flashlights on a keychain.  But tiny replicas and toys such as mini plush or popular figures work well also.

With the stress of today’s economy, going smaller may just be the way for advertiser’s to go.  The right product could yield a lower cost, higher quality, higher portability, and the right appeal to appease every demographic.

Doing Business at the Water Cooler

If you work in an office environment, or even if you don’t, you’ll notice one aspect of our daily work life never changes.  We all discuss our lives at some point during the day with our coworkers.  It used to be with neighbors, but with our lives so busy every day, we need to let it all out at work, as this article from Promotional Magazine explains…

The American workplace is rapidly surpassing such cornerstones of neighborhood life as the front porch and the living room to become the most powerful social network available to advertisers today.  A study from consumer intelligence firm BIGresearch shows that 68% of American workers socialize with coworkers while taking a break from work, and an additional 42% also communicate with friends and family during the workday via telephone, email, and texting.

This employee-to-employee networking has direct implications for marketers, since about 96% of at-work consumers say that they regularly or occasionally give advice to their peers in the workplace about products and services.  Further, 93% indicate that they also seek advice from coworkers before making purchases.

“With Americans now spending a record-breaking 60% of their waking hours at work, the days of stopping by your neighbor’s front porch in the afternoon to discuss current events over an iced tea are over”, says Stephanie Molnar, CEO of WorkPlaceMedia.

The benefits of targeting consumers in such a highly connected, yet traditionally “ad-free” environment have not gone unnoticed by marketers looking to stay ahead of the pack.  A staggering 95% of U.S. companies who have already granted advertisers access to this highly coveted demographic indicate that their employees regularly or occasionally talk about the advertiser offerings and promotions they receive during the workday, proving that individuals can become very influential and passionate brand advocates in the workplace.

As this article suggests, allocating some advertising funds towards the American workplace makes perfect sense with the incredible amount of time we spend there!  A great place to strategically place pens, pencils, mugs, calendars, planners, and bags, just to name a few.