Today in Chicago, the association formerly known as the Promotion Marketing Association will meet at its annual conference. The biggest buzz being generated this year is the fact that they are currently undergoing a name change. They are now known as the Brand Activation Association. The rationale according to the PMA is that; “The explosion of new-age channels has altered clients marketing cultures. The BAA will take on the role of unbiased aggregator of industry learning.” If you are confused what difference a name makes you are not alone. My guess is they are taking action to shed preconceived notions that they stand for old school tactics. Today an on-pack promotion will get you a yawn. But tell consumers to tweet, comment and post for a chance to win and fingers start to tingle. The BAA is going to stand for something new so we’ll see how they use this conference to communicate it.
But on to the subject at hand. By writing “The 7 Habits of Successful People” Steven Covey encouraged the practice or in some cases the development of a manageable number of new habits. Personal accountability was a central theme. I like to think he would approve of these 7 habits that you should hold an online promotion agency accountable for when implementing an online promotion. When they exhibit these you can be confident they have the chops to really help promote your business in the online and mobile space.
#1 Counsel
Counsel must involve more than programmatic advice on how to execute a program. It also includes what engagement you can expect, where it will come from and why. This comes from experience and an understanding of the variables that make each promotion unique.
#2 Concepts
Simplicity rules when you are asking consumers to enter a sweepstakes or contest. Consumers don’t follow direction all that well so keep them to a minimum. From our contest judging experience we know the disqualification rate (DQ Rate) can be alarming when consumers are asked to learn something new while attempting to enter a contest.
#3 Creative
Good creative must pay off brand equities not trade them for participation through some form of temporary borrowed interest.
#4 Technical
The technology to make the site fully functional must work flawlessly as designed before launch. A live environment is not the place for QA and consumers are quick to point out glitches.
#5 Legal
Good agencies do not expose their clients to legal risks. A perfect storm is brewing where marketers who exhibit woefully inadequate rules and disclosures are on a collision course with the FTC.
#6 Administration
This is the most public face of the promotion where winners can either become ambassadors or critics of the sponsor. Pick an agency that lives and breathes customer service.
#7 Reporting
What happened is one measure but understanding why it happened is something you can build on. Insist that data be accompanied with analysis and hopefully insight.
Marden-Kane has been offering counsel and deploying online promotions since 1995 when the first NCAA Final Four Bracket Challenge was put online for our client CBS. The experience we have gained goes into every campaign we plan and execute.