The latest IPA Bellwether report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising reveals a significant increase in the number of clients increasing their spend on ‘sales promotion’, with an index of +4.0 (calculated by comparing the number of marketers increasing budgets to those decreasing budgets, to create a plus or minus balance figure).

Overall, the average IPA Bellwether index stood at +6.5, lifted by a massive +22.7 result for internet advertising.

Paul Cope, Managing Director of the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM), the UK trade body for the promotional marketing industry, says: “The latest IPA Bellwether figures are very welcome, but not really a surprise. Promotional marketing, where consumers are offered a reward or incentive to get them to do something, delivers real engagement for brands and is attracting increasing spend in a post-truth world, where what you do matters more than what you claim.”

Channels which saw an increase in budgets in the Q2 IPA Bellwether report include ‘main media’ advertising (+4.9) and events (+4.3).

Cope adds: “Promotional mechanics and techniques are now to be found across all media channels, and are incredibly strong in digital marketing and also events, which include experiential. Promotional marketing is, by its nature, about adding value to a brand and protecting brand equity and margins, which is very attractive for marketers, particularly at FMCG companies which are facing increasing pressure from retailers to cut prices.”

Channels which saw budgets falling included Direct Marketing (-3.2), PR (-6.5) and Market Research (-7.2).

UK marketers remain upbeat about their own company financial prospects, with a net balance of +13.3% of firms saying they were optimistic, fractionally higher than in the first quarter (+13.1%) and the greatest level of optimism since Q1 2017.

Following a slight upward revision to the official Q1 GDP quarterly growth figure, expectations are for a bounce back in Q2. As such, the Bellwether Report predicts a greater degree of optimism towards adspend growth for 2018 and 2019 than it previously forecast. Growth for the year as a whole is expected to come in at around 1.1% (revised from 0.8%), while 2019 growth was also upwardly revised to 0.7% (from 0.4%).

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Valassis, the UK’s largest coupon and voucher services provider, has launched Cashback & Rewards, a new multi-channel promotional solution that facilitates direct payment between the brand and the promotion’s beneficiary, removing reliance on third parties to fulfil the promotion.

Valassis says cashback has significant and broad-reaching promotional applications – research has found that nearly 20% of shoppers made a purchase or spent more than planned because of a cashback offer. Cashback & Rewards can be implemented for any number of target audiences – shoppers, merchants or even staff, as an employee benefit – the company adds.

The Cashback & Rewards mechanic has been designed to be simple for the shopper, the company says. Once they have bought a product, the shopper inputs their details online along with a picture of the receipt and is then sent a cashback or reward payment.  Payment can be delivered via a number of methods – cash, PayPal, cheque or coupon. Rewards can also be product samples or entry into a prize draw.  This direct fulfilment allows brands to reinforce messages, which often is not possible when fulfilled via a third party.

Valassis has worked with brands across Europe to deliver Cashback & Rewards for products in the pharmaceutical sector, with cashback given to both merchants and shoppers. The service is now being made available in the UK.

Charles D’Oyly, Valassis’ Managing Director, observes: “Our new Cashback & Rewards solution means that brands can deliver benefits directly to intended beneficiaries and without involving point of sale.  It taps into existing interest among consumers for cash back and represents a flexible and compelling promotional tool to engage shoppers via an easy and seamless customer experience.”

Valassis Limited is the UK’s largest coupon and voucher services provider, performing crucial data management and financial clearing services. Responsible for handling most of the UK’s coupons and vouchers, Valassis Limited is uniquely positioned to deliver insights on UK consumer promotions and is regularly quoted as an expert in the media. Valassis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harland Clarke Holdings, a US provider of payment solutions, multi-channel marketing campaigns, and secure data-driven lead generation and critical communications.  In addition, Harland Clarke provides promotional products, call centers, and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) solutions.

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Oreo, the world’s biggest-selling biscuit brand, has launched an innovative Out-Of-Home (OOH) campaign across London to drive purchase and participation in its 2018 Great Oreo Cookie Quest promotion.

The core of the OOH campaign is a specially built, interactive digital poster within a fully wrapped bus shelter on London’s busy New Oxford Street. It offers passers-by the opportunity to find hidden cookies in a version of The Great Oreo Cookie Quest game and win a free pack of Oreos, dispensed directly from the poster site.

The new OOH campaign runs for two weeks across 245 panels and 10 Transvision screens in rail stations across London, featuring a variety of creative executions directing people to the New Oxford Street game and encouraging purchase in-store.

The OOH game comes complete with its own bespoke mobile interactive game with location-based targeting around the dispenser to lead users to the OOH site and encourage participation in the quest.

OOH campaign planning is by location marketing specialist Posterscope and Carat with creative produced by Liveposter and is part of a wider advertising campaign that includes TV, online and in-store activity and displays.

“We’re kicking off this year in style with a wonder filled activation that offers a great brand experience for consumers,” said Katie Dade, senior brand manager for Oreo. “As well as raising mass awareness of The Great Oreo Cookie Quest promotion, this OOH campaign, featuring the interactive game and prize dispenser, brings the game alive through an additional fun and experiential element.”

Thomas Mason, planning and buying director at Posterscope, added: ”It makes sense for The Great Oreo Cookie Quest campaign to incorporate an OOH element, not just to help drive people in-store to purchase but also to encourage them to join in The Great Oreo Cookie Quest as they go about their daily journeys across London.  The increasing digitisation of out-of-home means that we can devise ever more innovative and fun elements into OOH campaigns, in this case a great interactive game and Oreo cookie dispenser.”

The Great Oreo Cookie Quest, which launched in the UK in mid-January and which runs until 31st May 2018, is effectively two promotions.

One, an instant win on-pack promotion, offers customers the opportunity to win the grand prize of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to California for four people, with a visit to the Googleplex and spending money. Other instant win prizes include 780 Bluetooth compatible speaker – (up to 39 will be awarded each week) worth £13 and 1,320 Oreo Earphones (up to 66 will be awarded each week) with a value of £3.

Consumers have to buy a promotional pack (unless they live in Northern Ireland, where there is a No Purchase Necessary route to conform to local gambling laws). If they are using a computer, they then go to the promotional website, www.oreoquest.com; if they are using a mobile device, then they can download the “Oreo Quest” app from the Google Play Store or the App Store and tap on the “Enter CODE” button which will take them to the promotional site.

They are then asked for their details and have to upload a scan of the logo from the pack or of an Oreo, plus their pack code.

The second promotion involves using the Oreo Quest app to find hidden Oreo Cookies and dave them to a ‘Cookiedex’. These cookies can be found by solving daily clues, identifying the object involved and then scanning it using the app, or by scanning random objects. Daily clues will involve riddles such as “What puts hands on your wrist?” if users then scan a watch, an Oreo will be revealed on their phone screen.

There are 30,000 £5 Google Play vouchers to be won by collecting cookies and scoring points, and one grand prize of a Samsung Galaxy J7.

The hidden cookies are worth different points depending on their colour – one point for chocolate, three points for silver and five points for gold. A maximum of 390 cookies can be stored in the ‘Cookiedex’ and the Galaxy J7 will go to the user who collects the biggest point total. The £5 vouchers can be won by players who are among the first to reach particular scores. Players can also earn Oreo wallpaper and stickers to use in their messaging apps.

The Great Oreo Cookie Quest app plays on Oreo’s partnership with Google, which began in August 2016, and which is why the prizes are Google Play vouchers and an Android phone (the Samsung). It has elements similar to that of the hugely popular Augmented Reality game “Pokemon Go,” where users search for virtual Pokemon in their surroundings and catch them storing them in a Pokedex on their phones.

The Great Oreo Cookie Quest app was created by US ad agency The Martin Agency, in partnership with Carat and US AR developer Gravity Jack. It launched on iOS and Android at the end of January in the U.K. and will roll out across Europe, Russia, Latin America and possibly the U.S.

Mondelēz International is a global snacking company with 2016 net revenues of approximately $26 billion. Mondelēz is a world leader in biscuits, chocolate, gum, candy and powdered beverages, with power brands including Oreo and belVita biscuits; Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; and Trident gum.

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Clipper Teas, the ethical and organic tea brand owned by Wessanen UK, has partnered with chocolate producer Seed and Bean on a large scale on-pack promotion; available to all its retail partners nationwide.

Over 300,000 packs of Clipper’s green tea will carry a Seed and Bean branded sticker which will give consumers an opportunity to claim a free bar of Seed and Bean’s 85g dark chocolate.

There are four flavours to choose from: Extra Dark, Cornish Sea Salt, Extra Dark 72% Cocoa, Extra Dark Mint and Fine Dark Lemon and Cardamon.

To claim their free chocolate, consumers will be directed towards a dedicated micro-site to enter the unique code printed on the inside of the box. They will then be asked to choose the flavour they want, and the free bar will be sent to them.

The promotional packs are available from mid-December 2017 and will be available until stocks last.

To help introduce office workers to green tea and dark chocolate, Clipper will also deliver samples to over 500 major London businesses including Top Shop, Vogue House and Air BnB.

Finally, to inspire consumers to switch their tea break to green tea and dark chocolate, Clipper Teas has enlisted the help of expert nutritionist Libby Lemon who offers advice on the best green tea and dark chocolate pairings on Clipper’s website.

The partnership unites and strengthens the shared values of the brands including their organic and Fairtrade principles alongside their dedication for using the finest natural ingredients and delivering great-tasting products.

Adele Ward, Clipper Teas Brand Controller at Wessanen UK, says: “There is a great synergy between Clipper and Seed and Bean which has enabled us to put together a well aligned on-pack promotion and a generous offer that will attract ethical and conscious shoppers. Not only do we share the same natural, fair and organic principles, but we are also both produced in the UK and are committed to producing high quality and delicious products in beautiful packaging.

Clipper Teas and Seed and Bean will be supporting the partnership across all social media channels including which will include a collaborative social competition to win a hamper of green tea and dark chocolate.

Clipper was the UK’s first Fairtrade tea company. Founded in Dorset in 1984, Clipper manufactures an extensive variety of organic and Fairtrade teas and coffees – from everyday blends to green tea and infusions. All of Clipper’s products are made with pure ingredients from the highest-quality sources, with nothing artificial added.

Clipper brand owner Wessanen UK is a natural and organic food company with healthy brands including Clipper Teas, Kallo organic rice cakes, savoury snacks, stocks, gravies and cereals, Whole Earth organic spreads, cereals and drinks, Mrs Crimble’s gluten-free macaroons, cakes, biscuits and snacks and Almond Breeze milk alternative.

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David Tymm of secure digital voucher provider i-movo suggests a new approach to bridging the gap between online marketing activity and what consumers actually do… SPONSORED FEATURE

The term ‘The Three Rs’ – referring to Reading, Writing and Arithmetic – were first proposed as the basis for a solid Victorian education by Sir William Curtis in 1825, to much derision. His contribution to education theory was quickly satirised as ’Reading, ’Riting and ’Rithmetic, and became a wry comment on educational standards, or the lack of them.

However, the idea of alliterating the Rs remains popular to this day — the environmental lobby, for example, has recently adopted the format, adding a fourth R to create ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Recover’.

So, in this tradition, we at i-movo have developed our own 4Rs to cover the four stages marketers should go through when running online promotional campaigns.

R1 = Reach

This represents the total audience volume exposed to a campaign. Digital channels have a distinct advantage over broadcast or out-of-home media in this regard, as many digital platforms (Facebook and Twitter for example) allow precise targeting by demographic profile, time-of-day, or day-of-week, together with lifestyle and interest.

Other digital channels such as a brand’s own website or organic search terms are less targeted but have the advantage that visitors are likely to be positively predisposed to a brand given they have arrived at a brand site or searched for it without prompting.

Non-digital channels such as out-of-home and instore have a less quantifiable audience figure; in these instances, footfall figures can be used to arrive at an educated estimate.

In all cases, i-movo believes the best practice is to encourage consumers to engage with the offer by clicking through to a branded microsite, or by texting a keyword to a shortcode, triggering a reply of a digital voucher.

R2 = Response

The preceding process results in a figure representing the number of consumers engaging with the instructions of the promotion, and arriving at the microsite. Through Google Analytics we can measure how many consumers from the initial group (the Reach) have taken this next step.

Brands should be aware that this step represents the single largest percentage in reduction in volumes between the various steps of the 4R i-movo model. Consumers lost at this stage in the process cannot be easily re-contacted so particular care is required in the selection and buying of online campaigns, to ensure the reduction is minimised. Bear in mind that even the most successful of online campaigns rarely exceed a 5% response rate.

R3 = Request

The third step in the 4R process is the Voucher Request. This is the number of consumers that successfully request a voucher by supplying their email or mobile phone number as the means of receiving the voucher together with any other information the brand wishes to collect such as post code, or must collect such as date-of-birth in the case of promotions including alcoholic drinks.

Completion of this step results in the consumer being sent a unique voucher using their preferred channel. Best practice is to issue all vouchers with an expiry date and time expressed as a number of days and/or hours from the point of issue.

Combining this control in conjunction with scaling back on media spend to reduce the ‘Reach’ of the campaign can therefore provide effective financial control of a campaign, without the need for promotional insurance, but only if all relevant data is available in real-time – which it is with i-movo’s approach and method.

R4 = Redemption

The final R represents Redemption: the secure validation of the voucher in-store. This is the number of consumers that have completed all four steps of the consumer journey, from seeing the promotion to availing themselves of it in-store at any of the 65,000 stores that are able to process i-movo vouchers.

In terms of coverage, i-movo’s integration with the three payment networks who serve our selected retailers (epay, PayPoint and Payzone) means the service is currently available within one mile of 99.1% of the UK urban population and in rural areas to a similar percentage within five miles. We are now extending our reach further by integrating directly into the till systems used by retailers.

The final element of the process is the need to reimburse the retailer who accepted the voucher. At the time of writing and against a backdrop of changing and increased regulation, facilitating of some settlement payments is a regulated activity. Consequently, i-movo has been accredited as a ‘Small Payments Institution’ by the Financial Conduct Authority since 2012.

Through accurate measure of all elements of the process, the i-movo 4R process provides both visibility of campaign success and also enables transparent return-on-investment calculation. All aspects of a campaign, from the creative, the strategy, to the consumer store visit are visible, quantifiable, and ultimately accountable.

Conclusion

While marketers have plenty of tools to measure the impact of online marketing activity in the digital space, it is far less easy to achieve the same level of accountability for online marketing activity where the desired outcome is a consumer visiting a bricks-and-mortar store in order to purchase a promoted product.

This information gap between online marketing and the consumer’s subsequent experience of the promoted product requires filling if marketers are to better justify the return-on-investment of their marketing campaigns.

i-movo’s four-stage 4Rs model provides an approach to measuring and predicting results accurately and in real-time, to give an unprecedented perspective of campaign performance and accountability.

David Tymm is CEO and co-founder of secure digital voucher service i-movo. This comment piece has been extracted from a White Paper, ‘The Four Rs: Measuring the effectiveness of online marketing from screen to store’ which is available to download from the i-movo site.

i-movo is a sponsor of the IPM Awards 2017.

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The entry deadline for the Institute of Promotional Marketing Awards 2017 is in less than three weeks on February 28^th – and agencies and brand owners who want to enter their promotional campaigns from 2016 are being encouraged to get their submissions together now.

The IPM Awards 2017 Call for Entries booklet plus top tips on how to write entries and examples of ‘best-in-class’ award-winning campaigns can be found in the awards section of the IPM website.

Richard Pink, the IPM’s Head of Awards, Judging & Entries, says: “Our judges are looking to reward campaigns that stood out in an incredibly competitive market during 2016, that worked hard for the brand and that delivered exceptional results. Tell us your stories and let us know why you deserve to win!”

The IPM is the industry body for promotional marketing, and its awards, which have been running for 40 years, have been created to showcase and champion the best work created in the previous year.

Any campaign which included a promotional element and which ran in the UK during 2016 is eligible for entry. Campaigns which ran outside the UK are also eligible, if they were created by a UK agency or for a UK-based brand or company.

To qualify, campaigns must have been running at some point during 2016; they can have started in 2015 and carried on into 2016, or they can have started in 2016 and run on into 2017. While the IPM would ideally like to see full results, Pink acknowledges that that may not be possible for campaigns which continued into 2017 (or which are still going).

He says: “Obviously, we’d ideally like to see full results, but we realise that, particularly with campaigns which are still live in January and February, that isn’t always going to be possible. In cases like that, we’re encouraging people to enter and explain clearly why they can’t provide absolute results. The judges will understand.”

Further information and advice on this topic is available on Richard Pink’s LinkedIn page.

The IPM also has its own YouTube channel, which features videos from a number of this year’s judges providing their Top Tips on how to create the best possible award entry.

Brands and agencies do not have to be members of the IPM to enter, although IPM members get discounts on their entry fees.

The trophies will be presented at the IPM Awards 2017 Gala Dinner on June 7^th 2017 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The headline sponsor for the IPM Awards 2017 is SODEXO and its subsidiaries Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice. Other partners include Promotional Handling Ltd, Sykes and i-movo.

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The entry deadline for the Institute of Promotional Marketing Awards 2017 is in just 40 days’ time – and agencies and brand owners who want to enter their promotional campaigns from 2016 are being encouraged to get their submissions together now.

The IPM Awards 2017 Call for Entries booklet plus top tips on how to write entries and examples of ‘best-in-class’ award-winning campaigns can be found in the awards section of the IPM website.

Richard Pink, the IPM’s Head of Awards, Judging & Entries, says: “It’s time for brands and agencies to submit their Awards entries and help us celebrate the amazing talent, the hard work and the promotional successes of 2016! As the industry body for promotional marketing, the IPM is here to proudly showcase and champion your work over the past year, and ensure you and your peers receive the industry-wide recognition you deserve.”

The IPM has just run an online Masterclass on crafting the perfect IPM Awards entry, hosted by Richard Pink, which attracted nearly 100 attendees from agency, service companies and brands.

One issue which the Masterclass highlighted was a concern over results from campaigns which started in 2016 but which continued on into 2017 and either finished close to the February 28^th entry deadline, or which will still be running after that.

Pink says: “Obviously, we’d ideally like to see full results, but we realise that, particularly with campaigns which are still live in January and February, that isn’t always going to be possible. In cases like that, we’re encouraging people to enter and explain clearly why they can’t provide absolute results. The judges will understand.”

Further information and advice on this topic is available on Richard Pink’s LinkedIn page.

The IPM also has its own YouTube channel, which features videos from a number of this year’s judges providing their Top Tips on how to create the best possible award entry.

Marketing campaigns which ran anywhere in the world are eligible for entry to the IPM Awards 2017, so long as they included a promotional element and they were created and run either by an agency based in the UK or on behalf of a brand based in the UK.

Brands and agencies do not have to be members of the IPM to enter, although IPM members get discounts on their entry fees.

The trophies will be presented at the IPM Awards 2017 Gala Dinner on June 7^th 2017 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

The headline sponsor for the IPM Awards 2017 is SODEXO and its subsidiaries Protravel, Filmology, Fotorama and Entice. Other partners include Promotional Handling Ltd, Sykes and i-movo.

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Digital promotions and couponing can help FMCG brands build or maintain their share of supermarket shelf space, says Stuart Sankey of Quotient

The UK retail environment, particularly the grocery multiples sector, has always been fiercely competitive – historically, much of that competitiveness centered around the Big Four (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrison’s,) challenging each other for increased market share, as well as Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand owners battling one another for shelf space for their brands.

The arrival of the German discount grocers Aldi and Lidl (in 1990 and 1994 respectively) and their rapid expansion from 2010 proved to be significant because their success was based on a different business model – a no frills approach and less variety in-store.

A typical Aldi or Lidl store stocks around 2000 items, whereas a Big Four supermarket may stock anywhere between 30,000 to 90,000 items. The undoubted success of Aldi and Lidl has caused a massive shake-up amongst the UK’s Big Four, which in practical terms means that it is now significantly more difficult for FMCG brand owners to achieve and maintain a product listing in the major supermarkets.

Some relatively well known brands have suffered the ignominy of a de-listing in a major supermarket, although it is smaller brands that are being hit hardest as smaller brands lack the marketing budget of the more established names.

What Can FMCG Brands Do To Protect Their Listing?

The Big Four supermarkets are looking for brands that can help drive footfall into their stores – and prove it! They want products that help them with their business model, and FMCG marketers who can demonstrate that their brand fits into this scenario.

Here are some ways you can support your listing:

• Drive Consumer Demand Using Digital Retailers will want to see evidence of ‘reach’ from your marketing plans – and that usually means including digital elements. Make sure that you are not just driving awareness of your products, but actually adding strong call-to-actions to your campaigns that give consumers a reason to go into the store and buy your product.
• Harness Social Media Brands that make the time to invest in Social will reap the rewards. The low barriers to entry mean that smaller FMCG brands that put resources into building a community around their products will improve their chances of driving word of mouth and awareness. If you have an audience on Social Media that you can drive in-store for a promotion or special offer this will help in your listing conversations with retailers.
• Demonstrate Demand with Data Plans and marketing calendars are great, but you will need to demonstrate with data that your promotional activity works. One way to demonstrate effectiveness is by creating consumer demand via promotional offers delivered through retailer loyalty programmes. Another way, which is retailer agnostic, national and scalable, is to use digital printable coupons in your marketing activities – when the consumer redeems them in-store they can be tracked to not only store level but right back to the individual you engaged with online, allowing you to continually drive re-purchase and loyalty cost effectively.
• New Product Launch Activation Consider extending the shelf life of new product launch promotions or campaigns by continuing to provide savings and discounts via a coupon after the in-store promotional activity has ended. This can encourage consumers to continue to buy the product, increasing the likelihood that it will become part of their regular purchase repertoire.

Stuart Sankey is European Sales Director of Quotient Technology Limited (formerly Coupons.com Limited), a leading European digital promotions and media platform that connects FMCG brands, retailers and consumers. It recently launched Shopmium  in the UK, a mobile-first proposition that enables FMCG brands to win on mobile.

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