PROforma Pow-Wow

Innovative Marketing Tools - Part 1

                                     Let’s talk about ways you can build traffic

You have a retail business and business traffic has slowed.  You decide you need something to drive traffic to your business, but what.

Consider TrafficTickets™.  It is an Innovative Marketing Tool to drive consumers into the new your retail establishment. The benefits will be:

• Increase sales

• Improve brand awareness at point-of-sale

• Acquire, retain and cross-sell customers

• Sell product/brand, launch new products/services, seasonal promotions, branch openings, trade shows

• Effective anywhere you need to drive customer traffic

  The TrafficTickets System is your Ticket to the Highest Traffic levels You Can Imagine!

Once customers arrive at your establishment they will be told electronically, visually what they’ve won --but only after they come to your point-of-sale display!

 

How it works!

•    Everyone’s a winner

•  TrafficTickets™ are distributed to consumers through direct mail and newspaper inserts or
  

            handed to consumers in-store and at marketing events

• Customer has to come into the retail store find the sponsor’s POS display to insert their game      
  

           ticket and see what prize/discount they’ve won

• The game piece activates a light on the display which indicates which one of the five 
  

           prizes/discounts they’ve won

• Turnkey service includes production, distribution and fulfillment. 

Features & Benefits

•    Response Rates are an Incredible 10% to 35+%!

•   VALUE.  Consider your ROI with response rates as high as 35% and Cost-effective Promotion
  

               Materials!

•    SATISFACTION.  More than 95% of those who have used the TrafficTickets System say
  

                  they will use it again and are Extremely Satisfied with their Results.

•   ULTRA HIGH RESULTS.  The results speak for themselves, with 10% - 35+% B2B and
  

               B2C response rates.

–        Compare to Scratch Off Promotions: 1%-3% or FSI’s 1%

• BUILT-IN SECURITY. 

–        Our system prevents fraudulent copying, or printing by utilizing a specially patented ink process and multiple game card positions - creating a totally secure environment.

• DATABASE BONUS. 

–        Barcodes can be added to the TrafficTickets for data collection and verification. This enables you to capture valuable consumer data for future use.

 

Applications

•        TrafficTickets fill the need that businesses have had forever…ATTRACT
  

                     ATTENTION & DRIVE TRAFFIC!

•        B2B:

–        Trade Shows and Tabletop Shows

–        Open House/New Product Invitations

–        Seminar or Event Attendance

–        Appointment Generation

•       B2C:

–        Individual Retail Stores, Headquarters & Malls

–        Grocery, Convenience Stores & Gas Stations

–        Car Dealerships

–        Banks

–        Restaurants & Fast Food

–        Sporting Events, School Events, Golf Courses

–        Hotels & Motels

–        Real Estate

 

 

For Examples of  what you can expect, see Case Studies page

All About Promotional Products

Considering a promotional item for your next marketing effort?  The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) recently conducted a study of end-buyers and promotional products they received, and the findings may help steer your decisions. 

If you are wondering whether or not the promotional products you distributed had a shelf life, you will be happy to learn that 81 percent of promotional products were kept by the recipient because they were considered useful. And most of the recipients – 62 percent – did business with the advertiser on a product after receiving it.  Promotional products work!

Among wearables, bags were reported to be used most frequently – on average, nine times per month. In fact, bags deliver the most impressions (think about how many people see the bag as the recipient uses and travels with it) with an average of 1,038 impressions per month. 

The study also concluded that the average cost-per-impression of an advertising specialty item is just $0.004, making it less expensive per impression than nearly any other type of media!

What kinds of promotional products are available?

There are literally tens of thousands of different types and styles of promotional products. In many cases, it is even possible to obtain custom items that aren't found in any catalog. Examples of common promotional items include apparel, pens, calendars, coffee mugs, key chains, desk accessories, and memory sticks, but the sky is the limit when it comes to finding a unique product that can set your company apart from the competition.  The chart below gives some insight into the most commonly owned advertising specialty items – use one of these or call us to brainstorm how you can branch out and distinguish yourself!

New Page on Proforma Pow-Wow

Today we've launched a new page on our site -- Case Studies -- that gives examples of how different marketing needs and issues have been addressed by individual companies.  We hope that you'll be able to use this information to learn more about the latest trends in the marketing industry.  We also think that these case studies might spark an idea or two for your next marketing campaign!

Visit the new page by clicking here.

Trade Show Planning: Get the Best ROI

With marketing budgets constantly being scrutinized, the importance of maximizing the return on your trade show investment is more important than ever. According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) and the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI):

• Eighty percent of trade show attendees pre-plan a “top ten list” of exhibitors they will visit, but only 20 percent of exhibitors do pre-show promotions (CEIR)
• Exhibitions are more effective in generating leads and orders, introducing new products, promoting brands, increasing company awareness, and entering new markets than advertising, direct mail or public relations (CEIR)
• Trade show attendees are 52 percent more likely to stop by an exhibit and 20 percent more likely to remember the booth if a giveaway is staged at that booth (PPAI)

As we all know, coming up with great ideas that set your exhibit apart and attract trade show attendees are sometimes hard to find.  Planners also need to keep in mind that even best ideas fall flat if messaging is inconsistent with other marketing strategies employed by their company on a regular basis.

Building a successful exhibit

What follows are some initial guidelines/things to consider as you build your successful trade show exhibit:

• Decide on a traffic building tactic to get the attention of your attendees and create a “buzz” about your booth throughout the trade show.
• A successful trade show promotion begins before the show.  Take advantage of mailing lists offered by show organizers to pre-promote your exhibit.
• Create an attractive exhibit that highlights your company’s professionalism and offerings.  Decide on apparel for your staff that adds to the overall uniform look of your display and acts as a walking reminder of your company as employees wander the trade show floor.  Also consider which prizes and giveaways will attract your target audience and have life after the show.  A pen might get thrown in a drawer, but a unique premium item can become a desktop display that keeps your business top-of-mind.
• Close the circle of communications after the show by following up with leads you gather at your booth.

While there are many books and online resources available to help you plan for your next trade show circuit, we think the best place to start is at Proforma.  Give us a call at 800.554.2920 to learn more about our experience developing successful trade show strategies for our clients and what we can do for you. 

Interactive Marketing: Tapping into the Potential

If you’re not integrating interactive tactics into your marketing mix, you could be missing a big opportunity. More and more frequently, marketing dollars are shifting away from traditional media to the interactive arena, and with good reason. When faced with budget reductions and the need for immediate sales in recessionary times, interactive tools offer lower cost, higher measurability, and better results for direct response.

If you’re looking to reach a younger demographic, interactive marketing is especially important. It is one of the best ways to connect with hard-to-reach buyers age 35 and under.

A $55 billion business

• Interactive marketing expenditures will reach
  $55 billion within the next five years.

• This means that these expenditures will represent
  21 percent of all marketing spending.

Source: U.S. Interactive Marketing Forecast (Forrester Research)

Top interactive tactics

• Search engine marketing
• Internet display advertising
• E-mail marketing
• Social media
• Mobile marketing

Online promotions that work

WebDecoder®

WebDecoder® products (created using a unique patented printing process) conceal a hidden message that can be viewed only on a website, in-store monitor, or digital television. When positioned over a computer screen, the game piece reveals a prize message, icon, or other marketing information designed to generate immediate action.

MobiDecoder™

MobiDecoder™ gives you potential access to nearly 50 million active users of the mobile Web. Incorporating patented hidden image technology, it delivers a digital game piece that the consumer must bring to a retail store or event location for decoding. Multiple key codes can be used in a promotion to track responses back to specific advertising media and/or distribution outlets, providing valuable data for evaluating ROI.

VirtualDecoder™

VirtualDecoder™ lets you connect with a consumer without having to print and distribute a physical game piece. Targeted participants learn about the promotion via e-mail, direct mail, radio, or other traditional media and are directed to visit a website. After providing their registration information, participants are shown a virtual game piece on their display screen. Using their mouse, participants drag a virtual decoder over the embedded hidden image area to reveal a prize or value offer.

Online Games

Online games, like this one developed for Act II popcorn, get your targeted audience involved in a fun and impactful way. Aimed at increasing sales in the commercial vending channel, the game offered a chance to win $1 million. To play, consumers had to register online with the freshness code found on their product package. Results were outstanding, with sales growing from 12 million to 16 million units during the nine-month promotion period.

Do more with less money

As budgets shift to interactive from traditional media, overall advertising spending is decreasing. Marketers are focusing on tools that drive immediate response and sales, according to Shar VanBoskirk, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. “As interactive grows, marketers’ need to invest in mass media advertising diminishes,” she says. “You can do more with less money,” she continues.

Strategy continues to be key when making the transition to some of the interactive media options we have highlighted here. We can work with you to design an interactive promotion that is strategically aligned with your marketing objectives to offer the greatest possible ROI. Call us today at 800.554.2902 to learn more!

Appointment Setting Success!

Most salespeople prospect with just a business card and a brochure –- and that’s just not enough in today’s fast-paced business market.  Many lack effective tools for getting “in the door” to pursue new accounts. We can help overcome that challenge by taking the “cold” out of cold-calling and changing the attitude of even the busiest buyers on your prospect list.

Looking at it from a buyer’s perspective

Buyers are solicited by an average 50 salespeople per year. Each week, these buyers are exposed to:

• Approximately 300 e-mail messages
• 1,000 ads (sometimes many more)
• Approximately three pounds of regular mail

Helping your salespeople or distributor sales reps stand out and get appointments

Start with a direct mail campaign to your target accounts. This is a great way to open doors to key prospects by communicating what sets your products and/or services apart from the competition.  Though, keep in mind, with the amount of mail your prospects receive on a weekly basis (see above), your mailings must be effective and eye-catching enough to break through the clutter, get noticed, and be read.

Adding a promotional product to your mailing is a proven way to get that extra attention boost you need.  In fact, case studies have shown that adding “dimension” or bulk to a mailing can achieve readership of 90 percent or more!

But remember: it doesn’t work to simply throw a pen, magnet, or other item into a mailing envelope.  You need to take a creative, strategic approach.  For best results, rely on a professional resource to give you the consistency, image, and “wow” factor to succeed –- and one that maximizes your investment by offering support tools for list generation, sales follow-up, and results measurement.

Your investment in action

As an example, imagine a marketer who decides to take half of an $180,000 trade advertising budget and invest it in a target account direct mail program that employs three-dimensional promotional products.

• Direct mail budget: $90,000
• Target: 1,000 businesses
• Breakout: $30 per name for series of three mailings
• Appointment rate: 30 percent (300 appointments)
• Proposal rate: 30 percent (90 proposals)
• Win rate: 30 percent (27 new account sales at an average sales of $20,000 each)
• New Sales: $540,000
• ROI: 6:1 (first year)
• ROI: 12:1 (second year)

Plug in your own numbers, and you’ll begin to see the potential. And compare these results to the return of an ad in a trade publication that will offer, at best, just a break-even ROI.  Target account direct mail is an option you should really consider as you plan upcoming marketing strategies.

Long-term impact

Adding a promotional product to your prospecting mailing generates ongoing exposure for your message. Why?  Because when the paper portion of the direct mail is filed and forgotten, that three-dimensional item stays on the desktop and top-of-mind.  Studies conclude that:

• 84 percent of recipients can name the advertiser on a promotional item they’ve been given
• 62 percent of recipients have done business with the advertiser after receiving the item
• Recipients keep promotional products an average of seven months
• The average cost-per-impression (CPI) of a promotional product is just $0.004
• The CPI for promotional products beats all forms of media (except billboards)

Source: Advertising Specialty Institute, Promotional Products Association International

Following Tradeshow, Follow Up Can Cement Customers

For every company participating in a tradeshow, follow up is especially an important part of its marketing strategy. Companies spend a lot of time and money preparing for a tradeshow and the materials they hand out. They also put in considerable effort getting visitors to stop into their booth to learn about their product or service and when they fail to contact the people that sought more information, all the time and expense are wasted.

Many companies offer a prize for which to be drawn at the end of a show and if they do not make as big a deal out of the winner of the prize as they did in its offering, they are missing some huge opportunities. Not only should they contact the winner immediately, they should also notify other entrants of the winner’s name. It is important that after a tradeshow, follow up takes place in a timely manner. Not only do other entrants receive the name of the winner, they are also reminded of the company’s name that sponsored the contest.

It used to be said that in marketing, it did not matter what anyone wrote about them, as long as they spelled the name right, but this is not true in today’s competitive field. Integrity is as much a part of a company’s marketing strategy as any other piece of the puzzle and when a company does what it say it is going to do at a tradeshow, follow up shows potential customers they can be trusted.

Tradeshow Follow Up More Important Than Event

During a tradeshow, the idea is to put company information into the hands of the attendees, but very little business is conducted during a tradeshow. Follow up with those expressing an interest in the company’s wares is what will make them remember. During the show with hundreds, possibly thousands of booths and reams of information, attendees are not going to take the time at the show to look through all the information handed them as walk through the event.

It is essential to obtain contact information of the decision-makers during a tradeshow, follow up with them after the event and keep the company’s name in their mind as the days go on. It is never a bad idea to send periodic information about new products or services that are matched to the recipients, but never a good idea to keep sending it after they tell the company to stop.

Tradeshow Marketing

Tradeshow Marketing Can Make or Break Presentation

When it comes to marketing your business, participating in a tradeshow is one way to get your name in front of a lot of potential customers. However, tradeshows typically are not cheap and in addition to paying for the space, you have to have quality marketing materials to hand out to attendees as well as pay for the employees working at the show. With all of this expense for a tradeshow, marketing has to be on top of the game to drive visitors into your booth.

It will make no difference what you’re selling, product or service or how good your program is. If you can’t draw visitors into your booth you will have wasted a lot of money on time and materials. The only way to get a return on your investment (ROI) is by having visitors stop and learn more about your business. However, at a trade show that has possibly hundreds of vendors, many offering the same or similar services, getting some of the thousands of visitors to stop requires tradeshow, marketing of something that set you apart from everyone else.

If you sent invitations to existing and potential customers, have an entry form on the invitation for attendees to fill out with name, address and any other information you will need for follow up tradeshow marketing. Make it clear on the entry form exactly what the prize will be and when it will be announced and how the winner will be notified. They may be enticed to visit your display, if for nothing else but to drop off the entry. When they do is the time to work them into your offering.

Make Presentation Inviting To Potential Visitors

One of the biggest mistakes made by presenters at tradeshows are the people they choose to work the booth. They should be the best people you have, friendly, knowledgeable and outgoing. The ones who want to just sit behind a table can absolutely ruin your tradeshow marketing plan, as visitors may think they are not interested in meeting new people.

Regardless of the business you are in, have them dress professionally. The people sitting behind the booth should represent your company. They must reflect the integrity and intelligence and be bright enough to talk about your firm.

While an entry blank for a drawing to win a new car and the bowls of candy or other give-aways on the table may invite visitors into your booth, if is manned by malcontents dressed like they’re ready for a game of street hockey, your tradeshow marketing efforts will never score a goal.

Steps Involved in Printing

Quality Printing Is A Multi-Step Process

In business, printing is not something done with pencils the size of tree limbs. Those are left to those just learning to write. Printing can take different forms, from letterpress to offset printing, including web offset and screen print., and in order to have any product turn out as expected, there are certain steps that must be taken, and in the right order.

Without getting into a discussion on the different types of printing, the methods of preparing a job for reproduction, follows very similar methods. The first step is in the development of a concept. Many times it begins with a sketch on a napkin or on a paper lunch bag. The idea is born and then refined in trying to get the message correct and determine to whom that message applies and who will benefit the most from receiving it.

Next comes mock-up, which is a rough idea of what the finished product will look like when finished. This is possible one of the most important parts of coming up with a printing job, as many times people have a tendency to try to put too much information in one piece. Confusing, hard to read messages are typically thrown away by the recipient without being read. In the printing industry, the saying is true that less is more. There should be enough of the message presented to spark interest, but not enough to eliminate the need for follow up.

Choosing Right Color And Media

Once the product has been appropriately determined, the color of the ink and the color of the paper for printing are selected. Stay away from dark color papers, as they tend to hide most ink colors while light colors can also hide like-color inks. Never, ever use yellow ink on white paper as it becomes nearly impossible to read.

Depending on the size of your printing piece, a quality printer can help decide what the best method of printing should be to meet the needs. For small jobs, under 500 pieces on small postcard size papers, a hand-fed letterpress can be used. Typically used for wedding invitations or reply cards. Larger orders of larger items can be printed on an offset press, which todays models can produce full color reproductions in mass quantities.

Cups, plates, shirts, hats and similar items are typically done with silk screen printing techniques, which are more conducive to irregular shaped products. But possibly the most important aspect of any printing is in proof reading the copy. Any misspelling will create a negative image as well as expense of doing it over.

Why should I use Promotional Products?

David Blaise an industry consultant always talks about the MVP's of marketing.

1. Create a compelling message
2. Determine which marketing vehicle you will use to get your message out
3. Create a list of people you would like to get your message.

A lot of times using a promotional product along with your message can be one of the best vehicles you use.  The Promotional Products Association (PPA) has done a study indicating that 76.1% of respondents recalled the advertisers name on a promotional product that they had received in the past 12 months. Additionally, 75.4% of respondents said they kept their promotional product because it was useful.

How powerful is that?  The $1.99 you spent on a promotional item to be mail out to 500 people stays with 75% of the people you just sent it out to for 1 year.  Consider the return on your investment?

Here is just one example of how a promotional product can work.  I gave out (for my own marketing) a highlighter that stands on your desk top and has a happy face.  My message to my prospects and clients was "We highlight your company".  I got a tremendous response from this promotion.  People called to say how much they just loved the item and that is put a smile on their faces.  Others called to place orders for that very product, and others called because they received it and now needed to order a promotional item for their company for a project that they were working on.