For years PR was considered a nice thing to have as part of a
sales promotion campaign. But in the last few years -- amid the
explosive rise of the Internet and the advent of TIVO, which have
given people greater control over how they consume media - PR has
become a must-have for sales promotion companies.
The trend is opening up a whole new avenue for PR. A growing
number of marketers realize that "media integration" can't just be
lip motion anymore, and are now demanding that PR play a bigger
role in their sales promotion campaigns, along with 30-second ads,
direct mail, coupons, sweepstakes and other traditional forms of
sales promotion that -- individually -- are failing in a fragmented
media universe.
Executed properly PR can, well, eliminate the "sales-y" aspects
of sales promotion that consumers can smell a mile away. "The
efficiency of a journalist writing something about your product is
stronger than any form of communication," says Tom Webster,
VP/creative director of U.S. Concepts, a New York-based sales
promotion firm whose clients include branding companies Coty,
Diageo, Schieffelin & Somerset as well as Nintendo. "You need
to contact consumers on several levels to get a relationship going
and PR is part of that in terms of supporting sales promotion."
PR is an integral part for the sales promotion of another one of
U.S. Concept's clients, Rimmel London cosmetics, which are sold
exclusively at Wal-Mart outlets. U.S. Concepts owns two
double-decker buses that, for 10 months a year, travel to Wal-Mart
stores throughout the country. There is signage on the buses -
along with a picture of supermodel Kate Moss - plugging Rimmel
London brands. Before the buses arrive, however, reps from U.S.
Concepts will contact local public affairs programs to see if they
want to shoot the buses as they pull into Wal-Mart outlets. It
depends on the market, of course, but the buses usually get a bite.
"You don't see a double-decker bus with Kate Moss on it everyday in
El Paso, Texas," Webster says.
PR is becoming such a potent element of sales promotion because
it can play to peoples' emotions rather than a coupon or an ad that
basically says: 'Buy me.' Infusing PR into the mix is "giving
people what they want to hear rather than what [companies] want to
say about their products," says Tim Hanlon, executive VP/managing
director of sales promotion firm DVC Worldwide (New York), whose
clients include AT&T, Georgia-Pacific, Gillette and Kraft
Foods. "Today's consumers need new relevance."
Hanlon points to Georgia-Pacific's "Do you know a Brawny Man?"
campaign from 2003 as a perfect example of how PR helps to drive
sales promotions. Georgia-Pacific wanted a new icon to replace the
somewhat antiquated Brawny Man -- with a handlebar mustache and a
plaid shirt. The announcement asking for a new Brawny Man was made
in coupons and FSIs; the company received thousands of
nominations.
"This is the intersection between PR and promotion," Hanlon
says. "You had wives and daughters out there saying, 'Hey, my
husband/dad can be a Brawny Man.' Everyone wants their piece of
Hollywood. What you're looking for is the 'money shot,' something
that can clear CNN for three days."
The Brawny stunt worked wonders, getting exposure in many of the
top dailies. Perhaps more important to the client, sales volume
rose 12.3% during the campaign and Brawny had a 5X category growth
compared with consumer product giants Procter & Gamble and
Kimberly Clarke.
"Anything we generate is taken a step further in the sales
division, creating a full cycle that goes way beyond cutting
clips," says Tim Padgett, a principal with Sales Acceleration Group
(Palatine, IL), a marketing alliance formed last year that combines
public relations, direct response and lead generation (See
sidebar.)
Cliff Popp, PR account supervisor at Ten United, (Pittsburgh), a
full service marketing communications firm, adds: "Many companies
are coming up with a 'whole egg' approach as part of product
launches."
To help drum up publicity for DAD'S's Pet Foods, manufactured by
DAD'S Pet Care, Popp created a tie-in that for each DAD'S Pet Foods
product purchased, 15 cents would go to 30 animal shelters in six
northeastern states. The PR element helped to generate sales of
more than 30,00 packages of Dad's Pet Foods and raised nearly
$5,000 for the animal shelters. "You have to create news value for
the promotion."
Jerry Schwartz, founder and president of GS Schwartz & Co.,
a full service PR agency in New York that currently works with U.S.
Concepts, the Promotion Marketing Association and Reed Smith a
global law firm with a heavy marketing presence, says sales
promotion is a burgeoning market for PR firms since companies are
spending more of their marketing dollars "below the line," a
British term meaning other than traditional forms of
advertising.
"For years, PR was done in-house at the sales promotions
companies to promote the agency, product or client," he says. "But
now PR is getting ink, making media contacts and organizing
events...The day will come when sales promotion companies start
acquiring PR agencies because it will be a client need."
Contacts: Tim Hanlon, 212.431.5300, [email protected]; Tim Padgett, 847.
963.0333, [email protected]; Cliff Popp,
412.471.5300 X207; [email protected]; Jerry
Schwartz; 212.725.4500, [email protected]; Tom Webster,
212.366.3462, [email protected]
Growing Nexus Between Sales Promotion and PR
When designing sales promotion programs, often sales and
marketing departments speak different languages - or don't speak at
all. And PR isn't even considered a component of the sales
promotion program. That can sink the best intentions of any
marketing department.
Companies may want to consider narrowcasting their sales
promotion effort to get all three groups - sales, marketing and PR
- to run loud and run deep as they submerge themselves into a new
market segment. Too often, marketing teams develop what they think
are integrated marketing programs, but fail to coordinate with
sales and PR teams. And nobody thinks to get a lead-generation team
involved until the opportunity has passed. So while sales promotion
and PR campaigns may win awards, they still fail to generate leads
the sales team needs. That's deadly in today's economy, where
wait-and-see purchasing attitudes persist.
Here are four sales promotion best practices your company can
use to run loud, run deep:
- Act in Concert - An Aberdeen study found that sales departments
ignore up to 80% of lead generation and sales collateral developed
by companies' marketing departments. Marketing, PR and sales teams
must work hand-in-hand in developing sales promotion tools that
reinforce the same message. - Understand Company's Mission, Vision and Values - That same
study found that sales people spend 40 to 60 hours each month
re-creating customer-relevant materials. Eliminate this misdirected
energy by designing every stage, tactic, and metric with the goal
of closing sales faster. - Create a Sales-Focused Culture - Sales promotion programs for
target markets often lack direction from the sales team on the
front end, or follow-through from the lead- generation team.
However, by including the sales team early, and then having
lead-generation specialists call on only the most profitable
prospects identified through awareness campaigns, companies greatly
increase the chances for success. - Fill The Communications Gap - Prospects are hesitant to be the
first to try something, so customer testimonials are crucial. Often
the best reference is simply a sales promotion reprint of a news
article on a customer using your product. PR clips give salespeople
one more reason to talk to customers and prospects. This in turn
creates an expanded PR cycle that pumps up the sales muscle and
builds greater rewards through customer wins.
Source: Tim Padgett/Sales Acceleration Group
How to...Score PR with Sports Associations
They've already dropped the puck for the first few games of the
National Hockey League playoffs while the National Basketball
Association's "second season" tips off later this week. Although
the competition for TV ratings grows fiercer with each passing
season, the NHL/NBA playoffs can still provide solid
marketing/communications vehicles for companies targeting a fairly
wide audience. Depending on the budget, campaigns can score at the
local level, too. Both playoffs usually run through June. Here's
how to get the ball rolling with each sports organization:
NHL:
Andrew Judelson, Group VP/Corp. Marketing, 212-789-2000
NBA:(Sponsorships/events)
Jonathan Press, VP/Mktg. Partnerships, 212-407-8000
NBA(Entertainment pitches):
Charlie Rosenzweig, VP: Entertainment/Player Marketing,
201-865-1500