From MediaLife:

Handing out free samples to promote your services is pretty old hat. But then there’s never been a free sample quite like this.
The box itself looks like any other home pregnancy test. But this pregnancy test isn’t for women. It’s for men.

It’s called the ReadyDaddy pregnancy test, and it was distributed on the streets of towns across Israel in May as part of an alternative media campaign for Israeli HMO Clatit, one of the nation’s major medical services.
The HMO wanted to promote its pregnancy services among young couples, but it knew that its message would get lost if it reached out to young women, who are already bombarded with pregnancy-related promotions and advertisements.

“The tests were active, and if a men took the test, the result would always come out ‘not ready’ (unless the man was pregnant),” Eyal Gan-mor, ReadyDaddy was a bit hit with those who received it. A few men actually took the test, and many more logged on to the associated ReadyDaddy web site, which directed surfers to information about Clatit pregnancy services.

“The top sticker is a coupon for $5 off any $20 purchase at CVS. The coupon pulls off to reveal a second sticker, an ad for CVS that stays on the bill when it leaves your wallet and goes back into circulation.”

Well done, very targeted.

I think that the current crisis should stop the “forcing to consume” attitude which naturally create more waste than richness. We have the opportunity to “falsely” embrace environmental issues while still forcing our public to buy.

Earlier this year the European Court of Justice ruled that member states cannot ban BOGOF promotions. That was said to Belgium, but later in the UK the Department of Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs began to put pressure on stores to target food waste: they ask supermarket heads to offer half-price discounts on perishable foods instead of BOGOF deals.

Now, in appearance there’s no difference between “Buy One Get One Free” and “Buy One Pay Half”. The money transit between shops and customers is the same.

On the other hand, the two options are very different.
Besides the fact that the customer perception of the first one is highly more positive, that one put the client into a buying loop that tends to provoke a double-buy (or the buy of larger-packages) for almost everything possible. Which means, obviously, more turnover for the shop.
So, it’s not so easy to force distribution channels avoid such promotions: you’re simply telling them to cut revenue.

But people are smarter, and even more now they have less value in their pockets.
So, why not:

• make the BOGOF mechanism work with multiple accounts (one consumer pays, another consumer gets the second item)?
• limit these type of promotions to “organic”, “natural”, “environmental friendly” products?
• enlarge the BOGOF to set of products (you buy a toothpaste and get either a tuna can or a pack of cereals or …)?

Marketing has to evolve, give solutions to social problems and embrace the new trends.

Smarter people need smarter shops, who need smarter companies.
I’m not talking about environment, that’s only an excuse.
I’m only trying to suggest an even better way to do business selling a lot of stuff to people.

[integral article from MediaPost]Bags of Doritos Late Night are functioning as “tickets” to enable consumers to access and interact with virtual, 3-D performances by the bands blink-182 and Big Boi.Specially marked bags of the brand’s Late Night varieties bear markers that are recognizable by augmented reality technology — technology that enhances video imagery with computer-generated graphics in real-time. The concerts are being billed as the first-ever augmented reality experiences to showcase live-action video within a 3-D, interactive environment.Users log onto Doritoslatenight.com and point the printed marker on the bag at a Web cam to launch virtual performances that seem to “pop directly out of the bag.” In addition, the technology allows users to change the video performances experienced (two songs by blink-182, one song by Big Boi) each time simply by changing the way they hold or move the snack bag.Participants can also enter for a chance to win tickets to a live blink-182 show in the city of their choice this summer. The band’s tour, launching July 24 in Las Vegas, will stop in more than 40 cities.The novel online events — described by the brand as “concerts in the palm of your hand” — are the latest in an ongoing series of innovative efforts focused on involving and giving control to fans of the Doritos brand.The PepsiCo Frito-Lay division brand has been structuring its marketing around those concepts and continuous dialogue with its fans since 2006, when a new Doritos marketing team led by Director of Marketing Rudy Wilson took over.Like the spicier, more “uninhibited” flavors in the new Late Night line, which was launched in April, the augmented reality concerts reflect the reality that young people in particular “have different sides during the day and late at night,” says Wilson. “They may eat different foods. What else do they do late at night? They like to listen to music. And they want to be able to control where and when they listen to the music.”The special-edition snack bags will be available for an unspecified, limited time at retailers nationwide in support of the Late Night launch. Whether more such concerts are developed will depend on what Doritos hears in its dialogue with consumers via social media and other channels, Wilson says.Doritos’ most visible implementation of the “giving fans control” concept to date has been its “Crash the Super Bowl” program, which asks consumers to create its advertising for the big game. Doritos became the first brand to broadcast a consumer-generated ad during 2007’s Super Bowl, and launched careers for the winning video creators in 2008 and 2009. Last year’s commercial topped USA Today’s advertising meter for the event.Other programs have included the launch of Flavor Shots, which allow consumers to control flavor intensity with flavor packets; a promotion enabling fans to design the first consumer-generated Xbox Live Arcade game; another that enables consumers to determine which of two new flavors continued at retail and which was discontinued; and another in which consumers were given the chance to name a new flavor of the chips.

Natural cosmetics brand Origins is mounting a nationwide Earth Day campaign that will let customers bring in all their used cosmetic packaging for recycling—even from Origins’ beauty-care rivals—and receive a free sample of Origins’ latest skincare product.

Origins, produttore di cosmetici naturali, lancia una campagna nazionale per il Giorno della Terra invitando i clienti di portare tutte le confezioni riciclabili di cosmetici – anche quelle dei concorrenti – per ricevere un campione gratuito dell’ultimo prodotto per la pelle.

A window sign instructs them to call a number on their cell phones and create a digital fish for the aquarium using voice commands. Then users receive a thank-you SMS message inviting them to visit online.

Un messaggio istruisce di chiamare un numero e creare un pesce digitale per l’acquario usando comandi vocali. Alla fine si riceve un SMS di ringraziamento che rimanda al sito.

McDonald’s is partnering with Taobao, the consumer division of Alibaba Corp., known as the eBay of China, to conduct reverse auctions offering pricey consumer electronics for the price of Super Value Meals in response to Chinese consumers’ growing concern about their future prosperity.

McDonald’s insieme a Taobao, la divisione dei consumatori Alibaba Corp. conosciuta come la eBay cinese, fà aste inverse su elettronica costosa fino al limite di prezzo dei suoi Value Meals, in risposta alla crescente preoccupazione economica dei suoi consumatori cinesi.

The aggressive promotion aims to get die-hard Dew-ers to try Vault, which after three years on the market isn’t just an also-ran to the Pepsi brand: according to Beverage Digest, juggernaut Mtn Dew commands more than an 80% share of the citrus segment, while Vault holds about 4%.

L’aggressiva promozione mira a portare gli appassionati di Dew (della Pepsi) a provare Vault (di Coca Cola), che dopo tre anni sul mercato non è neanche un concorrente del primo: secondo Beverage Digest, Mtn Dew detieni l’80% di quota ddel mercato specifico, mentre Vault ne detiene circa il 4%.

CBS Cares has run other health-related promotions in its nine-year history, but this is the first time the division has included a sweepstakes in an awareness initiative.

CBS Cares è uscita con altre promozioni legate alla salute nei nove anni della propria storia, ma questa è la prima volta che include un concorso in un’iniziativa di sensibilizzazione sociale.

“This price promise allows them to book early and take advantage of our low fares without worrying they will lose their money if they need to cancel their trip due to job loss.”Once again, JetBlue stands up with an innovative marketing initiative.”Lópzione permette ai clienti di prenotare in anticipo ed approfittare di tariffe minori, senza la preoccupazione di perdere il denaro se devono poi cancellare il viaggio per aver perso il lavoro.”Ancora una voltaJetBlue si distingue per un’iniziativa commerciale innovativa.