So long blogging world, its been real

This blogging experience was interesting.  I have never blogged before this assignment and am not an avid reader of any blogs in particular.  So basically I was very unaware of the world of blogging.  However through this project I ended up checking out many blogs and have come to appreciate them more. 

While the, in my opinion, pointless blogs that just include the happenings of someone’s daily life still do not interest me there are some very helpful blogs that really can better people’s lives.  One in particular I found was called The Simple Dollar, which was founded to help people save money in all facets of life and learn how to get the most out of their dollar.  The founder of this blog started it out of the goodness of his heart and just to share the tactics he used while in financial trouble as well as new strategies he learns of daily.  If I was to start reading a blog on a daily basis it would be one like The Simple Dollar, where I can actually translate what is blogged to my daily life and benefit from it.  This is one main reason why the coupons, promotions, and contests topic interested me.  I felt that if I could search the Internet for contests of all types that would interest many different people then put them all in one spot such as this blog then everyone would benefit.  I would learn about cool new promotions across the market as would other consumers, while the products and companies gain even more coverage on their contest as well as potential loyal customers.  Another benefit to this topic was that I was learning about recent contests that were still in effect so if it was something I was especially interested in I could sign up for the contest and try to win free stuff.

This blogging topic still influences my life because for 2 times a week for 10 straight weeks I was researching promotions and contests, so now I’m wondering what kind of contests are going on while I am no longer searching multiple times a week.  I am curious whether or not a product or brand that I am interested in is having a contest that would be worthwhile for me to enter.  Also during the 1o weeks I was telling my friends about the contests I was researching which is even more free publicity for the contest and could have influenced people to go and join the promotions.  Also in terms of connecting to our class, this blog on coupons, contests, and promotions led to the idea of sponsoring events for the Godiva Liqueurs campaign and deciding to capitalize on this market by adding a coupon for the product to DVD box sets. 

Now on to the exciting world of coupons, contests, and promotions that I was devoted to since the start of 2008 which now seems so long ago.  There is a very interesting dynamic to the Internet world of promotions.  What I found was that brands can pretty much ask anything of their consumers in exchange for a years worth of chicken, an ugly ipod, or a Swiss army watch valued at $115.  Consumers are absolutely driven by free gifts and coupons.  My very first post way back in January basically blew my mind while I was posting.  Chick-fil-A offered the first 100 people in line a year’s worth of free chicken sandwiches, and in return over 100 people stood line for days in order to be part of that 100.  However the beauty of it is they made it a social event with bbq’s and even dancing.  All of this for free fast food chicken sandwiches that are probably worth about $1. 

Another trend I noticed is that consumers have created a contest culture.  For Chick-fil-A there is a loyal group of people that participate for the atmosphere and the free chicken, Tide’s ugly ipod contest started a blogging stream of hundreds of people, even an Idaho potato display contest draws in a crowd every year.  While people like me just seek out any random contest or promotion and might enter if the application doesn’t take too long, but these people are loyal to a brand and will do anything for discounts or free stuff.  The loyal followers, bloggers, and contest seekers keep the contests coming and also make brands get creative with their promotions.  Adding to the culture are blogs such as The Simple Dollar and the website Everyday Loopholes that encourage people to seek out and share deals or contests they hear about.  Because there is this culture however, brands need to get innovative with their promotions or they wont stand out amongst the clutter.

Standing out amongst the clutter is something that is very important in advertising and something we’ve been talking about in the medium pros and cons.  Clutter is a major downfall to most notably television and newspaper.  Also the Internet is full of clutter, and online contests need to be innovative and include an element that sets them apart in order to draw people in and want to enter the contest.  When I was searching for promotions twice a week it was sometimes really hard to find a contest that was at all different.  Luckily, brands are getting innovative in the terms of their contests or what they are asking consumers to do and I tried to only choose the ones that included something different or promoted an unknown product.  The promotions and products I found most innovative was the gas station television network and the vending machine coupons.  Vending machines to me always seem like they’ve been there forever and that the concept has never changed, however now they are being updated and really moving with other products into the 21^st century. 

Who would have ever expected a television station specifically created to target people pumping gas? This is an innovative concept that needs to be field tested to see if it catches on, but with such a new concept people are drawn in to learn more about it and become part of new innovations.  I’ve developed a theory through blogging, there are two types of contest people: those who enter for free stuff no matter what it is and those who actually put effort into producing something to submit for seemingly more valuable free stuff like in the GSTV promotion.  This also largely defines the promotions market because the more commercial products such as Tide or Dunkin Donuts create a no hassle contest that doesn’t require the consumer to produce anything.  Then the more alternative outlets such as Netelligent or Fuel the Change have the ability to create contests that require people to be creative and actually put effort into submitting something.  However there is a distinction because Dunkin Donuts or Chick-fil-A cannot really ask people to produce a video because all they can give in return is a free fast food coupon, while promotions such as the Woozyfly band contest can ask way more of the participants because their offering a cash prize of $1,000 and a great opportunity for an unsigned band.  This kind of just adds to the whole culture of contests because there is kind of a pecking order as to what brands can do. 

            Like I mentioned earlier, this kind of information can help in daily life and in future jobs.  My blogging experience is definitely being used to add weight to an advertising campaign and make it as effective as possible with the use of coupons.  Also when creating ad plans for other classes in true to life situations I am searching the Internet more effectively using Google News, checking out blogs on the topics, and searching for any promotions the brand has done in the past.  I think the habits I’ve picked up and the fact that coupons now have more of an established role in my life will help in my future employment.  I think this can help if I’m working in the budget aspect because I am now familiar with blogs that discuss money saving tactics, it can also help in the strategy department creating promotions for products and the theory I created could also lend itself nicely to real life situation.  Also just general knowledge of areas to seek out coupons for my daily well being and keeping them in mind so everyday I can save some money.  Well that’s all for me!  Coupons, contests, and promotions you really have influenced part of my life :)

WOOZYFLY Launches Contest for Bands

I have never heard of WOOZYFLY, but apparently they are a music media and social networking website who is putting on a pretty cool contest.  This press release, WOOZYFLY Launches Contest for Bands to Win a $150,000 Recording, Promotion, and Distribution Deal, was written just yesterday announcing the terms of this contest.  The contest will run from April 2 to May 15, 2008 and it is allowing unsigned bands and artists to go on the their website, woozyfly.com, and create a band profile complete with original music and any "tweaks" the band wants to make.  Then a panel of judges including CEOs of well known music companies, picks a winning band based on the quality of music, number of fans on the profile, creativity, and fan comments on the page.  The winning band will be crowned "woozy idol" and receive a number of cool prizes including $1,000 cash, 10 hours of studio time, and a professional video shoot.

This contest is innovative and interesting because there are not many contests or promotions out there catering to musicians trying to get signed.  There is American Idol but that is just for individual singers and many bands do not want to be associated with Hollywood.  I think this contest is very different from the other ones I've written about or even seen anywhere on the Internet.  This promotion helps spread Woozyfly's website and their position in the music industry while helping musicians.  I think that this is a really positive contest because a large percentage of the judging goes to the quality of the music, this shows that the contest is about the music and not about image.  However, since I'm not familiar with Woozyfly I don't know the type of music they promote or if they have a certain image.  This could definitely restrict the type of bands that enter the contest even though all types of music are accepted.  

This promotion is relevant to my life because my boyfriend and 4 of my high school friends are in a band and I think they are really talented.  Their name is Pop Party Opera you should check them out, they have a really great sound, each member plays multiple instruments, and they write all of their songs as a group.  A promotion like this, even if they didn't win, could spread their name and music around the Internet like crazy.  People around the country could hear their music and share it with their friends and they could get a broad fan base, which could then result in something more.  This is true for all bands that enter this contest, their influence will not just touch the judges, people who visit Woozyfly will check out the contestants as well as the other bands, so it could really open up some opportunities.  I like this contest because it is more than just promoting a brand or giving away free products, a group of people are really being offered the opportunity of a lifetime.  I'm going to mention this contest to my boyfriend's band and see if they would be interested in entering because I think that it could really only result in more people hearing their music and a potential contract.

Petco is Feelin' the love from recent Valentine's Day promotion

This article, Petco is feelin' the love from recent Valentine's day promotion, published March 20, 2008 shows us the benefit when a company puts on a successful promotion.  Petco had a Valentine's Day promotion that asked consumers to review and rate pet products from the store's website, in return a $500 gift certificate to Petco was awarded.  I don't know how they chose a winner, but the promotion resulted in a tenfold increase of online reviews of Petco's products.  

This was a very successful promotion for Petco as well as the lucky winner.  Pet care is a huge undertaking for a family and 500 extra dollars could relieve the family of some of that burden and maybe the family pet could get some special gifts they otherwise wouldn't.  Pets have also become like family members in many people's homes, and Petco is one of the leading pet product suppliers in the country.  Reviews and feedback is important for the pet industry because the toys need to be very safe due to the chewing and the type of wear and tear they face.  This promotion aids Petco in spreading its name and products as well as consumers with the cash prize and feedback from other pet lovers on the quality of products.

This promotion also produced a 300% increase in spending by the consumers who visited the special contest website opposed to the ones that didn't.  This is a huge number for Petco and gives them a good reason to continue the promotion in future years.  Petco also planned very well for this promotion.  They got a team together that constructed the new page of the website and added special features.  They added a new review system of hearts instead of paws for the Valentine's Day theme, they added a special thank you page to pop up once you completed a review, and the new web page was easily promoted in packing slips and in Sunday circulations.  All of these elements led to a very successful promotion for Petco.

The whole business of promotions is what is going on now and what companies are doing to stand out, however I've never read a follow-up article about how successful the promotion actually was and if it was even worth it.  This article shows that promotions can be hugely successful for the company while benefitting the public.  Practically every post to date I've wondered out load about how successful the promotion will be, and finally in my last week of posting I find an article that actually discusses that topic.  I think that every company that has a promotion should have to make a statement and reveal their successes or downfalls.  This way other companies can get feedback on what to stay away from, what works or doesn't.  The industry should pick up a "people helping people" process instead of wasting time and money on tactics that don't work.  

Fuel the Change Video Contest

Votigo, the leading online social media technology provider announced in early March that they will be hosting the Fuel the Change Video Contest.  This contest's goal is to educate people on alternative American energy sources.  PR Web, a very reliable and up to date resource published this article, Votigo Powers White-Label "Fuel the Change Video Contest" for Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, on March 11, 2008.  This article describes the contest and how Votigo is the a great place to host this contest given their reach and capabilities.  The video contest asks consumers to create 30 second videos in commercial format that highlights the advantages of using ethanol as an alternative energy source.  Votigo is a great host for a contest like this because of the social networking tools, people can virally share their commercials with friends and acquaintances.  This aspect allows the commercials and the contest to spread to many different people, but more importantly for people to learn more about the advantages of ethanol, which is becoming so important in our world.

EPIC, Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, is also very involved in this contest.  They have certain goals for this promotion as well as a standard of values that must be met.  So this contest is well thought out and involves multiple groups of people working for a similar cause.  Votigo and EPIC have formatted a working partnership which results in an interactive and innovative spin on just another video contest.  The commercials produced by consumers can be integrated into their existing websites and include links to areas that include information specific to the Fuel the Change contest.  Votigo connects businesses and organizations with consumers too so there is a mass outreach to people involved at every level.  

The organizations feel very confident about this year's Fuel the Change contest and believe the teaming up with Votigo could bring in some of the best results.  There is also a large grand prize of $10,000 to the winner of this contest who also gets the chance to have their commercial aired on ABC.  Applicants are accepted until April 21, 2008 and the winners are selected on May 7.  I think this contest will be very successful because alternative energy and energy conservation are such a big issue in the world right now and people are becoming more and more conscious of their actions.   I also think that the best way to get the message out and get more attention for your contest is to team up with a successful brand or website because they already have a large fan base who is loyal as well.  It seems like EPIC and Digital Dialogue, marketing agency, did a very good job of planning the contest out and made decisions that could make this contest really successful.  I'm interested in seeing how well the contest does and if Votigo will become the server they use every year.

Furniture lovers cheer another Sox contest

"Red Sox nation" is a huge fan base that follows the successes and hardships of the Boston Red Sox.  This enormous group of people is a perfect market to tap into for contests and promotions.  Jordan's furniture has done just this.  Last year they teamed up with an insurance company that agreed to pay for certain items of furniture if the Red Sox won the World Series.  Since they did win, Jordan's ended up giving away around $20 to $30 million worth of furniture.  

This promotion was extremely successful for Jordan's furniture and many people are anxious for the new baseball season to start as well as the new contest.  Starting tomorrow and running through late April, Jordan's is bringing back their contest and will reimburse people for their furniture.  The article, Furniture lovers cheer another Sox contest, doesn't go into all the details of the contest, like if every purchase counts or if there is more to entering.  This year's promotion is a little different however, Jordan's will only reimburse the purchases if the Red Sox not only win the World Series but also sweep the competition.  This limits the promotion a little bit, but I still think people will choose Jordan's furniture with the hope that they could get reimbursed.  

This is a creative idea for Jordan's furniture to team up with the successes of the Red Sox because there is a huge following around the country.  I am not completely sure about all the details of the promotion, like if all Jordan locations are participating, but the Massachusetts locations will definitely bring in a lot of business given the locality of the Boston based team.  The one downfall with this promotion that I think about is that how many people that bought furniture last year will need more furniture this year.  In order for this promotion to be successful people either need to buy more furniture or the people that did not participate last year need to this year.  I am interested to see how successful this promotion is given the rarity of furniture buying.

Shipley Do-Nuts E-Trivia Contest

This promotion is pretty selective given that only people from McLennan County, Texas can win but the promotion involves some elements that I have not seen in many other contests so I thought it was worth sharing. Shipley Do-Nuts advetised this contest on their website to announce the details and starting date which was March 3 and runs through June 1, 2008. I would say that main goal of this contest is to increase sales and recognition of Shipley Do-Nuts because their contest targets children age 5-12. This age group is not frequently the contestants for product contests and promotions, however for something like donuts they are definitely consumers.

This promotion is also a little different because the whole premise is that every week three new questions will be posted on the website, and the contestants need to search through the website to find the answers. Each contestant prints out an entry form for each week, fills out the answers, and drops off the form to a Shipley Do-Nut location in McLennan County. Each week every location in McLennan County pulls 3 winners from the acceptable applicants who can win food and gift prizes. For little kids this is a pretty exciting contest because they have 13 chances to win something. Every winner from the 13 weeks then gets added to the Grand prize drawing which is a cruise for a family of 4. The questions are also not very hard, for this week there is the question "what is the most popular donut we sell?" which is not common knowledge but would definitely be somewhere on the site. To enter to you only have to be a resident of McLennan county and have a parent or guardian over 18 who can claim the prize.

This contest offers kids an opportunity to be like their parents or older siblings and enter a contest. It is also relatively educational, the children need to read Shipley's history section and other aspects of the website in order to answer the questions correctly. I think this contest gives kids the opportunity to educate themselves and while they probably need help to print and get over to hand in the form, for many kids they can do it all by themselves. This also largely promotes Shipley's, in order to hand in the form the kids are going to be begging to go to Shipleys which could then translate into the future they will be begging to go get some donuts.

I think this is a clever contest and parents would support their children taking part in it. There is no reason that I could think of that parents would reject their children's entry so that shows good planning by Shipleys.

Man wins $1 Million in Santa Anita promotion

The world of promotions is not all about the ones coming up but also about who wins them.  A man by the name of John Placzankis was the big winner at a yearly Santa Anita horse racing track St. Patrick's day promotion.  The promotion gave 5 randomly selected applicants the chance to win $1 million by throwing a single horseshoe, a ringer would win that lucky person the prize money.  John Placzankis was the second of the 5 to throw his horseshoe, with no practice tosses, and achieved the coveted ringer while everyone else apparently didn't even come close.  I know what you're thinking he probably plays everyday at his home in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, but you would be wrong because according to John he hasn't thrown a horseshoe "in like 30 years" and he just relaxed and "tried to not to cross the line while throwing it like a softball."  

 

This ringer also scored Placzankis the number 4 slot on ESPN's top 10 plays of the day, and a write up entitled Man wins $1 million in Santa Anita promotion on the ESPN website by Jay Privman.  To get a write up on ESPN for tossing one horseshoe is pretty amazing, well besides the fact that that one horseshoe also won him one million dollars.  The money, Placzankis says, will go towards "paying some bills, and taking care of nieces, nephews, and his mom back home in New Rochelle NY," his hometown, he only moved out to California 8 years ago.

 

This promotion offered a lucky person a taxed $1 million dollars.  This promotion should alter the way contests and promotions are organized and the value of the prize.  However giving away such a large amount of money or a high priced item is not very common for promotions or contests.  Also this promotion has been going on for a couple of years now so it does not seem like it is affecting other contests.  However it might put pressure on some companies in the same area of business that feel they might have to keep up and offer good prizes to their consumers, which is a positive because we the consumers benefit!  Another thing about this promotion is that it brings in good business to the racetrack as well as giving someone an amazing life changing prize which is positive in both aspects.  John Placzankis is a lucky man, and it seems like he will use his prize money to help many people, he even announced "the drinks are on me" to the crowd after his prize winning toss. 

Vending Takes New Role in Marketing Promotions

While doing this blog I've found out a lot about the promotions going on now, and this one is one of the best ones I've read about. This article, Vending Takes New Role in Marketing Promotions, written just last night outlines a really cool new type of dispensing coupons to consumers. There is now technology that allows vending machines to spit out coupons after a customer makes a purchase! I don't frequent vending machines that often, but I think this is an amazing way to market products to consumers and I would definitely go back to the vending machine that gave me a coupon.

This is not the only thing vending machines are being updated with, there are even vending machines that have touch screens with different options of paying method. The article goes into detail about how this type of marketing really targets people "in school, at the work place, at means of transportation, and at places of entertainment." This technology was developed by Walker Digital and could really change the way companies promote their products.

These vending machines dispense the normal chips and candy bars, however, you can receive a coupon that is redeemable for a free item at a restaurant or $5 off a $25 purchase. This is a really great deal because vending machine products are usually only in the $1 range and you can receive $5 off a $25 purchase which is not hard to spend. Also I always think highly of brands and stores that give good coupons and I would definitely be more likely to revisit a store if I got a worthwhile coupon so any store that takes part in these vending machine coupons would get a better score in my book. The only thing is that I always feel like these cool coupon deals and GSTV type contraptions are never in my area, but I'll say it again, I hope to receive a coupon after my next vending machine purchase.

Gas Station TV Pumps Up Popularity with New Contest

Gas Station Television, GSTV, is an innovative new technology that brings the news to you at the gas pump. There are LCD screens planted in gas pumps around the country, that broadcast around 4.5 minute segments from CBS, ESPN, and Accuweather.com. This television station has locations in California, New York, Georgia, Texas, Florida, Illinois and other states around the country, with the hope of increasing locations. The CEO of GSTV, David Leider, is conducting a contest for new broadcasters for the network, as well as spreading their concept around the country.

The article, Gas Station TV Pumps Up Personality with New Contest, was found in Ad Age on March 11, 2008. This contest is very new, starting on April 1 and running through May 4, and the network itself is revolutionizing the television genre. This contest is open to people over the age of 18 who can create 30 second clips of themselves broadcasting which is then directly uploaded to gstv.com. Leider says they are looking for "fabulous, fresh, outgoing, hot, adaptable, fun, smart, informative and trustworthy" people, one of the applicants will be named the winner and become a temporary broadcaster for the network. The elimination process will take place after May 4th and a team of company members, a talent scout, and TV commerical producers will narrow down the applicants to 3, then the public will vote on the remaining 3 and declare a winner.

The winner of this contest receives $2500 as well as an all expense paid trip to Detroit to film a couple of clips for the network. While this is not a full time job opportunity, this is an experience that can be added to a resume if you are interested in becoming a broadcaster. Also if the winner of this contest does really well and is what GSTV is looking for they could be kept on for a longer period of time. This is a really great contest for people looking into broadcasting as a career, and for GSTV to spread their name. GSTV is also looking to expand their content so bringing on a new broadcaster could allow them to tap into a new topic of conversation.

Another great thing about this contest is that GSTV is advertising in all the right places. They plan to use Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube to advertise this contest as well as the existing screens they have. This advertising campaign is intended to reach around 30 million people, which is a large number for just a contest. This contest revolutionizes the market because not only is the TV station itself innovative and unusual, they are utilizing the newest advertising tools to reach the younger 18-25 year old audience. Their strategy to spread their name and contest shows the direction that advertising is going and it will be interesting to see how their contest goes and the number of people that apply. It will also be interesting to see the future of GSTV and if I will end up seeing it at the gas stations I visit.

Worthwhile Coupon Strategy

I came across this article, Worthwhile Coupon Strategy, and I was very happy I did.  This article basically tells consumers that if they hold off on using their coupons then they can save more money.  This article was written on January 25, 2008 so it is very recent, as well as being timeless because this is a deal that can be applied anytime of the year and for years to come.  There was a link given at the bottom of the little write up on this neat website Everyday Loopholes  where there are little write ups that include hints and ways to cheat the system, for example, by adding a specific set of letters and numbers you can get better resolution on YouTube videos.  This is a great website because it is people helping other people get more out of their everyday experiences, and Everyday Loopholes lets people submit tips they've found, that is where this coupon strategy came from.  Also Everyday Loopholes writes small blurbs about the deals so it is really easy to read about something quickly then apply it to your life if you want.  

The Worthwhile Coupon Strategy was found on The Simple Dollar, financial talk for the rest of us, a blog by a man named Trent Hamm who started posting 2 years ago and started because he wanted to help people who are in financial trouble.  His blog seems very successful and has a lot of really great posts written in language that almost anyone can understand.  The particular topic of coupons came up and he had a friend who worked at a local Iowa grocery store, and his friend revealed to him that many items that are featured in the Sunday coupon pages go on sale a month after the coupon sheets come out.  Trent saved his coupons for 4 weeks and then went to the grocery store and found that 40% of the products featured in the coupon section were on sale.  He got amazing deals on these items, commenting on getting vanilla ice cream for $.19 and salad dressing for less than a dollar as well.  

Trent and Everyday Loopholes are doing a really great thing because everyone wants to save money especially on something as necessary as groceries, so by Trent blogging about his experience, making the information public, and Everyday Loopholes picking it up makes the helpful information available to even more people.  Also Everyday Loopholes included a link to Trent's blog, The Simple Dollar, so people who visit one website now have easy access to the other helpful information resource.  This is "link love" at it's finest and helps a lot of people who want to get the most out of their dollar as well as their daily life, Everyday Loopholes posts about all types of things helping people in all types of categories.  I am excited to check out these two sites and learn some ways to save a couple dollars and also get more out of Youtube and other aspects of my life.  

Netelligent Kicks Off Interactive Dance Contest

Netelligent is a corporation committed to "integrating different streams of communication into a single user interface" for example  integrating your email and voice-mail so you can respond anytime, anywhere.  This corporation wanted to increase their publicity, reach more people, and Cisco launched a new Digital Media System so they decided to hold an online contest.  PRWEB found out about this contest and did a write up on what will take place entitled Netelligent Kicks Off Interactive Dance Contest.  This article was written on March 2, 2008 and the promotion starts today and runs through April 18th.  

This contest will allow people to upload videos of themselves dancing in order to win a prize.  The grand prize $2500 and the 3 runners up will receive $500, the contest is judged by other visitors of the website.  The website allows people to upload videos of them dancing, view other people, and vote on the other performances.  The article goes into detail about how in the past interactive promotions only gave people one way to participate, this contest allows people to choose how they participate and do not have to submit a video of themselves dancing to be included.  Also this is a good way to promote customer interaction because people are going to vote for each other to decide who wins, the executives are not the ones choosing, so this is a positive atmosphere to maybe get some blog conversation going. 

Colin Millstone, director of marketing for Netelligent is quoted in saying "This promotion takes our marketing efforts to a whole new world," and the more I read and blog about contests and promotions the more I am realizing how right that statement is.  Companies and corporations can't just advertise anymore to gain a large following and to be remembered by consumers.  Contests and promotions are the key to sticking in people's minds and getting positive word of mouth.  Fun contests and promotions also have to be original in order to grab attention, and a dance contest while not very original, is definitely amusing and shows people's personalities so they never get old.  Utilizing the Internet is a big aspect of promotions and contests recently.  So many people use the Internet daily for sources of information and knowledge, advertising promotions on the Internet is a tool that reaches many people, even if they accidently stumbled across your promotion like I did, they can still check it out thus learning about your corporation and any unique approaches to business you might be participating in such as a dance contest. 

  

I had never heard of Netelligent corporation, but I feel that a fun promotion such as a dancing contest will definitely draw attention to them and get people interested in what it is.  Also the article from PRWEB does a very good job of briefly outlining Cisco's new Digital Media System, what Netelligent is, and also having links to these different websites.  This way I did not have to look far to find out who the sponsors of this contest were and what they were about.  

Potato Lover Display Contest

This article, IPC Set Potato Lover Display Contest, was found in the Progressive Grocer, a publication of strategic management, I'm assuming for grocery stores and their business. This article talks about the Idaho Potato Commission's annual retail display contest which is occuring now, in the month of February because February is Potato Lover's Month! This will be the 17th year they have done it and it seems like a successful promotion for the brand. This contest gives potato lovers the opportunity to make an attention getting retail display for Idaho Potatoes, KRAFT cheez whiz and Oscar Mayer Real Bacon Bits. This is the 4th year of teaming with KRAFT and Oscar Mayer, which is a smart integration of 3 reliable and well known brands. What goes better with a baked potato, than cheese and bacon bits? I can't think of anything, so this 3 brand promotion is a smart way to gain customers and share them between the three brands. Also these brands are not in the same food market where they could be competitors, so the decision to team up together seems like it can only benefit each company.

There is also a benefit for the consumers to enter the contest, a cash prize and a swiss army watch valued at $115. You can sign up and learn more information at their website, idahopotato.com. This is a cool contest because everyone that enters is rewarded, and that is rare in the contest world. This promotion does require some more effort than most, but the reward is worth it, if you are willing to participate. Another aspect of this promotion is that the contestants have to display their promotional materials in an approved store throughout the month. Then they mail in a 360 degree view of their display and then see if they won. If you won 1st-5th prize then the store you displayed your idea in also wins a top prize. This is a really positive aspect of this promotion because giving the grocery store some recognition is a good way to encourage a positive relationship with the store and you're product may be featured more frequently.

While this promotion requires a little more from it's contestants, I think that it is a good way for maybe a marketing student to try out their ideas and practice in a real world situation, as well as a fun hobby for potato lovers to indulge in. Also the promotion is on it's 17th year, showing that it is really successful and raises knowledge of the products involved. The article also mentions that the promotion increases sales for the locations that house one of these displays. I like that brands are teaming up for an occasion like Potato Lovers Month, and people are participating for the 17th year because this promotion is not malicious or really competitive it seems like just a fun contest, where people win cash for participating and trying their best.

Progressive Grocer, January 8, 2008. February 28, 2008. <progressivegrocer.com>

Dunkin' Donuts tries to snag Starbucks customers

This piece, Dunkin' Donuts tries to snag Starbucks customers, was written by Keiko Morris on February 25, 2008.  The promotion set to happen today the 26th between 1pm and 10pm at Dunkin' Donuts headlines their espresso drinks, giving them out for only 99 cents each.  This promotion is supposedly in response to the coffee chain winning first place in Brand Keys' Annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index, however another event also occurring today leads to some speculation if this is the real reason for such a promotion.  The other occurrence is the coffee chain Starbucks closing their doors early for employee training. 

The chain plans to close nearly all of the 7,100 locations nationwide for employee training, as well as to enhance the true Starbucks experience, which can not happen unless all employees are educated in exactly what that is.  While Starbucks is aware of Dunkin' Donuts' promotion, they are not worried about losing loyal customers, "We are confident that our customers will understand this and that this is an investment in their experience through better quality beverages and services," a Starbucks' spokeswoman commented.  

While Starbucks takes the stand that they are closing for the good of the consumer, Dunkin' Donuts is taking the stand that no one should be denied specialty beverages during these hours.  While a sneaky approach, Dunkin' Donuts will definitely attract some "promotion seekers," people out there who love anything free or on a good sale, however I do not think they will gain any loyal business from it.  If I was loyal to Starbucks for my coffee in the morning, a 99 cent latte from Dunkin' Donuts would not change my loyalty.  However, the promotion does seem like a good way to gain some word of mouth discussion and new business for today.

The article continues on talking about how Starbucks has been wanting to reinvigorate themselves for a little while and these hours off is meant for employees to master techniques as well as closing some unproductive stores.  More than just employee training session, this seems like a quick break for Starbucks to get it's bearings to attack the market head on.  They want to be number one in the market again, and this seems like the start of their serious effort to get there.  This is a very current topic, and I am interested in seeing how the 99 cent espresso drinks aids Dunkin' Donuts, as well as what changes Starbucks made in attempt to reinvigorate itself.  

Coupons are Everywhere

This might be somewhat of an unorthodox post because I am not using an article, but I think it is significant to post about.  I was searching for an article to blog about and I was having a hard time so I decided to go to the Twitter website where people blog about practically everything.  I searched for coupons and got 2 pages worth of people talking about coupon deals they know of and ones that they use.  I am new to the blogging world so I probably underestimated the amount of participants involved and the amount of conversations that take place so this was surprising for me.  

I twittered coupons and got a lot of results.  There are people discussing Domino's coupons and how one guy gets a really good deal with all the coupons they send out in the mail, while there is another man who is complaining about how Domino's puts too much text on their coupons and he doesn't want to "read the bible."  Also the same guy that said he got a lot of money off his orders by using the coupons, also said that Domino's sent him more coupons in the mail with a letter about his ordering preferences because he hadn't ordered in a while.  This is interesting to me because blogs start a lot of word of mouth and I didn't even realize it.  Due to what the one blogger said about how he uses Domino's coupons all the time and it is worthwhile, I feel like I will pay more attention to Domino's coupons next time I see their insert in the paper, and them giving him more coupons shows they are appreciative of his business.  What the other blogger posted about their coupons having a lot of text doesn't turn me away because I don't mind text on coupons, but this could discourage a lot of people from bothering to use the coupons.

Another interesting thing I found was that companies are tweeting for themselves.  They include links directly to their website where coupons are available.  This is cool because instead of just hearing about coupons, the company is actually making them available to the bloggers, in hopes of gaining some positive word of mouth in places like Twitter.  On the same topic, I saw a post from Old Dominion University's Dining services where students could get some coupons.  This isn't very helpful to everyone else, but it shows that the University is reaching out to what their students are involved in.  I would be pretty surprised if I found Ithaca College's dining service on Twitter, so that shows a good step for Old Dominion University.  

The third and final aspect of my experience with Twitter that I found interesting was that people were offering up coupons they had and weren't going to use.  In my house we just let them expire and throw them away, here people were getting the word out there and hopefully finding someone who could use the coupon.  This shows that there are nice people out there that are willing to spend time and post a blog, just to get a coupon redeemed and save someone else some money.  

I had a very positive experience with Twitter and I think that it is a good source to get information.  Not news and politics, but coupon deals and personal opinion and input.  On Twitter you can also start a conversation and find out more information if you're interested in the what the fellow blogger has to say.  I think that I will check Twitter more often now and see the type of dialog that is going on about some of my hobbies.

Community Jackpot at HorseShoe Casino

This article, Community progressive jackpot new at Horseshoe, was written just yesterday describing the casinos new way to bring in business.  Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana came up with an idea to give back to their customers who play the slot machines.  Their idea was to make it an "All for One, Win for All" atmosphere where just by playing you can be a winner.  The limitations to this promotion is that you have to play on the High Limit Slot Room and it has to be a designated Friday between 4 and 11 p.m.  

The amount continues to grow in $200 increments as the participants play.  Then at 11 p.m a winner is selected to receive a sum and the other participants must have their Total Rewards card inserted in the slot in order to keep the sum increasing.  This promotion also goes on for 6 weeks in a row, giving many people the opportunity to win a lot of money.  

Horseshoe Casino is the headlined casino participating in a promotion such as this, but there are other casinos listed that are giving back to their customers in similar ways.  Such as increasing table limits in order to promote a better gaming experience.  Promotions such as these are positive ways to increase a sense of community in casinos as well as profiting the casinos from consumer's interest and participation.  

This article is interesting because I never thought a casino would have promotions and contests.  I have never been to a casino so I don't really know the atmosphere, but I was under the impression that people went to casinos expected to spend a large amount of money and hopefully win some.  A promotion or contest didn't seem necessary before but after reading what some casinos are doing, a promotion seems like a good way to get more business and sent them apart.  I wonder if more casinos are going to catch on and offer bigger prices to gain more business.

Free The Fun with Tostitos Tortilla Chips

This article, Ingrid Hoffmann Invites Fans to "Free The Fun" with Tostitos, was written just 3 days ago about an upcoming promotion linking the Food Network and Tostitos tortilla chips.  This promotion that will run nationally February to December of this year marks the first time the Food Network has utilized one of their "talk show chefs" to promote a fun, exuberant brand and campaign such as the Tostitos "Free The Fun" campaign.  Ingrid Hoffmann is the Food Network star in question and she has a new show on this channel, Simply Delicioso, and while having another show on the Spanish speaking network Galavision/Univision for the past 4 seasons.  She is known for creating simple, fun recipes and adding a Latin twist.  Teaming up with Tostitos will give consumers the opportunity to find new recipes and clever ways to integrate tortilla chips into dishes and when entertaining.  

This promotion for both the Food Network and Tostitos is also a contest in which one person will win a cameo on Ingrid's show, a tour of the studio, and a trip to Miami.  On top of that Tostitos is having another contest during the summer months where "budding chefs" can submit recipes that include Tostitos brand chips and then website visitors will vote on which recipe is the most creative and fun.  The winner of this contest will get their recipe made on-air by Ingrid Hoffmann and get a Food Network studio tour as well as a trip to New York.  This promotion is in contingency with the Frito-Lay Fiesta Bowl and the contest is not in effect yet so there is not a lot of information about it on the website, but there are recipes and an interactive page featuring the San Francisco Dons football team because they will be featured during the Fiesta Bowl half time program.  Another aspect of this article I really enjoyed was that there is a lot of contact information and links sending you to all the affiliated sites, and Jared Dougherty, a Frito-Lay representative, even gave his own contact information.  This article made it very easy to receive information elsewhere about the big names involved.

This creative campaign was developed by Element 79, which an advertising agency from Chicago.  This is an interesting coincidence because an Ithaca College alum actually works for Element 79 as a creative director I think and he came into my advertising class last semester and was talking about the business and his experience.  Element 79 is a relatively young agency and strives itself on being hip, cool, and clever.  I also remember him saying that he helped to create a Frito-Lay commercial for the Fiesta Bowl, but couldn't show it to us because of legalities.  So I think that for Tostitos and Frito Lay having Element 79 creating their campaign is a strong position because the brand wants to be seen as hip, cool, and a lot of fun and my impression is that so does the agency.  This is a good match and I get the feeling the promotion will be a good one and attract a lot of attention and consumers.

Another reason why I think this will be a successful promotion is because the Food Network seems to be raising in popularity lately.  They have come out with a lot of new shows with personable and knowledgeable hosts, and Rachel Ray's popularity is huge right now and that is where she has her "30 Minute Meals" show.  Also many of their chefs have cookbooks out there with the Food Network logo attached.  I also think that many younger people in their mid twenties are tuning in, which is part of Tositios audience, because they are getting married or having their own places and want to know how to cook.  I know in my own family my 3 older sisters all tune in and copy down recipes to try to make at home, and then can come up with their own variations.  They also have their favorite hosts like Giada, Rachel Ray, and Ingrid Hoffmann.  So I definitely foresee this promotion doing very well for both the Food Network and Tostitos.

Marketers go for Super Contests

Following the Super Bowl theme of the last article, I chose this next piece to give more insight into what advertisers do to gear up for Super Bowl Sunday.  The article, Marketers go for Super Contests, was found in USA Today on January 22, 2008 about a week and a half before the big game.  There are 5 brands outlined in this article and the promotions they are doing to "put the u in Super Bowl."  Apparently including the audience in their game day strategies was the big theme for marketers this year.  According to Bryce McTavish, sponsorship vice president for Coors Light, the reason for this is the growing popularity of YouTube.  The brands now encourage people to go the YouTube route and put their own personality and spin on the existing advertisements in order to win a prize, promotions seem to no longer be about just signing up.  For example, Alka Seltzer asked people to remake their well known "plop, plop, fizz, fizz" jingle to win a chance to be featured on a pregame ad on Super Bowl Sunday.  

These promotions seek football fans and fans of these popular products including Doritos, Coors Light, Canon, KFC, and Upper Deck trading cards.  Most brands are asking their fans to upload a video of them doing something related to the product in order to win prizes.  Some of the prizes are pretty extravagant such as the KFC "chicken dance" contest, whoever comes up with the most original interpretation of the chicken dance will a "Super Sunday party package that includes a new flat panel TV, limo service for their guests, and a cleaning team to tidy up the next day."  The perfect Super Bowl party awarded to you, all for uploading a video of you chicken dancing, that is a good deal.  

The attraction to these promotions is that the prize totally outweighs what they are being asked to do, a quick chicken dance and you have a new flat screen TV.  While benefitting the consumers, the brands are also receiving a huge amount of word of mouth coverage on their unique promotions and Coors Light also saw a 21% increase of visitors to their website.  Another reason why these promotions are so successful is because people are goofballs at heart and are always looking for silly things to do that can win them free stuff.  Even if they don't win, they still had fun coming up with their own wacky chicken dance or touch down dance, which is what Upper Deck asked fans to do.  I think that these promotions definitely put the 'u' in Super Bowl and allow people to have fun with the products.  These promotions are good ways to bring people together around the time of the big game while promoting a fun and friendly atmosphere.

"Marketers go for Super Contests." Petrecca, Laura and Howard, Theresa.  USA Today.  McLean, Va.  Jan. 22, 2008.  Pg B.5

Tide Giving Away Ugly Ipods

Proctor and Gamble, a well known corporation who owns the Tide detergent brand, spent millions of dollars on a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl this past Sunday.  The commercial featured Tide's latest product, the Tide To Go stick.  The commercial went for the humor approach having a man, with a large stain, in an interview type situation and every time the man said anything the stain proceeded to yell gibberish over him, the commercial ended with the tag-line reading something like "don't let you stains speak for you, use Tide to Go."  From what I've heard people found the commercial relatively funny, and a lot of people already use the tide stick and enjoy its benefits.  

The article accompanying this recent commercial's success was found on an internet blog type website that discusses Apple products with the title "Tide Giving Away Ugly Ipods Through March 3."  This relates to Tide because Proctor and Gamble came up with the promotional idea to give away Tide t-shirts, coupons worth 50 cents off Tide products, Tide To Go sticks, or one of 34 (1/day) orange Ipods featuring the Tide logo.  This promotion is open to U.S citizens, and the author is under the impression that there is no limit to how many prizes one person can receive.  However, you can only enter to win the prizes once per day and  you have to upload a picture of yourself which is then turned into a talking stain like the one on the commercial during the Super Bowl.  You then can input dialog for the stain to yell and spend as much time as you want playing with it.  The article is short and only briefly describes the details of the promotion, but the main focus of the article really is "who would want an orange Ipod with the Tide logo stamped on it." While this promotion is a good opportunity for Tide to team up with Apple, a reliable and popular brand, there are not many people who honestly want what they are giving out.  

What I found interesting about this article was that directly below the write up, there were posts from people all around the world commenting on the promotion and what they think about the giveaways and the products themselves.  The posts vary from people wanting the Ipod to people complaining that the Tide To Go stick smells like a baby's butt, which in my experience is not true.  Even though the article was short, it got many responses, helpful feedback, as well as conversation about the products.  Proctor and Gamble would not have received this information had Jeff Smykil not written this article. 

The way I see it is that Tide supporters and people who like the Tide To Go stick will enter into the contest and it will be a success in raising the popularity of the stick.  However, the Apple connection seems lost because very few people actually want that Ipod, which is a negative aspect of the two brands teaming up.  However, like we saw in the chicken sandwich giveaway, people will sign up, camp out, and have a desire to win anything, so this promotion is sure to be a successful one.  I am curious to see if any other brands carried the use of a commercial on one of tv's biggest nights into a promotion like Tide did.  

Sweet Godiva Suite Choco-Full of Treats

This article, Sweet Godiva Suite Choco-Full of Treats, was featured in the New York Daily News on January 30, 2008.  The write up features a promotion that Godiva Chocolatiers does every year for Valentine's Day.  This year in particular, Godiva is taking their yearly promotion to the next level, giving away a night's stay for two in a suite at the Bryant Park Hotel in New York City.  This suite is not just any suite though, this suite is being specially designed at the Bryant Park Hotel in honor of this promotion and practically everything in the room will be adorned with chocolates.  For a chocolate company, Valentine's Day is a big one and this is an opportunity for the biggest chocolate lovers to experience their dream hotel suite. 

Godiva plans to deck out the entire room in chocolates.  They plan to "bring the chocolate experience to life" by "adorning armchairs, sofas, and lamps" while also displaying bonbons on the chandelier hanging above.  This room is literally a chocolate lovers dream however it is only temporary and will be dismantled after the guests stay the weekend.  This is actually a huge undertaking for Godiva to create a hotel suite that will last only a weekend and one where only two people will utilize it.  Godiva really wants to make their brand the go-to chocolate retailer for Valentine's Day and similar occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays.  

Godiva could very well cement themselves as the Valentine's Day chocolate brand because they have been doing a promotion similar to this one for years.  In fact in other boxes of chocolates Godiva  supplies coupons for 1-carat diamond rings and specialty bracelets the same way this hotel suite is given away.  This promotion really encourages people to purchase Godiva chocolates for Valentine's Day because anyone in North America has the chance to open up the box and find a coupon for one of these expensive gifts, making that day even more special.  Also with the boxes of chocolate going for around 23 dollars a box and up, you know that even if you don't find a coupon there are still quality chocolates to enjoy.

I really feel that this promotion occurring year to year puts Godiva at the top of the chocolate market.  What other brands are taking the next step and offering something other than their product as an incentive, or going as far and giving free diamond rings out to their loyal customers.  This promotion puts a lot of pressure on the other brands to offer an incentive to buying their chocolate, especially during a holiday such as Valentine's Day where getting chocolates has become an expectation.  Through this promotion Godiva is also displaying the high level of sophistication and class that they have established for themselves in the past 80 years of service.  In addition, Godiva making this promotion a yearly benefit, has probably gained them new customers and media coverage.  The promotion initially started with diamond rings, then bracelets, and now a chocolate hotel suite, so it will be interesting to see what extravagant prize Godiva will come up with for next year's Valentine's Day.

"Sweet Godiva Suite Choco-Full of Treats." Yaniv, Oren.  January 30, 2008.  Daily News (New York). 

BWI Extends Express Parking Promotion Through the Holidays

This article, BWI Extends Express Parking Promotion Through the Holidays, was found in Aviation Week.  This article was run on November 13, 2007 and covers the promotion going on at the Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport.  Their promotion deals with giving coupons to customers to get cheaper rates on their "Express Parking" option.  Apparently Express Parking is a service that is normally more expensive and includes assistance with customer's luggage and a shuttle service.  In order to get the word out on what Express Parking is, BWI came up with this campaign "Express for Less" and another similar campaign to advertise their other luxury parking options called "Park Happy at BWI." The Express for Less campaign which was started February 17th has been doing so well that this extension into the holiday season will become the 3rd extension of this particular promotion.

The success of this campaign can also be tracked through the numbers.  The Express Parking lot had to be closed a number of times because it was full and BWI has seen the number of customers taking advantage of this service practically double.  Due to the amount of success, extending the length of this promotion can really only help BWI financially as well as with customer satisfaction.  Customer satisfaction in the past couple years with airports has been steadily declining with the increased occurence of lost luggage, flight delays, and poor customer service during those stressful times.  In addition BWI is really helping itself through this promotion because parking at airports gets so expensive and is actually ridiculous.  BWI wants to leave a good impression with their customers and they realize that parking plays a huge role in customer satifaction.

BWI's efforts in this campaign won third place in the marketing and communications contest ACI-NA in 2007.  Also prompting them to look into more promotion and coupon ventures for different aspects of their airport.  Express for Less also incouraged the use of the airport's website to check on the availability of the lot, in the future BWI wants to draw more attention to their website and its advantages.  Utilizing the website and displaying its features will boost BWI into the 21st century.

A promotion like Express for Less is revolutionizing the airport industry at least because now there is competition.  I've always gotten the feeling that the people who run airports know that they are intrical to a traveler's ability and people will pay what they have to and put up with what they have to in order to get where they want to get.  With that said, there are very few good airline/airport promotions going on out there, and if people are interested in using a parking service at an airport such as BWI, this way they have more of an incentive too and also a couple dollars off.  Parking just seems like another way for the airport to take more your money so if one airport is actually helping the customers and giving them a discounted rate, then extending it to one of the busiest flying times of the year it raises the bar for the other airports to get the on customer's good side.

Flying is such a hassel nowadays and there are so many complaints, BWI is stepping up by giving people a helpful service that makes their experience a little better for a little cheaper.  This promotion emits a feeling that BWI cares about their customers and BWI can really only prosper from this promotion, and in turn other promotions they are anticipating doing.

 

Sticking It Out for a Year's Worth of Chicken

This article, Sticking It Out for a Year's Worth of Chicken, from the Washington Post printed on November 22, 2007 highlights Chick-fil-A, a chicken based fast food restaurant, and their latest contest. This promotion which includes a contest and free coupons centers on a new restaurant in the Chick-fil-A family just opening along Route 450 in Washington D.C.

Their latest promotion is giving away a year's worth of free fried chicken sandwiches to the first 100 people to the location along Route 450. Through previous promotions, Chick-fil-A is aware that people will come from far and wide to compete and win almost anything. At another location grand opening, 52 coupons for free sandwiches were given away to the first 100 customers and during that promotion people camped out for days to receive a ticket and be one of the first 100. Chick-fil-A decided to offer a larger prize and of course brought in more people. However these events are not just about the free chicken sandwiches, people bring tents, cook food, dance, and meet each other while awaiting the grand opening. There are even people who travel around looking for contests like this one as well as repeat customers. At this particular event a 74 year old man is everyone's inspiration, asleep in the tent with the blue canopy, everyone has heard of the man who had been to 20 grand openings so far. Even the customers who receive a ticket into the hundreds stick around for the festivities and wait to see if someone drops out or leaves and misses one of the spontaneous role calls.

In this particular case, people came from Richmond VA, Allentown PA, Raleigh NC, and drove upwards of 8.5 hrs to Washington DC to wait days on end to win some coupons. Promotions like this one are revolutionizing the way in which fast food restaurants and other restaurants bring in customers and gain loyalty. There are some individuals who are in it for the experience, to meet new people, and to see some returning faces, however Chick-fil-A is gaining loyalty by hosting events like this and giving away so much free food. Customers appreciate places that are willing to give away free coupons or have contests because it is a way for them to give back to the people that keep them going. Large scale promotions like this raise the bar in a way for other restaurants to do something up to par or above what has already been done.

Another reason why promotions like this one and like the Harry Potter release parties are revolutionizing promotions and contests is because of how the contest becomes an event for people to mingle and have a good time opposed to just winning something. There are people who do not even care about winning but want to be apart of the experience and meet some people with a common interest, while there is always the bonus of winning something and friendly competition.

I really feel that promotions and events such as this Chick-fil-A location opening is changing the way marketers need to do their jobs. There is now more pressure to get the word out on their product and come up with a unique selling point to draw in attention and customers. While Chick-fil-A's idea was not too original, it drew in a huge crowd and some loyalty so all in all a success, however I am interested to find out more interesting and unique promotions going on.