Success Stories
Short bursts of promotional brilliance to ignite your creativity
By Jen Zorger
Poker Theme is Sure
Bet for Vegas Hotel-Drop
We all know you’ve got to play to win, but usually the amount of money we have to play with is limited. Such was the case for Sonya Beam, owner of The P.O.P. Shop Inc. (asi/288992), as she planned a hotel-drop promotion for a client attending a trade show in Las Vegas. The client intended to hold a drawing for a poker set at their booth and needed a related traffic builder.
“She immediately connected with chocolates on the pillows and really liked the idea,” Beam says. Because the budget was limited, Beam suggested using stock poker chip-themed chocolates instead of custom ones and presenting them along with decks of cards that the client happened to have left over from an employee casino party. “We only had to produce a small quantity of playing cards to meet her quantity, keeping her under budget,” she adds.
Beam also recommended presenting the products in a Velcro-close bag that would keep them together during shipping and make the gifts easy to distribute. “As attendees arrived at their rooms, they were greeted by a white triangle box bag with a flashy blue foil imprint to support the brand and theme,” she says. “Inside, nestled in orange crinkle, attendees received Citect-branded playing cards, chocolate casino coins and a card that needed to be completed and dropped by the booth for a chance to win a poker set.”
The promotion turned out to be a winner. “The client was pleased with the booth traffic and the impression it made on show attendees,” Beam says. “Many people stopped by just to say ‘thank you’ for the gift. It made a great impression and the packaging increased the perceived value of the contents.”
| BizTip: Gambling themes work outside of Vegas, too |
The expansion of gambling into other states and the increasing popularity of poker in recent years makes a gambling theme fun for lots of promotions:
• Commercial casinos are legal in 12 states.
• 28 states have Native American casinos.
• Related markets include racetracks, lotteries and poker tournaments.
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Video Store Promo Puts Excitement in the Air
Making a storefront stand out from all the others in the same strip mall isn’t easy to do – or is it? John Pflughoft, owner of Jodati Inc., dba Blockbuster, distinguishes his video stores with SkyDancers (www.skydancersintl.com) – “dancing” inflatables featuring a fan inside that continually pumps air though their bodies, making them sway, bend and “dance.”
SkyDancers are typically 20-plus feet in height, come in the shape of either characters or straight tubes and can be imprinted with custom logos or messages. “We custom-ordered ours in colors to match our corporate logo,” Pflughoft says, “so in addition to driving customers through our doors, these inflatables also support brand awareness.”
Pflughoft is using the SkyDancers at two stores and is convinced they’re driving traffic to both locations. “We noticed a near instant response to our use of dancing inflatables, as they really help a business to stand out amongst the many,” he says.
In fact, he was so happy with the results that he has recommended SkyDancers on a Web site for Blockbuster franchise owners. As we went to press, two other stores had put up inflatables on his recommendation.
| BizTip: Grab attention with giant inflatables |
Besides the SkyDancers being used by Blockbuster franchises, here are some other cool promotional inflatables:
• 12' long floating helium blimp shape from Pioneer Balloon Co. (asi/78200)
• 25' inflatable bottle replica from Above All Advg. Inc. (asi/30437)
• 15' x 15' custom-shaped inflatable from Vonco Products Inc. (asi/94180) |