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Power of Promotional Products
- 1. The Power of Promotional Products Maximize Their Proven Effectiveness for Your Business Needs The Power of Promotional Products © PPAI 2007
- 3. Useful or decorative items designed to promote a company, product, service, event, meeting, program, etc. Promotional Products?
- 4. The recall power of promotional products was measured in a survey conducted for PPAI * —the nonprofit trade association for the promotional products industry. People Remember! * Promotional Products Association International
- 5. Business travelers at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport were interviewed. More than 71 percent of the business travelers indicated they had received at least one promotional product in the last 12 months. People Remember!
- 6. Three out of four respondents ( 76 percent ) were able to recall the name of the advertiser who gave them the promotional product. People Remember!
- 7. This was much better than their ability to recall the name of an advertiser from a print publication they had read in the past week (53.5 percent). People Remember! Proven Results! Don’t you want to tap into that powerful recall?
- 12. Size of the industry: Examine the medium More than $19.4 billion Source: Promotional Products Association International Spending on Promotional Products in 2007
- 14. The value of promotional products is in their ability to carry a message to a well-defined target audience. Because the products are useful to and appreciated by the recipients, they are retained and used, repeating the imprinted message many times…without added cost to the advertiser. Examine the medium Effectiveness:
- 17. Four Steps to Maximize Their Effectiveness for Your Business Needs Promotional products!
- 19. Enlist the expertise of a qualified promotional consultant STEP 2: Release the Power
- 21. Working with your Consultant, plan your overall promotional campaign STEP 3: Release the Power
- 25. Determine an effective method for the distribution of your products How you will get the products to your audience can help decide the kind of products you use, the material used to make the product…and could affect the price of the product. Release the Power Plan your campaign
- 27. Questions? Comments? Observations? The Power of Promotional Products
- 29. This material is the property of Promotional Products Association International (PPAI). No part may be copied and/or duplicated without the written permission of PPAI. To request permission, or for more information, contact [email_address] The Power of Promotional Products © PPAI 2007
- 30. Financial Services - Dover Federal Credit Union © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 31. Shipping - Norton Lilly International © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 32. Healthcare - Hillcrest Hospital © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 33. Food and beverage - Stadium Food & Beverage © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 34. Telecommunications - Sprint © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 35. Financial - Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 36. Healthcare - WellStar ® Health System © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 37. Railroad Transportation - Union Pacific Railroad © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 38. Computer Software - Adobe Systems Incorporated © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 39. Medical - Advanced Medical Resources, Inc. © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 40. Promotional Products - Image Builders © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 41. Bottled Water - Abita Springs Water Company, Inc. © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 42. Not-For-Profit - Rotary International © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 43. Non-Profit - Donor Network of Arizona © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 44. Pest Control and Yard Care - J.C. Ehrlich Co., Inc. © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
- 45. Healthcare - Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center © PPAI 2007 PPAI Pyramid Award Winning Promotions
Hinweis der Redaktion
- PPAI conducts this survey each year. Spending figures for 2008 will be available in May 2009.
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Financial Services—Dover Federal Credit Union CHALLENGE: A penny saved is a penny earned, right? But when you’re a kid, it’s hard to sock away allowance money when there are so many cool things to buy. Knowing it was competing with toy and candy stores, among other things, Dover Federal Credit Union wanted to encourage young children to be smart with their dollars and open a savings account. How could it create excitement among its members and appeal to children? SOLUTION: To Carole Langiu, marketing director, the answer was simple—develop a fun promotion with kid-friendly products. With the help of promotional consultant Monica Kulesa of Geiger in Dover, Delaware, she developed the “Kids Making Cents Club.” The target audience was 1,731 children of existing Dover Federal Credit Union members. To generate excitement, Langiu threw a grand opening event at which children who became members received a folder containing a coin holder, passbook, coloring book, pencil and flyer outlining account details. Children were immediately hooked after receiving this special new-member package. Each time they made a deposit, they received a new promotional item, ranging from child-sized sports bottles to piggy-bank key chains. Member children were also invited to attend the credit union’s annual meeting, at which they were recognized for their savings contributions and had a choice of taking home a fanny pack or teddy bear. The goal was for youth members to associate saving money with getting a reward, in addition to thinking of the credit union as their financial institution. RESULT: During the nine-month program, the credit union opened 869 new accounts, a 50-percent growth of targeted members. “Entire families have joined the credit union because their children wanted to belong to the club,” Langiu says. “Overall, we consider this an outstanding success.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Shipping—Norton Lilly International CHALLENGE: When two of North America’s largest ocean-shipping companies merged, the shipping industry was inquisitive. After all, these companies had been separate entities since the 1840s. What would the merger mean for the customers, vendors and partners? How would their shipping plans be affected? The merger brought about a change in corporate identity—both name and logo. Norton Lilly International, the new company, wanted to drive traffic to its website in hopes of providing information about this new union. SOLUTION: Hoping to reach more than 900 decision makers in the ocean-shipping industry, marketing director Rachel Allen teamed up with promotional consultant Jahane Cote-Andersen of Adventures In Advertising in Spanish Fort, Alabama, to develop a plan of action. “ We wanted to announce our new identity in July, incorporating a patriotic theme,” Allen says. They knew a direct-mail campaign would be the most effective way to generate excitement about the new company and promote the new website. The mailing included a fanfare soundcard featuring a fireworks image and text reading “Bursting Onto The Scene.” The image and copy was effective in establishing the patriotic theme that united all pieces of the mailing, which emphasized that Norton Lilly International was one of the few 100-percent American-owned companies in the industry. The next part of the mailing was a 3-D mousepad featuring the new web address. Allen and Cote-Andersen knew recipients would appreciate the useful gift, which would keep the website top-of-mind when they were at their computers. What would be another traditional yet appealing gift? A mug. But this mug was more eye-catching than most. When filled with hot liquid, the mug’s disappearing black layer revealed a dramatic, 360-degree, four-color imprint. The gifts and printed materials were neatly packaged into a custom-cut box imprinted to resemble a shipping container. RESULTS: Website traffic was up by 485 percent compared to the usual daily traffic in July. “Our new identity has thoroughly saturated the market, and the goal for which we were striving was certainly achieved,” says Allen. “This mailing was a tremendous success.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Healthcare—Hillcrest Hospital CHALLENGE: After being named in the Top 100 Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report , Hillcrest Hospital wanted to thank all those responsible—employees, volunteers and physicians—for the prestigious recognition. The challenge was to find a unique and useful thank-you gift for the targeted 3,500 individuals—a gift that would create excitement and awareness of the award and at the same time would let the recipients know how important they were to the hospital’s success. SOLUTION: Kasha Frese, Hillcrest coordinator of marketing and public affairs, and promotional consultant Eric E. Ekstrand, MAS, of The Mort C. McClennan Company/MCMCC in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, decided on “We’re Hot Because Of You” theme. “To tie in with this theme, the hospital distributed a letter from the COO and a custom-labeled bottle of hot sauce packaged in a red dynamite-stick tube to its employees and volunteers,” says Ekstrand. “The physicians received the COO letter tucked inside a three-pack box of custom-labeled grilling sauces.” RESULT: This sizzling promotion coincided with the peak summer barbeque season, but the buzz and goodwill generated by the program continued for several weeks. Frese reports that even after this hot project was ended, sauce bottles and dynamite tubes were proudly displayed on employees’ desks.
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Food and beverage—Stadium Food & Beverage CHALLENGE: Stadium Food & Beverage, a division of the Carolina Panthers, provides concession products for sporting events, primarily for the Carolina Panthers home games. The company had plans to increase the price on the 32-ounce soft drinks—but what could it do to offset objections to the sting of higher drink prices? SOLUTION: With the help of promotional consultant Fred Parker of Bluegrass Promotional Marketing in Charlotte, North Carolina, a series of three different 32-ounce lenticular plastic cups—picturing the quarterback Chris Weinke, linebacker Dan Morgan and kicker John Kasay—were selected. “We identified each cup as a Collector’s Cup 1 of 3, 2 of 3 and 3 of 3, which raised the fans’ interest in collecting the series, rather than being content with just one souvenir cup,” says Parker. To create a buzz, the large cups featured extraordinary 3-D graphics on the panels, which showed the NFL logo flipping onto the team helmet, the featured player in action and the player’s face becoming larger when the cup was turned. “Who did you get?” became the constant question around the concession stands. RESULT: Todd Smoots, assistant director of Stadium Food & Beverage, says, “The promotion was a proven success with the 32-ounce souvenir cup consistently outselling the smaller size soft drink that had been the traditional leader. Not only was the soft drink price increase achieved without objection, but also the sales of the larger size increased 70 percent at the game when the cup was first introduced. We noticed a spike in sales each time we introduced another cup in the collector’s series.” “ As a bonus,” adds Smoots, “the Panther cups played a significant role in generating renewed team support, as evidenced by the continued popularity of the cups.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Telecommunications—Sprint CHALLENGE: It used to be that communicating with far-flung friends and family required long distance service. But with cell phones now the norm, long distance service no longer seems necessary. Sprint, a telecommunications company, wanted to change this. How could it encourage Sprint stores and sales personnel to push sales of Sprint Long Distance Service? SOLUTION: Cindy Caragher, NCO sales, knew a sales contest was in order. But first, she called promotional consultant Michael Nathanson of Nashville, Tennessee-based Imagination Specialties, Inc. to get some ideas. Since summer was in full swing, they adopted a tropical beach theme to go along with the “Beat The Heat” sales contest. Caragher kicked off the contest by mailing candy-filled, zippered coconuts to 1,500 sales employees at 220 Sprint locations. Each week, top-performing sales reps received themed awards, including custom-embroidered beach towels with frog toys, hardtop insulated coolers filled with fun outdoor products and even gift cards for Fossil sunglasses. The selection of promotional items maintained the beach theme and motivated employees to increase their sales efforts. But sales reps really had their eyes on the 24 grand prize giveaways—trips to Cancun. “The contest was so fun and our people were excited about competing and winning something out of the ordinary,” Caragher says. “The sales contest really did the trick.” RESULT: The contest ran for five months, during which Sprint saw substantial increases in long distance sales. “We launched the program in May with only 271 sales,” says Caragher. “But when we finished in September, we had 1,461 sales.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Financial—Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta CHALLENGE: After complaints from employees about the design of Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta’s current logo, the president requested a new logo be designed and adopted. At the logo’s unveiling, he wanted to show employees their opinions mattered and, simultaneously, create enthusiasm and support for it. SOLUTION: “ What better way to introduce a new logo than to show it on many different promotional products?” asks promotional consultant Patti Simmons, CAS, of PK Promotions, LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. Simmons and Communications Specialist Anita B. Williams planned an electrifying, creative and unforgettable fashion show launch party with flash e-mail invitations and a video teaser on the intranet. The fashion show featured employee volunteer models, who walked, jogged and danced down the runway and got to keep the logoed outfits. Their ensembles included shirts, shorts, hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants, tank tops, caps, visors, sweatbands, cardigans, aprons and accessories such as hand towels, padfolios and travel bags. More than 50 percent of the employees attended the fashion show and received a goody bag filled with useful logoed products: lapel pin, retractable badge holder, note pad, pen and acrylic business card holder. “Within three weeks, the other executives and employees, who had missed the logo launching, had picked up their goody bags,” Williams says. RESULT: Williams reports that employee morale is high because of the excitement and fun at the logo launch. “Employees are using their logoed products and have inquired about purchasing some of the apparel items,” she says. “We are planning to launch a company store stocked with the modeled items plus several others.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Healthcare—WellStar® Health System CHALLENGE: Special occasions should be commemorated. While popping open some champagne is nice, the moment of celebration is only temporary. WellStar® Health System, a five-hospital system in Georgia, wanted to announce completed construction of its new surgery center and create a long-lasting memento to commemorate the facility’s opening. What kind of keepsake would be valued by the hospital’s board members, doctors and surgical staff? SOLUTION: With an objective of simply announcing completion of the surgery center, Michelle Robinson, director of marketing and public relations, went to work with promotional consultant Marsha Londe of Atlanta, Georgia-based Summit Marketing. They knew an open house was in order so hospital employees could check out the new facility. But with doctors’ hectic schedules, they doubted attendance would be high. Even so, Robinson and Londe wanted all employees to receive an invitation to the open house along with some sort of commemorative gift. The gift of choice? A miniature painting of the new facility, mounted in an attractive frame. The picture was placed upside down in a custom box. When recipients opened the boxes, they found stylish invitations to the open house mounted on the backs of the frames. The copy, “We can’t picture an opening without you,” offered a friendly and sincere invitation to the event. RESULT: The framed paintings became valuable souvenirs of the open house and are permanently displayed in many offices throughout the facility. “Even several weeks after the event, we received requests from recently hired physicians and surgical staff wanting framed artwork for their offices,” says Robinson. “We were very pleased with the open house turnout—of 250 invited individuals, 70 percent attended.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Railroad Transportation—Union Pacific Railroad CHALLENGE: Rolling out an on-the-job awareness program can be tricky. How do organizers know if employees hear the message? How will employees respond? Union Pacific Railroad (UP) struggled with these questions, among others, when it wanted to increase safety awareness among all employees and improve overall safety performance. How could it grab—and hold—the employees’ attention and promote a safe working environment? SOLUTION: Ron Quinley of Union Pacific met with promotional consultant Don Michalik of Austin, Texas-based Ad Ventures in Texas to spark some ideas. Since safety is a shared responsibility at work and home, they developed a fitting theme for the campaign: “Be safe. It’s right for you and me.” The target audience consisted of 6,200 employees in UP’s southern region. Quinley and Michalik decided a direct-mail campaign would be a successful way to reach the audience, so they sent a postcard mailer with a photo frame magnet bearing the campaign’s message. This communicated the personal side of safety and the best reasons for staying safe—family and friends. The safety message was further reinforced by posters, floor decals, light post banners and flags displayed around the region. UP employees were featured in the collateral to boost awareness and create interest. The floor decals had a dual purpose—they displayed the safety announcement and also helped prevent slips and falls. Managers observed employees, watching for those who consistently behaved safely. Their reward for safe workplace behavior? A safety check scratch-off card that gave employees a sense of recognition along with fun prizes that included Swiss Army knives, Fossil watches, televisions, stadium blankets and other useful gifts, which were presented to winners at weekly safety briefings. RESULT: The campaign provided consistent safety improvement, with injury levels down 35 percent during the campaign’s course. “ The overall program was fun and colorful, motivating employees to achieve safety goals,” says Quinley. “Along with decreasing personal injuries, the campaign really boosted morale.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Computer Software—Adobe Systems Incorporated CHALLENGE: To most folks, selling isn’t fun and games. It’s hard work establishing relationships with customers, following through on promises and providing solutions to problems—among other sales tasks. But Adobe Systems, Inc. thought selling should be at least a little fun. Of course, it wanted to keep the serious side of selling, but it also needed to motivate employees to increase sales of Adobe Acrobat by five percent. SOLUTION: With a fun and games theme in mind, Channel Marketing Program Manager Steven Lim met with promotional consultant Susan Woolf of AIA/For Play & Marketing in Campbell, California. Targeting 4,000 sales reps and corporate reseller partners, they developed a “Win Big With Adobe Acrobat” campaign. Management personnel received solid cherry wooden boxes filled with dominoes and dice and cribbage, along with program participation details. As an added touch, the boxes were laser engraved with the company logo and packaged with shredded money. Sales reps received a series of promotional gifts throughout the next five months including a chess set, tic-tac-toe game and round playing cards. Along with the gifts, they also received monthly quizzes. A quiz may not sound like much fun, but sales reps jumped at the chance to take each month’s quiz because each completed quiz earned lottery-style tickets for contest entries into the grand prize drawing to the ultimate gaming destination—Las Vegas. RESULT: A total of 4,000 people participated in the program, exceeding the goal by 1,500. Also, during the five-month campaign, every account increased its Acrobat sales. “ Knowledge of the Acrobat product significantly improved as reflected in monthly quiz scores,” Lim says. “We’re very pleased with the outcome of the program.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Medical—Advanced Medical Resources, Inc. CHALLENGE: Set a goal within reason, and you’re more likely to reach it. That’s the strategy medical staffing firm Advanced Medical Resources used to overcome a projected $300,000 loss for the year. It declared a goal of making at least one dollar in profit. Not $100,000 or even $10,000—just one buck. How did the company motivate staff to move past the gloomy forecast and produce revenue? SOLUTION: Working with promotional consultant Tim Sheridan of AIA/Bartell Creative Concepts in Glenview, Illinois, President Mark Gallagher developed a program to rally his sales staff to make more sales at higher margins. Aptly named “Just One Dollar,” the yearlong program began in January with a themed memo holder presented to the sales team and support staff at the monthly company-wide meeting. With each meeting, employees were treated to new promotional items: basketball stress relievers, transparent piggy banks, word search puzzles and wooden pyramid-shaped puzzles. Each item had a double meaning. For example, the basketball stress reliever given in March—in time for the NCAA’s March Madness—featured copy that read, “Margin Madness—Just One Dollar.” The wooden puzzle fit in with the overall program goals because not only was it shaped like the client’s logo, but it also emphasized teamwork. With employees working together to assemble the puzzle, they learned that by sharing knowledge, they can achieve results more rapidly than by working alone. As the year drew to a close and Gallagher and Sheridan evaluated the program’s results, they decided to give one final gift to celebrate a job well done. In December, employees received stemmed champagne glasses to toast a successful new year. RESULT: Advanced Medical Resources far surpassed its goal, making a total profit of $569,000 for the year. So much for ending up $300,000 in the red—the end result was a 99,214-percent return on the total cost of the program. “ The net effect of the promotional program was phenomenal,” says Gallagher. “The inventive games and promotional items enabled me to enhance the focus for the business at each of my monthly meetings.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Promotional Products—Image Builders CHALLENGE: When Image Builders, a promotional products distributor in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, wanted to promote its creative abilities, it knew it needed a sharp campaign. After all, it was in the promotion business. How could it illustrate its award-winning style of using promotional items in a campaign so that it made a 100-percent return on investment? SOLUTION: Promotional consultant Michael Fanslau, MAS, immediately honed in on his target audience of 60 businesses and organizations as top prospects for using promotional items in their marketing campaigns. “ We mailed four pyramid-shaped boxes to each of the recipients. All the boxes were imprinted with the message ‘What’s the point?’” Fanslau says. Inside each box was the second half of the question, with a corresponding promotional item. Box one kicked off the promotion, asking, “What’s the point…If your promotions aren’t unique?” Inside the box were 15 cards listing the top uses of promotional advertising. Box two’s question was, “What’s the point…If you don’t give them the shirt off your back?” It was packed with an imprinted t-shirt compressed into a pyramid shape. Box three asked, “What’s the point…If your advertising doesn’t draw new business?” The supporting item was an Etch-A-Sketch®, suggesting Image Builders could show the customer “oodles of doodles to draw in new customers.” When recipients opened the fourth box, they found a Swiss Army pocketknife, a brochure, Rolodex card and handwritten note asking, “What’s the point…If no one pockets your message?” Did recipients get the point? Just ask Fanslau, who says, “In a year that a lot of distributors’ business was down 20-30 percent, we maintained our business and saw no drop in sales.” RESULT: Far exceeding the financial goal, the program received rave reviews from recipients and generated $60,000 in new sales. “The synergy created by tying all the promotional pieces together with the matching brochures and packaging truly demonstrated the kind of promotional pieces we could put together,” says Fanslau.
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Bottled Water—Abita Springs Water Company, Inc. CHALLENGE: Abita Springs Water Company wanted to add 500 new customers to its home delivery program. What better way to do this than to offer its 5,000 targeted current customers incentives for qualified referrals? The challenge was finding incentive prizes attractive enough to prompt customers to recommend the company to friends and family and, at the same time, promote Abita Springs Water. SOLUTION: Promotional consultant Christine McAtee, CAS, of AIA/Insignia Marketing in The Woodlands, Texas, knew Troy Cox, marketing manager for Abita Springs Water Company, wanted drinking-water-related, aqua and blue logoed prizes. She recommended a choice of four gift sets: the Patio Refreshment Set with an acrylic pitcher and four double-wall thermal insulated tumblers; Playground Pal with an insulated sports bottle and a portable folding chair with a cooler compartment; Easy Picnic Pak with a squeeze sports bottle and an insulated soft cooler with a food compartment; and Commuter Survival Kit with two coffee mugs, squeeze bottle and no-spill acrylic travel mug. “On their normal routes, the delivery salespeople distributed to their customers eye-catching, full-color brochures describing the program and featuring an entry form for referrals and gift selections on the back,” says McAtee. Upon confirmation of a referral signing up for the home delivery program, the salesperson presented the selected gift set on the next scheduled water delivery date to the referring customer. RESULT: Cox reports the company surpassed its overall objective of increasing sales by 500 new home or office customers through referrals. Actual new clients numbered 552 during the promotion’s first year.
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Not-For-Profit—Rotary International CHALLENGE: Because all Rotary clubs are part of Rotary International, they are committed to raising money for the Rotary Polio Eradication Campaign. The challenge for the Australian-based clubs was to find an innovative and original fundraising product within budget and with mass appeal and brand synergy that could be supplied internationally. Una Hobday, past president for the Launceston Rotary Club in Tasmania, Australia, wanted a fundraiser to tie in with its “Sow the Seeds of Love” theme—a program that would make the campaign fun with an easy-to-sell and profitable product. SOLUTION: Promotional consultant Jason Bradbury of Wompro in West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, immediately thought of matchbook-style packaging, which has 10 tear-off matches in a pack. Each match has five to eight seeds attached to biodegradable sticks. “We selected Nigella seeds because the plant, commonly known as “love in a mist,” is very colorful and easy to grow in most climates,” says Bradbury. “This is a totally interactive product that appeals to the young and old and to urban, suburban and rural communities. The novelty value is huge, not to mention the return on investment—approximately 110-percent profit on each seed package sold.” RESULT: Initially launched in Australia, the U.S. and Canada, the promotion soon expanded to the UK, Europe and Asia because of the overwhelming feedback. Hobday says, “I recognised the potential behind this unique fundraising tool straight away but was still surprised to raise five times more than I expected. I sold 2,500 Love Seed packs at a craft fair in two afternoons and raised more than $3,000 for the Polio Eradication Campaign. This is a fantastic product, and I will definitely use it in all future fundraising attempts—sow easy!”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Non-Profit—Donor Network of Arizona CHALLENGE: By increasing media exposure to and awareness of the new Arizona Donor Network Registry, Stacy Underwood, community relations supervisor, thought media excitement would encourage the public to register to become organ donors. The challenge was getting the 250 radio, TV and newspaper contacts to trigger a flood of their respective audiences to sign the donor registry. SOLUTION: Promotional consultant Karen Kravitz, president of Commotion Promotions, Ltd. in Phoenix, Arizona, was called to help by selecting fun, useful promotional products to remind the media of April as the National Donate Life Month. A pen with six rotating messages was mailed with an attached card that read, “Arizonans Can Now Sign Up To Donate Life.” The second mailing was a robotic ring clock, which announced the week and time of the new donor registry launch. Next, the media received a memo pen holder along with a pen to remind them to cover the story. The final mailing was a desk bell with a cheering crowd sound chip and a note applauding media personnel for their support in promoting the organ donation story. At public events during the promotion, rubber band bracelets with die-cut donor ribbons, Frisbees®, temporary tattoos and changing-message pens were distributed to reinforce the media message and campaign. RESULT: Underwood reports that during April, the campaign month, broadcast and print media had more than 85 stories and programs about organ and tissue donation and the new AZ Donor Registry. “And, most important of all,” adds Kravitz, “more than 1,000 people signed up to save a life on the new Arizona Donor Registry by becoming organ donors.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Pest Control and Yard Care—J.C. Ehrlich Co., Inc. CHALLENGE: Sometimes goals can be reached with the help of others. Who couldn’t use a little rah-rah support every now and then? Instead of bringing in the cheerleading squad from the local high school, J.C. Ehrlich Co., Inc., a pest control and yard care company, turned to its staff when it wanted them to reach their goals. The idea was for co-workers to motivate and encourage each other to meet a set of six production-improvement goals. SOLUTION: Margaret Ideman, director, continuous improvement for J.C. Ehrlich Co., Inc., wanted to see high levels of participation in the company’s 42 districts, so she met with promotional consultant Rick Mann, MAS, of Lasting Image Promotions & Wearables in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, to develop a theme for the program. They launched “Space Odyssey 2001,” suggesting a journey toward out-of-this-world business results. Each district office was given planet and space ship markers that moved along a space odyssey chart to track progress. Of course, to introduce the intergalactic campaign, the company’s president dressed as Mr. Spock when speaking to his space crew. To keep the program highly visible, crew members were encouraged to decorate their offices with a space theme. As districts reached performance goals, all employees in the district received promotional items such as travel mugs, robotic calculators, umbrellas, picnic lunch bags and folding chairs. Upon reaching the highest point level on the space odyssey chart, each district selected its final destination—Hershey Park, Atlantic City or Niagara Falls—where the entire district and their families traveled as a group to celebrate the mission’s completion. RESULT: Ideman was pleased to see enthusiastic, company-wide participation in the yearlong program, leading the 42 districts to show substantial improvement in all six objectives. Eighteen district offices exceeded their business goals and earned the grand prize trip. “ The program was not only successful for the company from a business perspective, but it was motivational for our co-workers as well,” Ideman says. “How we treat our co-workers is how they, in turn, treat their customers.”
- Background Notes For Presenter: INDUSTRY: Healthcare—Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center CHALLENGE: A new logo and two new facilities for Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center meant major changes had taken place. The hospital wanted to create public awareness using a kid-friendly approach. Since one of the new pavilions was for women and children, it seemed fitting to create a youthful program. SOLUTION: Working with Melanie Perry, promotional consultant for Birmingham, Alabama-based MBF Perry Company, the hospital’s Director of Community Relations Susan Williamson, developed a spokesperson of sorts that children would easily recognize. A tall cuddly Louie the Giraffe served as the hospital’s community ambassador, making public appearances to promote child safety, education and good hygiene habits. A series of open houses were announced with wooden postcard invitations sent to executive senior staff members, while paper invitations were mailed to an audience of 1,500 employees, a surrounding network of physicians, referring medical offices, schools and civic leaders. At the employee open house, attendees received a pair of “Louie Says Get Well” socks—a welcome improvement from the standard-issue disposable socks patients typically received. Louie also made appearances at hospital-sponsored Read-A-Thons, where he presented plush giraffe bookmarks to schoolchildren. New mothers weren’t overlooked—in addition to receiving the snuggly socks, they also received a custom-made stuffed Louie who welcomed their baby to the hospital family. Employee involvement in the new facilities culminated in a picnic pep rally with the distribution of t-shirts displaying the new slogan, “Good things are happening at RMC.” RESULT: Louie the Giraffe became a beloved member of the RMC family, with a medical center poll showing more than 750 people had a strong fondness for and recognition of the friendly giraffe. “ The outcome of these promotional items has truly helped set us apart from other facilities,” Williamson says. “We have had more than 750 positive responses to our promotion campaign from our target market.”