Digital Promotions: The Right Offer, Consumer and Provider Are All in the Mix

Digital promotions plug in with consumers of today lead lifestyles that challenge marketers to influence buying behaviors using methods beyond traditional advertising from print, TV, direct mail and radio. Now, brands need to catch up with consumers on the go, and interact where buyers work, eat, play and shop. There are digital promotions that reach and influence every socio-economic bracket and every age group, from elementary schoolers to senior citizens:

* music downloads
* ringtones
* mobile content
* social Media, including facebook and Twitter
* eBook
* online and virtual promotions
* digital movie downloads



Here's what we know about consumers and digital promotions:
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, consumers in the United States are still feeling the crunch of a challenging economy, and they desire to keep cash on hand by buying less but making more frequent trips to the store. While keeping a product's digital promotion in mind, consider these research findings:

* communications from the store or brand aid in the shopper's decision to buy
* if the digital promotion involves a product type that they normally buy, consumers are more likely to notice a previously-ignored product if it involves a digital promotion
* oftentimes shoppers make an unplanned purchase based on a digital promotion
* some consumers will even switch to a different product when enticed by a digital promotion
* sales increase when aided by promotions in general



Unfortunately, it's not enough use just any digital promotions provider in order to increase sales for your brand. How many of us have been excited to receive free music downloads from a box of oatmeal, only to find that the online redemption site only houses music from unknown labels with artists we've never heard of? How about the time we wanted to take advantage of a free eBook promotion, but could only do so if we entered our credit card for a "free" one-week subscription? Or we tried to redeem a free movie from a digital promotions site, and the download timed out? The result of these is a killed emotional connection with a potential long-term customer, and no brand can afford that.

So in crafting your marketing strategy that incorporates digital promotions, it makes sense to keep these in mind:
1. Develop a solid partnership with a digital promotions provider who has worked with campaigns of all sizes, in various industries, for brands large and small. Tapping into their knowledge and experience will bring ideas and tactics to the table that sometimes only an outsider can contribute.
2. Keep your digital promotions campaign affordable and within your budget. One of the best ways to accomplish this, while at the same time launching promotional campaign on a large scale, is to implement promotional risk underwriting. If this type of promotions insurance isn't available through your selected provider, keep looking.
3. Employ a turnkey digital promotions provider with the highest-quality technology available. Again, it’s about ensuring that your customers experience no difficulties in redeeming your offer. An online music download engine, for example, that isn’t both PC and Mac-compatible is poison to your brand’s image.
4. Tailor your brand's digital promotions toward your target market. Recent research data released by the Neilsen Group, for example, cites the Asian and Hispanic population as the groups who are buying the highest number of smart phones over the past year. These demographics, then, may be the best for digital promotions offering free mobile content including ringtones, wallpaper and games.

Brand loyalty and increased sales for your brand extend well beyond the instant gratification and perceived value from a consumer's initial redemption of digital promotions. Precise choosing of the product, digital promotion, and provider will ultimately lead to higher numbers at the cash registers - and on your financials.

Three Ways Promotional Risk Coverage Can Improve Your Promotion

Promotional risk coverage can save your bacon and improve your promotional campaign. It allows you to offer people a chance at winning big ticket items, but doesn't mean you have to have a big ticket budget.

Here are three ways promotional risk coverage can help marketers offer huge prizes without having to flee the country if they ever paid out.

1. Because Someone Will Eventually Win
While the odds of being struck by lightning are only slightly better than winning the lottery (or worse, depending on your outlook on life), the odds of winning a small contest at a local event are much, much better.

For example, an annual golf fundraiser includes a new car if someone hits a hole-in-one on the 9th hole. While it may seem like a good idea to save money by not actually paying for the car first, keep in mind that the United States Golf Register says that the odds of a hole-in-one are anywhere from 1 in 20,000 to 1 in 33,000: much lower than the risk of being hit by lightning.

So what happens if a golfer hits that 1-in-33,000 shot? While every marketer loves the attention that the contest brings, none of them want to think about what will happen if someone makes the shot, and they did not have the car covered.

Promotional risk coverage will cover the possibility of someone hitting the winning shot. In this case, the risk is placed with an insurance company, and the marketer pays a small fixed fee. If a contestant wins the prize, the promotional risk coverage kicks in, and the insurance company covers the difference.

Rather than risking the cost of the car in a contest, for a fraction of the prize value, the promotional risk policy gives peace of mind to the organizers and prize providers.

2. Because You Need to Make a Big Splash
In cases where a campaign needs a high-value prize, but there is no room in the budget, promotional risk coverage makes it possible.

For example, in some fast food contests, the restaurant will offer several million dollars in prizes, but they are counting on the fact that not every prize will be redeemed, and the total prize value will not be reached. However, there is a careful balance between gambling that not all the prize money will be claimed, and having enough in the budget to cover it.

If a marketer wants to offer $500,000 in possible prizes, but believes that only $300,000 will be collected, a promotional risk policy could cover the difference if contestants actually collect on all the prizes. This allows the marketer to make a bigger splash with the contest, entice more customers to play, and still cover all costs should the unexpected occur.

3. Because You May Get More People to Enter
A similar promotional risk strategy is necessary for coupon programs, rebate offers, and even free music downloads.

For example, a marketer wants to launch a free music download program, and has budgeted for 50,000 redemptions of the song. However, the campaign is a wild success, and there are nearly 90,000 redemptions of the music. This means the marketer must come up with the licensing fees for the additional 40,000 songs.

Of course, if she had purchased promotional risk coverage, for a set fee, she could cover any possible overages, without incurring any anger and wrath from customers for canceling the promotion unexpectedly, or risk losing her job because she did not plan accordingly. In this case, promotional risk coverage removes the risk of a larger-than-expected redemption rate, and helps keep costs under control.

These three promotional risk strategies can help marketers keep marketing costs under control, allow for small campaigns to become big ones without risk of staggering losses, and even cover an unexpected success. For more information and to implement this type of campaign, it is important to speak to a promotional risk coverage specialist.

Digital Media Promotions Cover Promotional Risk, Within a Powerful Promotional Platform

The powerful digital media promotions platform to rapidly launch your promotion, turns content into advertising. The leading digital promotions company that brings high-end promotional technology and programs to link brands with their consumer markets, Hip Digital Media acquired Promotional Currency. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Promotional Currency is a promotions and promotional risk coverage company that merges digital technology in the form of digital music, ringtones, skins and more with turnkey, fixed-cost solutions for the promotional marketplace. Additionally, Promotional Currency protects companies from over-redemption liability with its in-depth promotional risk coverage and underwriting capabilities, enabling large-scale programs that increase brand awareness and user experience. Visit www.promotionalcurrency.com to learn more.

Hip Digital Media holds MP3 licenses from all 4 major labels in the U.S., United Kingdom and Canada, Hip Digital enables innovative customer experiences with digital entertainment campaigns for Fortune 500 brands and online media companies. Additionally, Hip Digital protects companies from over-redemption liability with its in-depth promotional risk coverage and underwriting capabilities, enabling large-scale programs that increase brand awareness and user experience. Experience Hip Digital’s suite of services at HipDigitalMedia.com