Friday Ad Haiku: Promotions and Giveaways

by Alicia Taft

Baseball is back! This year, I was lucky enough to enjoy my first Baltimore Orioles Opening Day. In addition to perks like watching the O's beat the Evil Empire and participating in Mark Teixeira's first game of Baltimore boos, I received an Orioles magnetic schedule, car magnet, and a scratch off ticket worth $3 (a third of a beer!).

Promo nights rule. April 10th was Fleece Scarf Night at Camden Yards, and you know those first 10,000 fans 15 and over are going to cherish that free piece of fleece, even if it's not exactly seasonally relevant (but then again, they might not get 10,000 fans 15 and over in chilly September, when the Orioles are usually continuing their painful fall down the basement steps*).

Ad Agency Confessional's own Matt McDermott was lucky enough to score this promo gem.


It's like the "but wait, there's more" of the baseball world, and the more could be a complimentary set of six official MLB toothpicks for all I care. It's something extra. More bang for my buck.

I unfortunately missed my opportunity to score the scarf, so I started poking around the Internet for some other baseball giveaways. A list of the most interesting promos of the 2008 MLB season includes fake soul patches and--yes--more cowbell. And 2009 MLB promos include Jayson Werth blankets for the ladies (sponsored by Motrin) and sandbox sets.

Pop some Motrin and snuggle with Jayson

But over the past few years, Minor League Baseball has really stolen the show. In addition to the typical t-shirt, magnet, bobblehead and hat freebies, some teams have come up with promotions that raise an eyebrow, like an eighteen-and-a-half minute Watergate moments of silence, an entire five innings of silence, paying customers to park, sheets of cork, and Turkish lira. Not to mention one team's "Van Down by the River" Night for this season.

These off-the-wall strategies can even pique the interest of non-fans, and perhaps turn them into regulars. Make them come for the promotion, but stay for the game--and maybe even keep coming back. Maybe you're not the head of marketing for a sports team. But if you're looking to drive in customers, maybe it's not so bad to step out of the batter's box every once in a while and try something out of left field. Yes, I am clever. Thanks for noticing.

So, bringing it back to the Friday Ad Haiku, today's topic is Promotions and Giveaways.

Glow-in-the-dark fan?
Of course I'll take one of those.
Just because it's free.

*I am merely pointing out trends of seasons past. I still have hope that my beloved team will surprise me this year. Why not, right?

Previously in the Friday 5-7-5: Eating FREE at the agency

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Ecko Rocks the Vote, or Why I'm a Genius.

OK, for the regular readers of this blog (thanks, Mom and Dad!), you may remember my post discussing how to get the maximum marketing mileage out of Barry Bond's homerun ball. Kudos to Marc Ecko for taking my advice (or the advice of someone who shamelessly stole my advice and passed it off as their own) by putting the fate of the ball up for a vote by the masses. Well played, my friend. Well played.

For the record though, I come to not to praise Marc Ecko--only to analyze his approach. So, how's the campaign stack up?

Originality: Grade B+
It’s the best idea ever stolen from me. Consumer voting has been used before, but usually it's been more closely associated with a product (e.g. choose a new color for M&Ms, pick your favorite Doritos commercial). In this situation, he's using it as a brand builder. Ecko, the fashion maverick that he is, understands his demographic. His clothes have always been for The People. Now, his brand is of The People; by providing us everyday folks with the chance to weigh in on an emotionally/historically charged topic, he’s telling us we matter. Yes! Us, 1. Not Mattering 0.

Creativity: Grade B+All right, burning the asterisk into the ball is pretty hardcore. I dig the irony. And sending it to the Hall of Fame is a classy option. But shooting it into space? (Cue cliché 80’s high-school movie slow-clap, building to enthusiastic applause.) Bravo. Granted, I’d still like to see the ball shredded in a wood chipper and mailed to Barry Bonds, COD. Ecko does however miss a prime opportunity to further blend his brand with the fate of the ball. Perhaps pull it apart, make something wearable out of it, then auction it off and donate the proceeds to whales with cancer or, better yet, me.

Impact: Grade A-
At the time of this writing, the vote tally was just shy of ten million. Not bad considering this campaign has existed almost exclusively in forwarded links, word-of-mouth, widgets for people to include on their own sites, and a few national TV interviews. Extra points for the frugality of execution (even including the bazillion dollars he paid for the ball).

Extension: Grade Incomplete
After casting your vote, you’re given the opportunity to submit your email address to receive voting updates and final results. Not sure where it goes after that. I submitted the email addresses of people I don’t like and none of them has complained they've received additional spam…yet. My guess is email lists will be used for further CRM initiatives and sales promotions, eventually.

All-in-all, Ecko’s Vote756.com campaign is a great way to build a little brand equity, if I do say so myself. And as the brain trust behind it, I do. Man, I rule.

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