Incentive - December 2007 - (Page 12)

IN THE NEWS Tube-It-Yourself est Buy recently awarded a $15,000 gift certificate to a student with the online handle “MysteryGuitarMan.” The reason? A 40second, stop motion video spot he made that was chosen as the winner in the company’s TechUOut video competition, in which college students were asked to enter homemade films of themselves describing “what you want to tech out your dorm room.” Best Buy’s consumer promotion is just one of a growing number of similar viewer-created video and commercial contests. POM Tea challenges participants to show what they love most about the drink in 90 seconds or less. Even Pepto-Bismol has a contest, asking for videos of less than one minute that portray the five (not particularly photogenic) symptoms of their product. UPS, IKEA, Heinz Company, Butterfinger, Kraft Singles, and Union 76 have also all recently held make-your-own ad competitions. The rules of each contest vary, depending on the product being promoted or company sponsoring it, but most ask for creative use of the product or brand, originality and quality. “We’re excited about this program, particularly how it was well-received by consumers,” says John Taylor, vice president for LG Electronics USA, which recently closed their “Life Is Good” competition that asks entrants to create short films that show “the experiences that make life more interesting,” for a chance at $18,000 in LG merchandise. “The quantity of the response and the qualiThe Incentive Editorial Advisory Board: • Ira Almeas, President, Impact Incentives and Meetings • Bill Boyd, President and CEO, Sunbelt Motivation and Travel • Adrienne Forest, Assistant Vice President, Special Markets, Bulova Corp. • Karen Eglitis, Unit Business Manager, Premium & Incentive, Bose Corp. • Terry Markwart, Director & Assistant General Mgr. of U.S. Sales, Canon USA • Steve Lowe, Director of Sales, Harrah’s & Harveys Lake Tahoe • Rodger Stotz, Vice President, Managing Consultant, Maritz Incentives • Jon Von Rentzell, Vice President, Recognition and Rewards, Carlson Marketing • Joe Zanone, Senior Vice President, Movado Group Inc. • Gail Fitzgerald, Vice President Hotel Sales & Marketing, CityCenter Las Vegas • Chris Flatt, Executive Vice President Hotel Sales & Marketing, Wynn Las Vegas • Cindy Mielke, Manager, National Accounts, Marketing Innovators • Anne Platt, Director, Gift Card Services, Best Buy • Dick Gaeta, President, Premier Incentives • Art Masarky, Senior Director, Human Resources, Heineken, USA • Dennis O. Borst, President and COO, Patriot Marketing Group Companies are using make-your-own-commercial contests to engage consumers B ty has really been terrific, and very heartening to us,” says Taylor. These contests tap the popularity of sites like YouTube and the ubiquity of affordable camera technology that allows anyone with a digital camera, or even a cell phone, to become an amateur filmmaker and put their own spin on familiar brands. They are also a way for companies to get their message out in a more interactive, and often more appealing, way than a top-down advertising campaign would otherwise allow, says Bonnie Carlson, president of the Promotion Marketing Association. “I think a lot of consumers feel that they don’t trust advertising, that they don’t know if it’s really true,” says Carlson. “But if it’s coming from one of their own, then they tend to believe it more. So I think it has some built-in credibility.” Carlson cites Al Gore’s Current TV as one of the pioneers of this user-generated advertising. The station’s Viewer-Created Ad Message (VCAM) program accepts commercials created by viewers, and shows the ads to the product manufacturer, for approval, before the spots air on the station. The online video contests draw on the entertainment value of these DIY ads and add the competitive element to increase consumer interactivity and interest. Considering the many thousands or millions of dollars a company can spend on a traditional marketing campaign, a $15,000 gift certificate seems like a reasonable price to pay. —A.D.P. Patrick Sullivan, president of PRA Destination Management New York, has been elected president of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives (SITE), with his term beginning in 2009. Sullivan, at left, is seen at the New York SITE chapter meeting in November talking with Michael Mayberry, sales manager of PRA Destination Management New York; Cosimo Bruzzese, director of sales for Briggs Inc.; and Lindsey Skolnick, a project assistant at Empire Force Events. CREDIT: THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN WITH A SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-H7 DIGITAL CAMERA 12 | Incentive | December 2007 | incentivemag.com http://incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - December 2007

Incentive - December 2007 Contents Editor’s Note: Revved Up In the News Cover Story: Rolls-Royce Empowers Its Own Case Study: Booz Allen Hamilton Beating Your Best Incentive Primer: Add Value to Your Event Keeping Safety In Mind Incentive Interview Potentials Here and Now Research: Corporate Gifts Facts Report Tabletop Awards: Travel Gift Cards Travel News Viva Puerto Vallarta Indigenous Spas Advertiser Index Off the Cuff: Ambassador Christoph Bubb Luxury Brands Special Supplement

Incentive - December 2007

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