Promo - March 2008 - (Page 20)

ADVERTISEMENT Lifestage Marketing Hits Moving Targets A pet lover walks into an animal shelter to acquire a new cat. She leaves with a kitten in one arm and a free pet care guide and Scoop Away branded kitty litter scoop in the other. The scoop and guide are part of a highly targeted marketing program developed by Euro RSCG 4D Impact to help Scoop Away reach consumers who are new pet owners. Just in time for Mother’s Day, a “World’s Greatest Mom” promotion enticed parents with young kids to test drive a Dodge mini-van. Delivered to parents through pediatrician ofﬁces and daycare centers, the program included information about keeping children healthy and safe, a coloring activity for kids, purchase vouchers and sweepstakes forms. The program was developed by Impact and generated an estimated $2 million in incremental sales. “With category entry, these are people who want to make a decision,” notes Amy Linde, Impact’s vice president of business development. “They’re looking for information so they can feel good about their choices.” Relevant Programs Impact custom designs its lifestage programs to support each client’s objectives. Measurement criteria are set in accordance with the client’s standards.The agency excels at identifying the most relevant venues for a client’s product, building effective databases of venues, and delivering programs that are valued by target audiences. In the case of Scoop Away, for example, workers at 95% of pet shelters giving away the pet care guides and branded scoops thought the program was valuable and worth continuing. “We work with clients to identify those places that offer the highest concentration of consumers in a given lifestage and where we can reach those consumers efﬁciently,” notes Reif. By the time they’re ready to roll, approximately 73-85% of high churn, micro targets such as moms with kids in potty training are ripe to try the product.“There are very few options out there that can deliver with that same kind of precision,” notes Reif. Beyond Sampling Welcome to the world Impact has dubbed lifestage marketing. A strategic, ROI-oriented provider of consumer-targeted marketing services, Impact has seen enough growth in this line of business that the agency now offers its sampling services under the lifestage umbrella. But unlike sampling which focuses on putting trial-size products in consumers’ hands, lifestage marketing is about nabbing people when they’re entering a product category. “Lifestage is a broader thought in that we provide marketers personal access to ﬁnely targeted groups of consumers,” explains Jesse Reif, senior vice president of sales for lifestage marketing at Impact.“The deliverable can be something other than a product sample. It can be information that tells them what to look for in a product and how to get the most from it. “And, instead of being delivered through a medium like television or radio, it’s delivered from an inﬂuencer such as a physician, childcare provider, educator, coach, or trainer,” adds Reif. “That implied endorsement from a trusted professional is very powerful for consumers.” Inﬂuencing Behavior Does lifestage marketing inﬂuence behavior? Reif points to Impact’s success at introducing brands to immigrants enrolled in English as a second language (ESL) classes. “We developed a database of these classes, and we’ve created entire lesson plans around life skills in the United States that the teachers use in their classrooms,” says Reif. “The people who are taking these classes are generally at a point where they’ve consciously decided that they want to become acculturated into U.S. society. We see that as a touch point where we can create a learning moment and really inﬂuence future purchase behavior. To be an American is to use this brand.” Indeed, Impact clients participating in ESL programs consistently see signiﬁcant lifts in awareness, equity and brand preference among the students. Additionally, surveys of school teachers, childcare providers and directors of professional businesses receiving lifestage programs designed by Impact revealed that 86% of these inﬂuencers had a positive opinion of the program, 84% had an increased opinion of the brand, and 90% are likely to recommend the brand. Effective Targeting Lifestage marketing offers brands an efﬁcient, effective method for reaching hard-to-ﬁnd audiences, says Reif. It’s nearly impossible to buy a reliable mailing list of folks who are new to a product category, but you can ﬁnd them by targeting the venues they frequent. Daycare centers attract working moms with young kids, for example. Colleges are havens of young adults who are living on their own for the ﬁrst time. Animal shelters draw new pet owners.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - March 2008

Promo - March 2008 Editor's Note Girls' Club New Eco Regs? They're Not Going Anywhere Spreads Easily RFID Ramp-Up From Backyard to Broadcast Commentary VROOOM! Stuff We Can't Do Here Yet Q&A: Measuring Up Free Ink The Agency Center Resource Center Promotions 2.0 Index of Advertisers

Promo - March 2008

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