Promo - October 2008 - (Page 26)

GAMES, CONTESTS AND SWEEPSTAKES SPENDING 2002 $1.796 billion 2005 $1.804 billion 2008 $1.854 billion Veronis Suhler Stevenson Communications Industry Forecast COMPANIES WILL DROP ABOUT $1.86 BILLION ON GAMES, CONTESTS AND SWEEPSTAKES THIS YEAR, ABOUT FLAT WITH $1.83 BILLION IN 2006. GAMES, CONTESTS AND SWEEPSTAKES Playing the Game Spending on games and contests may be flat, but consumers don’t seem to notice. They are too busy posting photos, developing videos and singing jingles. “It’s about empowering the consumer and letting them make their mark,” Bruce Hollander, executive vice president of Don Jagoda Associates, says. “We’re seeing more and more of that.” SNAPSHOT vice president of research for PQ Media, the custom media research firm that partnered with Veronis Suhler Stevenson on the forecast. The slow growth is a result of a softening economy coupled with the saturation of games, contests and sweepstakes, Kivijarv explains. But brand marketers playing in the space are still looking for ways to stand out in the crowded field. One way is to move beyond the Web to the third screen, says Marc Wortsman, executive vice president of Marden-Kane, Inc. CBS Mobile, for example, has run a fantasy league for the popular “Survivor” reality show with Sprint. In it, players earned points based on certain actions and could switch their team members and monitor the action from their mobile phones. “It’s becoming the battleground of the screens,” Wortsman says. Companies are also offering more ways for people to enter. This summer, Subway brought back its popular “Subway” game in which customers peeled off game pieces from beverage cups and sandwich wrappers for a shot at instant A saturated field makes for flat spending/Amy Johannes prizes in-store. They then went online to play an instant-win game or spell out key words for a chance at other prizes. Nearly four times as many people registered for the game compared to last year, says Lydia Kennedy, managing director of Catapult ActionBiased Marketing, the agency that handled the promotion. Capturing consumer data is still a top priority for running games and contests. For example, Subway will use the database of opt-in subscribers from its Scrabble game to talk about new sandwiches and other programs. “It’s one of the main reasons you run a game or contest,” says Paul Kramer, Catapult’s COO. “The future of marketing is about building ongoing relationships.” On the legal front, the Promotion Marketing Association was able to modify the impact of a California bill, SB 1400, that would have made it difficult to market sweepstakes in that state. (See page 10.) “Common sense prevailed,” says Ed Kabak, chief legal officer of the Promotional Marketing Association. “The result is something the industry can live with.” l P Marketers are expected to spend $1.86 billion this year building games, contests and sweepstakes Sweepstakes and contests calling for user-generated content are still tops Spending will average 0.8% at a compound annual growth rate through 2012 Companies will drop about $1.86 billion on games, contests and sweepstakes this year, about flat with $1.83 billion in 2006, a trend that has continued over the last five years, according to the Veronis Suhler Stevenson Communications Industry Forecast. “It’s not as high a priority on brand marketers’ lists,” says Leo Kivijarv, 26 october 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com

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

Promo - October 2008 Contents Editor's Note 'Happy' World Legal Challenges Enter the Dragon 2008 Industry Trends Report Overview Direct Mail E-mail Coupons Event Marketing Games, Contests and Sweeps Interactive Licensing Loyalty Marketing Mobile Marketing P&I Product Placement Retail Sampling Q&A: Hoop Dreams Pro Awards Finalists Resource Center The Agency Center Compassion Fatigue Index of Advertisers

Promo - October 2008

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