Collect bottle caps and win a car! Buy a Walkman and see Michael Jackson in concert! Purchase one ticket to the Bahamas and your friend flies free!
Enticing offers and fun games are par for the course when it comes to doing a promotion. As consumers buy, collect, peel and scratch, advertisers and their clients hope that they are also building an affinity to the products behind the promotion.
Promotions are, of course, aimed at boosting sales and helping to build brand loyalty. According to Paul Kroef, international accounts manager at Visage Advertising in Kyiv, it is crucial that the nature of a promotion be consistent with the product's image.
'The prizes you win should be relevant to the product,' says Kroef. 'They should always be connected with the brand and support the reasons why that consumer wants that brand. … You want to get that brand into the household and reinforce people's loyalty to it.'
What is the state of affairs in Ukraine? How are consumers responding to promotions?
Although there has been no formal research done on promotions in what remains a very young market, the general belief among professionals is that Ukrainians have been receptive to the various gimmicks thrown at them. 'Promotions are very successful here,' said Yelena Lagada, account director for Visage. 'Ukrainians like them because they're getting something free or participating in some game and not actually having to buy a product all the time.'
But advertisers say that how well a promotion is received depends upon the persuasion skills of those conducting it and the brand's reputation.
'Ukrainians are suspicious,' said Kroef. 'They wonder what is wrong with the product because you're giving something away for free or at a discount. It's important to build credibility around the product.'
Paul Newsham, Visage's creative director agrees: 'You need to be seen as honest because Ukrainians have an in-built distrust.'
Sonya Soutus, regional external affairs manager for Coca-Cola in Ukraine and Belarus, believes such suspicion stems from Ukrainian's short history with advertising. She says that because the market is still so new, Ukrainians haven't had enough exposure to products or the ads plugging them to become confident consumers.
However, Soutus says the more promotions that are done, the quicker Ukrainians will catch on.
'Our first promotion in 1996 was new and novel,' said Soutus. 'We've done five promotions now and we see progress. We see people interested in them. … There is definitely a market for promotions … but it needs to be developed. People need to get more savvy about these things.'
Other news from the ad/media industry:
• The Kyiv office of Leo Burnett welcomed a new art director, Steve Whittier, this week. Whittier has previously worked as art director for DDB Needham, McCann-Erickson, Babbit & Reiman, Scali McCabe Sloves, and Karsh and Hagan Advertising.
• A new men's magazine was launched in Ukraine this week. Parad hit the news stands Tuesday with a starting circulation of 40,000. According to Parad's Public Relations Director, Sergey Galetiy, the magazine is one of the few in Ukraine geared towards men and men's issues.
• Bates Adell Saatchi and Saatchi is now the full-service agency for medical company Hoffman la Roche. They have also recently begun handling advertising for Cool, a Ukrainian magazine for young people, and Energizer batteries.
• 141 Ukraine, a promotional agency that is part of the international network of Bates Worldwide (Bates Adell Saatchi and Saatchi), has opened its doors in Ukraine. The agency will offer services such as sales promotions, PR conferences, samplings and taste tests, sponsorship, and concert promotions.
• Burson-Marsteller was picked to do event management and media relations for the opening of Citibank's 100th office in Kyiv during the EBRD conference in May.
• The Ukrainian creative team from Burson-Marsteller has just finished filming their second commercial for Korona chocolate in Milan, Italy. The commercial will be launched in Ukraine at the beginning of April, according to the agency's creative director, David Payne.
• Tetra Pak packaging company has commissioned Burson-Marsteller to develop and execute a year-long educational campaign on milk related health issues.
