Bribes

If you are not a guerrilla, you need to know
that this rule is about legal and ethical conduct.
Think of 'advertising specialties'. Think of
travel mugs, ball caps, pens, CDs, mouse pads.
The mature crowd: think matchbooks, t-shirts.

If you are a guerrilla, you know that a 'bribe' is
something of value, given for free, to encourage
a response to your marketing or to deepen a
relationship with a prospect or client.

Most companies use bribes to generate leads,
increase name awareness, make friends,
thank customers, introduce new things,
and motivate people to act.

Last week my daughter wanted to show me a
travel bag. She was persuasive that it would
be valuable for getting her gear between her
mom's house and mine. When the sales guy
showed it to us, he said that we'd get $30
towards a shirt if we bought the bag. That
is a bribe. Do bribes work?

Ten years ago, more than $14 billion was spent
on bribes each year. The reason that bribes
are so popular is because they fit almost any
budget, they complement other marketing
strategies, they can be directed to selected
audiences, and people will often 'jump through
hoops' to get them for free.

About the only disadvantage is the teensy
space available to say anything to the
recipient. There's no space for long copy.

The reason that marketers use bribes
is because they do work. It is reported that
40% of people who receive free gifts
can remember the name of the advertiser
as long as six months later and 31% use
the gift at least one year after receiving it.

Do bribes work? I bought the bag.

Another study proved that bribes increase
mail response and raise the dollar
purchase per sale a whopping 321 percent.

And we got a second pair of shoes at 1/2 price.

Now that you are convinced to try a bribe,
Levinson recommends that you ask
yourself these six questions:

1. How many people do you want to reach?
2. How much money do you have to spend?
3. What message do you want to print?
4. What gift will be most useful to my prospects?
5. Is this unique and desirable?
6. Is the gift matched to your target audience?

Bribes are no different from other marketing
strategies: DO NOT give a bribe unless you
are clear about your intended results [word.doc].
Test and measure. Measuring your results is as
important as planning the promotion.

Marketing is presenting your value in a
persuasive and compelling way. If marketing
were a crime, would there be enough
evidence to convict you?

(c) 2006 Steve Brewster
Executive & Business Coach
403.283.5706
www.brewsterconsulting.com
steve@brewsterconsulting.com