Market Survey: Vouchers - How Paper Pays

It doesn't incorporate them into promotional plans because, along with a large number of its peers, it believes that the paper premium represents a lazy solution, which is not why clients employ agencies. Yet that's the reason the car manufacturer decided that this particular shop wasn't the perfect partner.

Clearly, vouchers are still a firm favourite with clients when it comes to incentive options.

Brands ranging from the Financial Times through 20th Century Fox to Post-It Notes manufacturer 3M have used vouchers for consumer campaigns.

The Financial Times campaign rolled out its push in the run-up to Christmas, teaming up with newsagent chain Martin McColl to offer a free two-week trial of the newspaper to a targeted, cross-section of consumers via a text-message voucher.

And incongruous though it seems, high-fashion movie The Devil Wears Prada and 3M joined forces for what proved to be one of the office products supplier's most successful campaigns ever.

The paper gift voucher generated such high redemption rates, there was little doubt vouchers have still "got it" when it comes to consumer pushes.

Of course, vouchers also offer an effective staff incentive for demographics as diverse as bus drivers to car dealers, and are just as useful in B2B motivational schemes, whether the objective is to increase sales, drive loyalty or, just as importantly, say thank you.

Ultimately though, it's not the premium itself that delivers success; rather, it is how marketers use and exploit the advantages it offers that can really drive behavioural change.

With this nugget of wisdom in mind, P&I outlines just how vouchers have been used to change behaviour in consumer, staff, trade, online, and even public sector schemes.

CONSUMER - 3M/20TH CENTURY FOX

Agency: Blue Chip Marketing
Voucher supplier: Capital Incentives
Timing: Quarter 4, 2006

Objectives: Post-it Notes manufacturer 3M wanted to drive sales of its stationery products to its broad target market of office stationery purchasers of women aged 25-50.

Strategy: Consumer insight highlighted fashion as a key territory to leverage interest during the period of the proposed promotional activity, since the new autumn lines and Christmas party season were approaching. Also on the calendar was the release of The Devil Wears Prada film.

So, 3M teamed up with the film's maker, 20th Century Fox, for a fashion-themed promotion to support the movie's launch.

The push was two-pronged, with consumers who filled in their details on a microsite entered into a draw to win seven "devilish" days in Hollywood. The prize included dinner at The Ivy, a VIP screening at Fox Studios in LA and $1,000 (£509) spending money.

"The partnership with the film provided a way to link with the film's exposure in order to create cut-through, excitement and the wow factor for consumers and trade," says Natalie Ungurian, account manager at Blue Chip. "Unlike usual theatrical promotions, which offer a branded premium as a free gift, we wanted to make sure we did not alienate any of our customers, and hence we developed The Devil Wears Prada £5 fashion voucher."

This second-tier prize was created especially for the push, and the vouchers were redeemable in high street retailers including Oasis, Principles, Topman, Topshop, River Island, Debenhams, House of Fraser and Selfridges.

The voucher offer was carried on packs of Post-It Notes, Post-It Index and Scotch tape product ranges. Buyers of the ranges were driven online and asked to download a form to claim their vouchers.

The voucher appealed to the wide target audience and was sent in the post with branded The Devil Wears Prada wallets, says Ungurian.

Mini lint rollers were also given away on 100,000 packs of Post-Its.

Results: More than 3,000 vouchers had been redeemed by week 12 of 20, surpassing the budgeted forecast, and hitting a redemption rate of nearly 5 per cent.

"3M has received extremely positive feedback from its trade channel customers," says Ungurian. "This campaign has demonstrated that vouchers provide a route to offer a motivational and aspirational reward to 3M's broad target market to the extent that this form of fulfilment will always be a key consideration for future campaigns with 3M."

TRADE - PHILIPS/BOOTS THE CHEMIST

Agency: 2112 Marketing
Voucher supplier: Leisure Vouchers
Timing: October 2006

Objectives: The run-up to Christmas is a key sales period for electrical giant Philips and it is imperative that the brand drives sales with key retailers.

Strategy: Philips targeted sales consultants at more than 300 Boots stores across the UK with an incentive programme that kicked off in October for a three-month stint.

The scheme was designed to encourage sales of selected Philips products over competing brands.

Each product sold represented a monetary reward, which was converted into Leisure Vouchers at the end of the scheme.

Richard Nicholson, managing director at 2112 Marketing, the incentive provider for Philips, says: "We tried to put together a clear and simple, yet effective, programme where staff sold a product and earned a reward. The campaign was called the Philips Stocking Filler and each store received its reward at the end."

In previous schemes, high street gift vouchers were given out, but for this push, it was deemed inappropriate for competitors to receive extra revenue from staff redeeming their vouchers, adds Nicholson.

The initiative was launched at a roadshow in August and targeted 370 consultants throughout the programme.

A launch package was sent out, which included a welcome letter.

Because Boots only allows one further communication to its staff, 2112 sent out another letter mid-campaign to boost the push.

A final pack was sent out at the end of the programme to tell participants how well they had done.

"The scheme puts the focus on key lines during the major trading period, and using vouchers offers choice for recipients at the end of the activity from a wide variety of redemption opportunities," says Jamie Wilkinson, UK national training manager at Philips.

The electrical goods maker has used vouchers in the past, on Mother's Day and Father's Day, to reward best displays. The move was well received, with 20 stores receiving between £50 to £80 vouchers as prizes.

"These people are not particularly hard to motivate," adds Wilkinson.

"A dedicated Philips team visits every store on a regular basis, educating sales people on the products on offer so they can maximise sales, and we find that they have a good relationship with the consultants."

Results: Activity was ongoing as P&I went to press, but according to Philips's Wilkinson: "Initial results from the first seven weeks of the promotion are very promising.

"Year-on-year analysis indicates that all promoted Philips lines have increased in terms of "sales out". We are anticipating that the Boots consultants in electrical beauty will receive a record incentive payout," adds Wilkinson.

STAFF - THE EAST LONDON BUS GROUP

Agency: In-house
Voucher supplier: Sainsbury's vouchers
Timing: Christmas 2004

Objectives: The East London Bus Company rewards its 4,500 staff every year during the festive season, as a thank you for their hard word.

For the past 10 years, vouchers have been the gift of choice, but the group's marketing and commercial manager Paul Owens was finding a percentage of vouchers were going unspent because of limited redemption opportunities. For future programmes, Owens needed a voucher that offered easily accessible redemption opportunities, and which would be seen as a "treat" by the diverse range of recipients.

Strategy: The East London Bus Group usually chooses high street vouchers, including those from Boots the Chemist, that employees can redeem against Christmas presents. These are sent to all staff, from the chief executive to administrative staff and bus drivers, in a Christmas card signed by the company directors.

"Vouchers help to contribute towards the bills at Christmas and we find our staff really appreciate the gift," says Owens. "All the staff are given vouchers to the value of £20 every year to spend over the holiday period, and we know they are well received."

Sainsbury's was the supplier of choice because "it gives our team wide choice. They can pick something from the supermarket chain, whether it be food or electrical goods or clothing.

"And while our male-dominated staff are pretty easy to motivate, the voucher takes away any potential danger of giving people something they won't like or appreciate, or won't use. Instead they can choose their thank you for themselves," says Owens.

Another plus, he points out, is the fact that Sainsbury's has a number of outlets in the local area, which are conveniently located for staff to go and redeem their vouchers. "It's also beneficial to our budgets, because Sainsbury's offers a discount when we place our order each year, which is a bonus." Sainsbury's vouchers can be redeemed in any of its 750 supermarkets, coffee shops or petrol stations across the county.

Results: According to Owens, the most over-riding measure of success has been the verbal feedback from recipients. "We knew that the number of Sainsbury's stores local to our staff would prove to be more popular.

"In the past, using Boots vouchers was unpopular with some because the male workers were less likely to use them. Other vouchers we looked at had fewer stores in which to redeem," says Owens.

"We have had great feedback since using Sainsbury's and they have been very gratefully received by the staff. We certainly haven't had any complaints."

ONLINE - PLAY.COM/DAILY STAR

Agency: Cocktail Marketing
Voucher supplier: Play.com
Timing: October 2006

Objectives: Entertainment retailer Play.com had multiple objectives: to raise awareness of its brand and drive traffic to its website, subsequently incentivising new customers to buy products from it, and increase repeat purchase.

Strategy: Online retailer Play.com teamed up with the Daily Star to offer e-vouchers to readers that were redeemable on its website in a five day in-paper promotion.

The promotion, negotiated by Cocktail Marketing, encouraged consumers to collect any three of five vouchers printed in the newspaper throughout a week in October 2006. Participants then had to enter the codes printed on each voucher online at Play.com to redeem their £5.

The £5 voucher was limited to 8,000 readers, while subsequent redeemers received £1. The e-vouchers were distributed to qualifying consumers on a first-come first-served basis, with top value vouchers being distributed first.

The push was aimed at the Daily Star's predominantly male 18- to 35-year-old readers. "The Daily Star's readers are typically young, single males who have disposable incomes, and who also suffer from peer pressure to have the latest must-have gadget or DVD. They do not typically go down to the high street to do their shopping, but will go online to buy their products," explains Cocktail Marketing's managing director Chris Reed. "They use the paper as a brand guide to look for the cheapest products."

The timing - three months before Christmas - was aimed at getting consumers used to the site so they would buy festive gifts online. The campaign launched on a weekend to capitalise on the paper's high circulation, and to maximise consumer awareness.

Cocktail's Reed reckons the exposure received by Play.com, in front page splashes and half page ads that delivered the call to action, was worth £50,000.

"The promotion drove readers online to register and spend their voucher, though they typically tend to spend more than the value of the voucher when they are on the website," says Reed. "The promotion enabled readers to experience the Play.com brand and encourage them to return to the site."

Results: One in 50 Daily Star readers redeemed a voucher throughout the course of the promotion, resulting in tens of thousands of redemptions. The campaign has been repeated at key times to maximise sales.

PUBLIC SECTOR - LINCOLNSHIRE DEVELOPMENT

Agency: In-house
Voucher supplier: Kingfisher Gift Vouchers
Timing: May 2004-ongoing

Objectives: A consortium of public sector organisations - Lincolnshire Development, Smoke Free Lincs Alliance, Phoenix Stop Smoking Service and Lincolnshire Sure Starts - set out in May 2004 with the aim of increasing awareness of the impact of second-hand smoke on children's health. The consortium also wanted to encourage Lincolnshire residents to place smoking restrictions in their homes and to increase awareness of the services provided by all partners.

Strategy: The consortium launched a programme called Smoke Free Homes, which continues to run today in pretty much its original format.

Lincolnshire residents who have been taking part in the county's Smoke Free Homes project are rewarded with Kingfisher Gift Vouchers for participating in the scheme and for helping to protect children from second-hand smoke inhalation in the home.

As part of the initiative, Lincolnshire residents are asked to complete an application form and agree to comply with one of the following promises:

- Gold is a promise to make their home completely smoke free and to never smoke in the presence of children

- Silver is a promise to allow smoking only in one well-ventilated room in the house and never smoke in the presence of the children

- Bronze is an agreement to never smoke in front of children Participants receive information packs, which each contain a fridge magnet, key ring and door stickers, to reinforce campaign messages.

In addition, they are entered into a prize draw to win Kingfisher Gift Vouchers up to the value of £20.

"We chose vouchers as our incentive because we felt it was essential that the reward should offer choice, accessibility and the opportunity to track how they are redeemed," says Denise Hitchen, project manager for the Smoke Free Homes drive.

"We are really happy with the contribution that vouchers continue to make to the initiative and the way they work effectively as an incentive for people to take part."

Results: "Four thousand people in the region are now members of the scheme, with the majority living in smoke-free homes, plus we have made 1,000 referrals for home fire-safety checks to the local fire service," says Hitchens.

"Although originally a regional initiative, this scheme has been so successful, it is being considered by Primary Care Trusts across the country," she concludes.