ANATOMY OF A PROMO: The Art of the Drop

Sometimes, it takes a lot of hard work to be inconspicuous.

Just ask Jeff Snyder, director of business development for Momentum Marketing, Washington, DC, the field marketing specialist who trained 10 field staffers in the art of being just that for GE Financial Assurance’s award-winning Tossed & Found promotion in summer 2000 (PROMO, November 2001).

The campaign’s concept was pretty simple: Surreptitiously drop a wallet containing an instant-win gamecard and information on GE’s new online financial service in high-traffic areas, wait for a passer-by to pick it up, then accost them to explain what just happened.

The execution, however, was anything but easy.

There were a lot of details to worry about, a lot of logistics to work out, and a lot of potential snafus to consider. GE wanted to take every precaution against legal problems.

“We literally had to think of every potential ‘what-if’ situation — what if two people fought over the wallet, what if someone tripped trying to pick one up. And we had to have a solution for all of them,” says Snyder, remembering the twice-weekly planning meetings GE held with its agency partners (including lead shop Ryan Partnership) in the months before the launch. Those meetings always included someone from GE’s legal department, which “mitigated a lot of potential problems,” says Chris Matthews, senior vp-brand marketing for GE Financial Assurance.

Once the strategy was complete and the 12 execution markets were identified (along with the specific high-traffic areas that would be canvassed), Momentum set about staffing the campaign. It was critical to select reliable field reps, since the people chosen would not only be responsible for handling the drops, but would also be required to videotape as much of their activity as possible. (And they had to have six weeks of free time on their hands.)

“We needed thorough, responsible people, because they needed extensive feedback from the road,” says Snyder. “We also wanted people who were excited and enthusiastic” but who also wouldn’t necessarily stand out in a crowd. “They had to do a lot of blending into the background,” he says.

The staffers also had to be trustworthy. After all, at times they would be the only ones handling gamecards worth as much as $100,000. “We always run pretty extensive background checks,” notes Snyder, who operates out of a satellite office in Westport, CT (just around the corner from Ryan and a few exits up I-95 from GE headquarters).

Momentum delved into its internal database of about 1,000 field managers, but also advertised on Hotjobs.com and in newspapers.

The eclectic Drop Squad that was ultimately chosen included Kerrie Whitfield, a campaign regular with eight years of experience; Kristalyn Salters, a professor on sabbatical who thought the exercise would be a practical enhancement to her doctorate in psychology; David Curits, a similarly minded doctor of philosophy in counseling psychology; and Carin Baker, an aspiring actress who was more than willing to change clothes to “look the part” at various drop locations.

After selecting the squad, Momentum flew them all to DC for four intensive days of “Loot Camp,” an idea (and catchy name) that not only served as a great method of preparation but also a strong hook for pre-execution media coverage. (B-roll from the training sessions wassent to TV stations in each market right before launch.)

Over four long days, the reps learned everything they needed. Day One was dedicted to classroom instruction laying out the mission and explaining the duties in detail. On Day Two, the 10 began practicing the various ways they could drop the wallets (see below), breaking into groups for additional work on their favorites.

The group headed out for “dress rehearsals” on the streets of DC on Day Three, then received a half day of training on dealing with the media, from New York City-based Peppercom (which handled the campaign’s p.r.), on Day Four.

The team was then dispersed, each to his or her assigned city (the list included Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, and New York) to get ready for launch.

On location, the droppers were charged with dumping the wallet, then moving off to a nearby vantage point to videotape the pick-ups. Reviewing the footage later was an interesting lesson in human nature.

Wallets were usually scooped up right away. Those who examined the contents caught on immediately, but others considerately began heading for a place to turn in what they had found.

Not everyone fell into those two categories, however. “We told our people to back off anybody who looked like they were just going to walk off with the wallet,” says Snyder. That happened “about 25 to 30 percent of the time. Some people got pretty clever. They’d stand on top of it until no one else was around.”

Other than the wallet “slippage,” execution went off hitch-free. The one and only scare came when a shipping carrier temporarily lost a box of 125 wallets. (“For security purposes, we didn’t want to give [field reps] all 500 at one time,” says Snyder.) The package was finally recovered in an out-of-the-way holding center — with all the $1 bills included in the wallet contents missing, but the more-important gamecards intact.

Otherwise, “there were no fights, no injuries, no problems,” says Snyder, gratefully. “There was a real entertainment value to the concept — like a Candid Camera. So most of the people who picked up the wallets thought it was a real clever way of doing things.”

Most of the people who heard about it later thought so, too: Tossed & Found earned PROMO’S top PRO Award for 2001, in part because the campaign drew levels of media attention — thanks largely to the Loot Camp footage — that would make any marketer envious.

“I bet even the people who stole the wallets were talking about it later at the office,” laughs Snyder.

Drop Options

A user’s guide to prestidigitation.

Shop Till You Drop — Hold shopping bag strategically until reaching destination, then drop wallet through hole cut in bottom

Down the Shoot — Drop down pants leg through hole in pocket

Tie the Shoe — Bend down to tie shoe, removing wallet from sock and place under foot. Walk away

Flip Flop — Flick wallet out from between beach thong and foot (Requires some gracefulness)

Bench Drop — Casually place wallet next to you while reading, then get up and walk away

Newspaper Fake — Same as above, but leave wallet tucked inside newspaper

Phone Booth Fake — While making a call, leave wallet on top of phone.

Elevator Drop — (The simplest) Leave wallet behind in empty elevator

Commuter Drop — Standing in crowd waiting for train or bus, inconspicuously drop wallet. Casually walk away.