Flower Power Hour No Web Page of Love
Let’s say that in a weak moment you’ve succumbed to the persistently charming ElectraGiz guy. You invite him into your space expecting the conventional dirt demo, whereupon he slaps you around emotionally, affronts your intelligence, and then steals from you. Bad for brand image, you think? Yet otherwise well-meaning promotion people commit comparable indiscretions when they practice “premeditated demotion,” the act of purposely designing promotions to diminish consumer participation.
When we recently introduced the notion of PD in these pages, reader response suggested the syndrome is reaching plague-like proportions. Perhaps one reason is the ease of entry facilitated by technology. In the old days (1990, say) a sweepstakes promotion was planned with care, if only because of cost factors. Agency planning, legal rules review, repro art, media, printing – each had a major, unrecoverable cost.
Today art is clipped, media is online, printing isn’t necessary, and rules can be copied from anybody else’s sweeps with a click of the “D” button. Today anybody can create a promotion. Who needs a promotion agency? We can do it ourselves! Well, just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should.
Witness the “Enter for your chance to win a trip to England” button, which recently pushed its way through our virtual front door – the “Welcome” page of America Online. Succumb to that button, and be subjected to PD.
Welcome to the Flower Power Hour sweepstakes. If you buy flowers you’re automatically entered. Cool. I don’t need flowers today, but I’d like to manually enter. Sorry, but it’s not the hour. So when is the hour? No telling. Can’t I enter anyway, as long as I’m here? Nope, only if you buy. Or, go find our store to enter – there’s one within 500 miles of you. Wouldn’t you like to know who I am? Wouldn’t you like to talk to me? Obviously not. Wouldn’t you like to say thanks for stopping by? No. Only if you stop to buy.
Like the hypothetical door-to-door salesman, 1-800-FLOWERS violates our space, delivers a promise, then disappoints us. Net effect, they steal from us by wasting our most precious asset – time.
We presume the objective of this promotion was awareness, to introduce new prospects to the 1-800-FLOWERS offering. This is an appropriate use of a sweepstakes (although the trip-to-London thing is a tad pedestrian.) The big mistake is making purchase seem to be an entry requirement. Bloody Truth is, a sweepstakes seldom provides sufficient incentive to motivate purchase, because the process of consumer persuasion does not always leapfrog from awareness to action. Prospects who have heard your offer may need time to consider it before they can take advantage. Have patience. Be appreciative. Don’t slap them around because they can’t immediately meet your demands.
Sadly, this promotion could have worked nicely, with a little better think-through. Why not open up a dialog with prospects? Why not e-mail a certificate good for first purchase? Why not make it easy for everybody to enter? You’re only giving away one lousy vacation, how much more can increased participation cost?
We’re also struck by the implication of the reemergence of copywriting as a critical promotion component. Online promotions are reliant on effective copy, and it is challenging to communicate nuances via the written word. That’s why the 😉 smiley-face was invented.
Memo to 1-800-FLOWERS: Next time, smile when you say that.
Attention Wannabe Ambulance Chasers: An idea for ravenous lawyers whose dignity prevents them from chasing ambulances or following obits: Why not just surf the Web? Track the zillions of sweepstakes being offered. Check out their “Official Rules” and follow up with a nice letter. Do they know about AMOE? State prohibitions? Lottery Law? Consideration? Bonding? Chances are nine out of 10 could use some advice, in the remote event that our governments ever figure out how to enforce their laws.
Stories like this one begin with e-mail from industry insiders. Got an observation, insight, or pet peeve? Seen a promotion worthy of kudos? We’ll quote you or preserve your anonymity. Your choice.
