Q&As

Welcome to Broker Roundtable, where each week we ask list brokers to give their opinions on issues that matter to the marketing community.

On the heels of launching a pilot program with a platform that lets users win rewards for checking in to its hotels via location-based services, InterContinental Hotels Group has enhanced its Priority Club rewards program with a travel trivia game that lets registered members win extra points in daily and weekly contests. The introduction of game play into loyalty programs is a growing strategy with marketers spending more time thinking like gamers when developing or updating their programs.

A study of email contact with loyal customers highlights trends to help marketers perfect these communications based on how these customers behave and engage with companies to which they are loyal. That is ever more important today as consumer loyalty wanes in the wake of the struggling economy and the lure at shelf of price promotions.

Location-based mobile ads are not only bringing people into retail stores, but they’re driving mobile commerce. That’s one finding from a new quarterly report from location-based mobile media channel JiWire

For marketers, using data to determine which marketing communications contributed to generating a purchase helps guide media decisions. But capturing and incorporating these influences is difficult for marketers of all stripes—those focusing on consumers as well as industrial targets. And within the business-to-business arena, there are additional complexities.

It is easy—and therefore tempting—to attribute a sale either to the last outreach effort, or the one which actually results in a sale. But there are several hazards in using these methods. The first is that electronic solicitations often result in immediate sales, or have built-in sales tracking mechanisms. As a result, marketers tend to over-credit their impact on sales, while underestimating offline efforts’ import.

Welcome to Broker Roundtable, where each week we ask list brokers to give their opinions on issues that matter to the marketing community. This week’s question: In the light of the foreclosure crisis and more people moving around the country to find work, are hotlines more important than ever?

When confronted by myriad choices, kids are impulsive and can sometimes be more attracted by a competitors’ brand if the packaging is more compelling. That’s why the brand has to be fully leveraged in package design to remind the child about the attributes and perceived higher value of the brand that drove them into the store in the first place.

Are you incorporating social media activity into your lead scoring process? Are you creating a distinct model for each of your product lines? Are you putting your third-party data into context with prospects

Chief Marketer recently asked business-to-government consultant Mark Amtower for tips on marketing to state and federal government agencies.

It is no longer appropriate to try and funnel the consumer into the purchase channel you favor. It is imperative to interact with them in the manner they prefer.