Tax Revision
H&R Block tweaked its Million Dollar Giveaway for a second run this spring. This time, people will have to actually enter the sweepstakes.
Kansas City, MO-based Block had a tough time giving away the promotion’s $1 million grand prize last year because the winner didn’t remember entering (PROMO, September 2001). The episode inspired the company to abandon automatic entry for all tax customers (who totaled 17 million last year).
Instead, it will distribute at least 95 million gamepieces through direct mail, print ads, direct-response TV, and a partnership with AOL Time Warner. Customers will be prompted during their sessions: A note will pop up on the preparer’s computer asking if the customer is aware of the sweeps.
TV support bumps up significantly from last year (when total ad spending topped $31 million, per Competitive Media Reporting, New York City) and shifts to a 15-second spot (from a 30-second ad) to boost frequency. “There’s no way this year that someone will walk out not knowing about the promotion,” says Block director of consumer promotions Kevan Neff. Campbell-Mithun, Minneapolis, handles the promo and the ads. Arrowhead Promotion and Fulfillment Co., Grand Rapids, MN, again handles sweeps fulfillment.
“This time, when they make that first call to the winner, they’ll give more details” to jog the entrant’s memory, says Neff. Last year, winner Glen Sims thought Arrowhead was scamming him to obtain his Social Security number. (A heavy p.r. campaign lured him out.)
Block held extensive training for all its 10,000 offices. “Last year, we couldn’t ask the offices to do a lot because it was our first big promotion and there was not a lot of coordination. This took quite a bit more groundwork, but we had a whole year to plan it,” says Neff.
The Other Double-Check
Block is also repeating Double Check Challenge, which lets consumers bring in past returns not prepared by the chain for a free review. If Block computes a bigger refund, it will re-file (with taxpayers paying the appropriate fees). Nearly 90 percent of participants got money back last year.
It’s a unique sampling offer that brings in prospects without irritating current customers like a price deal would, says Campbell-Mithun senior vp-director of promotion Tom Tessman.
Ads themed “Just plain smart” tout Block’s expertise on tax law. “It took an Act of Congress to pass 441 tax law changes,” the voiceover intones. “Will it take an Act of God to understand them?”
Block hopes to capitalize on the revisions that kick in this year, because business usually jumps when tax laws change. The company projects revenues will rise 10 percent to 15 percent for fiscal 2002. Tax service revenues last year hit $1.7 billion, up 15.6 percent from fiscal 2000. Total U.S. revenues grew 22.4 percent to $3 billion.
The marketing momentum has grown since Block ran its first promotions in 2000 (PROMO, March 2000). This year, the firm posted 10 marketing managers across the U.S. to drum up regional overlays such as radio tie-ins and local sweeps. The new hires have franchise — and retail — promotion experience from chains including McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Disney Stores, and Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Block also begins milking ad buys with a sweeps and sponsorship of CBS’ “Many Happy Returns Monday” on March 15. Val-Pak mailings to 36 million homes announce the sweeps, which lets players enter via mail or online and watch CBS that night to hear who wins. The grand prize is 10 years of taxes paid by Block (up to $100,000); five first-prize winners get their 2001 taxes paid (up to $10,000). Campbell-Mithun handles.
Block’s enhanced interest in promotional media comes on the heels of a multi-year deal signed last August with AOL Time Warner that kicked off last fall when the company’s tax services launched on AOL’s Online Tax Center.
The company also recently tapped Norm Marshall & Associates, Los Angeles, for product placement. The first work is a segment on men’s talk show The Other Half, with Dick Clark and Danny Bonaduce.
Hey, every bit of visibility helps.
