You’ve likely heard the rumbling about the collapse of mail.  Email has contributed to steady losses for the postal service industry. With many people receiving bills, magazines, and personal communication through the Internet, it’s fair to wonder if using direct mail marketing is effective for business at this point. Based on the successes we’ve seen, leveraging your marketing dollars into a direct mail campaign can be a great way to stand out when email marketing isn’t cutting through the clutter.  At SCA Promotions, we have helped businesses continue to make the most out of direct mail marketing by using engaging promotions offering great prizes.

A Hyundai dealership wanted to improve its direct mail efforts. Together with their agency and SCA, a “Scratch to Win” contest was added to the mailer.  Customers scratched off numbers to see if they had won a cash prize ranging from two dollars all the way to $5,000. They then had to redeem their mail pieces at the dealership to see if they had won a 2012 Hyundai Accent. But the dealership wasn’t just giving away money and cars. The promotion also presented an opportunity for consumers to view the extensive selection of new cars. More than 40 new cars were sold in that time period, making the promotion a smashing success. A pair of auto dealerships ran a similar direct mail promotion in conjunction with an auto show convention, which saw over 50,000 mail pieces returned to the show. The promotion was an incredible success, as the two dealers sold over 400 vehicles in three days.

AT&T and its agency wanted to deliver value to current and potential customers’ mailboxes. Mail pieces were sent out containing a scratch box, revealing a code that could be worth $100,000. To check the code, recipients took the code to their local AT&T store to enter it into a computer to see if they had won the grand prize or other prizes. The direct mail promotion sent more than 2,000 consumers to AT&T stores, creating a valuable opportunity to upgrade new customers and sign up new ones. AT&T was very happy with the results.

Don’t let the glut of email fool you. Companies that offer value to direct mail recipients are still seeing tremendous results. Nearly everyone still checks their mailbox. And for those precious few minutes, you have the opportunity to capture consumer’s attention with a unique offer and a big prize by implementing a direct mail promotion. Contact SCA promotions to get started building your custom promotion today.

Once the calendar rolls to February, love is in the air across the country as people create elaborate plans to dote upon their sweeties and show their affection. On the business side, the card makers and the chocolate makers get their fair share of the Cupid pie, but what about your business? There are many different promotions that businesses in any industry can take advantage of for Valentine’s Day. Here is a look at some of our door-busting Valentine’s Day contests that offer great prizes.

One of the most popular choices is our Money Bags contest. This promotion is not only very easy to play, but it’s also customizable for Valentine’s Day. Contestants choose from 100 “Money Bags” to try their hand at winning the prize. Prizes can range from your products or services, all the way up to cold hard cash. Branding and prizes are tied to Valentine’s Day themes, using the appropriate coloring and including Cupid. Your customers will love it, because they’re always on the verge of winning big, and it keeps engagement with your associates and location very high.

Another Valentine’s favorite is Conditional Rebates. For example, a jeweler can offer a conditional rebate contest called “Pray for Rain” for those lovebirds that purchase their wedding ring set from his shop. The condition can be that if it rains a pre-determined amount on their wedding day, they get the rings for free. This type of promotion is very popular because the couples have a chance to save a bundle of money, and it provides them a way to feel good about rain on their wedding day in a way that no other retailer can match. Conditional Rebates can be tied to your industry and are customizable to fit your marketing budget. A local jewelry in Ohio had this to say about their “Pray For Rain” promotion.  “We offered customers a full rebate on their engagement rings if it rained on their wedding day.  Sales shot up 40% over last year’s sales!  Customers were hoping for rain!”

Valentine’s Day is a perfect opportunity for businesses like yours to rise above the competition and offer tremendous value to your loyal customers. However, the best part of the contest for you as business is our prize coverage. By using advanced statistics to find the expected response or odds of a person winning the content, we offer astounding grand prizes for your customers while you only pay for a percentage of the prize, typically 3-15% of the actual prize
value being offered. These prizes include new cars and even large cash prizes. Contact us today to find a Valentine’s Day contest that your customers will enjoy, with results that you’ll love.

Companies understand that if they want to grow, they have to appeal to a broader range of people. That’s why one soft drink company makes a variety of drinks, and why a car company makes several different models of cars, trucks and SUVs. Unfortunately, the mantra “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t always hold true for businesses. With congested markets and years of brand loyalty, companies in every market have a tough mountain to climb to reach target audiences and achieve sales goals. However, SCA Promotions can help.

Companies that operate in multiple countries will have different marketing goals amongst the different segments. Cultures and values differ from region to region, and while that makes the world an interesting place, it demands multiple marketing messages to effectively reach your customers. Coca-Cola discovered a need in the United Kingdom.  Their marketing efforts were lost amongst the 16-20 year old demographic. Coca-Cola’s agency worked with PIMS (SCA Promotions’ UK subsidiary) to create a fixed-budget promotion that targeted the segment on Facebook, offering them free soft drinks.

Even companies without a global presence can benefit from SCA’s proven promotion solutions when they want to create excitement and awareness for their brand.  Cascades Shopping Centre in the United Kingdom was looking for an exciting way to kick off the launch of the Cascades Gift Card. Through PIMS-SCA, the Visible Vault™ contest provided the spark to make the campaign a success. Customers collected codes found in flyers for a chance to win £20,000 or a brand new Mini vehicle. Cascades knew that its budget wasn’t in danger of going into the red if a customer won the grand prizes, because SCA covered the risk. Customers enjoyed the allure of winning big, and Cascades enjoyed the huge kick-off for its gift cards.

No matter where your business is located or where it hopes to be in the future, SCA offers promotional risk coverage and various promotional solutions that allow you to keep your finances in line while still offering customers great prizes and rewards. SCA operates offices across the globe to ensure expertise in the region of your promotion.   No matter which corner of the globe you serve, the allure of a life-changing grand prize is just as sweet in any language. Contact us today to start expanding your market and reaching customers no matter how many continents you serve.

For centuries, when people were thirsty they drank water. Not because they chose it, but because it was the only option – except for milk, if you could get it. Now when we’re thirsty we have entire aisles of beverages to choose from. From a consumer perspective, it’s a wonderful situation. But, it’s a tough situation for beverage companies because they compete on the shelves, or in the beverage coolers, against maybe a hundred other choices.  Consumers have become inundated with labels and logos and choices, and it may take a special effort to stand out on the shelf. When companies find themselves in this inevitable situation, they turn to SCA Promotions.

Quenching your thirst is good. Quenching your thirst and having a chance to win stacks of cash is awesome. Pepsi, its agency, and SCA used this angle to create the “Play for One Billion Dollars” contest.  Using codes found on specially-marked products, Pepsi drinkers had a chance to play for $1,000,000,000 – the largest cash prize in promotions history for a national brand – on live TV. Consumers redeemed their codes on a dedicated website, allowing Pepsi to capture valuable demographic information. There were also chances to win $15 instantly. Pepsi then randomly selected 1,000 contestants, who then had a shot at the $1 billion. One lucky contestant went home a millionaire, thanks to the way the contest was structured. Pepsi did more than stand out with extensive media coverage.  They received valuable consumer demographic information when more than 4 million consumers submitted more than 20 million game entries.

Miller Brewing Company was another beverage company looking for increased exposure. Together with the NBA’s Seattle Supersonics, SCA was there to facilitate a half-time contest that could pay out $100,000. The contest was to shoot a basket from half court during halftime . In the weeks leading up to the promotion, Miller was at the forefront of consumers’ minds by hosting radio shows, bar events, watch parties, and signing contestants up for a chance to win. Those contestants lucky enough to be randomly selected attended a training camp, where one shooter would emerge as the contestant to shoot at halftime. With a thundering crowd around him, Brad Kaul nailed the half-court shot and walked away with $100,000 and an arena full of memories.

Both Pepsi and Miller recognized the need to do something different to stand out on a shelf packed with choices. It takes more than a flashy label to be successful marketing beverages today. Brands that make a concentrated effort to get in front of customers and offer them more than a drink – inside and outside stores – will continue to find success in the highly-competitive industry. The best part of an SCA contest is promotional risk coverage, which means SCA gives you the money to award any winners. This allows you to set your marketing budget and eliminate surprises. Contact us today to start standing out.