Using Contests to Build Brand Equity

Building and/or maintaining brand equity has become an important goal for marketers as they develop their sales promotion strategies. Companies are asking their promotion agencies to think strategically and develop promotional programs that can do more than just generate short-term sales. They want promotions that require consumers to become more involved with their brands and offer a means of presenting the brand essence in an engaging way. Many marketers are recognizing that a well-designed and -executed contest can be a very effective way to engage consumers and differentiate their brands. Contests are experiencing resurgence as marketers focus less on awareness and more on ways to engender consumer interaction and get their branding messages across.

One of the reasons for the growing popularity of contests is that they can be used to get consumers to think about a brand and how they can relate to it. Some companies are using contests rather than sweepstakes as the latter are seen as less involving and less motivating. Because of the additional work involved in participating, contests attract brand loyalists who are not just entering to win a big prize. The right type of contest can also transcend its role as a promotional tool and help build the brand franchise. For example, the Pillsbury Bake-Off, which has been around since 1949, requires participants to whip up their favorite dishes featuring Pillsbury ingredients. The contest has been adapted to fit the times, and now includes an "Easy Cook Night" for contemporary on-the-go eating habits and a $1 million grand prize. The final round brings 100 chefs together for a televised bake-off, and thousands of recipe books are distributed annually. Eighty percent of the female entrants now have careers, and 10 percent of the entries in recent years have come from men. The director of corporate promotion and marketing for Pillsbury notes,"Prizes are certainly part of the incentive, but the real motivation is the fundamental desire for recognition."

Contests can also be helpful in rejuvenating struggling brands by creating interest and excitement that can get consumers to become involved with them. When the Georgia-Pacific Corp. acquired the Brawny paper-towel business a few years ago, it inherited a declining brand. As part of its effort to rebuild the brand, the company wanted to leverage the Brawny Man icon as well as gain insight into the modern-day woman's opinions as to what makes a man brawny. In the summer of 2002 Georgia-Pacific conducted the "Do You Know a Brawny Man™?" promotion, which included a contest asking women to send in photos and 150-word descriptions explaining why their guys are as rugged as the product. More than 40,000 entry forms were downloaded from the Brawny-man.com website, and over 4,000 people wrote to the company to nominate someone to be the Brawny Man. Five finalists were selected, and consumers were able to vote online and through the mail to choose a winner, whose picture appeared on the package for a few weeks. Information gathered from the entrants was used by the Brawny marketing team to develop a permanent Brawny Man image to replace the smiling lumberjack, who was long overdue for a makeover.

Marketers feel that contests can often provide them with insight into consumers who use their brands. Campbell Soup Co. has run a "What Do You Do With Your Pace?" recipe contest for several years as a way of understanding how its customers actually use the salsa brand. The contest averages about 12,000 entries and has produced some interesting tidbits into how consumers use the product. A recent grand-prize winner submitted a recipe for banana bread that included salsa as an ingredient. Thales Navigation, manufacturer of the Magellan GPS navigation system, ran a contest requiring entrants to write an essay about their off-road adventures.The winner was sponsored in the Jaos Adventure Road Rally, an annual high-tech scavenger hunt that sends participants into the Nevada desert looking for cues with GPS devices.

More marketers are realizing that contests can get consumers to think more about a product than about the prize they might win. As the brand manager for Brawny paper towels notes: "For the winner, the contest provides 15 minutes of fame. For the consumer, it provides a better opportunity to relate to the brand than just seeing it as they walk down the aisle."

Sources: Evan Perez and Chad Terhune,"Today,'Brawny' Men Help with the Kids and the Housework," The Wall Street Journal, Oct. 4, 2002, p. B2; Matthew Kinsman, "May the Best Brand Win," Promo, August 2002, pp. 45-47.

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