What happens when sales promotions can't rely on days out?

It seems the sales promotion industry was founded on days out promotions, the default choice of reward, on everything from breakfast cereals to chocolate bars.

It’s been cleverly dressed up in some cases – Peperami’s Terrify A Friend – a brilliant and deservedly award winning campaign from last year, but it’s still ‘Days Out’.
So what happens in lockdown when you can’t go out?

Within a week of lockdown we had swapped Yeo Valley’s out and about Yeokens treats to indoor treats featuring creative kits for children to online courses and music streaming, “…plenty of things to learn and do while staying in and staying safe” - and we’re working with many more to do similar things.

As responsible marketers we have to ask, is this simply brands taking advantage or is it brands responding to ‘the new normal’ in ways that benefit their customers?

Clearly it’s not entirely altruistic but I’m pleased to say that with every brief we have received, the heart has been in the right place. Little Lifts, Tag Your Hero, The Great Indoors. Whether simply gifts or rewards to be earned, the sentiment is spot on - make (indoor) life easier, keep the kids busy, dress up the home office to make it a better place to work… whatever the objective there is an empathetic approach, that goes before the need for the brand to stand out or steal a march on the competition.

As we tell clients, a free movie download or cooking lesson isn’t going to solve the crisis – but if offered in the right way they might just cheer people up (which frankly is what we all need right now).

If you’d like to discuss further you can contact Rob directly rob.scott@tlcmarketing.com