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Printable coupons add impact at multiple levels of interactive marketing. They:
- Monetize reach
- Apply a traceable action to each interactive touch-point
- Are a physical reminder from online engagement that affects offline behavior
Brands spend $6.6 billion annually on coupons, and they are shifting larger percentages of those budgets online in connection with their interactive campaigns. The reason is simple: They easily integrate into existing campaigns and offer precise tracking.
CPGs have been among the slowest brands to transition into interactive because historically it has been difficult to see tangible results regarding how online promotions and advertising impact offline sales. Though time spent on a brand site and other levels of engagement may heighten brand awareness, the tactics of engagement marketing are still evolving, all with the end goal of being able to quantify the impact on actual behavior.
Coupons are the perfect model for closing the engagement loop, allowing tracking at various touch-points that helps prove online advertising and promotions impact offline consumer behavior.
A case study
Truly, coupons are a story of redemption. Recently, one of the top five newspaper freestanding insert-spending CPG companies wanted to drive incremental in-store sales and maintain consumer loyalty for one of their personal care brands. They employed interactive tactics, including online coupon distribution through a Digital FSI, and also coupon-enabling outbound emails.
Redemption rates were 13 percent on the emails and were higher than expected on the Digital FSI at 12.5 percent. Typically, newspaper FSI coupons see redemption rates below 1 percent.
In addition, with limits set on clicks and prints, the redeemed coupons reflect actual product moving off store shelves across a broad base of consumers who typically do not get coupons from the Sunday newspaper. The purchases can be quantified by region, store and even more granularly, based on the brand's need.
Engagement equals intent to purchase
The definition of "engagement" online and how it applies to marketing impact is in a constant state of flux. In the case of printable coupons, however, engagement has a clear result: intent-to-purchase. Since printable coupons are printed on-demand by consumers, their selection and print of that coupon represents purchase consideration and intent. Coupon redemption is by definition a purchase. With tracking to in-store behavior, the engagement loop is closed.
In addition, online promotions provide a series of touch-points where brands can engage consumers:
- View. First, the customer views the offer, whether through a link from an email, directly on the brand's website, in the context of a recipe, et cetera.
- Print. Demonstrating intent-to-purchase, the customer prints a coupon, which includes all the tracking necessary to associate that action with the ultimate purchase.
- Forward. Who doesn't love a bargain? Consumers often invite friends to the promotion to print their own coupons, resulting in higher ROIs for a program and valuable data about influential consumers.
- Purchase. The end goal of all brands is to impact sales and revenue, and the redemption of a printable coupon indicates that an online promotion has succeeded.
A major pharmaceutical company recently saw 0.17 percent clickthrough rate from their coupon-enabled banner running on a coupons website, and more than 8 percent of the consumers who clicked also registered and printed their coupon, making online coupons the company's strongest performer for conversion.
Other brands have taken online engagement beyond simple graphics and text. The web allows brands to mix media, integrating video with printable coupons. This method demonstrates how more engaging media can result in a higher rate of return. When customers watch a 15-second branded video before gaining access to a particular coupon, print and redemption rates more than double the average for printable coupons. Brands can increase recall and also highlight new or unique uses for a particular product in a more engaging way than words alone can communicate.
Liquid Plumr successfully employed the method with a quick video spot highlighting the extended uses of one of its core products. The video resulted in tens of thousands of coupon prints and provided the company with a high level of engagement/branding value. Consumers had to watch the video before they printed the coupon.
Next: Turning interactive campaigns into real-world sales
