iC Group - In The News

Consumer Promotion: Revlon on the Red Carpet

By Joel Parent

Online sweepstakes -- been there. Downloadable coupons -- done that. Fully integrating promotion across marketing platforms -- want to do a whole lot more of that.

Consumer promotion, once a below-the-line tactic for short term sales gain, is now a fully vested partner in building the brand and developing customer relationships. Promotions are becoming much more than a clever tactic to get consumers to make a purchase; they are in some cases becoming part of the actual entertainment and brand experience. The lines between promotion and content/ entertainment are blurring.

“Integrated or cross-platform campaigns and consumer-centric planning is becoming the norm,” says Janet Balis, Senior Vice President of AOL Media Networks, a division of America Online Inc. that customizes marketing solutions for advertisers using AOL and Time Warner’s assets and audiences. “It’s about delivering content that entertains and engages consumers while weaving in a brand message that is relevant. Promotion is often used as the mechanism for bringing that connection to life – with good results.”

Engaging and entertaining is the experience the Revlon cosmetics brand created with an online microsite that gave women a place to create their “red carpet moments.” Revlon took ownership of Hollywood’s Red Carpet season to affirm its association with celebrity glamour, leverage their A-list spokesmodels, and position the brand as confident and sexy. The interactive microsite was the focal point of their Red Carpet strategy that used web promotion and media (both online and in print) to build brand association, drive retail activity, and develop a database for remarketing.

The site embodied all things Revlon and featured a series of tiered Gift-with-Purchase offers synchronized with various events throughout the Red Carpet season. Additional site features included: a seasonal product guide to achieve award winning looks; consumer buying surveys; a polling feature to cast votes for the best films and performances; a sweepstakes for the chance to win a trip for two to a Hollywood premier; and links to other entertainment destinations within the Time Warner family (such as InStyle.com, EntertainmentWeekly.com, TMZ.com, etc.) for up to the minute Hollywood news and fashion. The site was developed and managed by AOL Media Networks, New York and iC Group, Chicago.

Over the course of the 3-phase campaign, hundreds of thousands of page views were reported and the Gift-with-Purchase offers redeemed at higher than 20% combined (with over 80% redeeming at the highest price points.) And sales wasn’t the only reported success. Approximately 50% of the unique registrants for each of the promotion periods opted-in to receive future marketing communication from Revlon (with an additional 30% of the sweeps entrants also opting in), thereby providing a substantial new database for Revlon’s CRM efforts.

“The site features allowed users to peek into the Hollywood Red Carpet scene of glitz and glitter, to get in touch with their own glamorous side, to learn how to make their own red carpet moments, and to get rewarded while doing so,” said Angelyn McSwain, Web Manager for Revlon. “The results proved the promotional site was successful in bringing the Red Carpet theme to life for our brand and our consumers.”

Revlon on the Red Carpet isn’t a watershed in destination websites. Look at any of the big consumer-brand sites today and find the traditional website model taking on a more consumer-centric approach. Content aims to connect, amuse and inform. Multiple disciplines, from promotion to PR to direct marketing, are all hard at work in creating the ultimate consumer experience. And this is just the beginning.

Joel Parent is Director of Interactive Business Development at iC Group – leading provider of interactive promotions, games and sweeps administration, promotion risk management and insurance.

About iC Group – www.icgroupinc.com

iC Group is a leading provider of interactive sweepstakes, games, contests, promotion risk management and insurance solutions. They are a trusted partner in the design and implementation of secure, high-impact promotions for many of the world’s top brands and leading promotion agencies. Clients rely on them to deliver promotions that create immediate impact and drive measurable results, while minimizing promotion risks that can jeopardize the bottom line.

Contact:

Julia Bilous,
Director Communications
iC Group
(800) 575-5590

julia.bilous@icgroupinc.com