Consumers will be more likely to open a promotional direct mailng that comes in a box.
Long gone are the days when one commercial on a network television channel reaches 80 percent of the intended demographic. For this reason, marketers and advertisers have had to come up with new and creative methods to grab the attention of their intended audience and promotional packaging is one effective method of doing so. Promotion packaging can encompass several different meanings and be executed in various ways.
Direct Mailing Box
One popular way to market to potential customers is through direct mailing, that is mailing them free or sample items, or a coupon, directly to their residence or to a business. Using a box to send the promotional item is much more effective then sending a postcard or an envelope. Using a box or tube is a great way to get the item passed screeners (receptionists or assistants) and are less likely to be immediately discarded. According to an article in "Entrepreneur" marketers report response rates of 25 to 50 percent higher from dimensional mail opposed to traditional promotional mailers.
Free Item
Attaching or including a free item to your product can be a very successful way to package a promotional item. This free product may be directly related to the item it is attached to (i.e. a travel size of conditioner attached to a full sized bottle of shampoo by the same manufacturer) or unrelated, but targeting a similar demographic (a toy car attached to an item commonly purchased by mothers). Not only is this a creative way to introduce a new product to a core audience, but it is also an effective way to entice the consumer to buy the full sized product it is attached to as they may not view it as a more valuable item. Another way to incorporate something free into a product as a promotion is to sell more of the product for the price of a smaller portion. For example. selling a 2 liter soda for the price of a 20 fl. oz. bottle.
Mascot
Have a mascot, or a celebrity to represent the face and packaging of the product. While it does not necessarily need to be Brad Pitt, for certain items cartoon characters or local icons may be effective depending on the product and the core demographics the promotion is trying to reach. For example, Carlsberg beer used faces of England soccer players like former England captain John Terry on the face of their packaging as part of a World Cup promotion. The packaging rotated players for different phases of the promotion. Since debuting the in-store packaging the website has been an increase to their website of over 100,000 people and 1,000 people have uploaded videos to the website relating to the soccer team via YouTube.
Tags: full sized, product core, promotional item