Promotional Premiums - Leveraging your Ad Budget to the Maximum

In most parts of the world a product which is given away with purchase is described as a "Promotional Premium". This is a contraction of the term "premium with purchase" which implies a value added promotional product which encourages consumption and adds a higher apparent value to the transaction that a mere monetary discount or reward.

In Australia promotional premiums are a massively under utilised marketing strategy. While a lot of companies have reservations about the logistics involved and the potential damage a promotional premiums strategy could have a long term apparent value of a brand or service. The reality is that a correctly managed promotional premium strategy will add long-term value to a company's assets.

Fresh Promotions has many clients who successfully market using promotional premiums strategies. Amongst these is Fosters Australia - the largest brewer in the country. A great tradition in beer marketing going back decades involves a premium gift with purchase. Highly successful promotions have worked over the year giving away baseball caps or stubby coolers with the purchase of a carton of beer. Ultimately this has been found to be a more successful strategy than discounting which genuinely affects the perceived value of a brand and delays or stacks purchases at times of discount. Also, due to consumer law in Australia a discount to retailers does not necessarily need to be passed onto consumers, so much of the objective in discounting to achieve higher retail volumes can be lost at the wholesale level as major retailers absorb discounts into their margin.

The most important thing when planning your premiums strategy is to choose an item which reflects positively on the brand and adds value to the core values. If you can achieve this in selecting a premium which also represents a higher apparent value than its cost you are well on the way to running a successful retail promotional campaign.