Fire inspires March Pyro award winner

Judges from left to right: Jacques Loubser - Pyrotec National Sales Manager; Bill Bailey - Rexel Office Products; Antonia Morgado - Espiál-go-to-market; Rowan Beattie - Pyrotec Managing Director; Khuthala Gala - Joe Public; John Farquhar - ADvantage Magazine; Stephen Beattie - PackMedia Marketing and Sales Director; and Bronwyn Bremner - Coca-Cola.

Even though mass media will always be needed to establish and reinforce brand messages, the role of merchandising is greater than ever. Successful sales are determined by what happens at store level.

“About 70% of purchase decisions are made while consumers are in the store. These in-store decisions, however, can be turned to the advantage of those brands with marketing savvy,” says Stephen Beattie, PackMedia Marketing and Sales Director. “It is vital to have the brand and the product stand out from the clutter and to engage the consumer while they are making these purchasing decisions. Creative use of on-pack promotions can prompt consumers to purchase products that they have not planned on purchasing, can increase brand awareness, educate consumers about new products, and ultimately assist with increasing sales.”

The campaign

Pyro Inspiration's March winner - BIC Megalighter

Purple Hat Marketing and Advertising Solutions was briefed by BIC South Africa to come up with a launch campaign for a brand new line of utility lighters. The main objectives were to launch the product and drive sales via the competition and coupon offer. The campaign kicked off on 15 November 2007 and continued until the 28 February 2008, which meant that it would run during the festive season - a peak braai period for South Africans. Therefore, they decided to run a promotional campaign where consumers stood a chance of winning 1 of 10 Weber braais. In addition, a R5 discount coupon was also offered for the duration of the campaign.

Duane van Wyk, Creative Director of Purple Hat says, “The Promotional Fix-a-Form^™ was selected as a point of sale item for various reasons: firstly, it communicated the ‘mechanics' of how to enter the competition...; secondly, it served as the R5 discount coupon; and finally, once the campaign has ended all the promotional info could be torn off (relevant areas were perforated) and the product would feature a generic stay-behind communicating its unique selling points.”

“Look and feel inspiration was drawn from the actual product which features a funky design and is available in fashionable colours (black and lime green). I think that the on-pack sticker was a vital component to the campaign and assisted us in achieving our objectives and the sales target. This was reflected in the great response we received,” says Van Wyk.

Winning decision

Judges liked the crisp and clear communication, the way in which the prize linked up to the use of the product, and the combination of a discount coupon and a competition. They were also impressed by the design of the Fix-a-Form booklet label, with colours that complement the product and the package design, while at the same time standing out and capturing one's attention.

Judges of the March Pyro Inspirations Award included Bill Bailey (Rexel Office Product), Antonia Morgado (Espiál-go-to-market), Khuthala Gala (Joe Public), John Farquhar (ADvantage Magazine) and Bronwyn Bremner (Coca-Cola).