A manufacturer of construction equipment wished to promote its newly-developed utility vehicle to dealers and other customers. Because the advertiser teamed with Mercedes-Benz to produce the vehicle, it hit upon a Bavarian festival theme for the promotion.

Ten thousand dealers and heavy equipment buyers received formal invitations to a "Unimog Fest" so named in honor of the vehicle itself, the "Unimog." The Unimog was exhibited during the festival, whose setting resembled a Bavarian beer garden. To capture the flavor of the event (which included a dinner), beer steins, called "beer-mogs," were presented to the guests. Other specialties were distributed, including name badges bearing the "beer- mog" imprint and laminated place mats featuring a picture of the unimog on one side and its features and various uses on the other. Fifty dealers signed orders for the vehicle during the Unimog Fest. Follow- up calls to other guests yielded a $150 million order backlog for the company.

Today's Idea for the Industrial Products/Light Industry Industry

Product(s) Used: Watches
Method(s) Applied: Thank-You Gifts

A chemical company had a nationwide sales push for a herbicide it felt needed more attention. Sales, marketing and support staff were asked to promote the product heavily, though no bonuses or special incentives were offered.

The result was a record year with volume up 26 percent and income up over 20 percent. As a thank-you to those involved, the company gave them watches valued at $495 retail. Salespeople continued working toward even greater increases the following year.

Today's Idea for the High Tech Industry

Product(s) Used: Latte Cups
Method(s) Applied: Special Event Giveaways

A large computer manufacturer sponsored a promotional event that was labeled the "first virtual tradeshow." Members of the media were invited to participate by going to several "cybercafes" located in different parts of the world. Media representatives experienced the virtual tradeshow by sitting in front of computers and logging on-line. Those who attended the event were given large, latte cups imprinted with the computer company's logo.



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Today's Idea for the Healthcare Industry

Product(s) Used: Magnets
Method(s) Applied: Direct Mail

A well-known children's hospital wanted to develop and promote the medical center's telephone referral service, known as "Kids Doc," in which staff nurses provided parents with the names of hospital pediatricians in their area. Although the hospital was well known, there was a great deal of competition among the hospitals in the greater metropolitan area.

The Kids Doc program was introduced with a mass mailing of magnets to 70,000 parents of young children in the area. The following year, the hospital used Post-Cals, by Gill-line (asi 56950), to give continuity to the program. The front of the Post- Cals contained eight colorful, removable band-aid decals, which were imprinted with the name of the hospital and the Kids Doc telephone number. The message on the back briefly explained the program.

In addition, copy on the Post-Cals informed parents that these "peel-and-stick stickers are a gift to your children." The decals could be placed on children's toys or lunch boxes as well as on home telephones, phone books, medicine cabinets or refrigerators. Additional Post-Cals were kept at the hospital to fill requests. They were also handed out at community health fairs as a way to reach new families in the area. Hospital personnel reported that the number of phone calls to Kids Doc increased 20 to 30 percent as a result of the promotion. The response was categorized as one of the best the medical center ever received from a mailing.

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