| Winning Solutions -
Justine Clement, Director of Unmissable, talks to
Mark Ludmon about going offline to become a leading
incentives supplier.
It was the height of the dotcom boom and everyone
was going online. Among the plethora of start-ups
was the travel company Unmissable, which was targeting
consumers and companies via the Internet.
Seven years later, the dotcom bubble burst and many
of the high-profile businesses from this time have
disappeared. But Unmissable, which had an offline
presence from the beginning, has moved away from etailing
and become a leading provider of incentives.
The consumer-facing side of the business was closed
in 2001 after it became clear that the bulk of the
activity was business to business. Unmissable was
then relaunched as the specialist supplier of prizes
and other bespoke solutions for consumer promotions
and staff incentives.
Faced with the fall out from 9/11, the SARS scare,
the Asian tsunami and the Iraq war the business has
diversified from its original focus on travel. It
now offers UK experiences, ranging from a bedroom
makeover to turning your garden into a spa, as well
as high value consumer goods, such as ipods. “That
was a natural progression to not being totally reliant
on travel” Justine Clement explains.
Based in Battersea, South London, the company is
constantly coming up with suggestions for its clients.
“We devote a lot of time to sourcing new products
and ideas, such as experiences in different cities
and hotels with a certain theme,” Justine Clement
says. Suggestions in its latest newsletters include
a bar for your office, a cowboy holiday in Patagonia
and the “ultimate duvet day” featuring
options such as candles, champagne, chocolates, bedding
and a DVD player.
Justine Clement says their clients, who range from
agencies to radio stations, are now bringing Unmissable
on board earlier in the creative process. “We
are trying to get more and more information out of
clients about their end audience as we know what works
with certain products”, he says. “Our
clients are more knowledgeable and more open to ideas
about how budget might be spent. They may start off
saying they want a one-off “Wow” prize
but it may be better with more prize winners at different
levels”.
This is reflected in the high profile campaigns
that Unmissable has worked on such as a promotion
for Mullerlight created by agency Catalyst to tie
in the second Bridget Jones film. As well as the top
prize of luxury holidays to Thailand, there were bouquets
of flowers, champagne, chardonnay, chocolates and
UCI cinema tickets.
“There needs to be a closer correlation between
the brand and what is on offer”, Justine Clement
comments. “Clients are not just taking what
is on the shelf, such as standard trips. They want
something where the brand really talks to the audience”.
Seven years on, the Internet is once again becoming
a key part of the business, although from a different
angle. “Over the last 12 to 18 months, there
has been shift to online promotions”, Justine
Clement explains. The Dotcom bubble may have burst
but, with business doubling on average year on year,
Unmissable finds the thirst for creative incentives
– online or offline – is stronger than
ever.
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