| Fulfilment is called that because it’s the final link in the promotional chain. So why isn’t it given more respect.
All too often, handling and fulfilment does not get the respect it deserves. Yet it is a fundamental part of any sales promotion activity. And it’s not just about processing coupons and stuffing envelopes any more – the best handling and fulfilment service providers can offer so much more than that, including the latest technological advances and significant data capture and analysis services.
Now faced with the added pressure of the recession, handling houses have to be even smarter.
“Handling and fulfilment is a crucial aspect of any promotion,” states Justine Clement, managing director at Unmissable. “If a fulfilment falls apart, it could have a far-reaching negative impact on the brand’s reputation, as well as high risk of the promotion campaign being a failure.”
Clement also points out that different campaigns will require individual treatment: indeed, the same campaign may involve a range of premiums or incentives of different values, with each level of reward requiring very specific services (see Kit Kat case study).
She says: “The handling and fulfilment requirements for every promotional campaign will be dependent upon types of prizes on offer, volumes of prizes to be processed and value of prizes. A campaign may involve a tier of different values and volumes of prizes which will require totally different redemption and handling procedures. For example, it would be ridiculous to have one to one phone contact with thousands of winners receiving a cinema ticket and it would be equally inappropriate for a few winners receiving a trip of a lifetime not to receive hand holding and a constant point of contact throughout their prize experience.
Case Study: Kit Kat
Unmissable is responsible for the handling and fulfilment of a selection of the prizes on offer as part of Kit Kat’s latest on-pack promotion, including both the headline prizes, offering 10 lucky consumers the chance to choose their ‘perfect break,’ as well as some of the lower tier prizes which offer ‘a perfect break enhancement’.
Both tiers need to be handled equally carefully, but also very differently, given the nature of the prizes on offer and the quantities involved. The top prizes involve a choice of glamorous opportunities from six different categories: pamper, travel, entertainment, sport, shopping and home.
The lower tier prizes (which still fall under the same six categories) are experience vouchers and consumer goods.
Unmissable’s Justine Clement says that someone winning a trip to the Monaco Grand Prize, staying on board a private yacht with restricted special-access pit lane passes, needs to feel the VIP every inch of the way and will get special attention, detailed information and hand-holding from the moment Unmissable is passed their details through to the trip itself and even after their return to the UK.
On the other hand, someone winning a personal DAB radio or flower delivery, for example, needs to receive their prize as described and without delay.
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