Extending Your Brand Equity For Free (Almost)
Our client is a 45 year-old fitness equipment manufacturer that still makes their products in the USA. They produce a high-quality, well-regarded line of workout machines, but chances are you never heard of them.
Their name is Landice.
You won’t see them in the chain fitness gyms. You won’t see them advertise on TV, Radio or magazine.
This program reached 60,000 expiring subscribers and cost a penny a person (literally!).
Landice is a second-generation family-run business and operates as such. They run a tight shop based in New Jersey and they focus on quality one product at a time. And, for the most part, they rely on their dealer network to get their word out. So the only time you may hear the name Landice is if you walk into one of the 300 specialty fitness dealers that sell their products across the country and overseas.
Landice competes against the big conglomerates that have large marketing budgets and sleek foreign supply chains. Landice’s primary market differentiator is that they offer a lifetime warranty on their products – something unheard of in the industry, but something that helps endear them with consumers once they hear about the product.
It was our challenge at Screaming Garlic to find a way to extend their brand further into the mainstream without breaking the bank. And after examining the market opportunities, we developed a strategy that was able to do this for just pennies – quite literally!
The Marketing Partner
Working with partners can be a cost effective solution to help extend visibility and reach, especially if you’re the little guy.
Finding the right partner to complement your goals and objectives is the key. And the one we found was Runner’s World magazine.
RW represents the fitness-conscious consumer Landice wants to target. RW has over 660,000 readers and a total audience reach of over 2.5 million, according to their circulation stats. Most of all, RW has great brand recognition with the general running public – and beyond.
In addition, RW and its parent publisher Rodale Inc., are great marketing partners. Together, we were able to construct a 3-prong promotional program that satisfied our client’s goals and budget needs while also providing RW with a valuable and tangible sponsor.
Program 1: Subscription Extension – Subscriptions of recently expired subscribers were extended for an additional 3-month period. This “mini-subscription” extension was highlighted through the use of a special poly-bagged mailing “compliments of Landice”. Included in the bag were a voucher for a product discount along with a Landice marketing message and a special 1-year subscription rate for the magazine. This program reached 60,000 expiring subscribers and cost a penny a person (literally!). Some of the brand lift we received in response to this program was the online “thanks” via social media and email.
Program 2: Gift with Purchase – Screaming Garlic graphically-designed hang tags to be put on Landice products at each dealer location. The tags included RW and Landice logos and offered a 3-month free subscription to Runner’s World magazine when a product was purchased during a specific time frame. When a subscription was activated, Landice covered the subscription cost. Feedback from our quarterly customer survey indicated that the subscription offer was one of the key factors in the purchase decision with 62% of Landice buyers during the program period. Landice received a bulk rate discount on these activated subscriptions.
Program 3: Sweepstakes – This classic marketing technique is used over-and-over again for a reason – it works! Landice provided 3 products to be put up as Grand, Second and Third place prizes. In return, RW was able to further engage with their audience and provide meaningful product offerings through an exciting promotion vehicle. In addition, RW provided a turnkey program for Landice, which included the necessary legal, bonding, and promotional execution. This online promotion was extended to Rodale’s other assets including Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Bicycling, and Prevention publications. All entries required a valid email and acknowledgement by the contest entrant that they agree to future marketing contact. In return for Landice’s in-kind product, they received nearly 50,000 email addresses through the sweepstake. Again, pennies to acquire a new set of leads that will help Landice further extend its brand recognition.
If you think your product or service could benefit from a similar strategy, contact Screaming Garlic at 888-346-4161 or [email protected]. One of our marketing consultants would be delighted to help evaluate your needs.
