Caroline Harrison this week takes a look at a current promotional campaign which gives us all another reason to be glad today is Friday.
It’s one of the top challenges for marketers: how do we drive more traffic to our website? There are many different search engine optimisation and search engine marketing tactics we can employ to help us in our quest, but we shouldn’t necessarily forget some of the good old fashioned basics: aside from creating an informative and user-friendly website, we can try to make the site – or a feature/section within it – different and unique, make it engaging or interactive, offer website-only deals and special promotions…basically give people a reason to visit in the first place and to return.
Of course, increased traffic to your website doesn’t automatically translate into increased sales. There is, however, clearly some correlation. More visitors give you more chances to showcase your services and, with it, more opportunities to turn those visitors into brand advocates and loyal customers.
I read in the marketing press recently (further note to marketers: don’t forget to generate a PR buzz around a quirky website feature or promotion) about a ‘freebie’ being offered by Cadbury at its Crunchie chocolate bar website, www.getthatfridayfeeling.com. (Why is it that my Thursday Night Insights always seem to be about Cadbury’s chocolate??) In its latest digital campaign for this brand, Cadbury is, for a limited time, giving away a free Crunchie to the first 500 visitors to register on the site each Friday.
Now, for those international readers of this blog who aren’t so familiar with a Crunchie, the brand has been associated with a ‘Friday Feeling’ advertising concept, encapsulated by the well-known strapline ‘Thank Crunchie, it’s Friday!’, since the mid 1980s.
I remember when Cadbury first introduced this strapline. Somehow it just struck a chord – certainly with my peers in the school playground, many of whom, in retrospect, would have been avid guzzlers of this chocolate bar and among Cadbury’s prime target markets.
Even today, many years on from the start of the campaign, I regularly see ‘Facebook friends’ – all now in their 30s – update their ‘status’ at the end of the working week with those immortal words ‘Thank Crunchie it’s Friday!’. Friday is, after all, the day to treat yourself…What the heck, it’s nearly the weekend – I’ll have fish and chips for lunch, a Chinese takeaway for dinner, let’s open another bottle of wine, give me that chocolate bar…
So, do sales of Crunchie rise significantly on a Friday? Does a sizable proportion of the UK’s population effectively promote the brand by word of mouth one day a week? If so, I guess you could call it a pretty successful campaign. But, let’s face it; Cadbury won’t want sales to suffer the other six days out of every seven. By encouraging us all to ‘Get That Friday Feeling Every Day’, Cadbury is trying to associate its brand with feeling good, enjoying life, treating ourselves. Why should we only feel happy as we’re leaving work or finishing school on a Friday? Life’s too short to be miserable the rest of the week!
This latest campaign centred around getthatfridayfeeling.com might not be groundbreaking as such, but it’s still pretty inventive and a clever way to encourage people to go to the site. Giving away 500 Crunchies a week for 6 weeks won’t exactly break the bank for Cadbury, but there are bound to be far more than 500 website visitors trying to get their hands on a free chocolate bar. Why, with 500 available every Friday, it certainly seems within the realms of possibility that you or I could be munching away on a free Crunchie soon. Even if you’re not one of the lucky ones, it’s still brought the brand to front of mind. If you haven’t had a Crunchie for some time, it could just whet your appetite for one. Next time you’re in the chocolate aisle at the supermarket, Crunchie might just get the nod ahead of your usual preferred snack.
This wasn’t my planned Thursday Night Insight for this week, but seeing as the promotion finishes next Friday (30 October), I thought you might appreciate the tip. I’m afraid this offer is only available to UK residents, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for any tasty global freebies.
