Kat Dlugolecki, senior account executive for Quality Logo Products, Aurora, Ill., shared an example of a promotion she did for television—for NBC’s “The Office” no less—offering insight and tips on how she was able to pull off such a cool promotion.
Promo Marketing: Could you briefly describe a promotion that you consider one of your best?
Kat Dlugolecki: One of my best promotions to date was for a “promotion” filmed in a TV series. A promotion within a promotion, if you will. The client was NBC Universal Inc. and the job was done for the hit TV series “The Office.”
PM: What items did you use for the promotion, and why?
KD: The promotional items purchased by NBC were a cellphone stress reliever to be featured on the show, as well a globe stress reliever purchased simply for throwing at one another behind the scenes between the actors, staff and producers as a way to let off steam and bring the stress level down.
PM: What was the promotion’s goal, and what did you do to make that goal happen?
KD: This was obviously not your typical promotion, so, in the end, I would have to say the goal was to market the success and fame this item (and QLP) received using social media routes (Facebook, blogging, etc.).
PM: What did you like about the promotion, and why?
KD: This sale was only a couple hundred dollars-but in my eyes it was (and still is) the most valuable for me. C’mon-it’s “The Office”! Everyone loves, has watched or at least has heard of this show. I’m happy to have had a personal and professional connection to the producers and various staff while working on this project for them.
PM: What was the best decision you made with the promotion? What made it so important?
KD: Even though it’s Hollywood, NBC still had a budget to stay within. They needed these orders for their upcoming filming (within a few days!) but didn’t want to pay additional for a rush in production-so I rushed them at no additional cost to them to allow me to keep the order moving and make them happy.
PM: Did you run into any problems or hurdles with the promotion? If so, what were they, and how did you overcome them?
KD: There was a two-color imprint on the cellphone stress reliever that was to be used while filming, and generally warehouses will not print a multicolored imprint on a rush in production. I was able to “work my magic” and talk the warehouse into getting this done for us and ship within one business day. As soon as I told them it was for “The Office,” they were more than willing to make things happen.
PM: Do you have any other advice you’d like to give to distributors running a similar promotion? If so, what would it be, and why?
KD: If you get the opportunity to do a job for something or someone well known or famous like this, go above and beyond your normal customer service given on a daily basis. An order like this, while it’s not a large order by any means, will give people (you) something to talk about for years to come. This particular job was done back in November of 2010 and, look, we are still talking about it today!
Want to be considered for a future edition of My Best Promotion? Contact Senior Editor Michael Cornnell at (215) 238-5449 or [email protected] for a list of questions and other details.
