Unfortunately, we do not have the ability to control time (yet). Until then, the best way to succeed in the face of unwelcome variables is to be prepared for anything, or at least as much as you can. Stephen Willworth, vice president of new markets for SVS Marketing, Toronto, remembers one promotion that required a lot of work and a bit of preparation and patience, but a lot of creativity and fun.
Promo Marketing: Could you tell us about a promotion that you think is one of your best?
Stephen Willwerth: In this program, we created, kitted and shipped out gift boxes to Samsung Ambassadors that included a Samsung phone and two other accessories, such as a case or charger and pen. A lot of work goes into this repeating order. We get black boxes, have the lids imprinted with the Samsung logo and then shipped to us for kitting. At this point, we have Grosgrain ribbon that needs to be added to the lid with a bow, as well, that we put together in-house, as the ribbon comes on a large spool. Once this is done, the lid is good to go and we wait for the device and accessories that go in the box. Each item that goes in the box is individually wrapped, and the phone is wrapped with Samsung ribbon. Once everything is wrapped, the items are glued in place for presentation and shipped to individual addresses for their ambassadors to use and promote.
PM: What did you like about this promotion in particular?
SW: As much as this order has large amounts of labor needed to complete it, the care and creativity that we get to add into it makes it a lot of fun to work with, and the Samsung team is great to work with.
PM: Did you run into any big challenges with this promotion? If so, how did you overcome them?
SW: Time was a big roadblock—everything had limited amounts of time to ship, and there was a lot of kitting involved. We overcame them by preparing what we could ahead of time and having a specific group come in and work on the project. As well as a few later nights.
PM: What advice would you give distributors looking to do a similar promotion?
SW: Prepare the small pieces ahead of time. In this case getting the bows created and the ribbon cut to the needed length saved hours when all of the pieces going inside the box arrived for final kitting. Set reasonable timelines and make the client aware of the freight options so they can understand the costs of rushing. Have a dedicated team member on the job who can teach others how to kit everything—and go through the procedure, that way it is done consistently each time.
