Pass the Twizzlers

As a movie lover, I was intrigued when I saw an article about Hershey's Mega Movie Promotion.

The concept is relatively simple: you collect and send in a bunch of UPC codes from Hershey's Bag Candy and get a free movie ticket (valued at $8.50). Seems like a reasonable value based on a simple insight that candy and movies go together. Unfortunately (and as often happens in the world of marketing), Hershey's failed to transform a decent idea into a simple, compelling marketing program.

This could be a much stronger promotion with a bit more investment and a few tweaks:

• Match the value of the free ticket to the cost of the most expensive movie ticket in the U.S. Wouldn't you be pissed if you lived in New York and had to shell out another $2 because your $8.50 voucher didn't cover the cost of your ticket. This makes Hershey look cheap!
  
• Simplify redemption (maybe the biggest lesson for marketers). The process of taking a "tear one pad" from the grocery store or going on-line to download a redemption coupon is so '80's. Provide a process whereby UPC codes can be entered online to speed up the redemption process.
  
• Same theme: broaden the offerings and make the redemption points equal for each line item. I shouldn't be penalized for liking Twizzlers (3 redemption points) more than Hershey's other products (5 redemption points).
  
• Shorten the length of the promotion; it will lose energy running through March 2009.
  
• Do a little off-line advertising to heighten awareness and create interest. The only way consumers find out about this is through on-line banner and in-store. Wouldn't a cinema ad be interesting, relevant and engaging? Or possibly radio?
  

The big idea, in my opinion, is to link the promotion concept with brand advertising to create a truly integrated marketing program. I think this could have been a lot stronger program for Hershey if they put a little more energy into the initial idea.

DS