Perhaps you are a circulation director, and you’ve been brainstorming new ways to increase your newspaper’s subscription rate. Or perhaps you are in the advertising industry, and you’re on the lookout for the next big marketing opportunity for your brand. Either way, a Bingo promotion could be exactly the solution you need.
So how exactly can a Bingo game benefit you? Read on to find out.
Long-Term Advertising
When you see a commercial on television, you are exposed to that brand’s ad for a very short time, right? Now imagine taking that same 15-second commercial and sticking it to someone’s fridge with a couple of magnets for three long months. That’s how this Bingo game works! The game players often keep their Bingo cards for up to 12 weeks, usually in an easily accessible and highly visible part of their home, which gives retailers the opportunity to maximize the value of their advertising dollar.
Ad Placement Opportunities
As a retailer, you have a multitude of options when it comes to the placement and functionality of your ads. You can place coupons, special offers or product information on the bottom, side, or back of the Bingo card, putting your message right in front of the game player (and your future customer!) for the duration of the Bingo promotion.
You might also consider co-sponsoring a Bingo promotion with another local business. Some advertisers offer complementary services and find it more cost effective to collaborate on a Bingo game sponsorship. For example, a local gym and bakery once co-sponsored a promotion, and they used the opportunity to come up with some clever messaging that drew a lot of interest from readers (“We put it on – they take it off!”)
Everybody Loves Free Stuff
Let’s talk about the prizes. These Bingo promotions are only successful because, let’s face it, people love to win free stuff. As an advertiser or circulation director, keep that in mind! A promotion can only be successful if there’s a clear reason for people to participate, and that holds true when it comes to Bingo games as well.
In other words, the prizes should be inviting enough to create interest. Consider things like Ipads, cash, TVs, Shopping Sprees, or even a brand new car. These are all prizes that have been used successfully in Bingo games before, so why not stick to what we know works?
That’s What I Love About Sunday
Perhaps the coolest thing about running Bingo promotions is that there are no hard and fast rules. We strive to provide flexible and adaptable solutions that fit your needs, but we still offer as much advice as we can because, well, this ain’t our first rodeo…
…which brings us to the actual gameplay portion of this blog post!
Most newspapers we work with insert the Bingo game cards into Sunday’s edition, because Sundays tend to be the day of the week with the highest circulation numbers. Each card has its own set of unique call numbers, of course, which we help facilitate here at BestBingoPromo.com. Call numbers can be published at whatever frequency the newspaper chooses – perhaps one number per day, or one number every other day. Publishing “bonus” numbers on days of low circulation can help boost single-copy sales as well.
Call numbers are often published in conjunction with the sponsor’s ads, which further increases the value of the sponsor’s advertising. The call number could also be posted in the sponsor’s actual retail store, bringing in a great deal of foot traffic, or it could run in tandem with special limited-time offers.
No cheating allowed!
“But how do you make sure nobody cheats?” This is a common question asked of us here at BestBingoPromo.com. The truth is, some people out there are dishonest, and they’ll do whatever it takes to win. We do everything we can to combat any cheating by offering a few gameplay tips:
• Publish the rules in their entirety (and make sure to specify how a tie game will be handled) in an easily accessible place in the paper and/or online.
• BestBingoPromo.com will supply the newspaper with a control file which is a spreadsheet of all the numbers printed on every card and each card is identified by the control number printed in the center free space. This way the newspaper can verify winners by checking the control file to see what numbers are printed on the winning card.
• Some newspapers ask their readers/game players to mark Bingo squares with a highlighter. We recommend requiring players to cut the call number out of the paper with scissors, and tape or glue it to their Bingo card. This ensures game players have to buy their own copy of the newspaper instead of simply asking their friend or neighbor for the call number.
Bingo promotions are truly a terrific opportunity for both newspapers and advertisers, and we love to facilitate successful Bingo games for our clients. If you’re interested in running or sponsoring a Bingo game, let us know. We’d love to take the Bingo plunge with you!
