The Client:
The Indiana Gazette, a daily newspaper in Indiana, Pennsylvania. In late 2013, the Gazette ran an eight-week Bingo promotion, coordinated by BestBingoPromo.com – a company with more than 15 years of experience in creating engaging promotions for newspapers — and by every count, Bingo was a huge success for the newspaper. Not only did hundreds of readers play, the promotion was also a powerful marketing tool for the Gazette’s sponsors. The local sponsors received premium ad space on Bingo cards, as well as serious brand engagement.
How It Worked:
In September 2013, the Gazette included 13,550 Bingo cards from BestBingoPromo.com in their Sunday edition and TMC’s. For the Gazette’s advertisers, the benefits were clear. Each sponsor was prominently displayed on cards and every day, the Gazette published a call number that corresponded to a Bingo sponsor. Put another way, BestBingoPromo.com helped the Gazette create premium advertising space. Readers kept cards on their refrigerator or on the kitchen table during the eight weeks, and then searched sponsor advertisements for Bingo numbers every day in the paper. That’s some serious brand engagement for sponsors.
The Results:
Bingo was a huge success for the Gazette. More than 800 bingo cards were completed – or roughly 6.5 percent of the Gazette’s Sunday circulation — and hundreds more attended the Grand Prize Drawing for the chance to win additional prizes from sponsors.
Bingo was also a big win for the Gazette’s sponsors. The Grand Prize Drawing was hosted at a local shopping mall, one of the contest’s sponsors, and the event attracted hundreds of potential customers. The grand prize of “Bingo Bucks,” which were redeemable as cash at sponsor locations, also helped drive customers to participating sponsors.
But Bingo was also a big win for the Gazette’s readers. Throughout the contest, the newspaper attracted participants by providing a grand prize of up to $1,000 in “Bingo Bucks,” which were redeemable at participating sponsor locations, and they also engaged Bingo players with weekly prize drawings. At the end of the contest, the newspaper hosted a Grand Prize Drawing and even more participants entered to win.
“This gives us the ability to measure the results of our marketing effort and share those results with potential advertisers,” said Ron Seckar, the Gazette’s circulation manager. “It’s a great story to share with our advertisers.”
The Challenges:
For maximum participation, the Gazette invested early on in a variety of publicity strategies, including through newspaper columns and social media outreach. The Gazette also used sponsored ads – which provided an added benefit for sponsors both in exposure and increased contest participation.
Sustaining interest for the 8 weeks contest was another challenge for the newspaper. To encourage participation throughout, the Gazette held weekly prize drawings. And at the end of the contest, they encouraged attendance at the Grand Prize Drawing by requiring the winner to be there in person to receive the full prize, as well as offering additional prize drawings for Bingo players who attended.
BestBingoPromo.com Knows Success:
BestBingoPromo has helped newspapers around the country create engaging contests for readers and develop premium advertising space. With more than15 years of experience, BestBingoPromo.com knows what it takes for newspapers to host a meaningful contest that excites readers and attracts sponsors.
They’ve made it easy for newspapers too. BestBingoPromo.com provides the game cards and ensures that the game runs smoothly. They also provide proven strategies for newspapers to conduct successful promotions. In a nutshell, BestBingoPromo.com has streamlined the promotion, creating a win-win for all involved. Readers have the chance to win prizes and are encouraged to buy and read the newspaper every day; advertisers gain tons of quality face-time with potential customers; and newspapers build brand loyalty with readers, drive singlecopy sales and gain valuable data to share with potential advertisers. A Great Promotion for Any Newspaper
The Gazette was excited about the success of the BestBingoPromo.com contest. “This is a ‘value-added’ benefit for current subscribers and a sales tool for single copy sales,” Seckar added. In the future, the newspaper has plans to continue its use of bingo as a marketing tool.