Creating Appealing Marketing Promotions - Don't Make This Mistake

Over the weekend I was browsing through a grocery store circular as I was putting together a shopping list. It's not a task I typically find to be especially amusing, but on this day I found it very entertaining. An ad in the circular had me all but rolling on the floor I was laughing so hard.

The store was offering a special promotion:

2 Cartons of Dreyer's Ice Cream FREE When You Purchase 12 Stouffer's Lean Cuisine Entrees

Seriously?! Whose brilliant marketing idea was that?! And what could they possibly have been thinking?!

One of the key concepts in designing a promotion that will appeal to your market and prompt them to purchase is to design it with their needs and desires in mind. It seems pretty straight-forward to me that Stouffer's Lean Cuisine market is calorie-conscious, and that although some of them may indulge in the occasional bowl of ice cream, most probably don't want the temptation of 2 half-gallon cartons sitting in the freezer. It would have made more sense to offer a complimentary product that supports the lifestyle choices that someone purchasing Stouffer's Lean Cuisine entrees is obviously making.

The next time you begin to brainstorm a promotional offer for your market be sure you don't make the same mistake. Take the time to identify what your market really needs and wants and you'll be sure to create a promotion that your market will find too appealing to resist.