Giveaways are the perfect way to get your product into the hands of your consumers.  But sometimes, we as marketers tend to get a little too ambitious with our out-of-the-box amazing ideas.  Somehow, that crazy giveaway seems like a phenomenal idea at first. You know, the one that requires the consumer to go out and buy a hula-hoop, make a video of themselves doing the “craziest” tricks ever (like jumping through it while it’s on fire – backwards), post it on Facebook, and tag 400 people, all just to get a coupon for 10 cents off. And when our giveaway only resulted in two entries, we wonder why everyone didn’t enter because it was such a creative idea. Turns out that the simplest ideas are the best ones.

Whether a client’s goals are product awareness or trial stimulation, giveaways are a one of a kind way to get the word out about something. But if we’re going to ask the consumer to “jump through a hoop” (get it?), it better be well worth it.  Marketers have to look at two things – the barrier to entry (number of steps the consumer has to take to enter) and the value of the reward. The key to a successful giveaway is to create a balance between the two, but also keeping in mind that the consumer likes to feel that they are getting the better end of the deal. If you want consumers to put some time in, you better come strong with an AMAZING incentive. And these incentives don’t always have to be huge, they just have to be something of value to the consumer – a coupon, exclusive deal, or even providing a head start on getting the latest concert ticket.

Next time you are planning a giveaway, remember that the more you can make the value of the prize outweigh the barrier to entry, the more successful you are going to be. And the happier your consumers are that they’ve gotten something pretty sweet.

Alex Charchar over at Retinart has a fantastic article where he gives his own spin on the design thoughts of Bob Gill, co-founder of Pentagram. One of my favorites is “Interesting words need boring graphics.” Charchar writes:

A stupid designer grows intoxicated on their own greatness and self-worth.

Gill gives an example I could not top so wont try; We cure cancer for free.

There is one design solution for this. White background, big, black, heavy as a whale text, left aligned. Want to go out on a limb? Center it (but dont).

I love this. You could write the best copy in the world but if you bury it in too much razzmatazz, the effect is lost. And modern advertising, Lord help us, thrives on razzmatazz.

The real tragedy is that copy is largely ignored today. As I was taking advertising and marketing classes, professors often talked about how hard it is to get your message through. We’ve heard it a hundred times, “In this media soaked culture, people see thousands of visuals a day! Your visual needs to find a way to stand out.” Or maybe this is a time to differentiate by having the visuals take a backseat. If everyone is focusing on flash, why not focus on words?

A perfect example is the Google Superbowl commercial from last year. When I asked people why they liked it, I got one answer over and over. It was cute. Not because there was a young, attractive couple being lovey-dovey in washed vintage colors. It was because it told a story. The hero was the copy. It told a story. It gave the ad a heart and the clean visuals didn’t get in the way. The whole ad is a perfect example of copy can still make a great impact in our flashy, image driven culture.

Below are bits from Bob Gill’s book about the subject of simple graphics for interesting words.

In the marketing world being “the first” is an incredible thing. Whether it is being the first brand in a niche product category, the first to use a new media strategy or the first to make a creative new ad claim, people take notice. Firsts also provide tremendous competitive advantage. The only thing worse than being second is blatantly copying the brand that did it first. We’re talking to you Dairy Queen!

If you haven’t seen Dairy Queen’s latest campaign – take a look. For me, it’s a little too close to Old Spice’s campaign. We all know how popular and successful Old Spice’s use of the sarcastic new icon was with the over-the-top irony of their spots. They scored a huge “first.” They came up with a creative strategy that really worked to grab (and hold) the attention of their target audience. It was so popular many of the spots went viral, topping the most watched YouTube video charts. So I can certainly understand why someone in a board room at Dairy Queen must’ve thought – let’s do that! And granted, the two brands aren’t even in the same product category, but still – did they really think the copycat campaign wouldn’t be obvious? And the worst part? Others (like Edge Shave Gel) have starting shamelessly jumping on the bandwagon.

Lesson learned: do your own thing. Sure, plenty of people say there are no more new ideas out there; that everything we come up with has probably been used in some way, shape or form at some point over the past 100 years (even if we don’t know it). Maybe that’s true in many cases, but that doesn’t mean we’ve lost our ability to create new and impactful advertising. And I’m not saying we shouldn’t use creative ideas and strategies from great campaigns that are already out there. We should be inspired by the great advertising around us, not take the easy, copycat way out.

I carry a black moleskine notebook around with me wherever I go. I’ve got one in my car, one in my purse, and one at the office. While it makes me feel artistic and retro, it actually serves a purpose: helping me remember my ideas.

I am forgetful. I have a tendency to lose any stroke of genius (or any generic thought) I might have if I don’t write it down the SECOND it occurs to me. My coworkers have heard me say it a million times: “I had the GREATEST idea yesterday, and now I can’t remember it.” It is like my ideas come hurtling down the barrel of a gun with exponential speed and if I don’t have that paper there to catch it, that idea bullet will shoot away, never to be seen again. Call me Don Draper, but my ideas can’t survive without that little black moleskine. But I’ve noticed recently that I’ve got dozens of half thought out ideas written in my snazzy journal. So I had to wonder – what good do these half thought out ideas have?

I can’t lie, I review my notes often – each thought holds its own meaning, taking me back to a certain place or time. Some of my scribbles can’t be deciphered and some of my ideas are just plain stupid. But then, in the midst of chicken scratch and a doodle, a great idea is just sitting there, waiting for me to come back and look at it. Then, when I do, it sticks out like a sore thumb just waiting to turn into something else. And I love when this happens. It has resulted in a few new campaign tactics or sweet blog posts. But most of my ideas have been left untouched, as of yet.

Author and ad genius Luke Sullivan (he wrote a nice little ad book) helped me learn that an idea you had in 1997 can become the brain child behind your 2010 ad campaign – it just might take you a while to get there. Often, you have to let ideas mull. Great ideas are like a stew – it might take them a while, but after some time, you get something quite delicious and meaty (awesome analogy, eh?).

So keep everything. Be diligent in what you write down. You never know when that scribbled, scrawny note in your moleskine can take an ad or campaign from zero to 60. Here’s to hoping that my many moleskines will someday result in a Lemon.