386 CHAPTER 12 BRAND ACTIVATIONThe relatively small Dutch beer brand Bavaria managed to attract quite some attention during the soccer World Cup
in South Africa. Whereas most brands targeted male soccer fans, Bavaria developed a sexy, orange dress, the
DutchDress, for female soccer fans. Sixty singing and dancing Bavaria models did not go unnoticed during the game
between The Netherlands and Mexico, resulting in a rush to the store. In no time 160 000 DutchDresses were
sold and Bavaria ran out of stock. Bavaria had clearly chosen the right sales promotion premium. For its effective
campaign, Bavaria received a Gold Esprix Award in 2011. Needless to say, Heineken, as the main sponsor of the
tournament, was not amused by Bavaria’s hijacking....
Inspired by its previous success, Bavaria developed a new dress for the European soccer championship, the
V-dress. The ‘V’ stands for the V-shape at the neck, for Victory and for vrouwelijkesteun (‘female support’). The
V-dress is offered as a premium in a pack of six Bavaria bottles for €9.99. Fortunately, the campaign was a bigger
success than the results of the Dutch soccer team.^19BUSINESS INSIGHT
DutchDress and V-dressWith free in-mail promotions , the customer receives a (nearly) free gift in return for a proof
of purchase which has to be sent to the manufacturer. In that sense, promotions of this type
are very similar to the cash refund, the only diff erence being that the consumer receives a gift
instead of money. Th e main purpose of this type of promotion is not to generate trial, but
to reward loyal customers, or to improve the link between the consumer and the brand.
Moreover, such promotions can generate a lot of valuable information for the construction of
a database on the interests and consuming habits of (potential) customers. Th is information
can be used for future marketing action, and is one of the major advantages of this type of
promotion. Th e disadvantages are that the consumer does not derive an immediate benefi t,
the logistics may be very expensive and time-consuming, and there is not much of a benefi t
for the retailer.
Premiums m a y b e o ff ered in-, on- or near-pack. Th ey are small gift s that come with a
product, e.g. a free glass when buying a bottle of cognac, or a pair of sunglasses when buying
two bottles of sun lotion. Sometimes the package itself is a premium, like marmalade in a
glass that can be used aft erwards. Premiums tend to be successful, since for most consumers
getting something for free is a powerful incentive. Such promotions can be used to generate
impulse buying and trial, to reward existing customers and to stimulate repeat buying by
off ering a series of premiums that can be collected, like a set of glasses or stickers. Consumers
like this type of promotion because the benefi ts are immediately visible and easy to obtain.
Th e budgetary implications for the manufacturer are clear in advance, and a premium can be
easily combined with other types of promotions. Furthermore, there are no extra handling
costs aft er the promotion campaign. Th e advantage for the retailer is that a premium cam-
paign can generate extra store traffi c and extra sales.A disadvantage is that the wrong kind of premium may damage the long-term image of
the brand. Finally, there is always the risk that only existing customers are subsidised, and
that no extra trial or basket-fi lling results. Th e disadvantage for the manufacturer is that the
production, handling and logistics costs may be quite substantial. Th e retailer may experience
diffi culties in displaying the product with the premium. Especially with near-pack premiums,
shelf space has to be provided, and the retailer has to check for consumer fraud. Th e old stock
of the product may also be diffi cult to sell. Moreover, if the premium is a product that is also
being sold by the same retailer (a glass, sunglasses, etc.), sales of these items may fall.M12_PELS3221_05_SE_C12.indd 386M12_PELS3221_05_SE_C12.indd 386 5/6/13 2:58 PM5/6/13 2:58 PM