New Coupon Models Are Welcomed with Open Arms and Wallets

Let's face it. Most people love to save money. We, as consumers, get circulars and coupon books in our mailboxes, and some of us still sift through them, our scissors in tow — ready to get 50% off this or buy one, get one free of that.

We are always ready to save. We sign up for exclusive discount cards for grocery and drugstores where we get deals for products that should be the lower price anyway. We love perks and the proverbial "penny." We love thinking we won — we beat the man — we got THE deal — and ultimately, that we are special.

We're doing it every day and we'll keep doing it. No one tires of saving money, right? It's HOW it's done that is changing. Now instead of a passive audience who receives the usual circulars every week, we are actively engaging on the net, searching for promo codes on RetailMeNot, signing up for daily deals like Groupon or Living Social, tuning into the daily Woot and playing silly games to get a free burrito at Qdoba. We know what we want and we seek it out. Our experiences and our actions own the marketplace. How we spread our consumer victories and disappointments reflects directly upon the brand we're touting or dogging. If we like a brand and feel special because of that brand, we'll spread happy thoughts and vice versa.

Just think of what that does for couponing. Take Groupon for example. (If you're new to how it works, read this.) They recently offered a national coupon for $25 for $50 Worth of Apparel at Gap. This was one of or maybe the first national Groupons they ever offered. Usually, the deals are locally-focused. Needless to say, it was a huge success. Our creative director Nick opted in for the promo and had to wait to get his (usually automatic) confirmation email from Groupon. They were THAT slammed. According to an Ad Age article byNatalie Zmuda, in an average week, Groupon subscriptions increase by about 500,000. During the week after the Gap promo, 750,000 subscribers joined the ranks of the daily deal site. The company itself expanded from one country to 29 countries, from 3 million subscribers to 15 million plus and from less than 300 employees to over 1,500 in the last five months. FIVE MONTHS. Circulars beware, this is the new model, and it's empowering consumers in their email inbox every morning. So, how do the potential subscribers keep arriving at their site? Social media. Email. Word of mouth. "Hey, check out this deal!", "Hey, did you see today's Woot?", "Did you see that Groupon?", "Half off!" People get a deal and they share.

You won't catch me chatting around the office about a pizza deal that came in the mail or a half-off shampoo coupon because frankly, they're the usual and predictable. But capture me on the net, give me a 24-hour deadline to spend, and we could be talking. And when I mean talking, I mean cash money in your register.

Behavioral Targeting …

 ...it’s “big brother”, but not in a “scary the government is watching me” kinda way.

So, the science and landscape of online targeting is evolving rapidly. Gone are the days of merely buying ad space on a homepage because it has the highest impression level and clients can see their banner ads live. We at Hunch Free tell our clients – “Why spend your money targeting impressions when you have no idea if those ‘impressions’ are your even target audience?” And, can you really trust those media companies to provide you accurate or thorough enough data to determine whether your campaign is successful?  

Ad Networks are mastering the art of targeting the right audience, on the right sites, at the right time. How? Well, it’s all based on the user, not the website. It means your ads are being delivered to users that fall into your pre-defined target criteria based on their online search habits…not based on the fact that weather.com can guarantee one million impressions. Sure, it’s quite a feat to reach that many people, but if you’re trying to sell a car and 80% of those impressions aren’t in the market to buy a car…then what’s the use? That’s the simplest explanation of how behavioral and contextual targeting work together to reach the right audience (and when you add in demographic targeting and re-targeting, you’ve got yourself a kick-ass campaign!). 

I can offer a personal example of online targeting at its finest. I’ve been doing a ton of online research for baby gear lately and I started to notice that when I checked my email, paid a bill online or even logged on to facebook, I was starting to see diaper, crib, babies ‘r us and a variety of other baby-related ads popping up. These are savvy marketers who are following my search habits and delivering ads to me on the sites I frequent the most. Babies ‘R Us would have missed out on major exposure to an in-market user had they only bought space on the high impression websites like Yahoo.com or AOL – there’s no guarantee that their target (me) is even visiting those sites every day. 

It’s bound to scare some clients, but those willing to take the risk and spend the money as a part of their marketing mix will certainly reap the rewards. Combine great media with intriguing, action-based creative and you will receive real, measureable results.