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Talk About Viral Marketing!
SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 --
While newspapers and other print sources are the most popular places for American consumers to find coupons, increasing numbers are turning to texting and email to find their bargains.
According to Scarborough Research, 8.6 million (8 percent) of U.S. households now acquire coupons via such electronic means, compared to 51 percent who turn to Sunday newspapers. In-store coupons are next in popularity at 35 percent, followed by mail (31 percent), loyalty card programs (21 percent), in-store circulars (20 percent), weekday newspapers (17 percent), product packages (16 percent), magazines (15 percent) and Internet sites (7 percent).
Fourteen percent of consumers who obtain coupons via text or e-mail are more likely than the average adult to be between 18 and 24 years of age, and 51 percent more likely to have at least a college degree.
Increasing usage of cell phones and other personal communications devices that allow consumers to access offers at the point of purchase are among the factors contributing to the increased use of text or e-mail coupons, which tend to be more targeted since consumers must opt-in to receive them.
While that may make those marketing efforts more relevant increasing the potential for consumers to act on the offers, there is a downside as such offers can end up being too much of a good thing – as both Marsh Supermarkets and KFC recently discovered.
March offered $10 coupons to 3,100 loyal customers via the social networking site Facebook. But in four days, what was supposed to be a few thousand downloadable coupons mushroomed as Marsh’s Facebook “fans” shared them with friends, who shared them with friends, and so on.
Embarrassed, Marsh had to end the offer early.
In May, KFC offered online coupons for a free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey endorsed the campaign, and within hours, a Web link to download the coupon was being shared on Twitter, Facebook, and other blogs and social networks. In all, about 10 million coupons were downloaded and KFC gave away 4.5 million meals in two days – far more than projected – and had to pull the plug.
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