National Incentive Survey reveals consumersí concerns over food and alcohol promotions

Survey also reveals consumersí concerns over food and alcohol promotions

81% of public feel that food and drink promotions should not encourage eating or drinking more 50% are happy with alcohol promotions as long as they are regulated by the drinks trade The Evening Standard is íthe brand with the best promotionsí for the second year running
íBuy One Get One Freeí is the most influential promotional technique Nectar, Tesco and Boots are the most popular loyalty cards TV and radio produce greatest response to a promotion Almost two thirds of us prefer to enter promotions via e-mail

These are among the findings of the 2004 National Incentive Survey (NIS), which provides a fascinating insight into the best and strangest incentives and promotions, what incentives influence a consumer to buy a product, the most outrageous things people have done for a free gift, the best promotions and attitudes towards promotions aimed at children.

Strange rewards
When asked to reveal the strangest incentive gifts ever received, survey participants included items such as a speaking clock that only spoke Japanese, dog food, a goldfish in a bag, a condom, a frozen turkey, an ugly tie, a can of mushy peas and a terrifying shark experience...to name but a few.

In contrast, some of the best incentive gifts included a flight on Concorde, a holiday, a gold bar, a car, a spa day, a day at Ascot and a crate of champagne.

Most outrageous
Participants also revealed the most outrageous things that people have done to receive a free gift. These included:- pretending to be a journalist, staying with a boyfriend to benefit from a freebie holiday, bungee jumping naked for a free bungee jump and pretending to have a broken leg to be upgraded into business class.

BOGOF most influential tactic
When it comes to shopping, over half (54%) of participants confessed to being most influenced by íBuy One Get One Freeí (BOGOF) promotions, followed by a discount/special price (19%), a free gift (11%) and a free product sample (4%).

TV and radio top
The survey also highlighted TV and radio as producing the greatest response to a promotion (39%), followed closely by magazines and newspapers (20%). Email came in third producing a response level of 16%. This, however, does not alter the fact that almost two thirds (61%) of respondents prefer to enter promotions via email.

Evening Standard best
The most popular unprompted responses to íthe brand with the best promotionsí for the second year running was The Evening Standard. The Evening Standard was followed by Boots, Tesco, Guinness and The Daily Mail. When asked to reveal the best promotion they had ever seen the famous Hoover Free Flight promotion was, not surprisingly, mentioned the most!

Competitions
The survey also tackled the topical issues of alcohol promotions and marketing to children. It was revealed that 38% of those surveyed believe that alcohol promotions should not encourage faster or binge drinking but half (50%) of those surveyed are quite happy with alcohol promotions, as long as they are regulated by the drinks trade.

In fact the vast majority (81%) are of the opinion that food and drinks promotions should not encourage eating or drinking more. With advertising to children, more than a quarter (28%) of those surveyed believe that sweets, drinks and crisps should not be advertised before 9pm or in childrenís publications whilst 26% feel that it is up to parents to control what children buy and eat.

When it comes to competitions, 38% admit to entering a competition once a month, 35% once a year and 7% entering more than one competition a week.

A third (66%) of the participants said their ultimate prize would be a house or having the mortgage paid, followed by money (17%) and a holiday (7%).

Loyalty Cards
Loyalty Cards are proving popular with over 89% of participants admitting to having at least one. 34% admitted to having two loyalty cards, followed by 26% having one card, 20% having three cards and 13% having over five cards. The cards from which users most often claim rewards are Nectar, Tesco and Boots.

The National Incentive Survey was conducted by the organisers of The National Incentive Show, the UKís premier autumn incentive, motivation and promotional marketing event.

The show, which is taking place from 14th-16th September 2004, at the NEC in Birmingham, is perfectly timed for promotional marketing buyers wanting the latest ideas and solutions for Christmas and the New Year. Visitors looking for refreshing ideas on how to reward and incentivise employees, how to build more fruitful relationships with customers or how to find innovative promotion products, will find the show an unbeatable source of information.

To download other related facts and figures, please click the following link