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Z-CARD® Ensures Return On Investment In Good Times And Bad

As a marketer how many times have you recently heard, “Should we cut our marketing spend and if so, where?” In light of the recent economic downturn, there has certainly been a great deal of debate around not only the importance of marketing during a downturn but also which mediums to use. In marketing circles of course the belief is that an economic downturn is probably the worst time to slash brand spend.

It's time to get smart about your marketing Rand and spend it to generate real bottom line results and good return on investment (ROI).

Right now companies need to focus on campaigns that drive business and have a direct impact on sales. Z-CARD®, the global specialists in PocketMedia®, offers an effective and creative alternative to traditional media spend during the recession. An alternative that not only generates a good ROI but also measures ROI effectively.

Flooz.com, an “on-line gift currency you can send by e-mail for any occasion” has used the Z-CARD® on three different occasions to drive traffic to its website before Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. They wanted potential shoppers to know about the site and the benefits of shopping at Flooz.com. The Z-CARD®s produced for the pre-Christmas drive were distributed in two major areas, New York City and San Francisco. The cards also included a scratch-off block where shoppers could win $10.00 of Flooz shopping vouchers just by visiting the site.  The combination of using a powerful, high retention marketing tool, coupled with strategic distribution methods, more than doubled the response rate of any of Flooz.com’s previous promotions in traditional media.  More than 20% of recipients of the Z-CARD® visited the website and 60% of these purchased on-line.

In the beginning of 2008, Steinhoff, a well-known name in household goods and proud sponsor of the FNB Varsity Cup, used a credit card sized Z-CARD® to launch an sms competition aimed at students from a variety of South African universities. The competition ran over a period of 7 weeks and students could only enter the competition once – monitored by including their student number with their entry. In total, from an order of 150,000 Z-CARD®s they received 14,220 entries amounting to a 9,5% response rate. A result with which the client was thrilled!

According to George McDonald, inventor of the Z-CARD®, “For Z-CARD®, today’s economic challenge is also a time of unique opportunity. As brands revaluate their marketing strategies and budgets, they assess their position and opinions. Suddenly the Z-CARD® is in high demand. We think this is because brands want smarter marketing tools and greater value for their investment.”

“As a marketing business we understand the need for our clients to have campaigns which have both impact and longevity. We have practiced what we preach and have rigorously applied measurement criteria to all of our Z-CARD® campaigns. These have allowed us to show a ROI of 1:4.2 and in 2008, have generated a 16% increase in enquiries and 12% increase in marketing generated orders.”

“The universal appeal of Z-CARD® has made it a very popular choice for below-the-line advertising campaigns. Consumers’ attention span is stretched more so than ever, so it makes sense to market to them in a compact and concise format, which is ultimately what Z-CARD® does better than any of its competitors,” says McDonald.