Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

Dear ljulienne

What’s your name – the above greeting looks silly!

If your question is using the standard marketing term for synergy, it could mean a lot of things as synergy is ill used in business-speak. Let’s therefore assume that the word synergy is being applied correctly. It means that two or more actions are greater than the sum of their parts – typically having some kind of multiplier effect rather than an additive one.

By giving away computer vouchers for schools, Tesco gains several marketing advantages which it can’t get from a discount our through its club card.

Firstly, it is perceived to be altruistic and community minded. This creates a feel-good factor with the recipients of the voucher and the community as a whole. Never mind the fact that they would have to buy a fortunes worth of groceries to get anywhere with the scheme – they feel good just by participating and are thus more inclined to shop there to continue collecting, visiting Tesco’s over their rivals, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, ASDA etc. In fact a sports equipment voucher scheme was also run and canned when it was pointed out in the national press that consumers would have to spend £1.2Million to purchase a trampoline for a school!

Secondly, because the computer vouchers are collectible over a longish period of time, the schools advertise the fact that they are collecting through their newsletters. Parents are thus motivated to ask for vouchers at the checkout and kids hassle their parents for their weekly contributions. Some schools even organise competitions to see which class can collect the most. Hence, yet again, there is a motivation to shop at Tesco rather than the competition.

Thirdly, when the vouchers are collected and the school collects the computer (s) they are often featured in the local press, gaining further beneficial publicity.

Forth, the vouchers as a means of driving loyalty are ridiculously cheap. They do not incur a cost until cashed in, so there are millions floating around which will never be used, but at one voucher per £5 or £10 spent, the value of shopping purchased to buy a computer is in excess of £100,000 – more if you include the un-cashed vouchers. To top this, the computers offered are purchased by Tesco at wholesale rates – probably about £295 or less for a standard machine.

When you add this lot together, you get a PR and loyalty coup which has benefits stretching over the months it runs. Its true synergistic value is that it is of greater value to Tesco than the sum of any of the parts.


Best wishes

Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions