Churn. If so many of us agency folk hate producing it, then why do the majority of our agencies create it daily? The answer is as simple as it is illuminating:  because it’s easy. Unfortunately for consumers, clients and marketers alike, the majority of agencies today don’t like to do anything that’s hard. Rather than bothering with the strain (both creatively and operationally) of creating a promotion that will deliver original thinking, these agencies opt to create promotions that are expected, but don’t create any sort of marketplace resonance. As a result, the work becomes a waste and the client and the consumer are left wanting more. So, if churn is the norm, do we have to fall victim to it? The answer is no. As an agency that produces innovative promotional programs for our clients, we can attest that it is possible to do anti-churn work without making your head explode. In fact, if agencies begin to follow the five key conditions we describe as “anti-churn” benchmarks below, we know that the existence of churn will finally become a bi-product of the past.

To illustrate the point, let’s examine the conditions we established during our recent Xbox/Xbox 360 promotion for Burger King. Featuring three custom Xbox/Xbox 360 games created by Burger King that highlighted Burger King branded assets and were sold at Burger King restaurants with the purchase of Burger King food, this promotion in essence, is the definition of “anti-churn-work.”

The first condition: Is your client your true partner?

In order to create a successful promotion, clients will have to be as entrepreneurial, dynamic, nimble and creative as their agency. They also have to be supportive and able to finance a project that breaks new ground.

For us, Burger King is all of the above and more. Since their successful turn-around began in 2004, Burger King’s strategy has been to act as the challenger to McDonald's in many key areas including promotions. They “hunger” for new ideas that can leverage their brand and food; and as a result, the Xbox promotion was a perfect fit.

Second condition:  Is your partner willing to shake things up?

Every partner you involve must meet many (if not all) of the criteria outlined in our first condition. Partnerships are only as good as their combined impact and if your partner isn't ready to sign up for a major shake-up, then it's not going to work.

By partnering with Microsoft, we met the second condition with flying colors. As a strong competitor to Sony’s PS2, Microsoft understood the importance of creating a game that would appeal to the gaming community and had no problem shaking things up to meet such demands. In fact, the company was so overwhelmingly committed to attracting this group that it prepared to change its development and distribution processes to take advantage of this unique Burger King promotion. It was an astonishing showing of confidence and an action that sets Microsoft apart from the majority of partners in the marketplace today.

Third condition: Are we fighting for a common goal?

Any promotion is only as good as the other agencies and stakeholders involved. In today’s world of promotional marketing, often times there are many agencies involved. One would think this would breed jealousy or hostility. However, it doesn’t have to. As partners, we should put our clients first and collectively realize that we are all fighting for a common goal.

While Burger King's Xbox/Xbox 360 games were brilliant on their own, without equally strong advertising, public relations, merchandising, interactive, and local campaigns, the program wouldn't have succeeded. Burger King understands the importance of partnership and has created a network of partners including us, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Edelman, Wunderman, VML, Mindshare and others, who rather than compete internally, collectively work together to deliver great results for our client.

Fourth condition: Does your brand deliver a message you can trust?

Consumers need to be trained to accept something different. Even if they want it, they will reject the unfamiliar unless they trust a brand to deliver in a relevant and credible manner.

In Burger King's case, their Super Fans are a relatively young group of cynical consumers who look for flaws and holes in the ever-present marketing onslaught. Video gamers, a subset of the Super Fan group, are much more hardcore in their cynicism. Yet, this group immediately jumped on board with Burger King’s Xbox/Xbox 360 games. Why? Plain and simple: Burger King is an incredibly strong brand; Super Fans trust Burger King to deliver and as a result, they were open to embracing these new games that featured familiar icons: The King, The Subservient Chicken, etc.

Fifth condition: Does your agency take risks?

While all five of these conditions are incredibly important to creating a successful promotional campaign, without the agency (a.k.a. the hub for all activity) the promotion will fall flat. As a result, it falls on the agency’s shoulders to employ leadership that is willing to take measured risks. Although sometimes measured risks don’t pay off, the leadership needs to be able to tolerate smart failures. With such a leadership model, agencies will attract talented and motivated individuals who will conceptualize and deliver promotions that far outshine any page from the “standard” promotional playbook. Thus, churn will fall by the wayside and the agency will produce results for their clients again and again.

The measured risks Burger King and its partners took with the Xbox/Xbox 360 promotion more than paid off. Over 3.2M games were sold, 150M impressions were made (not counting the ongoing brand experience those 3.2M gamers are having), and sales went up in the quarter 40%+.

So, if you're still doing churn, buying churn, or experiencing churn, our advice to you is to take a step back, look at your agency and your partners and try to implement the five conditions detailed above. Trust us, they’re worth the struggle.

About Equity Marketing:

Equity Marketing (EMI) creates social currency for its clients by integrating their brands into popular culture through effective and tangible promotions. EMI specializes in entertainment marketing, offering services in partnership consulting, licensing and sponsorship negotiations, as well as a full compliment of program tactical elements specializing in custom promotional products. EMI is headquartered in Los Angeles and has personnel working out of its client offices in Miami.

Learn what others are saying about the Xbox promotion:

To learn what other people including Georgia Tech University professor Ian Bogost are saying about the Xbox promotion, please click here:

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