The concept of Gift with Purchase (GWP) in marketing is that brands offer customers a free gift when they buy a specific product or reach a spending target. The gifts are usually designed to add value to consumer’s purchases. For example, “free skincare kit with any $500 purchase”.
GWP are important because they help brands achieve several marketing objectives such as increasing sales, attracting new customers (and keeping existing ones), boosting brand awareness and visibility, building customer loyalty, and clearing out inventory. Businesses often use this strategy, with tags such as ” limited time offer” to create a sense of exclusivity and urgency to prompt customers to take advantage of these offers as soon as possible.
Leveraging on GWP for Brand Awareness and Visibility: What Does this Mean?
Brand awareness is a marketing term that describes how recognizable a brand’s name, product, and logo is among consumers. You can improve your brand awareness by leveraging GWP promotions as a business owner.
But how?
Leveraging GWP for your brand awareness simply entails using the promotional strategy of offering gifts with a purchase to make your brand more familiar with customers and become more present in their minds. For instance, when customers receive a gift that bears your logo after making a purchase, they unconsciously associate your brand with positivity, they’re constantly reminded of your brand when they use this gift, and will most likely share the good news with others. This will further spread the word about your brand and expand your brand’s reach.
Understanding Brand Awareness and Visibility
Brand awareness and brand visibility are two separate issues yet closely related.
Brand awareness describes a brand’s level of familiarity among its target audience. It refers to how recognizable and memorable a brand is to consumers and whether they can associate it correctly with its product or service. This is crucial because research shows that consumers are 2.5 times more likely to choose brands they recognize over those they don’t.
On the other hand, brand visibility is about how often a brand can connect with its target audience. This includes how frequently a brand is seen in stores and online. For example, a brand that publishes branded content twice every week will be more visible than one that only shows up once a month.
While both concepts have slightly different meanings, their purpose is similar – to boost sales, drive consumer choice, and build trust.
How to Leverage GWP to Increase Brand Awareness
Whatever GWP approach you choose to follow will depend on your marketing objectives. For instance, if your goal is to increase your brand awareness, an instant win campaign could be the best choice.
Follow these four simple strategies to make your campaign successful regardless of your objectives.
● Clearly Define the Terms
The first rule is to ensure the campaign’s rules and requirements are easy to understand. Shoppers must know what gift they’re getting, the requirement for eligibility, and how long it will last.
● Choose Relevant Gifts
Your gift must appeal to the needs and preferences of your customers or target audience for them to even consider making a purchase. It must be relevant, valuable, and complementary to the primary product. So when planning, choose gifts that are likely to achieve results.
● Promote the GWP campaign
Marketing is important for any campaign. You need to spread the word about your campaign or no one will know. Share the promotion on social media, email newsletters, and in-store promotions. The more people know about it the higher the chances of increasing brand awareness.
● Analyze Result
At the end of your GWP campaign, follow up on feedback gotten during the campaign, and analyze performance. Evaluate the impact of sales, engagement, and visibility. Then use this data to plan future promotions.
How to Measure Brand Awareness and Visibility
Measuring your brand awareness and visibility is crucial to understanding the effectiveness of your GWP campaign. Let’s discuss three metrics that will help you measure them:
- Surveys and Polls: One of the best ways to measure your brand awareness and visibility is to get it directly from your customers. Organize polls and surveys to hear from your customers about their awareness of your brand. Ask questions to know what they want, how they react to your brand, and their general perception of your brand. Gathering these data will help you create more successful campaigns which, in turn, means more customer engagement, and ultimately, more sales.
- Social Media Metrics: Social media platforms are communities of real people. People gather on these platforms to share ideas, give advice, talk about their experiences, and much more. Studying the likes, comments, shares, and mentions helps you gauge how well your brand resonates with your audience.
- Website and In-Store Traffic: Analyzing website and in-store traffic is crucial to the success of any GWP campaign. When you understand how your visitors (either on your website or in-store) engage with your brand, you can better tailor your content, displays, and experience to improve engagement and drive sales. You can track page views and time spent on-site. A rise in these metrics indicates higher brand awareness and visibility.
How to Fix Lack of Brand Awareness
Having no brand awareness can hinder the fast growth of your brand. So if you want to capture a significant customer base, here are some realistic, yet easy strategies you can implement to improve your brand awareness:
● Build a Recognizable Brand
How can you measure your brand awareness if your brand isn’t easily recognizable by your consumers? This is where the branding comes in! Building a brand with a clear idea of what it represents is important for the success of any business. Customers should also know what your brand looks and even sounds like.
● Collaborate with Influencers
Collaborating with influencers helps your brand reach and engage with more audiences you may not have otherwise been able to. According to a 2020 study, over 60 % of consumers under 40 years have at some point been influenced in their purchasing decision-making by influencers. This collaboration can help raise your brand awareness and exposure.
● Contribute to your Community
A rather unconventional step to take is to take your brand-building offline. You can build your brand awareness by engaging with your community by sponsoring events, offering donations, and organizing workshops and seminars. This brings positivity around your brand and makes your brand more recognizable in your community.
● Enhance Your Marketing Efforts
A brand is only as successful as its marketing efforts. Invest in digital marketing, create shareable content, run contests, and offer valuable gifts. These strategies improve your visibility and help you reach a broader audience.
Examples of Brands Leveraging on GWP
Several brands have successfully used the GWP strategy to improve their awareness and visibility. For instance:
● Cointreau’s & Aperol’s Gift with Purchase
These premium spirit brands collaborated to conduct a successful Gift with Purchase campaign. Upon purchase of a bottle of designated bottles from either brand, customers were eligible to get a free branded glass or a cocktail recipe book.
Success Factors: The gifts complemented the main product, added value, and made customers feel special. The in-store display was eye-catching.
● Carolina Herrera’s Social Media Campaigns and Gifts With Purchase
In this campaign, Carolina Herrera used the power of GWP with vibrant pop-ups. The fashion and fragrance brand gave shoppers a memorable GWP experience while offering them special such as stylish cosmetic bags upon purchase of her latest fragrance lines.
Success Factors: This was a masterclass in retailtainment — entertaining customers as they shop. The engaging experience will make customers feel more connected to the brand. The brand leveraged social media platforms to boost its reach. Finally, the gifts were special!
How Can UCT (Asia) Help?
At UCT (Asia), we specialize in helping brands plan and execute effective GWP campaigns. With our rich expertise in premium promotional products and marketing campaigns, UCT (Asia) can help you select the perfect gifts that resonate with your target market. We can provide customized solutions with your branding.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you create amazing GWP campaigns and offer exclusive promotional gifts that will leave a lasting impression.
