How Not to Run an Online Promotion - Dunkin' Donuts-Style

Even the big guys miss the mark sometimes when setting up online promotions. Lesson learned? Always make sure you take into account what could happen if the promotion is HUGELY successful - keeping in mind how your promotion will affect the end-user. After all, it's their satisfaction that will keep them coming back for more!

How Not to Run an Online Promotion - Dunkin Donuts-Style

It is as instructive to look at how not to run a social media campaign as it is to study successful ones. The latest object lesson comes from Dunkin’ Donuts, which was promoting its free iced coffee day - a promotion that, done correctly, should have generated plenty of positive feedback from fans.

Instead, the Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook wall was inundated with fans complaints who felt misled by the national promotion only to find that the offer was good at a few select locations, writes Inquisitr (via MarketingVOX). And even in those locations, some freebies were not available.

As one (former) fan wrote: “No free iced coffee in MA??? Are you kidding me? I just sent my mom to DD for the free iced coffee.” And another: “What happened to free iced coffee day? You advertised and everything…. you LIED.”

While the ad did clearly state, “In Participating Markets,” and the markets were listed, it was run nationally.

Reminiscent of Oprah Chicken

The campaign is similar to one that took place a year ago, though the Dunkin’ Donuts promotion was of a much smaller scale. Last May, Kentucky Fried Chicken partnered with Oprah Winfrey in a chicken giveaway that resulted in long lines and angry, turned-away customers.

KFC coupons were announced on Oprah’s talk show. Consumers could go to the KFC grilled chicken website to download a coupon for a free, two-piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal. But the combination of Oprah and free food proved to be too much for the website, which became overwhelmed by downloads, just as restaurants became overwhelmed by visitors and began turning them away - without their free chicken.

Source: MediaBuyerPlanner.com

Social Network Ad Spending to Approach $1.7 Billion This Year

Social network advertising is getting renewed attention in 2010. The US’s gradual economic recovery, combined with marketers’ incessant focus on reaching consumers in social media, has led companies to make big increases in social network ad spending in the first half of 2010.

eMarketer estimates US advertisers will spend $1.68 billion on social networking sites this year, a more than 20% increase over 2009. Spending will rise even further by 2011 to more than $2 billion.

In December 2009, eMarketer forecast $1.3 billion in social network ad spending for 2010. Strong performance from online ad spending in general, and Facebook in particular, has resulted in the increased forecast.

Facebook will receive half of all social network ad spending in the US while MySpace continues to diminish in importance. Twitter, which finally launched its ad business earlier this year, is incorporated into eMarketer’s forecast for the first time. While spending on the microblogging service will be low in 2010, the potential for 2011 and beyond could be dramatic if it proves that its “resonance” model of measuring advertising effectiveness works.

Spending on social network advertising will grow even more quickly elsewhere in the world. In 2010, eMarketer estimates just over half of social network ad spending worldwide will come from the US, but 2011 will bring a reversal in that proportion.

Another important development in the social network space is the role of online social games and applications. Advertising is not a primary revenue stream for game companies such as Zynga or Playdom, but their large audiences are drawing the interest of marketers. eMarketer expects such companies will attract $293 million in spending worldwide in 2011, up from $220 million in 2010.