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Credit to Walkers crunchy promo’

Posted in Advertising, Media, Marketing, Branwell Johnson, Latest reporters' blogs May 6th, 2009 by Branwell Johnson

Walkers “Do Us a Flavour” promotion certainly hit the savoury spot and motivated more than a million crisp munchers to vote with Builder’s Breakfast carrying off the prize.

The company played a blinder in encouraging interactivity and getting the six people who suggested the shortlisted flavours to leap into action. I know from mad.co.uk web traffic stats that the industry was also interested and read stories about the promotion avidly.

I am prompted to make a couple of observations. I am surprised that 1.2 million entered the competition to suggest a flavour, according to Walkers, but less than that number actually voted for the winner.

Does that mean hundreds of those entrants lost interest once their flavour wasn’t selected and were not engaged enough to at least vote? Did more inventiveness go into setting up the competition to suggest a flavour than the follow-through on voting?

In regards to the prize, its £50K and 1% of net revenue future sales. Sounds great and no-one, least of all a trainee midwife (the winner), is going to turn their nose up at this. But I notice Walkers says “How long the winning flavour sells for cannot be guaranteed and is at Walker’s sole discretion.”

Does that mean Builder’s Breakfast is a limited edition, either in number of bags produced or duration of sale? Do you think the company already has decided on length of availability?

If it proves a massive hit and supplants Cheese & Onion in the nation’s hearts will Walkers keep paying the winner for life or renegotiate with a one-off payment? Can the winner take the flavour elsewhere or set up her own cottage industry if cut loose? Questions, questions…