CLEAN SWEEP IN LITTLE LEAGUE WORLD SERIES

As the exclusive laundry products sponsor of Little League Baseball, Sun Products Corp.'s All and Snuggle brands sought to deliver the message, "Strike out Stains" at the 2013 Little League World Series, held in Williamsport, PA, in August. The series draws about 400,000 people each summer.
            
The two brands hosted a Fan Fun Zone, a booth where players and their families could play games, win prizes and help raise money for the Little League Challenger division, which enables boys and girls with physical and mental challenges to participate in the sport. Snuggle Bear, the Snuggle brand mascot, also made guest appearances in the booth.

Sun Product's distributor partner came up with creative promotional product ideas to help drive the brands' message home. They suggested branded laundry bags to promote the laundry products' sponsorship. This was the first year of a multi-year sponsorship for All and Snuggle for the series.
The idea proved to be a home run. The 1,000 branded bags were used to transport all the dirty uniforms of the players, coaches and referees in the World Series, which were laundered daily and returned to the players at their hotels in an eye-catching branded vehicle.

In addition to the bags that carried the teams' clothing, laundry bags were also awarded to winners of games in the Fan Fun Zone. In one game, participants tossed balls of socks into a Strike Out Stains washing machine and, depending how many socks hit the mark, they received either prizes or coupons.

In another version of the game, the makers of All and Snuggle donated $5 for each sock that landed in the washer, raising a total of $5,000 for the Little League Challenger Division. Another game included a ball toss into the laundry bags.

All and Snuggle posted images of the Fan Fun Zone and the Little League World Series on their Facebook pages and tweeted images using #SOSLaundry. In addition, Snuggle gave each of the players in the World Series mini stuffed Snuggle bears.

SERVICE STATION BOOSTS LOYALTY WITH PROMO COINS

        Purr-Fect Auto Services, a gas/service station, is based in an area of Massachusetts with lots of competition for both sides of the business. However, owner Richard Cardano has found that he can keep his customers coming back with great service by giving them a token of his appreciation.

For every $100 that a customer spends in the service bay, they receive a logoed coin worth a 50-cent-per-gallon discount on their next fill-up at the gas station. Roughly seven customers each week receive two to four coins. "It's not unusual for me to pass out 10 or more coins to a single customer," says Cardano.
Customers like the idea – and the savings – as they continue to return for their regular fill-ups. "It gives them a reason to come here rather than a station down the street where gas might be five cents a gallon cheaper," says Cardano. Customers using the coins often fill their tanks – roughly a $40 gas purchase – rather than merely topping off.

Cardano worked with his distributor partner for the best promo item. "After a few exchanges of design ideas, we found the coin design that would work best – and has worked best – for our business," says Cardano, who purchased 1,000 coins. "When we started the program, we got a couple hundred coins out of the box and started giving them to customers," he says. "Since then, the customers – and the coins – keep coming back, so we have not had to get any more from the box in the office."

Those in the auto-service industry, gas stations, quick lubes, car washes, convenience stores and other related venues would benefit by extending a "token of appreciation" to customers – and a reason for them to return in the future. Contact your distributor partner for great ideas and the perfect products to promote your business.