How scratch card promotions can excite and engage your customers
Tap into the power of scratch card promotions
There’s something irresistible about a scratch card and it’s all down to our psychology. In this post we share what makes scratch card promotions so compelling and offer tips for incorporating them into your marketing, whatever the nature of your campaign.
Our emotions are triggered
Scratch card promotions pull on our emotions. Once you’ve got one in your hands it’s hard to resist the curiosity, the need to scratch and find out what’s under the panel. So you’re drawn into play, and get a kick out of the suspense while waiting to read what you’ve won. The whole experience of playing a scratch card is a positive one – especially if you win.
Everyone hates FOMO (fear of missing out)… even though our brains tell us it’s unlikely we’ll be the big winner, there’s always that ‘what if…’ which means we just have to scratch!
It’s interactive
Print media beats digital for interactivity because of its tangible nature, it has a more personal connection. However, printed scratch card promotions go one step further, they require more than being held and read, they need interaction. They need to be scratched.
Those vital seconds of scratching, blended with the suspense and fun of not knowing what you’ll win, make scratch and win promotions a sticky piece of your marketing collateral. Scratch cards are perfect for well-targeted direct mail campaigns, deepening the interaction your leads have with the brand and offer you are sharing.
Everyone likes to win
If you run an ‘every card wins’ campaign your target will receive something every time they play. Feeling as though they’ve won, even if it’s a small discount or freebie, provides positive reinforcement to your brand.
Everyone likes something for nothing, so associating this goodwill with your brand is a win for you as well as them. You can boost this positive effect by offering your targets the opportunity to share scratch card promotions cards with friends – gaining further leads in the process.
Fun
Playfulness is a winner when it comes to getting people on board with your brand and message. The gaming element of scratch card promotions appeals to our playful natures. As Mary Poppins says, ‘a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, in the most delightful way.’
Aligning your campaign message and prizes to the fun of a scratch card format maximises the positive associations your targets will make with your brand when they play – so keep it visual, light-touch and playful.
It’s instant
Scratching off a card is something you can do straight away. We are psychologically hardwired to like instant gratification – we are less likely to commit to an action after a period of inactivity. The immediacy of scratch cards makes them perfect for point of sale campaigns: customers can scratch their card while you process their order or their goods.
Their win will either entice them to buy more, collect a freebie or return for another sale, depending on what you’ve offered, but the marketing work is done and you’ve been able to strike while the iron’s hot.
Disruption
Guerilla marketing campaigns rely on the element of surprise, and scratch cards can be a great tactic for dishing up the unexpected. Whether it’s offering a scratch card as people enter a store, a street campaign or in a direct mailing, scratch cards are unusual enough for people to be surprised. And surprise is sticky: you’ve got their attention.
So whatever style of campaign you’re planning, scratch card promotions can help you tap into these positive psychological associations and make a bigger impact. Whether you’re looking to boost sales, build your audience or create better brand awareness, there’s a way of making scratch and win promotions work for you.
