Pigsback.com, the internet-based consumer loyalty scheme operator, is beefing up its marketing spend with a major cross-media campaign due to launch shortly. The Dublin-based company has set itself a target to have 30,000 additional active members using its site by the end of the year.
The €100,000 campaign – the biggest in the past 18 months for the company – will include radio and TV ads, a one-month in-store promotion at 216 Xtra-Vision outlets as well as a direct mail promotion to one million homes in the Republic in addition to some guerrilla marketing activity.
Pigsback.com decided to invest further in TV spending this autumn having had three previous TV campaigns over the past year. The new campaign will focus on a limited and exclusive offer by CDWow! which offers chart CDs for €12.99 delivered free, on Pigsback.com running from next month.
Gareth Lambe, marketing director with Pigsback.com, said: “In the past, our advertising has always been master brand-led, promoting the name Pigsback.com. This is the first time we’re leading with a specific offer, because we feel it’s a very strong offer.”
The company hopes its latest campaign can help it to achieve an active member base of 220,000 members by year-end. It currently has more than 190,000 active members – that is, those who use the site regularly. Overall, Pigsback.com actually has 340,000 members but if they have not been active in the past 12 months they are not included on the ‘active’ list, said Lambe.
“More than recruiting new members, it’s getting an active database that’s important,” Lambe told siliconrepublic.com. He estimated that the Pigsback.com brand name is now well established among internet users in Ireland, so the challenge now is having large numbers of users visit the site and interact with the companies whose offers and promotions are featured. “We also want to target some members who are in danger of becoming inactive,” Lambe added.
Pigsback.com, which employs 32 people between Dublin and London, operates on a principle it calls ’empathy marketing’. This approach requires a consumer’s consent to interact with companies and brands. Based on their chosen areas of interest, Pigsback.com members receive information and special offers from a range of suppliers. “We’ve never talked about page impressions or hits on our site,” said Lambe. “What brands pay us for is interactions with unique individuals. Our members know that they’re coming to the site to be marketed to … with us, they’re buying things, entering competitions or printing money-off coupons. There’s a high value to those members.”
By Gordon Smith
