Situation
Stine Seed Company wanted to increase the number of sales leads and foot traffic generated at trade shows.
Solution
Stine Seed Company designed a custom-wrapped Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield Polaris Ranger to be given away to a grower on April 1, 2011. The More Than Seed Sweepstakes targeted attendees at the 2010 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa; the Clay County Fair in Iowa; the 2010 Husker Harvest Days in Grand Island, Nebraska; the 2011 Farm Machinery Show in Kentucky, and other county fairs and agricultural trade shows across the Corn Belt and Mid-South regions.
Stine Seed sent a direct mail piece to mid-to-large acre growers, Farm Progress Show and Husker Harvest Days attendees a week before the show. The postcard encouraged growers to stop by Stine Seed’s tent and register to win the Polaris Ranger. Stine Seed also posted live status updates and photos to their Facebook page and Twitter account during the Farm Progress Show to help drive traffic to the tent.
Attendees who visited the tent were given a postcard with a registration number and a tear-away card so Stine’s representatives could track current and prospective clients they met at the show. Attendees were instructed to visit Stine Seed’s website and enter the registration code to enter to win the Polaris. The registration number insured the growers visited the tent, and collected contact information about current and potential clients allowing Stine’s sales team to follow-up after the event. Stine Seed also sent a follow-up thank you e-mail to growers who entered the contest.
Results
The More Than Seed Sweepstakes allowed Stine Seed Company to have three touch points with their target audience: the initial direct mail piece, face time at the tent during the shows and a follow-up e-mail. While the sweepstakes continue through April 2011, preliminary results indicate that about 20 percent of attendees that received registration codes at Stine Seed’s tent signed up online. Google Analytics also indicate that traffic to StineSeed.com is up 27 percent unique page visitors are up 23 percent since the Polaris Ranger promotion began in August 2010.