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Brandmovers recently worked with a leading beverage company and quick service restaurant to develop a sweepstakes that would reward consumers for scanning QR codes on their soft drink cups.

By scanning the QR code, users were taken to a mobile-optimized landing page where they could enter to find out if they are an instant winner. Prizes ranged from a year’s worth of beverage/food products to a trip to Las Vegas.

Entry rates for this sweepstakes were high, a result of connecting with the consumer at a moment when competing distractions are low and they are in-store, interacting with the brands.

To engage online audiences and maximize buzz around this campaign, Brandmovers developed a social media component that allowed users to share the sweepstakes with their Facebook friends and Twitter followers to get additional codes, and more chances to win prizes.

The promotion exceeded pre-launch expectations in terms of sweepstakes entrants and social media mentions. This can be attributed to the ease of entry on the mobile site, the consumer context when presented with a call to action, the prizing incentive, and the social sharing mechanic. The result was an on-brand promotion that engaged relevant audiences in both in-store and online channels.

To learn more about this promotion check out this article from Mobile Marketer.

In today’s day and age, it should come as no surprise that effective digital marketing initiatives deliver excellent value back to businesses. A strong online presence is an investment that can impact an organization in a variety of ways.

As a branding tool, few other mediums offer the flexibility and responsiveness of the web, which can be refreshed instantaneously to reflect new promotions and embrace user-generated contributions. The phrase “your brand consists of your customers” has never been truer.

Beyond brand equity, effective digital marketing translates to tangible business impacts in the form of sales growth. Social media and email integration allow companies to penetrate a customer’s online repertoire, and a well built website facilitates and encourages online purchases.

The web has also allowed companies to improve the customer service experience. The public nature of company updates and responses on social networks allows companies to show a responsive and caring attitude toward customer questions and qualms. This results in more resolved complaints and a cut in support costs, as online help desks free up bandwidth and expenses previously dedicated to telephone customer service.

A strong digital strategy also permits businesses to reallocate their marketing budgets to more efficient channels, resulting in more effective media buys. The metrics available to tie business performance back to specific digital initiatives result in a more transparent and true assessment of marketing impact.

Lastly, a web presence that inspires and gives people a place to express themselves can result in a breadth of consumer insights. This amounts to a truer form of market research, as opposed to traditional survey research, as analysis is based on organic user contributions.

See the chart above for stats collected by the Boston Consulting group, which recently surveyed marketing executives at over 30 corporations across Europe, Asia, Latin America and the US, researching the benefits of effective digital marketing across the areas of (1) Brand Equity (2) Sales (3) Customer Service (4) Media Buys and (5) Consumer insights.

Sources: Forrester Research, BCG Interviews, BCG Case Work, BCG Analysis