Valassis hosts Scanning Ahead conference

Valassis has hosted its Scanning Ahead conference to address promotional effectiveness at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, London.

Topics included new consumer insights and a technology showcase session.

The speakers included several guiding lights in sales promotion.

Clive Mishon, Chairman of the Institute of Sales Promotion (ISP), spoke about the increasingly important role that the sales promotion discipline has to play in marketers' budgets and outlined the ISP's plan to address misredemption, a growing and significant issue that has afflicted marketers over the last decade.

John Kearon of BrainJuicer market research recently unearthed new insights for Valassis on how consumers feel and behave towards promotions.

If marketers are to take a fresh look at how they invest their promotional funds then new consumer insights must be at the heart of change.

In the afternoon session three young companies explained how new technologies are lining up to make changes to the traditional world of promotions.

First Ondemand addressed the growing importance of security in a world increasingly invaded by digital fraud.

i-movo made the case for mobile devices being a transformational tool for the distribution and elegant redemption of offers.

Couponstar, which had led the way so far in online coupons in the UK, talked about how it sees the web as an effective way for marketers to reach consumers with online coupons.

With the majority of direct-to-consumer offers being distributed by the Royal Mail, Caroline Forbes revealed some new innovations that show that in the here-and-now there is great scope for doing things out of the ordinary to engage and activate consumers.

Charles D'Oyly, Managing Director of Valassis, outlined how he sees Valassis helping transform the promotional effectiveness for its clients.

He announced a new award for the most commercially effective promotion that will become part of the ISP's annual award ceremony from 2008.

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