Marketers Rethink Promotions to Accent Value†

Holiday Inn Offers Flight Vouchers, and TiVo Tees Up Freebies, but Figuring Out What Will Resonate With Consumers Isn't Easy

Wall Street Journal, October 24, 2008 — Marketers are working overtime to overhaul their promotions, trying to snag customers who are increasingly in penny-pinching mode.

Holiday Inn recently considered the idea of offering guests a $50 credit they could use to play videogames. Instead, the hotel chain decided to attract travelers with print and online ads that offer a $99 flight voucher.

The ads, part of the "Stay Here, Fly There" campaign, began running last month.