You'd have to be living under a rock to be an Aussie and not have heard of the Coles Little Shop promotion. This amazing collectible product range is outrageously popular with kids, so much so that organised swap meets have attracted thousands of attendees. But what exactly are these promotional mini goods, and how can other businesses use the success of their promotion to inspire their own marketing campaigns? Today we find out!

Fully Customised Promotional Collectibles

The Coles Little Shop range is not the first popular supermarket freebie, Woolworths have been giving away collectible cards and stickers in promotions over the last couple of years. However, what sets the Coles Little Shop items apart is that they're cute little collectible versions of actual logo branded products that grown-ups shop for in store! Kids across the country have been excitedly trying to get their parents to spend the golden $30 amount at the checkout that guarantees one free collectible. Needless to say, the campaign (which runs until August 28th) is being considered a resounding success. So what makes these funky, unique promotional goodies even more successful than collector cards or discs?

Why These Mini Promotional Items Work

• The Little Shop items are made to look like actual, real-world products complete with instantly recognisable logo branding (like Vegemite, Nutella, or Milo).
• The little customised products are an ideal size for use with other toys or in doll houses/playshops/etc. This means kids are using the items not just as collectibles, but as fun gateways to imaginative play.
• Additional accessories that you can purchase including a "little shop" to play in and a collectible case.
• They're limited editions -- the campaign only runs from July until August 2018, so there's a sense of urgency about collecting them. Coles also added some ultra-rare goodies to the mix (their advertising "red hands" that come with a gift voucher) so that unwrapping every new mini would be exciting and driven by a sense of need.
• They come free with a reasonable purchase. Coles have smartly not gone for a low dollar value of sayevery $10 or $20 purchase, nor have they gone too high and offered them with every $50 purchase. The free item with every $30 spent is ideal as it sits as a fair amount that parents could reasonably spend. They're also not limited to particular purchases, just whatever you buy up to $30 in value? That's a free mini!

How You Can Craft a Unique Marketing Campaign

One of the main reasons these cute little promotional minis work is because they're unlike anything else available. Coles have thought of something completely out of the box and made it happen, rather than relying on existing products and campaigns as reference points. So how can you take that on board and make your own giveaway or promotional campaign a success?

1. Understand that anything is possible. Totally unique products custom made and branded to suit your campaign? We can do those! Just contact our sales team to get an idea of costs based on your dream products and branding.
2. Ensure your campaign is related to your business and what you do. If you're a law firm, then mini supermarket goods won't be relevant to your market, but perhaps some high-value corporate gifts with stylish engraving might help high-end clients remember you. At the core of every marketing campaign, with or without promotional products, is what you do and how you want to be seen.
3. Don't make the terms to receive the goodies unreasonable. If you're only giving away an item worth 50 cents, don't make it the prize for when you spend $50,000! Keep it in perspective and understand the value clients place on your goods or services before building your campaign.
4. If you're feeling uncertain about anything, ask the professionals here at Cubic Promote for some guidance. Our sales team have decades of experience helping to tailor custom product campaigns and are always willing to chat things through with you.

You can see details of the Coles Little Shop campaign here: https://coleslittleshop.com.au/