PCH Launches TV Campaign, Ups Site Traffic


Publishers Clearing House (PCH) will launch a television campaign for its forthcoming campaign, "The Dream Life," giving away $2 million immediately, plus $10,000 monthly for life, and a Lincoln MKZ.

Television spots increase organic traffic to PCH Web sites, about four and five times the normal rate. About 57% of the traffic to sites originates from desktop computers, compared with nearly 35% from smartphones and 8% from tablets, per Google Analytics.

Search engine queries, buzz on social sites and the responsiveness of the email promotions also rise, explains Todd Sloane, SR VP of creative at PCH. "You can view these promotions as an advertising expense for the company," he said. "Rather than buy a commercial for $3 million or $4 million, we choose to give away prizes."

The PCH brand has become synonymous with the sweepstake promotion, differentiating the company from others. The business model keeps PCH private and profitable. The January TV campaign drove 125 million entrees. Sloane expects similar numbers from this one.

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Danielle Lam, PCH Prize Patrol and senior manager of promotional development, said the TV spot will air May 5-16, but the campaign runs through June 23, with the prizes awarded on June 30.

As consumers jump from one device to another consuming media, the engagement and behavior patterns change with age and demographics. "Our goal is to deliver the same experiences regardless of where consumers choose to interact with PCH," said Mark Cullinane, VP and GM of digital at PCH.

PCH also looks for new registrants for each TV advertisement and current members to become more engaged with the content on the network of sites. For each TV ad, about 40% of signups are new and 60% repeat.

Those new registrants drive up advertising on PCH's sites. Traffic also spikes on advertisers' sites. Cullinane said when television commercials run, the company sees an increase in video game ads that help to drive downloads.

The ads also tend to attract older females drawn to online ads from consumer packaged goods, lotteries, pets, and health care. These are categories that advertisers find effective, per Cullinane.

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