Kidstuff has to its credit some innovative Net promos - like the MCC or `mystery consumer contest' - it did for Indya.com at the time of its launch to create awareness at ground level.

Other kinds of promotional activity popular in the West includes couponing in papers and sweepstakes. However, in India, options such as sweepstakes still remain under a cloud as they are clubbed under gambling, and are banned legally.

Promotions as a whole are a developing market in India. They have come a long way since the time they were limited to sampling and discounts, with promos today exploiting marketing tools like contests, redemptions, brand extension management, product launches, in school/college programmes and events to create ground level interest among consumers.

While globally, for every dollar spent on advertising, $14 are spent on ground-level promotions, in India, till recently companies spent 80 per cent of their communication budgets on advertising, 15 per cent on trade and a negligible five per cent on promos. The ratio now has gone up to 60:40, with many corporates like HLL, SmithKline Beecham, Discovery Channel now having a separate budget for promos, as large as their advertising budget. While advertising is necessary to disseminate information, promos are essential ground level activity that help cut through the clutter and reach the consumer directly, says Rohini Jog, GM, business development.

Results can also be quantified easily, which is not possible in advertising, making promos the most cost-effective method of reaching large audiences, with minimal of waste.

What makes a good promo tick is the level of excitement it can generate, says Wadhwa. Also simplicity. ``Mere price-offs are not enough. The offer should also be kept as simple as possible,'' says Wadhwa, citing the example of the `Britannia khao, World Cup Jao' contest, which incidentally won Kidstuff a merit award at the Chicago Promo Expo. Sales registered a 20 per cent increase between February-April 1999, which worked out to a Rs 260 crore growth on an investment of Rs 20 crore, which made it a cost- effective promotion.

The most successful promos result from a `right fit' and understanding. In its absence, a great idea can backfire. So all those schemes that promise a gift or a price off at the end of a long list of cutting coupons, posting them or redeeming them at a particular point are a strict no-no. The simpler the offer the more successful the promo.

In India, though agencies like Mudra and O&M have set up separate cells for event and promo marketing, the market is largely unorganised with the number of national players limited to 10 odd players like Reach, Encompass, Wizcraft and Solutions. In an effort to give some legitimacy to the unorganised promotions and events industry in India, Kidstuff is organising Promo Power 2000, the first conference on promotional marketing in the country. The two-day event, to be held in New Delhi on August 10-11, will include presentations by big names in the field, including Betsy Spethmann, senior editor, Promo magazine, US and Marcus Starke, CEO, 141, the fastest growing through-the-line marketing services company in Europe.

Kidstuff, in a span of five years, has registered a turnover of Rs 8.5 crore, marking an 80 per cent growth. This year it is targeting Rs 12 crore and Rs 25 crore by 2001. It has 67 clients, of which five - SmithKline Beecham, Indya, HLL, Britannia and Discovery Channel - are AOR clients.

Its successful campaigns include Britannia World Cup and cricketer campaigns, the Sunsilk Cosmo show, Baush & Lomb school contact lens programme, Crush Orange launch, Opel Treasure Hunt and Aquafresh sampling. The on-going Sunsilk Ambassador programme is also an ambitious five-year exercise, where 5,000 beauty parlours across 23 cities will be upgraded in an effort to develop brand loyalty and goodwill for the brand.