Last week, for a fundraiser, my daughter’s school sent home an Entertainment Book for her to sell to friends and family. For those of you that may not know what an Entertainment Book is, try to imagine if you bought a book from Groupon that had all the deals from an entire year printed as coupons.
I must admit that I’ve never been a big fan of the card and coupon Entertainment Book; however, in the age of Groupon, Living Social, Amazon Daily Deals and Google Offers; every Entertainment Book seems, to me, to be destined for a place in the recycle bin — right next to the fresh copy of the yellow pages.
Sure, sales of the book are for a good cause, but I’d like to think that I’m getting something useful for the $35 purchase price. Furthermore, there are the social implications; carrying around a glossy, four-pound book of coupons into a restaurant; doesn’t exactly scream, “Proud supporter of the PTA”.
I looked at the book as my daughter explained all of the prizes she could win for selling an inordinate number of copies. I thought to myself, here is another legacy company that doesn’t get it and who really wants to carry around that book when they go out anyway? How can they ignore the reality of ala carte offers and the convenience of mobile technology? Well, at least that’s what I thought. As it turns out, I was wrong.
Upon visiting the website of Entertainment Promotions, I found a legacy company that does get it and is attempting to adapt. I learned that not only do they now offer a Grouponesque daily deal in 33 locations; they also have apps for your Android or iOS device which allow purchasers of the book to access offers and redeem with their mobile device. So there is good news for all parents of school age children; you can support your kid’s school and still be cool.
The real question is: Have they embraced the mobile age or are they just trying to stay relevant? Only time will tell. At least this traditional print marketer is sprinting towards technology; has your company left the starting blocks?
