With this lousy economy we certainly have seen marketers turning to “recession” themed campaigns, including a ton of promotions around the idea of providing consumers with some type of financial relief or reward.

This is certainly timely and may give consumers a sense that these companies and their brands are trying to lend a hand in these troubling times or simply be relevant. I’ve seen debit cards like Chase awarding random free purchases, loss of income guarantees from car companies and wireless carriers and a ton of sweepstakes and contests giving away cash to be used to pay off debts, etc.

But I also think some of the most effective promotions out there are those I would consider to be more “fun” or unique promotions. I realize that “fun” is subjective, but if you look at the hundreds of promotions out there that continue to utilize the same old typical “Win cash” sweepstakes, you’ll be able to spot the difference.

And please don’t think I’m just falling for every agency creative director’s spiel to break out of the monotony. However, with all of this gloom and doom being pitched by the media, what could be better than a promotion that makes people smile or catches their attention because it’s different than everything else?

I’ve seen consumer research showing that consumers love to win cash and cars. But, in addition to providing some lighthearted relief in a lousy economy, here are four more reasons, along with current examples, that fun or truly unique promotions, if done correctly, work better vs. using the same old sweeps with cash or cars as prizes:

1. They can reinforce your brand positioning in a way that cash never can. For example, KY Brand Intense Arousal Gel recently had a sweepstakes promotion where you could win a trip to your choice of one of four volcanic hot spots around the world. The promotional marketing certainly does reinforce the positioning “Feel the earth move” in a way you couldn’t with cash.

2. They grab attention and make your brand stand out in the crowd, generating awareness and involvement that could never be created by advertising or public relations alone.

One of the best examples of this recently was the international contest for “The Best Job in the World” from Tourism Queensland to promote the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. About 34,000 online video applications were received from around the world for the position of Caretaker of Hamilton Island which included a $150,000 salary, beautiful living accommodations on the island and required only that the winner swim, explore, relax and blog weekly about their experiences.

The position was recently awarded to a 34 year old Brit. But what was truly amazing was the international media coverage and interest that was generated by the promotion, which carried through all the way from the announcement of the contest itself to the excitement of the final winner selection. They got results, as the CEO of Tourism Queensland stated the promotion had helped inject millions into the industry during a tough economic period and had already achieved approximately $110 million in international publicity with another $20 to $30 million coming. The coverage was incredible on many news outlets around the world. I personally heard this on the national news, local news, the Internet, and in long form feature pieces on NPR.

3. They can help you be highly selective in reaching and speaking to your very specific target audience. Circumvent the professional sweepers out there that are just looking for cash and merchandise (although I personally don’t consider sweepers to be an issue … more on this in future blogs).

A great example of this point is the recent Jeopardy TV show’s “Win a Galapagos Adventure with Alex Trebek” contest. While not meant to be a funny promotion, I must admit, I laughed at first as it seemed almost a bit absurd to me, until I realized that this is the perfect unique promotion for the target group of folks (my mother-in-law included) who love Jeopardy and all of its trivia, facts and tedious tidbits of knowledge. Plus, it’s a watch and win, so you actually have to watch the show each weekday to win. Not a lot of the general pop is going to do that.

4. They help to differentiate your brand by offering something that no other brand can (or has before). Anyone can give away cash, but only Denny’s gives your band free meals while on tour. Denny’s has been doing some great promotional marketing, targeting the young, hungry late night crowd (see http://www.dennysallnighter.com). One current contest is to submit your band to be voted on and adopted by Denny’s so your band can eat for free while on tour, host after parties and so on. Great stuff that captures the target’s attention and keeps them coming back to the website and restaurant for more.

Once I started looking for some of the funniest or most unique promotions out there now, it actually was harder to find them than I thought. Or maybe I’m just a curmudgeon and find that many promotions out there are just more of the same. As you develop your next promotion, I encourage you to think about how to best maximize its potential and make it work as hard as it can for your brand vs. just doing what is safe and easy. And don’t forget to have some fun with it!