Pall Corporation Gets Double Digit Sales Growth to Forensic Scientists with Internet Game Campaign

The average online marketing campaign has a shelf life of about a
week. That's why we were interested to hear about an interactive
campaign Pall Corporation (NYSE: PLL) that's been so effective
that it's been running for a year now ... and counting.

We also like the fact that Pall choose to create a game not just
for the sake of adding interactive bells and whistles to their
site, but because it really, truly fit the needs and personality
of their specific demographic. That's good marketing.

CHALLENGE
Although the layperson may not be aware of it, the
molecular biology supply field is highly competitive. Roxanne
Hook, Pall Corporation's Director of Strategic ecommerce
explains, "Distributors carry literally hundreds of thousands of
SKUs." Hook needed a cost-effective way both to inform and to
enthuse forensic scientists, so they would ask their purchasing
departments to order Pall's new products.

CAMPAIGN
Hook called on the services of HSR B-to-B , an agency that
had helped her create online campaigns, such as screen savers, in
the past. Together, the HSR team and Hook invented "Arresting
Evidence" a new interactive game just for forensic scientists.

Why build a game? HSR's Internet Services President Mike Hensley
explains, "The typical demographic is a young person working
their way through post-graduate studies. In many places they're
stuffed into these labs. Their computer really becomes their
lifeline. They gravitate toward it as way of communication and
for a sense of community. They're very enthusiastic about using
the Internet. They're also looking at it as a form of
entertainment." Hook continues, "Their psychographic profile fit
a whodunit game. They're scientists -- they like investigation
and discovery." And because the target audience was forensic
scientists (the kind police use to solve crimes) it seemed
appropriate to make the game a crime-solving event.

The Arresting Evidence game takes at least 20 minutes to play,
and features highly technical details that a non-scientist
probably wouldn't understand. Hensley admits, "I fumble my way
through a lot of it." Players use Pall's forensic products to
view the evidence and solve the murder of a cartoon character.
To encourage players to return, the game randomly changes both
the victim and assailant each time it's played.

Hook used a variety of media to drive traffic to the game on the
Pall site, starting with postal postcard that was mailed to a
snail mail list of approximately 10,000 highly targeted
recipients. She says, "There were only a couple of paragraphs on
it. You don't want to make people look for an action item. It
should be short and sweet." She overprinted extra postcards for
her booth staff to hand out at a forensic science trade show.
She also made sure that Pall's external sales force was aware of
the game so they could personally mention it to clients.

RESULTS
Hook says, "Around the first few months that the game
was functional, we did see up to double digit sales growth." The
game also generated sales leads from top-flight forensic labs,
including the New York Police Department and the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice.

In fact, the game proved so popular that Pall has left it online
for more than a year now. Henley notes, "People are still in the
game every day. It's generated leads throughout the year."

Henley feels the value of B-to-B games like this one go beyond
entertainment. In fact he thinks games can help B-to-B marketers
foster internal collaboration between the decision-makers at
target organizations, and ultimately help make high-ticket sales.
He says, "Games start out as a way of driving people and repeat
site visits; but, they also get people to gather around. They
tell their friends and the guy down the hall about them. It
starts to assist the sales process. On the surface you might say
games seem rather frivolous, but in almost every case they
provide collaboration and product education, as well as
entertainment."

Hook agrees, "Interactivity is good for our marketing. It's true
to say we all need a little break and a little entertainment. If
you can take something technical and make it entertaining, then
you've put yourself at a competitive advantage."