In The Spotlight – Nick Deyong, NDL

The NDL Group offers media owners, global brands and their agencies the technology, content and expert support services that drive their promotions and incentive programmes. The company was formed by award-winning entrepreneur Nick Deyong in 1997, who identified a gap in the market for an agency specialised in creating the ‘winners’ experience’.

Today, NDL can be found behind the scenes supporting some of Europe’s biggest and best-known promotional campaigns.  With clients as diverse as Global Radio, McDonald’s, TomTom, XBOX and Camelot, the company has built a firm reputation for delivering successful promotional strategies, underpinned by reliable technology platforms, inspirational prize content and 5 star winner fulfilment.

“The key to delivering a successful prize promotion is to offer the opportunity to make someone very happy and associate it with a brand.  But the whole process has to be slick.  Both the entry and winning experience need to be 100% perfect, so that the values of the brand permeate through to everyone touched along the way,” Nick explains.

Promotional platform expertise

This obsession with perfect delivery goes to the core of NDL’s approach, with 100% compliant technology platforms at the heart of almost every strategic proposal.  In-house systems experts build bespoke technology solutions for a range of clients, using NDL’s proprietary software, Promotigo™.

Owning their own technology solution enables NDL to build promotional platforms, deliver original prize content and fulfil winner experiences for campaigns involving hundreds of thousands of participants, often across multiple territories simultaneously.

“Most of our clients are experienced in running great promotions and they know what will get their audience’s attention, but they don’t have the in-depth expertise or in-house resource required to fulfil the campaign, especially when it’s on a global scale,” says Nick. “They often come to us with a flawless concept and then ask: “So, how do we do that?” We love that kind of challenge – we’re good at figuring out the detail and making it all happen.”

This more complex side of promotional marketing can include unique code creation and validation, bespoke promotional apps and games, plus additional support helping clients tie in their social media and email marketing campaigns to broaden the reach of their initiative.

NDL also offers its clients peace of mind, knowing their promotion is 100% compliant and legal, with local endorsement from experts in each territory.  Their overall goal is to deliver a smooth and positive experience to all who engage with the campaign, as an entrant or a winner.

Prize & experience design and fulfilment

With the rising trend towards experience-based prizes, The NDL Group acquired the travel experience brand Unmissable® in 2011, taking on the enviable task of designing and delivering money-can’t-buy experiences for top tier promotion winners.

In April this year, the NDL team created Unmissable® Dream Holidays to support McDonald’s in its 11th year of MONOPOLY Prize Choice, the largest promotion of its kind in the UK, with 55 million prizes up for grabs.

Consumer research led by The Marketing Store showed that McDonald’s customers cherished life experiences over material possessions.  In a competitive pitch, NDL’s Unmissable® holiday experiences really hit the brief. Winners took unbelievable trips to Thailand, California and New Zealand, with a choice of incredible things to do and see in each location: from jungle tours, to helicopter rides and unique dining experiences.

“We regularly run prize winner insight, and right now it confirms that experience-based prizes are more appealing to people than cash or merchandise.  We also know that millennials want adventure while young families tend to want easy and fun all-inclusive holidays, to maximise quality time together.

“Our job is to make sure every aspect of the prize content is targeted to appeal to the defined audience. That’s the best way to build brand advocates who will go on to become lifetime customers and a brand’s biggest fans.  Their influence among other potential consumers is huge, so both the prize and the delivery need to be faultless in every respect.”

These high standards are what set The NDL Group apart. Their ‘winner first’ philosophy, and ability to deliver all aspects of the promotion, from campaign planning to technology to physical prize delivery, means they can take the headache out of running regular prize promotions.

“When you truly believe in what you do it makes all the difference to a client,” added Nick.  “You care that they have got their strategy right; you care that they are going to achieve their commercial objectives; you care that they are legally compliant and you care about their customers and giving them the time of their lives.  Nothing short of 100% will do.”

www.ndlgroup.com