Block Woos Early Filers, Eschews Super Bowl

H&R Block is running its first-ever instant-win game to woo early-season clients with a chance to doubles their tax refunds.

The Double Your Refund game gets heavy media support, but no Super Bowl air-time: The Feb. 6 game is too late for Block's early-season strategy this year. Block ran spots starring Willie Nelson during Super Bowl in 2003 and 2004.

Block's instant-win game runs through February at Block's 11,000 locations and online. Customers get a scratch-off game piece when they visit a Block office (or a virtual game piece online). One hundred winners each get a cash prize equal to their 2004 federal tax refund — at least $1,000 and no more than $10,000.

“One strategic issue for us was to make sure to capture early-season clients — those who are pretty sure they're going to get a refund, so they come in early,” says Anne Rauth, Block manager of promotions. The early deadline creates a sense of urgency and drives word of mouth.

A bigger prize pool also builds excitement. Secondary prizes include a Motown CD sampler (200,000 winners); reimbursement of tax preparation fees (500 winners); and cash, ranging from $20 (500 winners) to $5 (31,500 winners).

A second-chance drawing will award $10,000 and any unclaimed high-level prizes from the game. Players go online to enter a code from non-winning game pieces; the codes also let Block track fulfillment and security. Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis, handles the campaign for Kansas City, MO-based Block.

The game is designed to foster interaction across the desk: Game pieces are on the envelopes in which tax preparers return clients' paperwork. That way “it's the tax pro and the client that are interacting,” Rauth says, which is especially important because about half of Block's locations are franchised. (Past sweepstakes were executed nationally.) About 90% of Block's business comes through retail outlets; about 10% is online.

TV, radio, online and direct-mail support broke mid-January and runs through February. Block won't repeat its 2003 tie-in with CBS, which piggy-backed Block's “Just Plain Smart” tagline with a “Just Plain Funny” sweeps that asked viewers to identify show clips to enter a drawing at cbs.com. The tie-in was an added value to Block's media buy that “created some incremental awareness for Block, but drove business to cbs.com and not to Block,” says Tom Tessman, Campbell Mithun director of promotion marketing. “This year's campaign is a direct traffic-driver for Block.”

The bulk of Block's business comes in its fiscal fourth quarter, February through April. Block served 21.6 million consumers in fiscal 2004 via its 11,000 retail offices, software and online services.