The three-second truth
A shopper decides before the trolley passes. If the offer does not land from the pack in three seconds, nothing written in the terms will rescue it.
Reward × Belief ÷ Friction
A book on the craft of sales promotion · 2026 edition
Almost every good idea has a version that works.
The Shelf is the dark art written down with the lights on: why some promotions move stock and others only move paperwork, and how a no in the meeting becomes a how on the shelf. By Mark Alexander, founder of Bamboo Marketing.
The Five Levers · ch 6Auto
Creative ideas · Part I, The Thinking
The idea comes first. Then we make it run.
Three ideas from the book that decide whether a promotion is met, wanted and believed, long before anyone argues about the prize.
One lead job
Every promotion is hired for one of six jobs: trial, repeat, basket, data, loyalty or fame. One leads. A second rides along only if the reward pays for its ask.
Breakers · Builders · Loaders · Harvesters · Keepers · Headliners
The impossible brief
When a lever is past its stop, the idea needs moving, not killing. An insurer can hold liability. A partner can hold reward. Time can hold a budget.
NO → HOW
Got an idea on the table? Trudy Lite reads it against the Five Levers and returns versions that work. Free, anonymous, instant.
Score your idea
Design · Chapter 14, The New Gatekeepers
Design for four people, in this order
In our experience, retailer visibility is worth more than any brand message, because a message nobody sees does nothing, and the retailer decides what gets seen.
Please the retailer
Visibility, traffic and a reason to back it on the floor.
Support the brand
The job it was hired for and the sentence it will be remembered by, with nothing that cheapens it.
Encourage the shopper
The three seconds, with a reward worth wanting, odds worth believing and friction worth the effort.
Reward the consumer
The person who uses the product, who is not always the person who bought it.
A promotion that pleases only the retailer is a giveaway. A promotion that pleases only the brand never reaches the floor.
Project management · Chapters 15, 16 and 18
Build it like it will run hot
The tools we use so the idea survives and the build gets fixed before launch rather than after.
- 01The one-page briefA brief that needs three pages has usually not decided something. It names the one lead job and the four people it must look after.Chapter 18
- 02The Kill SheetTwelve questions about the promotion as it is built. A yes moves on. A no comes back with a named move, an owner and a cost.Chapter 18
- 03The pre-mortemImagine it has already failed and ask why, in three directions: too few came, too many came, or the wrong ones came.Chapter 18
- 04The rulebookPermits, terms and every condition that matters, moved onto the promotion where the decision is made, and permit numbers in hand before the first ad.Chapter 16
- 05Launch readinessLoad test the engine, stagger the start, cap per day, script the service desk and write the pause plan.Chapter 18
- 06The scoreboardAgree before launch what will be counted and what it is compared with, including the option of running nothing.Chapter 15
The engine · Trevor Services
Bamboo's promotions platform runs the mechanics behind the ideas.
- Competitions mechanics
- Cashback claims
- Receipt validation checks
- Compliance terms & permits
- Fulfilment rewards out
Fixed price. The Kill Sheet, run on your brief before you commit the budget.
Insight · Chapter 18, The Toolbox
The Kill Sheet kills builds, never ideas
Twelve questions to ask of any promotion before it launches. Open a row to see what a no sounds like, and the move that answers it. The sheet is finished when every no has one.
01JobCan three people in the room name the one lead job in the same words?
A no sounds like“It’s for awareness, and trial, and data.”
The movePick one of the six jobs; let a second ride along only if the reward pays for its ask (ch 2). If none is true, ask whether to promote at all (ch 15).
02PersonDo we know who runs the sum: shopper, consumer or payer; Gambler or Accountant?
A no sounds likeThe reward suits the user and the buyer is someone else.
The movePoint the reward at the person deciding; feed both pilots with the Dopamine Sandwich (ch 1, 3).
03Three secondsCan a stranger get the offer from the pack before the trolley passes?
A no sounds likeThe headline needs the terms to make sense.
The moveLead with the reward, cut the words, show the number of prizes instead of saying it (ch 1).
04RewardIs it above the Insult Threshold for this shopper on this trip?
A no sounds likeA two-dollar saving behind a receipt upload.
The moveConcentrate the budget into fewer, better rewards, or borrow one from a partner with spare capacity (ch 4, 7).
05BeliefDoes the shopper think they could get it?
A no sounds likeOne big prize and odds nobody can feel.
The moveMore prizes, shown; a certain small reward under the big one; winners made visible (ch 3, 6).
06FrictionIs every step paid for by the reward?
A no sounds likeSix form fields for a chance at a tote bag.
The moveCut each step the reward cannot carry; where the reward is generous, a step stated up front can fund it (ch 4, 11).
07LiabilityIf it runs hot, do we know the worst case and who pays?
A no sounds like“Hardly anyone will claim.”
The moveSell the risk, or cap it in time or number and say how many are left (ch 7).
08VenueDoes it please the retailer, support the brand, encourage the shopper and reward the consumer?
A no sounds likeThe buyer hears it for the first time in the sell-in.
The moveAsk before you build; give the retailer a reason of its own to put it on the floor (ch 14).
09EngineCan the engine take the peak: entries, validation, payments, calls?
A no sounds likeNobody has tested it at several times the volume expected.
The moveLoad test it, stagger the start, cap per day, script the service desk, write the pause plan (ch 5, this chapter).
10ScoreboardDo we know what would mean it worked, and is the baseline in hand?
A no sounds like“We’ll look at the entries.”
The moveAgree the sell-out measure and the comparison before launch; for a Headliner, the retell and join tests (ch 13, 15).
11RulebookAre permits, terms and every condition that matters where the decision is made?
A no sounds likeThe expiry date lives in clause 14.
The moveMove the condition onto the promotion; lodge, and wait for the permit numbers before the first ad (ch 16).
12NothingWhat would happen if we did not run it?
A no sounds likeNobody in the room knows.
The movePrice the month off, or test it (ch 15).
Take it into your next promotion meeting. The printable one-page Kill Sheet is free: tell us where to send it.
Contact us
Bring us the brief you were told could not be done
Clients come to Bamboo when an idea has been called impossible. Usually there is a version that works. Email Mark at mark@bamboomarketing.com.au, or start with one of these.
Book a promotion pressure-testFixed price, run by Trevor ServicesBook
Score an idea with Trudy LiteFree and anonymous, answers on screenTry
Talk to Bamboo MarketingSales promotions, creative and activations since 2004Visit
Enquiries: mark@bamboomarketing.com.au
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