his is a promotion with a difference. When CyberMedia (India) Ltd, the specialist publisher, launched its advertising bonanza called Extravaganza, it made the advertisers, and not the end consumers, sit up and take notice. The reason was simple. The company's promotion promises a break-away from the normal advertising discount schemes. How does it work? "We are offering a scratch-and-win card to each advertising customer. The advertiser gets some extra value, simply by scratching the card which reveals the special 'extra'," says Pramiti Bhargava, product manager, CyberMedia.

Though similar schemes have been tried earlier in the consumer durables space, Bhargava believes that they have not been attempted before for advertisers in print in India. The scheme promises prizes worth Rs 50 lakh with gifts ranging from advertising discounts, advertising space in various group publications and media space. "With the promotion we have looked at the advertiser as a simple consumer, subject to normal marketing rules," adds Bhargava. The scheme applies to Dataquest, PCQuest, Living Digital and Voice&Data....; more