At this time of year, when marketers bombard customers with cries to choose their brand for holiday shopping ("50% off Holiday Special!" "Gift Cards for the Whole Family!" "Last Chance for Free Shipping - Guaranteed by Christmas!"), it's understandable why some might confuse our holidays - the "holy days" for our families, churches, communities, and societies - as days invented by marketers to buy and sell and make a buck.
And so, it's nice to see marketers who seem to remember that Christmas, Hanukkah, and our other December holidays are meant as times of giving, of gratitude, of love, of humility, of rejoicing in what our Creator has done for us.
In that spirit of giving, MINI Canada extended some holiday cheer to otherwise frazzled shoppers in this recent marketing campaign:
At shopping malls in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, ad agency Taxi 2 tied three-foot red helium balloons announcing "Your Mini Is Here" to all of the MINI Coopers in the parking lot, helping MINI-owners to easily find their vehicles by quickly scanning the lot.
This stunt achieved three things:
(1) It drew attention to the MINI brand. MINI-owner or not, if you shopped at (or drove past) one of those malls on those days, you noticed bright red balloons plastered with the MINI brand, proudly celebrating each MINI.
(2) It honored each current MINI customer. Marketers sometimes spend so much time and energy attracting new customers that they neglect their current customers. MINI flipped that on its head by lending an unexpected helping hand to each current MINI customer at the mall, and rewarding their MINI-ownership.
(3) It brought joy and laughter to all observers. For the MINI-owners, other mall patrons, passers-by, and us watching the video online, this zany surprise relieved the stress of shopping - or of everyday life - with a few laughs and good-natured merriment.
Bravo to MINI. If a company is going to invest marketing dollars on a PR campaign to raise brand awareness and sales, they may as well invest in a campaign that raises people's spirits also.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Advice from an Alzheimer's patient
One of the best pieces of marketing advice I've ever received came from a woman with Alzheimer's disease.
At one point during my college years, I spent a morning volunteering at an Alzheimer's care facility, visiting with the residents. One elderly lady there - we'll call her Lois - was particularly engaging. We chatted for the better part of an hour. She told me (several times) about growing up in the 1940s, about her husband and kids and grandkids, and about a blanket she was knitting.
She asked me, too, about my life - about my family, my college major, and my career plans. Upon hearing that I was a business major and planned to start a marketing career, Lois became very serious and offered me a piece of advice from her experience. She told me, "Pay attention to the details. The details make the difference. The details are what counts."
Of course, it wasn't until much later that I realized that her words were ones of wisdom, not just the babblings of a senile woman.
The details. That final bit of wordsmithing that changes the tone of an email from demanding to friendly. The watchful eye that prevents lapses in continuity during filming. The slight design tweak that makes a package easier to open.
Sending a handwritten note after an introductory meeting with a new client. Providing scented lotion in the ladies' restroom. Walking a visitor to his destination, rather than saying, "down the hall, up the stairs, fifth door on the left."
The university admissions counselor who delivers acceptance packets to local students in person. The auto mechanic who tops off the vehicle's fluids for free while it's in for other maintenance. The barista who signs her name to each customer's to-go cup.
Any organization is expected to perform their core business correctly. Meet the customer's needs, and they will be satisfied. But it is these additional bits of attention and courtesy that turn a satisfied customer into a delighted customer. That turn an average experience into an exceptional one. That turn a casual shopper into a brand evangelist. That turn a good company into a great one.
Pay attention to the details. The details make the difference. The details are what counts.
At one point during my college years, I spent a morning volunteering at an Alzheimer's care facility, visiting with the residents. One elderly lady there - we'll call her Lois - was particularly engaging. We chatted for the better part of an hour. She told me (several times) about growing up in the 1940s, about her husband and kids and grandkids, and about a blanket she was knitting.
She asked me, too, about my life - about my family, my college major, and my career plans. Upon hearing that I was a business major and planned to start a marketing career, Lois became very serious and offered me a piece of advice from her experience. She told me, "Pay attention to the details. The details make the difference. The details are what counts."
Of course, it wasn't until much later that I realized that her words were ones of wisdom, not just the babblings of a senile woman.
The details. That final bit of wordsmithing that changes the tone of an email from demanding to friendly. The watchful eye that prevents lapses in continuity during filming. The slight design tweak that makes a package easier to open.
Sending a handwritten note after an introductory meeting with a new client. Providing scented lotion in the ladies' restroom. Walking a visitor to his destination, rather than saying, "down the hall, up the stairs, fifth door on the left."
The university admissions counselor who delivers acceptance packets to local students in person. The auto mechanic who tops off the vehicle's fluids for free while it's in for other maintenance. The barista who signs her name to each customer's to-go cup.
Any organization is expected to perform their core business correctly. Meet the customer's needs, and they will be satisfied. But it is these additional bits of attention and courtesy that turn a satisfied customer into a delighted customer. That turn an average experience into an exceptional one. That turn a casual shopper into a brand evangelist. That turn a good company into a great one.
Pay attention to the details. The details make the difference. The details are what counts.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Tis the Season to be Jolly
This morning marked the first snowfall of the season for Abilene, Texas. In honor of this momentous occasion (and not only momentous, but momentary - the snow will be completely melted any moment now, although we appreciate it while it lasts), here are a few fun holiday campaigns to warm up your week:
(1) Hot or Not Snowmen - Target Brands, Inc. presents hotornotsnowmen.com - a collection of photos of the world's most eligible snow-bachelors, and invites viewers to rate each one as "Hot" or "Not". (Bringing back junior high memories, anyone?) Once you've rated one snowman, the next photo appears, providing potential hours of snowman-viewing cheer. A sidebar allows you to share the site with your friends on social media, or to check out Target's Weekly Ad for brand savings.
(2) Santa Yoda - The LEGO Group is promoting its LEGO Star Wars collection with a starfighter-load of holiday-themed fun at the legosantayoda.com microsite, hosted by none other than the jolly Jedi master himself. Visitors can share holiday video e-greetings starring their favorite LEGO Star Wars characters (my favorite involves carolers interrupting a quiet evening at Vader's house), upload photos for the LEGO® holiday scene contest, and add to their own LEGO Star Wars holiday wish list. For every e-card shared, LEGO will donate one new LEGO toy to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program.
(3) NoiseTrade - NoiseTrade.com isn't specifically holiday-focused, per se, but as a purveyor of free, legal music, it naturally has Christmas albums at the top of the list this month. NoiseTrade enables musicians to build their fan base by providing their albums free to consumers. This free marketing model draws many artists who are just starting out, but also features a few more well-known bands, such as Thousand Foot Krutch. If you want to break up the Christmas music with something mellow and folksy, check out my friends Josh Powell & The Great Train Robbery, who just released their free EP last week.
The thing I love about all three of these sites is how they share a bit of cheer (Internet fun, videos and contests, music) with customers, for free. Their first step at building relationships is to give. Certainly, giving entails risk - your recipient might never return your love. Your customers might feast on your free content, and never return the goodwill by purchasing anything.
But it might also lead the way to a beautiful friendship, with customers who think you're fun, kind, decent, and generous, and who are eager to support you and to introduce you to their friends for years to come.
(1) Hot or Not Snowmen - Target Brands, Inc. presents hotornotsnowmen.com - a collection of photos of the world's most eligible snow-bachelors, and invites viewers to rate each one as "Hot" or "Not". (Bringing back junior high memories, anyone?) Once you've rated one snowman, the next photo appears, providing potential hours of snowman-viewing cheer. A sidebar allows you to share the site with your friends on social media, or to check out Target's Weekly Ad for brand savings.
(2) Santa Yoda - The LEGO Group is promoting its LEGO Star Wars collection with a starfighter-load of holiday-themed fun at the legosantayoda.com microsite, hosted by none other than the jolly Jedi master himself. Visitors can share holiday video e-greetings starring their favorite LEGO Star Wars characters (my favorite involves carolers interrupting a quiet evening at Vader's house), upload photos for the LEGO® holiday scene contest, and add to their own LEGO Star Wars holiday wish list. For every e-card shared, LEGO will donate one new LEGO toy to the U.S. Marine Corps' Toys for Tots program.
(3) NoiseTrade - NoiseTrade.com isn't specifically holiday-focused, per se, but as a purveyor of free, legal music, it naturally has Christmas albums at the top of the list this month. NoiseTrade enables musicians to build their fan base by providing their albums free to consumers. This free marketing model draws many artists who are just starting out, but also features a few more well-known bands, such as Thousand Foot Krutch. If you want to break up the Christmas music with something mellow and folksy, check out my friends Josh Powell & The Great Train Robbery, who just released their free EP last week.
The thing I love about all three of these sites is how they share a bit of cheer (Internet fun, videos and contests, music) with customers, for free. Their first step at building relationships is to give. Certainly, giving entails risk - your recipient might never return your love. Your customers might feast on your free content, and never return the goodwill by purchasing anything.
But it might also lead the way to a beautiful friendship, with customers who think you're fun, kind, decent, and generous, and who are eager to support you and to introduce you to their friends for years to come.
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