AN ELEPHANT WATERSKIING?
FULLY GROWN elephant being pulled across the water on skis and a 15-feet sports boat towing the mighty cruise liner 'Queen Elizabeth' are just two of the eye-catching stunts devised by the late Carl Kiekhaefer, from America's mid-west, as he promoted his marine outboard engines. Did they work? Well, Carl managed to sell his business for megabucks – twice.
Promotions and vivid imagination can blend together rewardingly, so look for the drama: let the excitement in business shine through your communications.
Sometimes, imaginative thinking can lead you down a darkened tunnel. But the payoff when bright ideas make home base can be extraordinary. Many businesses need greater spontaneity and lateral thinking. They need more of a “why not?” approach and less “seen it all before” negativity.
Products and services should be an adventure as well as a venture, at least as far as marketing communications are concerned.
Professional marketers use a set of basic rules to make promotions succeed. Wherever possible, sales promotion must reflect and enhance the feelings of the product or service. Promotional property should be created by putting across a message in such a way that it is exclusive and recognisable as such.
MORE COMPELLING
The mechanics for sales promotions are few, but the twists to them are many, so see if the project can be tweaked to make it more compelling. The opportunity of a lifetime must be grasped within the lifetime of the opportunity. Therefore, any promotion should reflect what is hot and buzzing at the time. The form of presentation must remain appropriate to the task, as well as to the style and values of the product: so put away the starbursts and exclamation marks.
Don’t let professional experience get in the way of your enthusiasm, however. Marry the expertise of the consultants with your own vision. Use them to help your implementation, but don't hand over your whole promotional show. Stay involved and let them benefit from your commitment. Make it a partnership.
It might be a product relaunch. Relaunches can breathe life into tired sales curves – and selling centres on the techniques and tricks of persuading individuals and organisations to part with their money. It could be co-promotion, where you team up with a complementary business to make your budget stretch further. Or, repeat purchasing – variations on the good old buy one and get one free theme. Or sampling, or free trials. Anything that normally sells in large cans, bottles or packets is ripe for sampling and 'free' is one of the most powerful and compelling words in our vocabulary.
ECCENTRICITY
No matter what, the promotion should be laced heavily with ebullience, even a smattering of eccentricity if you can manage that. Catch those prospective customers unawares and you will capture their attention. Let your product or service appear out of context; associate it with the out-of-the-ordinary; sponsor something that can self-generate publicity for you.
At the very least, give added value to every initiative. For instance, when you log the details of a prospect at the trade show (yes, some exhibitors remember to do so) ask for the particulars of a friend or relative who might also have use for what you are selling. If you are using a special offer, make sure there is a mechanism for repeat business, such as a further offer or loyalty bonus. Then, you are establishing continuity of communication.
Back to that industrial caesar of the marine industry, Carl Kiekhaefer. Well over half a century ago, with his outboard engines suffering from a reputation of “fast but won’t last” he organised a continuous endurance test of 50,000 miles, equivalent to twice around the world. Supervised by a respected public body, it was a huge success and the record stands to this day.
It paved the way for widescale public relations campaigns and further promotions which would wipe away any and all doubts about the durability of his product line. The modern-day business is the largest in its sector, worldwide.
’Marketing' is your entire business as seen from your customers’ points of view. You will benefit enormously from making it look fresh, exciting, innovative. People will pay up for enjoyable experiences.
Return to MARKETING INSIGHT BLOGS or go to MAKING CONTACT
