great marketing ideas Archives

by Gail Oliver, Marketing Consultant

There were lots of great marketing and promotional ideas this week that got my attention. Hopefully some of these ideas will inspire your business.

This Week’s Bright Marketing Ideas

Vienna coffee company Julius Meinl allowed customers at any of their locations to pay for their coffee simply by leaving an original poem, all in celebration of World Poetry Day on March 21 (#PayWithaPoem).
Starbucks is celebrating their 20^th anniversary by selling a birthday cake flavored frappuccino.
Target is looking to add some more indie chic to their home decor offerings by now including products from artisan marketplace, Of a Kind.
Music festival fashion continues to be a hot commodity with major retailers such as Free People, Asos, TopShop, ModCloth and Roxy giving it a separate category in their online shops. H&M has even released a Coachella collection.
Yoga wear designer Lululemon has addressed a problem many men have and, as such, their ABC men’s pants are flying off the shelves. What does the “ABC” stand for? Anti-ball crushing.

Time for some creativity with some quirky small business promotional ideas.

Last week the International Culinary Center in New York City recreated 10 of the most iconic Oscar dresses from the last several years in the form of decadent cookies (yes, that is a cookie on the right in the photo).

This idea of theirs got coverage by every major news outlet from USA Today to ABC News because it was timely (the Oscars were in the news) and it was quirky. The media is always looking for these types of stories and it can really help to get attention for your small business if you come up with the right idea.

My Quirky Promotional Idea for a Client

When I was doing a consultation for an outdoor garden center last year, they were looking for ways to get more traffic to their business, which was not really near any main streets of traffic.

I came up with an idea for them to make a giant topiary of a bunny, place it at the entrance of the business and publicize it as a great Easter photo opportunity for families (for free).

This idea works in so many ways:

It relates back to what they sell (outdoor garden center).
They were trying to get more families to visit the center.
A giant bunny will definitely get the attention of drivers passing by, especially if they light it up at night.
It is something the local press will want to write about.
If people pose with the bunny and post to social media, they tag the business giving them exposure to even more people.

It was a huge success by the way!

Upcoming Events To Use for Publicity

So capitalizing on popular events and holidays like the Oscars and Easter is not a new idea, but you do need to come up with a novel approach to make it newsworthy. Here are some other upcoming events in the next 2 months that have great PR potential:

Disney’s Cinderella movie (March 13th)
St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th)
First Day of Spring (March 20th)
Mad Men Final Season Premiere (April 5th)
Coachella Music Festival (April 10 – 12, 17-19)
Earth Day (April 22nd)

Social Media Events To Use for Publicity

It seems like there is a national day for everything, but these types of events (although some are silly) do trend big on social media:

National Oreo Cookie Day (March 6th)
National Pi (3.14) Day (March 14th)
National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day (March 29th)
National Beer Day (April 7th)
National Pet Day (April 11th)
National Talk Like Shakespeare Day (April 23rd)

If you would like me to come up with a creative promotional idea for you, just book a phone consultation! or try my 12-Month Marketing Plans are essentially marketing to do lists, but much more detailed and specific to your business. They will help drive more traffic and sales, without spending a lot of money.