Based on the number of red solo cups that are littering the streets of my town these days, it’s clearly graduation party season. Graduation parties are big in the Midwest. BIG. We only have a few months of nice weather, so when we have something to celebrate during one of those months, we go all out. My neighbor hosted such a party for her son last year….for which she started prepping 12 months in advance (because if you’re going to re-landscape your acre for the party, you want to get a full year’s growth on your plantings :-))
On grad party days, dozens of cars line the streets, making navigating the streets challenging, and day-after clean up a necessity. Because, unfortunately, graduates (and their friends) are notoriously bad at making sure their red solo cups find their way to a trash can.
The prepwork is heroic and the cups are plentiful because everyone wants to be at these parties. They are the see-and-be-seen of the season. Just being at the right party, it seems, can change entire social futures. You magically get identified with just the right host…fill the right receptacle…and presto…game changer.
It’s not entirely different for marketers. I was recently interviewed about a brand campaign that fell into the category of “first-ever”. You can read the article here, but when the reporter asked what I thought of this move, I told her I didn’t necessarily think it would sell more product, but I bet it would impact the brand’s image (aligning it with a different demographic). I also suspected it would get a lot of press (which it definitely did), just because it existed (even if the campaign did nothing at all, “being there” made the brand look forward-thinking and cutting edge).
I generally recommend that marketers be thoughtful and somewhat deliberate about where they place their campaign bets. I skew toward known or proven approaches – and am less often in the “let’s be the first to try it” camp. But when it comes to multichannel marketing strategies, sometimes it makes sense to extend a portion of investment to the channel or placement where “just being there” has an impact. Maybe it changes how others think about your brand. Maybe it changes how YOU think about your brand. Maybe it reveals new connections that you might not otherwise have identified. But showing up….getting a cup….and trying on the new scene for size can bring new perspective you might not otherwise have.
Here’s the good news. In the digital marketing world, it’s party season. Go back to our digital marketing transit map. What channels, strategies, tools, or tactics have you not yet explored? Stretch your multichannel strategies a little wider – where are the near neighbors that might warrant a visit?
This upcoming week, Gartner for Marketing Leaders features our research on multichannel marketing strategies and tools, and highlights noteworthy and interesting multichannel campaigns that brands are implementing (content available to clients).
But client or not, this week, look ahead at your plans and programs, and where you can, pull up and explore a new destination. Go ahead and grab a cup. See what happens when you show up at a new party. Just please, please, don’t ditch your cup on my lawn when you’re done.
(My apologies for anyone who has had Toby Keith’s song “Red Solo Cup” in their head since the first paragraph…but come on, country lover or not, it IS catchy…)
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