04 Jun How to strike lightning through your marketing
You know a business is REALLY getting behind a marketing initiative when they are willing to make a major change to their usually untouchable, own assets versus just announcing it via rented media.
The World Cup is one such event that triggers this ‘all-in’ behaviour and this month in Australia we have seen the petroleum people Caltex show their support for Socceroo Tim Cahill by changing the name of their business to Cahilltex!
It is not the first time it has happened either, Walkers Crisps changed their Salt’n’Vinegar flavour to Salt’n’Linekar as a show of support for their revered ambassador, footballer Gary Linekar. KFC, perturbed at the fact their red & white brand colours matched those of England during an Ashes Series, temporarily recoloured their logo, packaging and stores to Australia’s Green & Gold.
It is telling that when a business really wants to make an impact, they turn to their own assets to get noticed.
But it doesn’t have to be a lever that is pulled once every 4 years when a major sponsorship needs activating, owned assets can be the epicentre of your annual marketing. Look at what Ralph Lauren did with their flagship stores in New York and London. They used these iconic, highly visible buildings to launch seasonal fashion shows via 4D experiences which were then shared digitally around the world.
If the way to really get noticed is to put a lightning strike through a familiar experience and create content around that disruption, then perhaps marketers should look to activate around the assets that they already own before jumping to off-the-shelf paid media solutions.