Street Sampling Blog

[experiential word of mouth marketing]

On the 14th, you’ll note my post about holidays in general, and Valentine’s Day in particular. Each holiday is announced well in advance. The idea being to generating upcoming interest by merchants to make sure that during the lead up and the event customers show up at their doors.

Word-of-mouth communication tends to make people feel that they are being told the truth without any ulterior motives. Honesty is perceived and the receivers of messages are moved to perform the intended call to action at significantly higher rates than when approached by various other communication techniques. This is true because there is no perceived reward for the person that is speaking positively about the product, service or message at hand.

If you missed this video, it’s an excellent example of real one-on-one word of mouth marketing. Connecting directly with your intended audience. (Be sure to click “read the rest…” I’ve got more to say and the video to watch).

Read the rest of this entry »

[experiential word-of-mouth marketing]

What more appropriate day to make a post about “word of mouth” marketing and advertising than today of all days… St. Valentine’s Day?

Among the “major” holidays, Valentine’s Day is played to the hilt in stores, on TV, in print, and online. Word of mouth spreads fast… you don’t want to end up in the doghouse for forgetting now, do you?

(Saint) Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The day was originally a pagan festival that was renamed after two Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. – from Wikipedia.org

Read the rest of this entry »

[guerilla/experiential marketing]

Today’s post is actually a recent article of mine on the subject of Guerilla (or guerrilla) marketing. I hope you find it informative and have fun reading it (I had fun writing it):

In 1984, Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term “Guerilla Marketing” to refer to a set of unconventional marketing techniques that are geared towards generating a solid buzz factor. His book, “Guerilla Marketing,” is now commonly referred to around the planet in many marketing instruction settings. Targeted audiences are approached in non-traditional locations and in atypical ways to create a memorable experience that is viewed with excitement and positivity. People appreciate the break that guerilla marketing gives them from the formalized approaches to advertising so common otherwise.
Read the rest of this entry »

[experiential/buzz marketing]

As memories of a fantastic Superbowl begin to fade, my mind was quickly distracted today by the grand stunt by Denny’s Restaurants. In case you have been under a rock, today Denny’s offered a free Grand slam breakfast at all locations from 6 am to 2 pm. Denny’s has been around since 1953 and originally founded as a donut shop. Sure that yellow sign pops up on many a road trip, but when was the last time you actually ate there? For me it was in Orlando, near International drive years ago. When I want breakfast, it never seems to be during breakfast hours and living in Washington, I tend to find myself in a local diner to satisfy the pancake craving.

Now Denny’s spent a lot of money to announce this experiential campaign, what with a Superbowl ad mocking the childlike fare offered by competitor IHOP, and the full page ad in USA Today. Then there was the issue of their website crashing many times today as consumers tried to locate a restaurant. I even heard reports of some locations running out of eggs and being forced to close the doors while sending staff to buy some more. According to a published interview with the CEO, they expected to serve two million Grand slam breakfasts today alone. I have to believe when the final numbers are in they will have exceeded that number.

This program had many inherent risks; Read the rest of this entry »