Deceptive...Or Clever?
I once lived across the hall from a brothel in New York City. The madam told me they accepted credit cards to simplify payment and expand their business opportunities.
“We put the charges through as ‘Fred’s Bookstore.’ It looks innocent, and we get around legal and banking restrictions,” she reported, adding, “Some of our clients even write off our services on their taxes as research expenses.”
She was shrewd and had found a loophole that helped her grow the bottom line.
I was reminded of this while reading about Toronto’s Good Fortune Burger restaurant introducing a menu that names various food items as office supplies.
They figured it makes it easier for folks to expense their lunches if they’re ordering a Basic Steel Stapler and a CPU Wireless Mouse, rather than a burger and fries.
No, I’m not kidding!
Good Fortune Burger’s inventive strategy has already garnered over 300 articles in 16 countries, resulting in more than 570 million media impressions. The campaign has increased the restaurant’s visibility, sparked conversations about marketing creativity and prompted reviews of ethical considerations in expensing practices.
It’s also now a business case study at Canada’s Ivey Business School, demonstrating impact and an innovative approach.
While there are hundreds of Toronto restaurants serving burgers and fries, only Good Fortune Burger has been featured on LinkedIn News. And did I mention their 150,000-plus upvotes on a subreddit channel with 34 million subscribers?
And that’s not counting customer posts on TikTok with 30,000-plus likes. There’s more, but you get the point.
Here’s the thing: Regardless of what you sell, you’ve got competition and need to find ways to stand out of the crowd. Maybe it’s adjusting your product line, product names or even the way you get paid.
But I can promise you that if you just keep doing things the way they’ve always been done, you’re not going to draw attention to yourself. And that’s the name of the game, isn’t it?
As we head into the new year, I’d encourage you to examine every part of your business to find ways to differentiate yourself from the other guys selling the same stuff you do. Because using some imagination may easily land you as the featured story in a column like this next year.
With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.
Better branding in 5 minutes. https://amzn.to/4hoslft.
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER (Yes, my lawyer made me put this up!)
Nothing herein is deemed to be tax advise and we do not promote or participate in schemes that are contrary to applicable tax laws or codes.
YEESH! Lawyers, ammiright?