Giving Your Sales Some Gas

Recently I unearthed a 2008 article about Cricket Wireless offering $10,000 in free gasoline to promote entry of their cell service into a new market.

Hundreds of cars clogged Las Vegas streets to get free fuel. Three ran out of gas while waiting and had to be pushed to the pump. The stunt was covered by several TV stations and newspapers.

Of course gas being at record prices for 21 straight days no doubt also drew attention to the program.

Pretty slick, right? Cricket spent $10,000 for gas and a few promotional dollars before word of mouth took over. The result: probably $100,000 in free media.

NICELY done!

Next Cricket offered Texas motorists $30 gas cards. Another home run.

Admittedly, Cricket could just as easily have taken $30 off a new subscription to the wireless service. But, as spokesman Greg Lund acknowledged at the time, “That wouldn’t have gotten the publicity.”

Cricket’s not the only one to have used this idea, of course. Marriott, Callaway Golf, Jack in the Box and others have linked their own promotional efforts to the rising cost of gasoline… sometimes with great results.

It’s an interesting consideration as you’re strategizing the coming year’s marketing efforts. Do you tap into some universal pain point (like gasoline’s high prices) or do you do the same old thing everyone else is doing?

Guess which one’s going to be more effective for your marketing and sales efforts?

Which prompts the question: if phones, travel, food, and leisure products can all significantly improve their sales (and revenues) by linking to gasoline’s turbulent prices, why can’t you?

If you’re open to thinking this way, there are countless strategic pain points that provide entry into your customers’ lives. Gas prices, of course, but also food insecurity, toilet paper shortages…the list goes on and on.

Meaning regardless of what product or service you sell, there’s a way to use this kind of promotion to boost your bottom line.

Obviously, you’ll want to come up with an angle suitable to your particular market, industry, audience and budget. Don’t just swipe someone else’s idea, but strategize something that delivers a real “WOW!” factor to the community.

Because if you’re creative and implement your plan well, you too can have everyone chirping your company’s name.

With that said, I wish you a week of profitable marketing.

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Drive more sales at www.marketbuilding.com.