|
Last week, I indulged in one of the last memorable events of my
college senior year: spring break in Panama
City Beach, Florida. Among the barely dressed college students and empty cans of
Keystone that adorned the typically
beautiful beach, a number of America’s most recognizable
companies and organizations set up shop for a few weeks.
Some companies, primarily credit card companies and the
military, used the opportunity to gather personal
data for database marketing. The Navy and Army spent some questionable
recruitment dollars on a mechanical bull and giveaway T-shirts, while Banana
Boat wisely hosted pickup sand volleyball games with free samples.
Others just seemed to hand out
freebies, many of which are still crammed into my suitcase, without establishing a strong relationship with their target
audience. Two
competing companies stood out, with very different approaches to their integrated
campaigns.
One of the most interactive booths was the NowWhat.com tent. NowWhat.com is State Farm Insurance’s
interactive website for young adults.
The user-friendly site allows viewers to point-and-click to find answers
to questions on car and renter’s insurance.
The tent on the beach did not have a State Farm logo. Along with a big screen TV and an oxygen bar, there
were eight laptops to “check your e-mail” with NowWhat.com as the homepage. Now we see a connection. The tent at least inspired a sense of
curiosity to anyone that wandered in it.
Here’s an example of the NowWhat.com
commercials. You may have felt sympathy
for these people once or twice, depending on your TV viewing habits. Note: Once again, there is no State Farm logo.
Almost next door, Geico set up shop. Upon arriving at the beach, one likely noticed the large orange Geico caveman flag flapping behind a plane. On land, the tent contained about ten flat screen TVs
with XBOX hookups, Guitar Hero and NCAA men’s basketball. Plus new freebies every day:
can koozies, windbreakers and visors all adorned with the Geico caveman
logo, but no mention of what the company does.
Geico.com does not even feature the
caveman, it features the Gecko. The
booths reminded me of another lame FOX attempt at creating a new
television show. There was very little
brand identity with the insurance company.
So, does this kind of marketing work? How effective do you believe
these kinds of tactics are?
 |
