During breakfast this morning, I caught a Mother’s
Day-themed television ad from a local car dealership. They were telling folks that even if they
would stop by the store, they would receive a bouquet of flowers that they
could give their mothers for Sunday.
Initially, the ad just didn’t make any sense. Why would people be motivated to come to a
car dealership for free flowers (unless they’re very strapped for cash – in which
case they should save the car ride given the gas prices in the DC area these
days)? Why would potential car shoppers
want a bouquet of flowers as a freebie?
I assume that the dealership’s marketing intention was to
drive traffic (no pun intended) to their store and use their manpower to
convert those individuals into buying customers. It would be surprising if the
campaign draws enough traffic to their shops as they would have expected unless
they know their customers far better than me. After all, there is still a disconnect if a free bouquet of flowers for
Mom on Mother’s Day is a true incentive to be subjected to a dog-and-pony show
at the car dealership.
This type of marketing is far more common, especially in
nonprofits. Many organizations are quick
to jump to premium campaigns without really thinking about their target
audience.
For instance, there was an organization who gave away free
bracelets as an incentive for people to opt into their mailing list. Of course, with such a low ask for a freebie,
people were inclined to sign up, but their advocacy and fundraising conversions
were also very low. After some data
mining, the organization found that their new subscribers were too disaffected
or young to be advocates and donors. They could have at least gotten more bang/buck for their bracelets if they
had asked folks to donate. Lesson
learned.
