[CapeC3rabbers]

Alright I wanted to share this idea I had to for marketing my brand, Cape Crabbers. As a brand that is vacation related I thought it would be cool to have one of those ubiquitous oval bumper stickers with our logo. With our initials (found in the artwork) being CC it can both stand for our name and Cape Cod, market we are currently targeting.

Anyways, while looking through TSC apparel I came across the white gildan softstyle shirts, which they are selling for a great price. Now heres my idea. Advertise FREE shirts featuring our bumper sticker artwork (on the chest and across the back) for anyone who takes a picture with our bumper sticker on their car.

If it worked:

We would be spending the same amount of money we would on magnets
Have two great moving advertisements (car and back)
Hopefully make someones day (people love free stuff)

What do you think?

 

[lben]

Would you be selling the bumper stickers?

 

[CapeC3rabbers]

We bought 1000 6 X 4 for 20 cents each so we are just giving them away/ mailing them to everyone on our address list

 

[royster13]

CC I noticed you have dropped your prices some since last time I looked at your website......Has this helped move more units?...Have you made any headway with wholesale sales?....

 

[CapeC3rabbers]

Hey Royster! Yes, since lowering the prices and coming up with our new CC logo we have had a significant increase in sales. We also started printing all of our shirts again, which has helped out with the margins. What do you think of the site? We try and improve at least one thing a day on it, even if its small.

Also what do you think of the marketing idea mentioned above? I'd love to hear some feedback!

 

[CapeC3rabbers]

We are waiting on wholesale until we feel we have a 110% completed product ready for retail shelves. e.g. Hang tags, labels, displays.

With the new double anchor design, I think there could be some interested buyers.

 

[royster13]

Glad to hear things are on the way up.....

I think you have a brand that will do well anywhere near the ocean (on both shores)....So wholesale is a must in the not distant future.....

As far as mailing decals to your existing client base.....Unlike oil fields which are pumped dry, your database is a renewable resource (like a well managed forest) that can be harvested for years to come....

 

[CapeC3rabbers]

Thanks! I like the analogy but am a little bit confused about what your trying to say! Good idea? Bad idea?

 

[royster13]

I am saying keep mailing to your data base over and over.....So "Good Idea"....

 

[AtkinsonConsult]

Zane:

You should start a Pinterest board and allow people to collaborate and pin their images to your board.

Just a thought.

-M

 

[CapeC3rabbers]

Hey guys! We have a pretty solid facebook and twitter community. We have a pinterest but haven't used it to its potential.

I really want to know what you all think of the idea I mentioned in the original post.

 

[VTG]

John Wanamaker, a merchant and retailing tycoon during the early 1900s, is often quoted as having said "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, the trouble is, I don't know which half".

Zane, you'll never know if it's a good idea, unless you try it. You'll also never know if it was "worth" your time and money, unless you track the results.

It sounds like you've already invested $200 for 1000 stickers, right? So I suggest you go ahead and test your idea. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You can start by mailing out a smaller amount (say 250 stickers) to folks on your mailing list to see what kind of response you get (if it flops, you still have 750 stickers to give away later).

Here are some suggestions:

1) Make a list of the "target" customers for this event (again, start with 250 or so). Use this list to track the results (more on this in a minute).

2) Mail out 250 stickers with a "thank you for your business" note and a clear & concise explanation of the FREE t-shirt offer.

3) Wouldn't hurt to put a "deadline" on it (i.e. This offer expires on June 1st, 2012) and maybe add a "call to action" note on it (i.e. This offer is available to the first 100 people who respond) ... Both of which may help encourage a response. If you get over 100 responses, you can still give everyone the FREE shirt ... they'll never know the difference.

4) In addition to sending respondents a FREE t-shirt, you may also want to include a "discount coupon" for a future purchase. This way, you get some advertising (with the stickers and the tshirts), but you'll also be rewarding those who respond with a small "incentive" which may lead to an actual sale (this is after all, your primary objective).

5) Make sure you track everything you do, so that you can evaluate the programs effectiveness (i.e. how many stickers did you mail, how many people responded, how many people placed an order with the future discount offer, etc, etc).

6) Last thought ... marketing and advertising involves TESTING. Some programs are a resounding success, and some are failures. You may have to run it two or three times (with different offers and discounts) until you find the combination that generates the best results.

You'll never know unless you give it a try.

Let us know how it goes.

Good luck!

 

[Fenrir]

It's unlikely it will happen, but can you afford to do the free shirts if hundreds of people suddenly flock to your door with their photos? What if they fake-stick it to their car with masking tape just to get the photo?

A local AC company in my area has their company stickers all over the entire county. Dumpsters, poles, signs, etc. It's incredibly annoying. I can't turn around without seeing one, I pull up to the drive-thru and there's one stuck to the speaker, then one under the window ledge of the pick up window, I go to the tennis courts and there's one stuck to the rules sign. The company is actually owned by the son of a family friend, so we use them, but the amount of stickers all over the place would make me not use them if I didn't know them personally (yes, they do good work). I wondered out loud a few times if there was any liability involved for them sticking it on things like stop-signs or private dumpsters, but it was pointed out that you have no way of knowing if the company did it, or their customers did. I wonder if, when they first opened, they had some similar idea for customers to "stick our stickers as many places as you can!".