cbscreative
08-10-2008, 07:45 PM
I actually was going to post this on the old forum, but since I never did, now I can post it here. Because of things like DVR (or PVR or TiVO), I seldom get to see the commercials unless I am watching a show while it airs or something from a recording captures my attention.
A while back, I caught an ad campaign I thought was brilliant. Applebee's restaurant has this campaign where you can capture video of your group having fun at their restaurant. From what I could tell, winning entries could be featured in a commericial and there may have been some other prizes involved.
When I saw it, I had to admire the creativity and sheer brilliance. First of all, it gets their customers enthusiastically involved. Second, think of all the groups that would show up to videotape the experience, all the while patronizing the restaurant. Applebees wins twice. They get several groups celebrating at their restaurant, and they get lots of real video to choose from to feature in an upcoming commercial.
Personally, I already like Applebee's. For a large chain, I think they do a good job and have good food (not always the case so I like supporting the local non-franchise). With all the lame marketing out there, I couldn't help but admire this one, and I think on some scale, every small business could learn something from this.
This is not just about food or restaurants, I hope this discussion opens up to exploring how you can effectively market your business.
A while back, I caught an ad campaign I thought was brilliant. Applebee's restaurant has this campaign where you can capture video of your group having fun at their restaurant. From what I could tell, winning entries could be featured in a commericial and there may have been some other prizes involved.
When I saw it, I had to admire the creativity and sheer brilliance. First of all, it gets their customers enthusiastically involved. Second, think of all the groups that would show up to videotape the experience, all the while patronizing the restaurant. Applebees wins twice. They get several groups celebrating at their restaurant, and they get lots of real video to choose from to feature in an upcoming commercial.
Personally, I already like Applebee's. For a large chain, I think they do a good job and have good food (not always the case so I like supporting the local non-franchise). With all the lame marketing out there, I couldn't help but admire this one, and I think on some scale, every small business could learn something from this.
This is not just about food or restaurants, I hope this discussion opens up to exploring how you can effectively market your business.