The New York Times had an interesting piece in the Sunday Magazine’s “Consumed” column over the weekend that fascinated me and got my communications wheels turning. The article titled “A Real Find” looked at the marketing efforts of the furniture retailer Blue Dot, whose communications advisers developed an exceptionally nontraditional marketing campaign of leaving brand new chairs out with the trash around several hip New York City neighborhoods. The chairs had geo-tracking chips implanted, and those who took the chairs were later contacted, told about the marketing campaign and asked if they were willing to be interviewed about the chairs, their thinking about interior design and generally about the urban furniture food chain. The whole campaign was integrated with a Twitter campaign that extended the reach and and public awareness of the campaign (which obviously also resulted in a high profile article in the NYTimes).
The whole concept got me thinking about how public policy communicators might use similar nontraditional techniques in creative ways. hmmm…. What could we do? Let’s say we are an organization that is trying to get New Yorkers to think about eating healthier, unprocessed food. In targeted neighborhoods, the organization could work in partnership with Fresh Direct to deliver small packages to fresh food with simple recipes to random houses, along with information on how inexpensive fresh food can be. Or perhaps an community center seeking to bring more community people from the area into its programs could leave basketballs on basketball courts that are printed with the organization’s website address and a message saying something like: “the place for fun activities for adults and children.”
What are some other LEAVE BEHIND social marketing ideas?
About Michael Hamill Remaley
Michael Hamill Remaley is the President of Hamill Remaley Communications. Previously, he was Director of Communications at the Russell Sage Foundation and Prior to that was Vice President and Director of Communications at Public Agenda. He has held a variety of positions at organizations such as The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, TCC Group and the Center for Social Policy and Community Development.