Gimmicks May Hurt More Than Help

Yesterday I drove past a business that had put up a large inflatable duck in front of the business, along the road.  The utter incongruousness of the duck and the business struck me, but I remembered all of the other inflatables, and other gimmicks (e.g. people waving signs while in costume, walking sandwich boards, etc.) I have seen over the years and that's what brought on a frown for the rest of the day.

As with so much in life, there is a point where you can go right over the wall.  Let's take these inflatables, as they are relatively popular.  On the one hand, I can almost see some value in a person hired to, say, wear a Statue of Liberty costume and wave at people to promote a business called "Liberty Tax Preparation".  It's a silly come-on but I did remember the business later and there was some (albeit limited) connection with the brand equity of the business.  But let's say you are a realty office and you decide to put out an inflatable dancing person.  Is this "look at me!!!!" impact overwhelmed by the brand misfit? or the chance it made the realty company look cheesy and "low rent"?  I am a person very sensitive to brand equity and anything that could enhance or damage the same.

Let's put this another way.  The business I passed may have spent a great deal of time and money cultivating a brand that conveyed an image of professionalism, knowledge, and class.  And then one day they put out an inflatable duck.  This guy now suspects the managers of that company of being fools: they certainly thought so little of their target customer that they supposed an inflatable duck would attract new business.

Bottom Line: I urge any small business owner to use gimmicks like this with extreme care.  Be wary of what subconscious message is broadcast that could impair your precious brand.

Gimmicks Can Hurt Brand

A few days ago I passed a brick-and-mortar location of a business.  The drive-by was remarkable because the business owner had planted a huge yellow banner and a big bunch of multicolored balloons.  The message was obvious: "Please Stop In."  Was this a good idea?

I'm not fond of these gimmicks.  I think they have two liabilities.  One is that they don't work well.  If they did, automobile dealers (who seem to require use of these horrid gimmicky balloons, flags and banners) would never need to advertise and cars would fly off the lots.  Worse is, I think they hurt brand.

The business I passed looked respectable.  It had a good, highly visible street location and a good product concept.  But I formed an immediate opinion that they were probably not very good at what they did.  With those advantages, who in their right mind would think a bunch of balloons in the street would lure someone inside?  And why were they worried about foot traffic?

I assume the business had some problems.  In such a case it would be worth addressing those problems rather than resorting to cheap gimmicks.  If something had to be placed in the street, why not a professional-looking sign that advertised a special?  or a "today-only" offering?  That alternative would have at least protected the brand a little.

Bottom Line:  Beware of cheap, cute gimmicks.  Attention-getting strategies must be complementary to the business brand and image.  It's too easy to create an unfortunate image in a prospective customer's mind.