Hit or Miss ?
Oh how often a great idea running full speed ahead can fall off a cliff into oblivion, It’s amazing how quickly something that seem directed with 100% accuracy can miss it’s designated target completely.
This point was driven home for me recently when a friend-of-a-friend who works full time as a professional event planner had what seemed like a brilliant idea to hit it big time when the DNC came to town. In the process of preparing her ideas and information for mailers to send out she thought of a way she could really set herself apart from all of the other flyers and advertisements her potential clients would be receiving.
The last time the DNC was held in Colorado was 1908, and you don’t need me to tell you how different things were 100 years ago! She got her hands on an original 1908 “Special Officer” medal, which was worn by all of the delegates at the convention. This is when she had her stroke of genius. She had 100 replicas made up at a reasonably high cost to herself thinking that the moment someone opened her mailer and saw this beautiful item they’d be on the phone calling her to set up an event!
She mailed out over half of the metals she had made up, with flyers suggesting the medals could be used as high-end party favors, or included in special gift baskets to be auctioned off at their event. Once she’d sent them off she sat back and waited for the phone to ring…..and waited…..and waited. Through her follow up phone calls she found out that most of the companies had chosen to go with event planners in their hometown/city and have them do all the leg work in scouting out the best locations and set ups for events in town.
With her original plan crumbling, and nearly 50 metals left she began working on a new plan. If she couldn’t get an event to come to her, she’d go to the events! So she enlisted a few good friends and they all purchased peddler’s licenses, sure that they’d be able to go out into the crowds’ downtown during the DNC and sell out of the medals in no time. In the meantime she also decided to have some magnets printed up of editorial cartoons from the local papers back in 1908 to sell as a set with the medals and to take advantage of all of the potential customer they would come across after selling out of the medals.
Finally the DNC began; they started with a booth in civic center park the first day, and then switched to spreading out all over key points of downtown (16th St. mall, outside the Pepsi center & Invesco field). By the end of the week…they’d sold 8 of them. Many people stopped to look at the medals, most of them remarking how nicely made they were, however it became clear about half way through the week where the whole idea had missed it’s mark.
This election year, as anyone can tell you, is unlike any other in the course of history. Besides all of the groundbreaking nominations (in both parties) this entire campaign, especially on the democratic side, has been promoting “CHANGE”. While out in the crowds they got a good understanding that offering a product that relied almost fully on the past and how things were…was not the most sought after under current circumstances.
Although they also got plenty of questions as to why the medals weren’t branded with the candidates name, and the obligatory “I’ll catch you on my way back through” comments, it seemed clear that while they may have hit their initial target, they may have aimed for the wrong target to begin with.
Hindsight being 20/20 and all, it makes sense now that having an item geared towards Coloradoans, promoting how proud we are as a state to have such an opportunity, may not have been the best item to attempt marketing to tourists, news crews, and delegates from across the nation and the world. It also makes sense that all of the people involved in the original idea may have missed what seems like such a simple point, due to their own love and respect for our home state.
This whole experience led me to wonder how often this must happen in the marketing, advertising, and merchandising world. How often an opportunity or idea arises that originally seems so brilliant it cannot fail, yet does so with outstanding speed. Or better yet how often an idea or product that was most likely initially dismissed, turned out have a huge impact, not just on sales, but on our culture (i.e. Pet rock’s, Chia pets)
It just goes to show that thorough planning, research and consideration prior to making a large investment in a product is a essential. Even though luck may have its own part in things as well.
If you would like to see the above mentioned medals and magnets feel free to peruse her website at www.dncnovelty.com.
**Disclaimer: The products listed above is in no way associated with or invested in by Thayer Media. There is no business or social association between our company and the above mentioned products. **
