Saturday, January 26, 2008
If You Give it to Them for Free... they Shall Come
Walking thorough the Path (underground system in Toronto with food courts, shops, etc), I learned a valuable lesson. but first, i have to tell you what i observed. There were two kiosks almost side by side: one for Ride for Cancer (riding your bike), the other a marketing tool to get people to do online surveys.
now, i know i've said it before, but i have to insist on repeating myself here - people are sheep. especially people in highly metropolitan centres (such as Toronto, and i'm sure places like New York etc).
Looking at the Ride for Cancer kiosk was truly pathetic. There were two people sitting at a rather small table, with big signs surrounding them. And there was not another soul around. not one person talking to them... or browsing thorough their materials.
however, the other Kiosk, the marketing one, was set up with about 4 big tables next to eachother, with bright orange tablecoverings, and black computer monitors, about 6-8 of them, placed all around the tables. and... to draw people in to do the surveys, they were giving out free stuff.
That is the secret... nothing else matters. not the content, the cause, the aim. nothing matters. all you have to do in order to draw people in is give them free stuff. and believe me, it was be ANYTHING. for example. i'll give you three guesses as to what they were giving out and what people not only spent their "precious" time filling the surveys out, but actually also WAITING IN LINE FOR (i capitalize this b/c i myself refuse to wait in line for anything).
did you try to guess???? come on, make one guess... bet you can't guess it.
they were lining up for citrus. yes, oranges. and not those big juicy ripe oranges... no. they were lining up for SLICES of oranges. uh-huh. a slice of citrus was your prize for all that effort.
so, i am thinking of taking my new found knowledge and working on campaigns for the betterment of mankind (i can be giving, and though i call people sheep, i still, on a very minuscule level, believe that there is good in all of us if we can step outside of our mortgages and beemers, and gadgets). Organizations that set up campaigns like cancer, aids, war, etc. they should know that in order to attract people to them, they have to just buy tons or oranges and start giving out slices.
b/c as we all know if you build it, they will come.
now, i know i've said it before, but i have to insist on repeating myself here - people are sheep. especially people in highly metropolitan centres (such as Toronto, and i'm sure places like New York etc).
Looking at the Ride for Cancer kiosk was truly pathetic. There were two people sitting at a rather small table, with big signs surrounding them. And there was not another soul around. not one person talking to them... or browsing thorough their materials.
however, the other Kiosk, the marketing one, was set up with about 4 big tables next to eachother, with bright orange tablecoverings, and black computer monitors, about 6-8 of them, placed all around the tables. and... to draw people in to do the surveys, they were giving out free stuff.
That is the secret... nothing else matters. not the content, the cause, the aim. nothing matters. all you have to do in order to draw people in is give them free stuff. and believe me, it was be ANYTHING. for example. i'll give you three guesses as to what they were giving out and what people not only spent their "precious" time filling the surveys out, but actually also WAITING IN LINE FOR (i capitalize this b/c i myself refuse to wait in line for anything).
did you try to guess???? come on, make one guess... bet you can't guess it.
they were lining up for citrus. yes, oranges. and not those big juicy ripe oranges... no. they were lining up for SLICES of oranges. uh-huh. a slice of citrus was your prize for all that effort.
so, i am thinking of taking my new found knowledge and working on campaigns for the betterment of mankind (i can be giving, and though i call people sheep, i still, on a very minuscule level, believe that there is good in all of us if we can step outside of our mortgages and beemers, and gadgets). Organizations that set up campaigns like cancer, aids, war, etc. they should know that in order to attract people to them, they have to just buy tons or oranges and start giving out slices.
b/c as we all know if you build it, they will come.
The End of Privacy - Whitaker