April 28th, 2011
by foreignwebmarketingcorrespondent
With less than 48 hours to spare till the ‘wedding of the century’ (that’ll be the union of HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton) it seems that all the world is in lunacy-inducing anticipation. Superfans of the royal couple have been camping outside Westminster Abbey since Tuesday. People are apparently quitting their jobs to fly into town, Harrods windows are all decked out for the occasion and not to mention the crazy busy week lookalikes of the couple have been having.
Now, talk about marketing. It’s quite fun perusing the absurdly copious amount of promotional collateral souvenirs that have sprung up throughout town (and an even more extensive collection is available online) to commemorate the happy occasion. From your wholesome traditional tea set and Union Jack flags galore to the more extravagant dolls, tea bag holders or your very own Kate and William fridge – and everything else you couldn’t possibly imagine. My favorite has to be this mug:
Now before you reel back in horror of this fairly tremendous OOPS, have a second ponder. Marketing fail? Harmless joke? Result of a clever scheme? Who knows. It’s just a mug.
But what a commemorative item if I ever saw one.
While retailers have been jumping on the royal-wedding-packages-and-deals-extraordinnaire bandwagon since the announcement of the engagement last fall, this mug manufacturer took a different approach. After a while the whole thing phases you out. Her Royal Hands manicures, limited edition Kate & William pies, Kiss Me Kate lager or even popping into your local lingerie shop for a ‘fit for a princess’ bra (thankfully Kate’s face is not plastered on this item!). When does is all move away from serving up a bit of promo for your brand and services and becomes a plain overkill?
The manufacturer, Guandong Enterprises, of this erroneous Harry & Kate mug have most likely considered this. As Lorrie mentioned last week, for a healthy check-up on your marketing you should always be considering the WHY not the WHAT. Essentially, why is your business in existence? What is at the heart of your business model? A cause, a belief, a purpose and an aim.
Why did the manufacturer of this mug create it? Surely not because they were confused and accidentally got the wrong prince! Did the mug make an impression? Yes. And as an afterthought, did it sell well? Yes. Why did people snatch this mug up like hot cakes, what was their WHY? Because it’s a commemorative item like no other. Way to stand out mysterious manufacturer from China!
And remember, knowing what’s trendy in your sphere of business is a sound marketing rule. Knowing what’s trendy and doing something trendier is a winning combination. Reflect this on your website and you’ve nailed it!
To be honest, I am very tempted to drink my tea out of this one on the 29th.
Gallery of royal wedding memorabilia clicky HERE.
