Marketing Buzz 11/01
Tattoos: the new deal-closers, and the marketing benefits of event sponsorships
Really Inking The
Deal
Sometimes, a tattoo can actually close a sale. Customers of
3-year-old MD Productivity in Austin sometimes ask regional
director Bradley Garfinkel, "How confident are you that this
company is going to stick around?"
That's when Garfinkel-who's 6'1" and 260
pounds-rolls up his right pant leg, revealing a tattoo of the
company logo. Also imprinted are the words "Dictate," the
name of the voice-recognition medical transcription product he
sells.
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It's a helpful tool, admits Garfinkel (right), who earns
more than six figures a year. And if Garfinkel, 32, someday works
for someone else? He can always roll up the left side of his pants.
"I'll just tattoo my entire resume on each leg," he
jokes.
It's Showtime!
Imagine putting your logo on billboards, banners and T-shirts,
and handing out free product samples to countless potential
customers-all for next to nothing. With event sponsorship, you can
do all that and more. "Sponsorships [are] a great way to
quickly get market awareness about our product," says Steve
Yacht, 28-year-old co-founder of Warp Energy Mints in Toronto,
which frequently sponsors extreme-sports events.
To find events that reflect your business, "you need to
think about your customers," says Robert Madrigal, professor
of marketing at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Warp, for
instance, sponsors extreme-sports competitions because they appeal
to the company's target market of 18- to 29-year-olds.
Products considered new and innovative-like Warp's mints-can
often get free ad space at events in exchange for product samples.
"Traditional companies offer [event promoters] more
money," says Ron Cheng, 28, also a Warp co-founder. "But
[many would] rather associate themselves with cooler, up-and-coming
brands."
Networking is the best way to get started doing sponsorships.
Yacht used an association with Strength (a skateboarding and
snowboarding magazine) to secure Warp's first event
sponsorship: a Converse skateboarding competition. Since then, the
mints have made their way into more than 10,000 U.S. and Canadian
retail locations.
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