I Like Surprises
Posted on February 19, 2008 - Filed Under ideaDRUNK's ideas
Sometimes the best things in life are unexpected. When I was working on marketing credit cards, I came across a concept called “Surprise & Delight” promotions. Basically, customers were randomly selected to win some cool stuff when they used their card. I mean, who doesn’t like surprises? One of my good friends likes surprises so much, she doesn’t really care what the surprise is … as long as it’s a surprise. But I digress.
Everyone likes surprises. Especially if it’s a gift that’s something that you didn’t even know that you wanted. Or access to something that puts you as part of an exclusive set. The happiness from a surprise gift makes it easier to fall in love with the brand. And when you’re in love, you are much more likely to overlook other shortcomings of the brand.
So here’s my idea: apply a surprise and delight promotion to cell phones. You randomly text message invitations to your customers that fit a certain demographic profile (let’s say urban women, 20 to 30) and invite them to an exclusive invitation-only party. You provide these women with access to a specific buzz-worthy event. Let’s say a premier that you’re sponsoring at the Toronto International Film Festival or a party during Fashion Week. These women get to go to the event and you (as the wireless service provider) have demonstrated higher value.
The best thing about this idea is that the exact value is not easily related to a dollar amount. During a typical rewards program, where you earn “points” for each dollar you spend, you know the precise value of your rewards. With a surprise & delight program that provides exclusive experiences, the value that the consumer derives from it would always exceed the cost.
I have a lot more to say on this topic, but not enough time right now. Stay tuned!
- Christian
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2 Responses to “I Like Surprises”
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Wouldn’t people be a little sketched out? Sometimes someone calls me and tells me I won a cruise but they’re lying…so then I cry.
But seriously, how does it become something more believable/legitimate?
It would actually be in the form of a text message, like the ones that you normally get from your service provider when you’ve used up all of your minutes etc.
Hopefully, the familiar format would breed trust so people don’t think that it’s a scam. But I’m sure you wouldn’t be so bummed if you were texted by Rogers saying that they could give you free Spice Girls tickets if you texted back in the next 5 minutes.