Opportunity Marketing

by Shane O'Neill, Vice President Our motto is “It Starts with a Plan”. That’s sound advice, as knowing what your business objectives are and how to address them from a marketing perspective is key to success. However, it’s also a good idea to plan for the unplanned. I'm calling it opportunity marketing, which is to say unplanned marketing opportunities that connect with pop culture or current events. These opportunities often require immediate turnaround and foresight. Really, opportunities are all around us, but truly unique opportunities are harder to find. An example would be March Madness. If you’re a retailer located near a campus whose team is in the tournament and sells the team/university jewelry in-store or online; there’s an opportunity. Get your fan gear! It’s a good opportunity that gets better the further your team goes, but could also be short-lived. Other, longer-term opportunities, provide better marketing reach. However, they usually have to have a targetable audience and/or mass appeal. As we were brainstorming another campaign, we landed on one such event... and it's glorious. The great thing about an open brainstorm is that all ideas are good ideas. Sometimes tossing out your thoughts without pre-filtering the idea is inspirational to the group as a whole. It also allows the team to refine, build from, or spark other lines of thought. It was during this brainstorm that we landed on an idea that would be perfect for one of our retailers. However, it required approval from the client and a produced video… all in three days. The Setup Whether or not you watch Game of Thrones, you surely have heard of the show. It's probably the hottest series out right now and, as this marks the final season, viewership is at an all-time high. In the show, if you don't watch, there is a main character, Daenerys Targaryen, who is on a conquest to take the Iron Throne and destroys everyone in her path. Usually, she gives them one hope of avoiding annihilation and that is to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJbsXeRc_Fw This led us to develop a YouTube campaign that is being run via YouTube Advertising that is targeted to the engagement ring consumer who watches Game of Thrones. I give you; Game of Rings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRrgxgWSCMo The opportunities are out there…what’s yours?