Friday, May 1, 2015

Massively OVER PRICE A Product or Service For MAXIMUM Exposure and PR!


One great marketing idea I took from the pages of Niemann Marcus, the high end retailer who on occasion will sell an item that is off the charts expensive or over the top flamboyant. One such item I saw for sale a few years back was when Southfork Ranch, the home of the fictitious Ewing Family of the hit show Dallas, put up for sale square foot sections of the property for $25 or $250 a piece I can’t remember, most likely $250.  And you got a cool certificate authenticating ownership. This was back in the late 70s when the show was at its peak and they sold these like hot cakes. I am sure they came with a million restrictions.... but how cool was it to show your friends a certificate that you owned a piece of Southfork? And the funny thing is, is that any business online or offline can copy this outrageous marketing technique.

When I had a restaurant a few years back I put a $2,500 martini on the menu that came with a diamond at the bottom. Did I sell any? Heck no, not during the recession we were in but the publicity I got was worth 50 X that. Prior to opening our doors for the very first time,  I ran a few ads creating the excitement for our Grand Opening and being in a small, ski resort town in New Hampshire any “outside the box” news usually got folks attention and got them talking. Well, you can imagine the fuss my $2,500 martini caused and all the people dying to see who would be the first to purchase it and from this fuss came publicity and more publicity and thus traffic to the restaurant just to see it on the menu. That’s right, people came in JUST TO SEE IT ON THE MENU and of course while they were there they gave me their business.

While my $2,500 martini was a great marketing ploy it paled in comparison to Neiman Marcus and their marketing creativity and the things that they sold;

*How about a LIVE  Black Angus Bull with a sterling silver grill for a pre-inflation price of $1,925 (1952)?

*A suit of armor for $20,000.

*A $10 million zeppelin with a cabin for 20.

*A $1.7 million outer space trip 63 miles in the air in one of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic Spaceships.

*A $1 million Jack Nicholas designed golf course in your back yard
(TONS more ideas right here www.InsaneMarketing.net )

How about the $100 burger or $10,000 dessert that can be had in Manhattan? You are not going to sell many, if any (if you do, that’s a NICE profit margin), but the publicity and bragging rights you can ascertain from this is immense! For example if you own a tanning salon, have a tanning lotion private labeled exquisitely for your company only, and then sell it for $250 and see what people say. How many people will ask about it? Everyone! And don’t be surprised if you sell a few. I am serious.

What can you sell that will generate shock appeal, publicity and get people talking? Create a product or service, add some outrageous price to it and promote the hell out of it. What can be your $2,500 martini or $100 hamburger?


For more OUTRAGEOUS and INSANE MARKETING STRATEGIES go to www.InsaneMarketing.net 



9 comments:

  1. This is pretty good marketing for sure! The way the internet is today, a product like that would go viral on social media even if it is NOT real.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like this idea! I have seen products like this and the first thing that I think is "there is always one person out there that will buy it!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jack, you are absolutely correct. But in a lot of cases more than 1. Check out www.InsaneMarketing.net for more great information

      Delete
  3. Great idea. I think I might try this with my store! We sell custom made electronics accessories and I think the viral part of this idea would be good promotion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DEFINITELY!!! Watch the PR and excitement it creates

      Delete
  4. Very good idea. It might be one of the cheapest forms of promotion for your company.

    ReplyDelete