Sometimes customer creativity astounds me…and it’s something I think brands should pay more attention to. In an ideal world, brands should have a department circulating among customers in a real world fashion on a fulltime basis to see how they are interpreting their products or services. This really is the best type of research available – and it can spur some fantastic campaign ideas! Take a look at this customer-created point-of-purchase display for ROLAIDS. Someone exercised some real creativity, connecting Halloween painted pumpkin time to heartburn relief by plopping this grimacing gourd atop an otherwise staid standing display filled with rolls of antacids. And in doing so, they added tremendous personality to the cardboard dispenser, evoking humor and a sense of timeliness.
This extra bit of creativity, showcasing a pumpkin who looks as if he could certainly use some “rapid relief” of acid indigestion, did more than have people laughing in the aisle (although it certainly accomplished that). It brought attention to ROLAIDS during Halloween…after all, eating half of your kid’s fun-size candy bars can certainly result in digestive health issues. Take it further: it almost looks like these are treats to be given out. So much from a simple practical joke that some adult or teenager (or maybe even a kid) decided to play on unsuspecting grocery shoppers. Fantastic. Cheers to that individual. Cheers to the store for allowing it to remain. And cheers to the hope that the ROLAIDS brand team sees this “supermarket research” via social media and takes it into consideration as future campaign fodder.
~ @AdvertGirl (aka Denise Blasevick, CEO, The S3 Agency)
