Once upon a time, it was enough for a business to hand out a promotional freebie on the basis of it being genuinely 'useful' to the recipient.
The thing is that ‘useful’ is a pretty grey area. ‘Useful’ is now an 8GB flash drive rather than a nice pen or neoprene stubby holder. ‘Useful’ has to actually be needed or, at least, desired. So what chance does a heavily branded slab of paper stand? Exactly.
How, then, does one ‘add value’ to the humble old desk pad calendar? Well, just when you thought they had gone the way of tie clips and tea ladies, think again: at+m has looked into it.
Perception: Nobody ‘uses’ desk pads anymore…
Solution: Yes, but have they tried ‘playing’ them?
You see, giving out the desk pads each year has only communicated these two things by association:
- “USE ME” (I’m handy to have around.)
- “REMEMBER ME” (I’m at+m, and WE’RE handy to have around, too.)
So that’s why our last desk pad concept suggested something extra:
- “PLAY ME!” (I’m fun and you’re at work.)
Essentially we created content for a branded game. That is, we adapted an old game kids used to play at school – a pen-flicking version of Battleships. The difference is that AFL is the game being played. Of course, with Aussie Rules as the unofficial winter religion in Tasmania, what better daily reminder of the game than on a person’s desk at work?
Whatever the medium, whether it’s social media, TV, radio or print, in the end, it’s all about genuine engagement. A business or cause has to ‘earn the right’ to get noticed. And that often means going the extra mile.
As for the company desk pads, it seems they must have kicked a goal as at+m even had people asking for more this year. One longstanding client phoned up to say “thanks for the desk pads but nobody here is getting any work done.” It seems that even ‘effectiveness’ can be a bit of a two-edged sword sometimes!
Maybe YOU’VE experienced an example of feelgood marketing at one time or another. Something rewarding? A novel approach? An unexpected gift? If so, let us know.
I remember this game from school in the 70s, well, the battleship version anyway. You’d try to take an accurate shot while the teacher was writing on the blackboard. That added an element of danger, especially if the pad was found on YOUR desk when she turned around suddenly! Yeah, good times.