It pays to be a copycat, especially if you’re after free publicity.
When jewelry store owner Harold van Beek, near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, heard that a jeweler in Georgia had gotten publicity for offering a hunting rifle to every customer who bought diamond jewelry, he copied the marketing tactic and found himself on the local news. Starting today, every customer who buys an engagement ring from his store, Jewelry by Harold, will get a voucher to buy a Remington 870 hunting rifle at Fin and Feather in Iowa City.
Here’s the 50-second story on KCRG Channel 9 News in Cedar Rapids:
van Beek got the idea from Mike Geller of D. Geller & Son in Atlanta, who offered a $430 hunting rifle to any customer who bought $2,500 worth of jewelry from Sept. 20-22. Geller got onto the TV news with a story that was almost a minute and a half:
Moral of the story: If you see a clever trick somebody used to get publicity, try it, as long as it’s not in the same media market.
By the way, in the second news item above, the station talked to a wedding planner who said that even though the buy-a-ring-get-a-gun offer is unusual, she has seen all kinds of crazy themed weddings. Wedding planners: Unusual themed weddings is a great story idea, particularly at the end of this year and early next year, when brides are planning their June weddings.
What unusual publicity tricks have you seen jewelers, or other retailer, try successfully?