Cookie Cutter Marketing

I am making an exception. One time and that's it. For years, I have said: "I will never accept a cookie-cutter marketing idea." Now, I am ready to eat those very words. Ironically, I have finally found one example of cookie-cutter marketing that is okay. It's actually quite good.

Instead of a cookie-cutter approach to marketing, which I vehemently oppose, this is a cookie cutter marketing tactic.

The image above is a cookie cutter. Well, it's a cookie knife, to be more precise. Allow me to explain how this is relevant. At our office, we have a tradition of ordering these huge, chocolate chip cookie "cakes" for birthday celebrations. We get them from our local Great American Cookie store. Recently the company began including a cookie knife inside the box with our order.

The cookie knife is great marketing. Simply great marketing ... for two huge reasons.

First reason: it is useful. If you get the big, huge cookie you need something to cut the cookie. That something is the knife. The Cookie Company has only recently begun supplying the cookie knife. It works. We use it. The beauty here is that the knife is adorned with the brand markings of Great American Cookies. Let's face it, they could have chosen not to supply the knife, or they could have supplied a crappy generic plastic knife.

There's a second reason that the cookie knife is great marketing. The cookie cutter extends the brand experience. Simply put, once the cookie is gone, the knife lives on to remind us about our delicious experience with Great American Cookies. You see, we never throw away the cookie knives. They wind up in our utensil drawer in the kitchen at work. There the cookie knives remain, as an occasional advertisement ... reminding us that Great American Cookies is still there, ready to help us celebrate our next important event. And, naturally, the phone number is right there for us on the knife itself.

Kudos to the marketing geniuses at Great American Cookies for adding a cookie cutter that creates an additional touchpoint for their tasty brand.