Mall Marketing Well Done

A friend told me about this today, and the story immediately made me want to share it with fellow marketing geniuses across the blogosphere. It's a great example of effective, low-cost direct marketing. It is also a case of "making lemonade out of lemons."

Here in Charleston, our mall has been battling some negative publicity lately about thievery, break-ins and vandalism that has taken place inside their parking garages. To combat this they have stepped up security patrolling on site. The trouble is: no one sees the patrols most of the time. Moreover, no one notices when nothing happens. We do not notice when crime does not occur.

The mall management company decided to place handbills on the windshields of the cars of mall shoppers. Not every car ... just enough to be noticeable. The handbills said: "The safety of your vehicle has just been ensured by the fine efforts of one of our diligent security officers." This is a smart way to offset the negative publicity related to the recent incidents. It sends a clear signal (to those who most need to see it) that the mall is addressing the matter.

What is even better is the next part. The management company was smart in deciding to print a coupon on the back of the handbill. The coupon gave the customer a $1.00 discount on a sandwich from one of the food vendors in the mall. Now that's doubling the goodwill ... doubling the effectiveness of the marketing tactic.

Kudos to the marketing geniuses at the mall! They've earned a celebratory lemonade.