A couple of guys who I respect a great deal have been discussing gimmicks and stunts in your marketing plans.

Seth Godin thinks that if you provide an added value to the customer then it no longer is a gimmick and becomes something worthwhile.

and

Andy Sernovitz wrote about how “all the gimmicks in the world aren’t going to make lasting impact if the whole company isn’t worth talking about. Some of the greatest word of mouth successes are silly stunts, but so are most of the biggest failures”

I have been thinking a lot about this since I am planning a huge event/spectacle where I and few others from work , including the CEO, are driving half way across the United States (from FOWA in Miami, FL to SXSW in Austin, TX)in an RV to promote the FreshBooks service while at the same time we will be attempting to meet up with as many customers as we can so we can share a meal or a coffee with them and gain valuable insight into why our customers love as us much as they do.

This could easily be seen as a stunt but I hope most recognize that the intention is to treat our passionate customers to a cool experience that most companies just wouldn’t bother doing….this is the value and why we are worth talking about.

I will keep you posted on this as it gets closer but in the meantime I hope when this is all over that Seth Godin and Andy Sernovitz acknowledge that this was one gimmick that cut through and could only be called a marketing success!

-saul