I am seeing more and more creative thinking in bridal marketing. It can take many forms but co-op marketing and alternative media are my two favorites.
Let’s take a look, shall we?
I ran across this press release today. http://condenastdirect.com/newlywednest/. Brides Magazine has teamed up with Ikea to sponsor a show house geared toward the nearly & newlyweds. Featuring furnishings from Ikea and hosting a bevy of bride-centric event it looks like a win-win for both entities. Wedding vendors from gown designers hosting trunk shows to wedding photographers doing snap shots to florists doing floral arranging workshops are offering something for everyone. Set up for only a limited time, it runs thru the end of May, this is a partnership that seems to make perfect sense. In another stroke of brilliance, they are also teaming up with the Lower East Side Girls Club as their selected charity with all proceeds going to the Girls Club. As you know, today’s consumers are keenly attuned to the “good works” of the companies they buy from and are likely to place more value on those whose charitable affiliations mirror their own.
Creating co-operative marketing opportunities is a great way to get you message across and share the financial burden. I wrote recently on my blog about dream teams of wedding vendors. Why not reach out to the vendors that you work with regularly and see what makes sense for you. I know of a caterer and a florist that are teaming up to showcase both of their work. The florist want to show off her collection of rentable containers to wedding planners and the caterer wants to showcase the talents of her new chef so they are throwing a party and inviting the planners. They have even embarked on a joint direct mail campaign.
In my own business, I am doing a seminar next month and using a Victorian B&B as the location. They get exposure for their venue and I get a place to speak. Not only is the event win-win, but by working together we were able to combine not only our individual lead lists but also add the list available to each of us through the organizations to which we each belong. Between the accumulated lists, the invitation and announcement will go out to several thousand leads. Yeah!
I also want you to think about alternative places to advertise. Think about the things that your particular group of brides has in common. I spoke with one planner that finds that almost all of her brides are attorneys. Why doesn’t she tap that by finding out what sites or magazines they read and advertise there? Another seems to do a lot of younger brides still in uni and most all are in sororities. I think she should check with the Pan Hellenic council and see what kind of event she could team with them to sponsor.
We have a program here in NashVegas called Grafitti Concepts that places adverts in restroom. Talk about a captive audience! If you hit the right upscale clubs that your brides at hanging out in pre-engagement you could strike a gold mine when they do get engaged. So far I have only seen one vendor even vaguely related to bridal on the ads, a boudoir photographer. I’m sure there is a company similar to this in your area. If not, you should start one.
Do a little creative thinking of your own and see what makes sense for your unique business. Don’t limit yourself only to the marketing opportunities that present themselves to you like the local magazines and bridal shows. There are as many creative ways to reach brides as there are bride.
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