My wife’s balloons
By Leo Ryan November 13th, 2007
In Customer experience · Social media · Stories · Tool development · Word-of-mouth marketing
Emma’s company Gail’s has an annual Garden Party, to celebrate the end of Summer and get the word out about their bakery and bread shop up in Hampstead. One of the things they do to promote the Garden Party is to produce a mountain of Gail’s branded helium ballons. Working on a stall on the day I snapped this kiddy taking a branded balloon. Squeals of delight and off she went down the street. As she passed other kids they pointed and explained clearly to their parents that they too would like a balloon. Obliging parents came up to the garden party, took a look about, got a balloon for the kiddy and off they all went down Hampstead High Street until they passed another kiddy and the process was repeated until we ran out of balloons. And it struck me that this is the original widget. A piece of branded utility that is a must have item for the kiddy who is then provided with entertainment. The parent is given respite, Gail’s gets free promotion for the Garden Party and the marketing is carried by the audience throughout the oh-so-very social network that is Hampstead.
Checklist for your next social media widget;
- Will the audience actually want it badly enough to burst into tears if they don’t get it?
- Will they then be so pleased with it that they will carry it around with them all day?
- Will they be passing lots of other members of your target audience?
- Is it clear from the widget what your brand is?
1 Dan O'Connor // Nov 13, 2007 at 8:18 pm
I think that may be the most salacious post title we’ve ever had…
a final checkpoint:
- will your widget eventually burst, thus ensuring your audience will keep coming back for more?
2 Leo Ryan // Nov 14, 2007 at 11:23 am
Dan - that’s genius - both the usage of ’salacious’ and the exploding widget, a bit like the terminator gene in GM crops?
3 Mat Morrison // Nov 14, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I love this example. A lot.
Although:
a) Some people have too many widgets on their page. If widgets were balloons, they’d float away like Winnie the Pooh
b) I’d like to think that SOME widgets got better the more my friends have them. If all my friends have a balloon, I don’t want one.
c) I’d like to think that some widgets have some actual content in them. Although what I’d like is not the same as what I’ll get which is a smack round the legs if I don’t stop whinging and dragging my feet.
4 Ade // Nov 14, 2007 at 9:42 pm
I want to be the first of my friends with any particular widget. It’ll make me cooler and more popular with the ladies.
Leo - I thought your checklist could aptly describe the iPhone (in the US anyway - over here? \/\/hatever…). Was that sneaky $100 rebate actually an affiliate fee for the early-adopters?
Dammit. I want a balloon.