Marketing Fun

I have a lot of fun thinking about great marketing ideas. Especially when I'm the target of them.

I went out to Timothy O'Toole's Pub the other day after work with some coworkers. Two of my coworkers ordered and shared a bucket of Bud Lights. A bucket, (this was the first time that I had seen it ordered) is an aluminum bucket with five (assumed standard number) bottles of beer, packed in ice. It's pretty showy, and takes up a lot of table space.

Some time into the evening, this guy walks up to our table, and interrupts, "Excuse me. I'm a representative of Anheuser Busch. I noticed you were enjoying a bucket of Bud Lights. Here's a sample of our new aluminum-bottled Bud Light, try it out." After spending a bit of time clearing some space on the table, he set down a new bucket of this new sample, and walked away.

This dude totally hit the jackpot with our group. We started analyzing the new bottles, trying it out, and discussing how it seemed to keep the beer cooler for longer. And how drinking from an aluminum bottle differs from the classic glass bottle. I don't know how frequently this kind of thing happens, but it was the first time that I had experienced it. And it was fun. I tried to track the guy to see how he decided who to approach, but I lost sight of him. I never found out whether he only targeted people that were already drinking Anheuser Busch beers, those having competitor beers, or anyone else. But what he tried with us worked, and I will undoubtedly seriously consider this new aluminum bottle the next time I see it available.

Companies and businesses should give out free stuff more often.