Food for thought: The spy who sold out
Forgiving a pretty face
Facebook to agencies: how will people share your story?
Is “The Pitch” an accurate reflection of our industry?
Ok, so I’m not going to pretend that every sales promo but this one dovetails seamlessly to the core values of the brand running it, but . . . Mandarin Restaurants’ 30th Anniversary promo has me baffled.
The Mandarin is celebrating “30 years in Canada!” They are celebrating “all year long!” And they are giving away “30 trips for 2 to Japan.”
Japan?
Here’s the blurb:
“Passport To Japan! Mandarin loves giving trips away to our wonderful customers and this year is no different! Visit the beautiful land of sushi, cherry blossoms, and koi! Tour famous sites, ride the bullet train, and even visit a hot spring!”
Yep. Canada’s most successful Chinese buffet-style restaurant chain is giving away trips to … Japan.
Shouldn’t it be China?
Maybe they’ve got a good reason for this, but I’ve got a hunch they’re missing their target.
When companies put together their promotions it’s critical that they consider relevance both to their brand and to the consumer. With this promo, the Mandarin has chosen to focus on their 30th anniversary. That’s a great start to a theme. But it falls apart with a giant geo-political disconnect from their brand story.
If the wanted to leverage the “passport” idea, they could have left the destination to be a choice of the winner (consumers love choice). Or the whole theme could have been revisited and the promotion modified to offer something else entirely. For example: cash – the ultimate prize for consumers.
Years of experience in this discipline have taught me to ask (and re-ask) three questions when building out promotions for our clients:
1) Does it fit?
2) Does it confuse?
3) Does it endear?
Sorry Mandarin, you’re 0 for 3 on this diner’s scorecard. For an example of how to do it right, check out Olive Garden’s “Win a trip to Italy” sweepstakes. Now that makes sense. Pass the pasta.
Missed Opportunities? Mandarin Chinese Buffet Promotion. « Through A Balanced Lens
April 26, 2010 @ 11:48 am
[...] aside from the odd choice of Japan for the grand prize from a Chinese buffet restaurant, the Mandarin missed a huge opportunity to [...]