Taking Advantage of Unique Marketing Opportunities

by Liz Stewart of Lush Beads

Sometimes, unique and fun marketing opportunities fall into your lap. This happened to the group of artists at the Western Avenue Studios recently, when we were asked if we would be interested in participating in Lowell's City of Lights parade. It is an annual event that kicks off the Christmas season. The parade brings thousands of visitors into the city each year, so it was a great opportunity to show off our creativity and hand out postcards about our upcoming
Holiday Open Studios event (happening 12-5pm December 6th and 7th, and
13th and 14th).

Rather than make a float, we decided to march as a unit and show off our musical talents...with kazoos. Yes, we had a kazoo band. A very colorful and creatively dressed kazoo band....
Here I am with my part-time employee Bailey:
Over the course of the parade, we played several songs and handed out hundreds of postcards to parade watchers. Even if only 10% of those people come to our Open Studios event, that's still between 50-100 new visitors! In addition, this parade is televised on the local cable
access channel throughout the holiday season.

While "marching in a parade" isn't my first thought when it comes to marketing, it turned out to be a great idea! I'll be keeping my eyes open for more unique marketing opportunities in the future.