Going with the flow…

Posted at July 1, 2008 // Advertising, Promotion


Scion promo team at duck derby, originally uploaded by jeannie8p.

So, I went to a duck derby this weekend.  I have never been to such an event, and it was interesting.  For those of you who are not familiar with duck derbies, here is a quick lowdown:  A charity promotes the event and asks supporters to sponsor a rubber duckie.  Yes, these are the same rubber duckies that you may have played with in a bath tub when you were a little kid.  These rubber duckies are then released into a creek / river at a duck derby.  The rubber duckies float down the creek, and the first rubber duckie that reaches the finishing line wins.  The sponsor of the winning rubber duckie gets a prize of some sort.  Thus, as you can imagine, this was a family friendly event. 

So, as I was watching these rubber duckies float down the creek, a random person dressed in like a haz-mat suit walked by.  At first, I was baffled at the fashion choice.  Then, I realize that he was part of a promo team.  So, I had to find out what they were promoting… and apparently they were promoting for a new Scion that’s coming out.

Upon finding that out, my little group, who were originally busy taking photos of the rubber duckies, launched into a discussion of the Scion.  Everyone immediately said “I hate it, it’s SO ugly.”  Now, of course, they were specifically referring to the Scion xB.  In fact, it took quite a while before someone finally mentioned that there were other models.  These other models solicited better, but weaker, responses.  However, they also conceded that some people LOVE the xB.  Apparently, they believed that this car is made for the 19 years olds, and they were simply too old for the car…

Now, I won’t pretend to know who the target market for the xBs is precisely.  However, the Scions are definitely marketed with more fun and flare then the Toyotas.  The xB’s unique styling certainly would hold a unique appeal to those who want something different.  Thus, the love it or hate it phenomenon…

Now, what is most interesting is that Scion knows this, and decided to just go with it.  Its new ad “Pendulum” demonstrated such.  This is not the first example of a marketer going with the flow.  The Hardees’ ad a few years ago were praised for recognizing the futility of fighting a losing battle.  When all the fast food chains were trying to say eating fast food is not bad for you, Hardees embraced the fact that fast food is not suppose to be your everyday meal… instead, it’s a reward.  It’s that good. 

This reminds us again that as marketers, we have to pick our battles carefully.  Sometimes, it’s easier, and more effectively, to just go with the flow than to swim against the tide.


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EDIT 7/1/08: I came across an AdWeek article “Scion Heats Up With Limited Edition xD; ‘Hot lava’ campaign from Attik will support” published on 6/26. Apparently, those were not haz-mat suits, but flame retardant suits. They were excuting the Hot Lava campaign that has been rolled out in three cities. They were promoting the new xD in limited edition bright orange (lava) color. This campaign will eventually include billboards in 12 major US cities. Yeah… I’m not sure the promo team got this message of having a limited edition car across to the crowd. But perhaps there would be a halo effect from various press coverage.

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