Last month, I ran in the Zaching for Cancer Running Festival. Zach Lederer was a young man in our Ellicott City Community who died from brain cancer at the way too early age of 20. His parents, family and friends honor his memory and raise money to help cancer patients by annually hosting a day of exercise, food, music and celebration.
Over 4 years ago, a very dear friend of mine died unexpectedly at the gym from a heart condition. Bob Hunter was a great father and friend who cared about those less fortunate. He also loved to hit the little white ball! So his family and friends host an annual golf event to honor his memory and raise money for the Center for Urban Families, which is a non-profit in Baltimore City where Bob served on the Board.
Earlier this year, my family and I were hit very hard with the tragedy of my Dad being diagnosed in late May with a very aggressive form of brain cancer. He died 4 weeks later on June 28. It is impossible for me to put into words for this article, the impact that Dad had on his family, friends, business partners, employees, and customers. He was a champion of the underdog, led by example, treated everyone with respect and had an incredibly focused moral compass.
Remembering and honoring loved ones can be done in a variety of ways; planting trees, creating videos, writing letters, making photo albums…all are excellent “channels” in marketing parlance.
After running in the 5K, drinking my morning coffee, and looking at the to do lists on my desk, I realized that our channel is a good one as well when looking to create a powerful emotional connection.
This is what I mean…
The Zaching for Cancer race shirts connect the Festival participants with Zach’s family, the community, and all families impacted by cancer.
The golfers whom received tumblers at Bob’s event, think about Bob, the Hunters, and CFUF every time they drink water or coffee.
The little yellow sticky notes that we printed with Dad’s name on them (he loved writing his to-do lists!), are a tongue-in-cheek and practical way of keeping his name front and center for anyone that wants to track their mission critical tasks!
To be clear, I am not suggesting a tangible gift will always create such a meaningful and powerfully emotional connection with your customers and employees. What I am suggesting is that the power of tangible marketing is real and unique because it can connect you to an event, or a person, unlike anything else because you can touch it, wear it and use it on a daily basis.
To create powerful connections through Tangible Marketing, please contact Echo Strategic Marketing.
- Jordan Grable, CEO, Echo Strategic Marketing