100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS • 89Holding gatherings to celebrate and promote your product can
be a lively, effective way to get customers involved with and attached
to your brand and services.
The idea
The idea of using themed parties to promote products challenges
the assumption that potential customers are simply passive viewers
of advertising. By actively involving customers in an “experiential”
advertising event you differentiate your brand and build strong
customer loyalty.
Holding a brand-themed party typically involves selecting a range
of products to promote, and creating a way to integrate a sales pitch
into a celebratory social event. Two famous examples of this tactic
are Avon beauty parties and Ann Summers parties, where customers
are invited to become salespeople and sell products to their friends
in the context of a party. Party-goers try free samples and discuss
the merits of different products. This creates a feeling of kinship and
humor among customers rather than a feeling of being targeted by
marketing—making them more receptive to purchasing products.
The sales tactic does not always have to be overt. Branded parties
can simply be an opportunity to create awareness of your brand,
create a buzz around your company, and ent ice people into buy ing at
a later date. In 2006, Diageo, the company producing Baileys Irish
Cream, hosted a series of “cocktail parties” in London nightclubs,
where party-goers were given complimentary Baileys liquor and free
recipes for using Baileys in cocktails and desserts.