Marketing Inspiration From An Ohio Strip Club

I love marketing that’s not too complicated – if it makes sense in 2 seconds, it’s probably a good idea. One of the oldest marketing gimmicks is to attach a pretty face to a product or service, and frankly it works really well. Everyone likes beautiful people (consciously or otherwise), so we tend to gravitate towards attractive imagery.

Another old trick is to leverage a social or charitable cause to help generate business. It’s a time-honored tradition, and despite the blatant capitalism implicit in this sort of tactic, people tend to receive it pretty well.

But what about a mashup? Is it possible to combine these two tricks to form some sort of “super trick?” In a word, yes.

Meet Marilyn’s on Monroe

I’ve never set foot in Toledo, Ohio. I’ve never been to this “establishment” before, yet somehow I know about this business:

This Ohio strip club is an inspiration to marketers everywhere. Image copyright WUPW

The reason? They’ve been promoting a charitable event called “Lap Dances for Northwestern Ohio” that made the front page of CNN.com. In an effort to help tornado victims, this club is donating all their cover charges to charity on a particular day.

By itself, this story is a funny little tidbit. A good idea that should be acknowledged regardless of your personal feelings about a) the sincerity of their efforts or b) the concept itself.

However, I think the REAL inspiration is that they’ve done this same exact gimmick once before!

Why is it inspiring to see someone pulling the same trick twice? Because it worked twice! It’s either a very good trick, or a slow news day on CNN.com. Either way, Marilyn’s has won.

Here are my take-aways for business owners everywhere:

1. Standard old marketing gimmicks aren’t fun or exciting, but they work. I see this all the time in my daily work – people become so focused on the newest concept or idea that they become unwilling to consider the most basic of concepts, i.e. let’s use a charity and a pretty face to promote our business.

2. Originality can be over-rated. I’m not saying that we should just copy other people’s ideas or efforts – that’s not good marketing. However, it’s not very wise to focus so much on originality that we start eliminating proven concepts. The best marketing ideas incorporate proven concepts with your individual business.

3. Step outside your industry for ideas. When I consult with clients, I often look across industries to find inspiration. A concept or idea that works well in automotive marketing can also work just as well in restaurant marketing, provided of course we adjust the concept to fit the client.