2 builders who never spoke to each other

Run the stunt that becomes an institution

A promotional project built to sell something else can outlive and outgrow it, so judge a bold campaign on its knock-on effects rather than its direct response. Write the running coverage dramatically enough that following along becomes a habit, and design a contest so entrants have to actually use the product to qualify.

The method

1. 01

   A marketing side project built to sell the parent product can outlive and outgrow it entirely, which is an argument for building assets rather than campaigns.

2. 02

   Write the daily coverage dramatically rather than factually, so following along becomes a habit for the duration.

3. 03

   Judge a bold campaign on its knock-on effects rather than its direct response rate, because the content and search gains often exceed the original sales.

4. 04

   Run a cash-prize contest that requires people to actually do the thing, reach a subscriber threshold, so the marketing produces users rather than entries.

5. 05

   Expect an owned event to compound over decades rather than pay off once, and to be copied by competitors once it works.

What it returned

• $5,000

  A month-long challenge offering $5,000 plus other prizes for building a landing page and growing a list to 100 subscribers, judged on design and content quality

• 250,000

  Circulation reached 250,000 by 1908, 500,000 by 1923 and peaked at 850,000 in 1933; six years in, an Italian sports paper launched the Giro and a Spanish one followed with the Vuelta.

• The world's three biggest cycling stage races all began as circulation-building projects for newspapers.

• The paper's daily reports on the race gripped the French public.

Sources

• “Michelin Guide” MarketingHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · “Michelin Guide” Marketing · undated
• The 1903 Tour de FranceHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · The 1903 Tour de France · undated
• The “best sales email ever” from a personalised t-shirt companyHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · Bold marketing is underrated · undated
• Start growing your audience and enter to win $5,000Nathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Grow your list to 100 subscribers and enter to win $5,000 · 2019-03-25