A long time ago, a cravat/tie shop owner was disappointed with the results of his “50% discount” Christmas sale and was willing to pay for anything that worked.**
His idea and the deal’s value for money weren’t bad, it was just that the shop was a part of a mall, and almost every shop around him broadcast that same idea at this time of the year.**
Of course, the New Year was about to be celebrated and there was a very short deadline, and a tiny budget to match.
My pitch was: what if we re-framed that deal in a way that everyone would understand, but also be surprised by?
Here’s how it went down:
1. We put a fancy, lace cast iron waste basked front and center of the shop window. Stay with me here.
2. We threw in about five used, ratty old ties. Half the men I know probably have one at the back of their closet.
3. We changed the advertised deal from “50% off” to “Old for new: bring one old tie, get 2 new for the price of one”
4. Each time the shop got an old tie, it would chuck it into the shop window bin, showing many people took the deal.
Mathematically, the deal is the same as before, only now buyers have to buy at least 2 to get the discount.
The audience response was 10x better than a week before.
If you have to give a discount, always provide a surprising “reason” you are offering it, even if it makes as little sense as old-for-new ties. It simply goes down better.