Five Things the Royal Wedding Can Teach Us About Marketing
Ever since Britain’s Prince William and his longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton announced their engagement last November, the media, the paparazzi –and yes, marketing departments, too –have been working at a fever pitch to make sure we’re all included in the celebration.
According to MarketingWeek, engagement-related merchandise could be worth between $19.5m and $29m, while wedding merchandise could “easily” top $42m in the UK. An additional $351m is expected to come from travel and tourism, and food and grocery retailers will put the icing on the cake with $585m in sales generated by all the festivities.
Obviously, marketers are in a frenzy, pitching everything from Kate Middleton engagement ring replicas to Royal Wedding bunting –and that makes this the perfect opportunity to take a step back and look at what’s working . . . and what isn’t. Have you noticed any notable trends? I have, and here is my (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) list of the five things the Royal Wedding can teach us about marketing:
Don’t be tacky. This is seemingly the simplest of all lessons, and yet again and again, I see companies in need of a gentle reminder. For example, shortly after the engagement was announced, a rep from Rogaine told Life & Style that Prince William would be the “perfect spokesman” for the company’s new unscented foam. That’s just what every groom-to-be wants to hear, right? Fortunately, the Royals appear to take this all in stride . . . BUT just in case there is any lingering doubt, the Lord Chamberlain’s Office has produced what it calls “definitive guidelines” for souvenirs, photographs, engravings, etc. related to the auspicious occasion. Be advised: royal wedding aprons, tea towels and t-shirts have been officially disallowed –they’re not “in good taste.” However, mugs, plates, commemorative coins and wall hangings got the green light, provided they use the pre-approved images of Will and Kate I mean, “H.R.H Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton.”
Use a customer-centric approach. Today’s consumers demand individualized interactions with brands, and they’re clamouring for messages that are relevant and personalized. In other words, you have to know what’s important to your customers and then incorporate that into your messaging and product offerings. For example, Celebrity Planet, a London-based tour operator, took the bull by the horns and launched a William and Kate tour, chronicling the young couple’s courtship. Likewise, restaurants are catering to their patrons’ fascination with all-things-Royal-Wedding, and many are planning a range of special events, from themed menus and free cake to special decorations and big screen tv coverage. Dunkin Donuts is caught up in the whirlwind, too, offering customers a rare culinary tribute: the Royal Wedding Donut. And even children can get in on the fun with these adorable “action figures” depicting William and Kate, the Queen, Prince Phillip, a Mounted Royal Guard, a foot soldier and a Corgi.
Develop social media tie-in. Success today depends on integrated marketing management, and social media is now a fundamental component of the marketing mix. Schwepps understands that, and the company has created a wedding card for people to sign on Facebook –in addition to its selection of limited edition wedding bottles and themed drink recipes such as “The Wedding Bouquet” and “The Best Man.” Meanwhile, NBCUniversal is preparing nothing short of complete saturation with more than 20 hours of combined coverage from NBC and MSNBC on the day of the wedding, a Royal Wedding app for iPad, @royalwedding on Twitter, and the NBC News Royal Wedding event on Facebook. In addition, NBC News is partnering with GetGlue to offer its viewers virtual “stickers” for watching NBC’s Royal Wedding programming.
Incorporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility continues to move its way upward on company agendas, and amidst all the Royal Wedding hype, it’s refreshing to see that the happy couple has established a charity gift website. Through the site, well-wishers can donate money to a variety of charitable causes, ones which Prince William and Kate feel are “close to their hearts and reflect the experiences, passions and values of their lives so far.” Nice touch.
Look for brand extension opportunities. What happens on April 30? When the hubbub subsides, will Prince William and Kate be forgotten? Of course not! Many see long-term marketing potential, and I’m sure we’re going to be included in many more happy occasions as the years go by. I’ll bet many royal watchers are already eagerly anticipating commemorative tea sets for William, Jr. and/or Baby Kate.