Cooperative Marketing

let’s all hold hands and market…

As a professional marketer and partner in a Marketing Agency (Shameless Plug for ThreeSixty Solutions), I have re-packaged my client engagements to make up for a tightening pocketbook, exacerbated by a slowing economy. The concept is not new, but by gaging the reaction from my clients, it has been all but forgotten… It is a simple and easy way to make your marketing campaigns meaningful and useful. What is it? It is a little thing called co-operative campaign marketing…

Using co-op, you can transform your marketing efforts to compete as a major player for your target market. Allow me to give you an example…

Let’s say you own a full-service car wash and you wanted to produce a direct mail campaign to your target market, but had a limited budget that would only allow you to send out a very small amount, let’s say your budget is $2,000 for this mailout. Sure, you could do quite a bit with that budget, but you could also opt to put it on steroids! Odds are, you have contacts in complementary businesses (note: I said “complementary,” not “competitive”).

I’m sure you know a windshield/glass repair company, a mechanic, a window tinting service, and perhaps even an audio video vehicle specialist. That’s 4 other businesses who would likely be targeting the same audience, and are not likely to cut into your car wash business. You would go to them and see if they were interested in pooling their money together in a way that your $2,000 campaign becomes a $10,000 campaign. Now we are talking. Imagine how much more effective you can be, and how much larger your audience has become. And remember, this is an exponential growth - your campaign is not going to be 5 times greater, but 10 times greater. Why? Because in the business of marketing - higher volume equals per unit savings. By creating an economy of scale, you have essentially taken a “mom and pop campaign” and turned it into a “big business campaign.”

Some Ad agencies, like ThreeSixty Solutions, are capable of putting these campaigns together for you in a fast and simple manner. I know that, from a personal standpoint, I enjoy working with small businesses and doing campaigns in a coordinated effort. Co-op allows small businesses with less means to be able to use the professional services of a full-service firm without breaking the bank when times are tough!