Flash mob - A new age Marketing tool

One of the greatest challenges for any brand is getting people felt its presence. With big-budget advertising campaign, advertisers spend millions and millions on marketing. Even after such expenditure, expecting 100 % ROI is an imaginary affair. The answer to promote product and services in the limited budget is guerrilla marketing. One cost-effective way to do this is by organizing a flash mob event.

The flash mob began as more of a social experiment than a vehicle for marketing, but it was quickly recognized by large corporations because of popularity. Companies like T-Mobile and Coca-Cola have organized successful flash mob events, but the nature of a flash mob makes it an ideal tool for a small group that needs to promote something on a budget. Planning for a flash mob is fairly easy; however, the surprise element of the flash mob is where it has the greatest impact. Because dancing is all about promoting wellness, having fun and is a great stress reliever, it is a great idea to promote dancing via a flash mob. Dancing or doing aerobics not only help people maintain a healthy weight, but also make people happy.

In order for your flash mob event to go smoothly, participants need to know exactly what is happening, where, when, and what they are supposed to do. In such case the internet is the most valuable tool. An event can be created on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. You just need to make sure that you are active on your website too, responding to questions and provide frequent updates on the event. Posting in forums and chat rooms, sending out mass emails would help in forwarding the information. There are several different ways for you to organize and synchronize the event. A signal like blowing a whistle or just yelling a phrase to tell people when to begin might be a very great idea. By asking for only 15 minutes of people’s time and creating a simple dance routine, it is easy to gain enthusiasm and participation. It’s a good idea to bring collateral to let the bystanders know why this is happening, like a big poster or maybe flyers. Promoters can get creative in this area, do something that will get people interested and that they will remember.

The success of the flash mob that is a simple and low-cost idea, coupled with creativity and partnerships, can have a great impact. Because flash mobs garner a lot of attention, such activity can be covered extensively in the local media. Further, volunteers, including a videographer, camera people and a video editor, can shoot a video of the flash mob. The video can be posted on YouTube, and attention received for the video may get the brand a wider audience.