Challenge: How to build buzz around a new service, drive traffic to a new Web site and get as many people as possible to attend a launch party—all within a limited budget
Unless you’ve got a huge buzz-building budget, your promotional dollars need to work double—and sometimes triple—time. That’s what Arlington Transportation Partners was up against during the launch of Rides in the City, an informational Web site that promotes public transportation alternatives for trendy, young commuters.
Solution: Send “t-shirt” party invitations to put walking billboards out on the street
To build buzz, drive traffic to the site and ensure a good party turn-out called for the kind of promotional materials that work harder for the dollar. Enter the t-shirt “invitation.” The t-shirt, imprinted by us with the company’s signature pink pump graphic, was not the invitation itself; but it was a unique way of delivering it: when recipients unfolded the t-shirt, they found a die-cut, pump-shaped invite complete with the “who-what-why-when-and-where” party details. We also created branded party favors and promotional giveaways for attendees, including pens, cocktail napkins and matchbook-shaped notepads.
Result: Launch party turnout is “huge”; Web hits quadruple post-launch
Arlington Transportation Partners reported a “huge” response to their unique invitation; many attendees wore their new t-shirt to the launch party. The immediate bump in Web traffic pleased the company as well: the promotion brought four times as many hits as before.
