The Girl Scouts Creative Marketing Plan
We all watched in anticipation Sunday night to see if Leo would receive his much awaited Oscar. Meanwhile, Chris Rock took home his award for “Father of the Year” by promoting his daughters’ need to sell the most Girl Scout Cookies in her troop.
If your office is anything like ours, you are well aware that Girl Scout Cookies season is upon us.
The Girl Scouts of America marketing technique has always been very minimalist with their advertising – in fact, they are just recently breaking into Social Media Marketing.
“People are fascinated by what we’re undertaking on behalf of girls and our commitment to staying relevant without losing sight of our legacy.” – Sarah Gormley, chief marketing officer at Girl Scouts of the USA
Staying modern, digital, and relevant, as a 103 year-old organization, cannot be easy from a marketing standpoint. Still, everyone in the country knows of Girl Scouts Cookies without needing to see a commercial on every channel and a billboard on every corner. Much of this is due to the longstanding reputation they have built over time.
But this company also knows how to jump on to an opportunity. The Girl Scouts Social Media Marketing team was quick on their feet when the girls appeared at the Oscars.
Strategic Communication in Social Media
The organization took to Instagram and Twitter to share numerous photos of celebrities eating Girl Scout Cookies. Though this all looked like a publicity stunt, the Girl Scouts paid no money to appear on the show and the idea came from Chris Rock himself.
Not only did the girls raise $65,243 in cookie sales and donations that night, but it also became a great opportunity for free advertisement.
“You can buy advertising. You can beg for attention from the media. You can bug people one at a time to get sales. Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free.” – David Meerman Scott, marketing speaker
Remember, Social Media Marketing is for the most part completely free.
Watch our tips on how to take advantage of social media marketing on one of our Marketing Moment episodes below!
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