Refrigerator Marketing

Before the invention of the stainless steel fridge the fridge was the storage spot for everything important. Actually I think the majority of households still use their fridge as a notice board, bulletin board, kitchen organizer and photo album so the term “refrigerator marketing” is still appropriate.

The key is to mail or give clients and prospects something they perceive to be useful and they will keep a long time. It does not have to literally be on the fridge, but it has to have enough value to make them want to keep the item.

There are some examples of the kind of refrigerator marketing I recommend. As I am in Vancouver, BC you will see a local flavour (Canadian spelling eh), but the principal applies everywhere:

Sports Calendar – This is a Vancouver Canucks TV schedule which details the specific time and TV station on which the games can be seen. The beauty of this is it lasts from October through to the end of the hockey season in April.

Emergency Phone Numbers – Now if this came in the mail who is going to throw it out. Catchy front picture and everything a homeowner needs to know about emergency numbers.

Memo Pads as Giveaways

I am a strong believer in two marketing concepts; give-to-get marketing and refrigerator marketing. When I work with Realtors I always include a memo or note pad in their marketing mix as these address both concepts. Clients and prospects appreciate something of value (give-to-get) and they stay around as long as there are pages in them (refrigerator marketing) (See my post on Personalized Memo Pads)

When we design memo pads for clients we always try to downplay the “me” part and play up the “you” part. We allow a lot of room for writing and make it attractive enough that people will put it to use for all types of writing. If a client or prospect write a note to someone on your pad it is almost like an endorsement.

We recommend a variety of styles depending on the marketing message we are trying to create. Sometimes thy have headings such as “Things To Do Today” or “Shopping List”. Often we add feint lines and even check boxes which people appreciate.

Following is a montage of some of more recent designs: