Big Apple Sales

Over spring break I made sure to take a day trip to NYC with a few of my friends and explore the city. Expecting to be bombarded by hundreds of different physical ads, I was interested to learn what sort of current tactics were being employed by large corporations. Now to the average marketing hardened commuter, New York advertising would probably appear a blur due to constant exposure to attention grabbing ads. In a sense the intended purposes of the ads had accomplished the exact opposite of the task they were created for. New York captures the eyes of more than just it’s residents and work commuter however, so logically these ads would be noticed more by travels and out of state tourists. Times Square is the classic culmination of modern marketing and outlandish advertising tactics. Not only does it showcase large flagship stores of big companies from around the world, but also includes sponsored street performers to further the intrusive campaigns. An interesting strategy used by a few of the stores was handing out free merchandise and food. Naturally companies like Hershey’s chocolate and M&M handed out free samples of their products to everyone who entered. It is a step further into capturing consumers with their immersive experience. This makes the sales process even easier as the prospective buyer already has tried the specific product, and in this case the sugar-high of milk chocolate entices them even further to buy the product. Additionally, some smaller named brands were giving out T-shirts and other paraphernalia to turn tourists into walking billboards. To many big businesses it’s all about the experience and customer service that potential clients have with them. Even with a company as corporate and spanning as M&M, the customer should have a very personal interaction that will make their time memorable.