Last week, I saw a flurry of social media posts from mothers I know, saying that what they wanted most for mother's day was time to themselves.
Ryan Reynolds and Mint Mobile decided to do something to help with that.
Yesterday, Reynolds posted the following on his Facebook page:
When you call the number (as I did, obviously), you're greeted by the actor (and Mint Mobile co-owner), who in a PG-13-rated 30-second message, invites you to celebrate Mother's Day by putting your phone on speaker, placing it near your kids, and taking 30-minutes for yourself. Because, as he states, "you f*cking deserve it".
Reynolds then proceeded to read "The Gingerbread Man" aloud, with a variety of funny voices used for each of the characters in the story. (He may have read more than one story... I didn't have a full 30-minutes to listen to the recording, but I plan to go back and check.)
Is this tactic going to result in an immediate increase in new Mint Mobile subscribers?
Probably not.
But will this (along with the other "stunts" pulled by the mobile upstart) generate some brand awareness and goodwill that will lead to additional subscribers in the future?
Almost certainly.
Not everything you do has to generate an immediate sales increase.
And that's okay.
Money spent building your brand for the long-term is also money well spent.