The next time I go for a drive, I'll be cruising around in the Batmobile... thanks to a fun stunt intended to help celebrate the 81st anniversary of The Dark Knight.
When I opened my Waze app yesterday, I was delighted to discover the ability to drive as either Batman or The Riddler. (But seriously, given the choice, who's going to pick the nerdiest of super-villains over Gotham's greatest hero??)
Not everybody using Waze is going to care about becoming Batman, of course. But it's unlikely to offend those who will be indifferent to the promotion; "they'll just click the "no thanks" button and carry on with their day.
But fans of comic books and superheros are going to be absolutely delighted, and that's a big win.
Plus, you probably didn't know that September 15th is Batman Day... and now you do, so that's a win for DC too.
When I worked at Starbucks, we'd look for ways to "surprise and delight" our customers. Sometimes it was making their order, "on the house" without warning, or including a free baked good along with their coffee. Sometimes it was as simple as remembering their name and saying it with a genuine smile, when perhaps the customer wasn't expecting to be remembered at all. But looking for ways to provide unexpected pleasure to customers was every Starbucks partner's goal.
Waze and DC have found an interesting and fun way to "surprise and delight" fans.
You might not be able to give away your product for free or leverage a well-loved superhero to delight your customers.
But thinking about what you could do instead would be time very well-spent.
- dp