Brilliant Marketing Idea of the Week

These days the TSA security checks have gotten better, but they're still nothing to look forward to while travelling. If you're like me, I always make sure to put all my belongings in my laptop case before I get to security. Watch, wallet, change, phone, shank, brass knuckles.. the common stuff you carry everyday on your way to meetings...

If you've flown anywhere in the past 5 years, your familiar with the following situation... The cheerful and welcoming TSA agent will ask you to kindly take off your shoes and put them into a bin so they can be inspected for contraband. Errr. or something like that.

Here's where it gets interesting... It's typical for me to go 6 months or longer with the same kicks, which can usually result in some wear and tear, foul ordors or other embarrassing funk. As I put them into the bin, I notice the unfortunate condition of my leather loafers as I watch them slide into the machine so they can be inspected for explosives.

Well, this experience happend to me recently. I was travelling through the Seattle airport, just had gotten to security when I noticed something profound. The large stack of special government owned rubbermaid bins in front of me were unusally presentable. They were bright white and had a colorful creative plastered to the bottom of the inside of the bin. Whats more, every security line and traveller in the place was putting their stinky kicks into one as well.

Zappos.com It's a brand I'm already familiar with, they sell shoes and other bags and accessories. I think I may have even purchased from them before. I quickly realized that whoever came up with the idea to market in this location was absolutely a genius. They're advertising directly to people who are actively walking / travelling and they also may be thinking just like me... "Wouldn't it be nice to try on some new ecco's, rockports or even some suede Puma's right about now. It's target marketing at it's best...

If you're like me, when you notice cool marketing ideas, it really gets your thoughts going about other products or brands that could benefit from a similar strategy. I'd like to know more about whoever brokered this deal. I've travelled several times since then though Salt Lake City and Las Vegas and I have yet to see another implementation. Maybe the conversion is still being tested.

I'm assuming because the bins were so shiny and new, Zappos likely provided the bin with the ads installed. That would make alot of sense to me. Instead of using tax payer money to write a government contract for $20,000,000 worth of anti-terrorist rubbermaid bins, allow companies like Zappos to provide the bin and their ad. The fed could likely even get advertising fees for brokering the whole deal. That would sound way too much like business, instead of government. It's the whole spend money, instead of make money deal...

We can always dream...