How can a good experience lead a customer to love or enjoy a brand or service? Will you agree on the idea that positive experiences will connect the customer with the brand and service? These are some of the questions I can think of, but first let me explain to you what happen to me during a trip.
Driving to Vienna, Austria on Saturday, June 14th 2009 I had a great experience at a chain gas station called MOL. The event is going to sound completely awkward because it relates to public toilets, but trust me the concept and the idea behind it was brilliant and a very interesting one for marketers looking for new platforms to advertise.
Since we stopped for gas at the station I took the opportunity to visit the restroom. Nothing new up to now, right… so I got to the bathroom and the first thing I see is a big green machine (similar to those at the train stations in NYC), which was matching the green color of the gas station covering the entrance to the bathrooms. Next, and following the instructions, I introduced 100 HUG (Hungarian currency) equivalent to approximately USD 0.50 in the machine and I got a ticket, which you can see in the third picture, for quality purposes and a better understanding.
Are you following me, up to now? Well now it’s when the story gets interesting because I not only had experienced great service and a clean bathroom, but also I had a voucher of 100 HUG for expenditure at the gas station shop. In other words, the mind behind this concept made me think that I was paying for using the public toilets while in reality the gas station owners were building on me the necessity to use the voucher of 100 HUG at the store in where you would be spending more than the value of the ticket on any given item for sale since everything was more expensive than 100 HUG. To spice up the story I forgot to mention that the ticket is valid for a year, which reinforces brand loyalty among the customers and probably more sales for the store since most of the articles are more expensive than a 100 HUG as I mentioned before.
In general words I considered this experience extremely satisfactory from the marketing perspective. They where providing a service “for free” but at the same time were also branding, selling, and building brand loyalty among consumers, what a great idea around a toilet!
I read somewhere that the toilet is the great equalizer. Everyone has to use it at some point. Paying to use the toilet is nothing new. I've experienced it in the States as well as some parts of Asia. I love the unique branding twist the MOL gas station used. It has a hint of sales promotion since the coupon is valid for a year. Just goes to show that if marketers would get a little bit more creative with traditional parts of the marketing mix, it can increase sales and boost brand equity.
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent example of effective creativity at work. I too have had my European encounters with bathrooms. Besides paying for a public restroom use in Prague, I was impressed to find a structure in a street corner, the most sophisticated porta-potty I've ever laid eyes on. It was a stylish cylindrical aluminum-like structure covered with advertisements and opened instantly when inserting the coins. Then, at a main Berlin train station I wanted to use the bathroom and saw exactly what you described minus the incentive to purchase seems to me Hungary has the concept mastered. It's genius. I wonder how it'd influence sales.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you can enjoy a public toilet. But yes, I agree. And it seems very unique that a gas station should invest so much into bathroom advertising. Perhaps there was a co-sponsor?
ReplyDeleteIt would be very interesting to review the marketing strategy and the post evaluation to see just how this strategy was received. What was the consumer response? Most consumers would not realize it is a marketing ploy to get them to spend more. They would only see the added value of the 100 HUG coupon. This indeed is diverse media.
I remember clearly when you came into the car from the bathroom excited about your experience. I could understand at the time what was so amazing about it, not until I read this blog. It totally makes sense now, gas station bathrooms are usually very dirty so getting a clean one and on top of that a voucher sounds like a deal to me. Sometimes is hard to stop at a gas station and not buy at least a drink. So this voucher is perfect because it gives people an incentive to go and buy something at the station store. It would be a good opportunity for a company to sponsor this voucher.
ReplyDeleteI will love to interview the owner of the gas station in order to have a better understanding on the strategy, if they had one.
ReplyDeleteHowever, and after doing a little research on this matter I came across with the information that Marché International is a subsidiary of Movenpick Holding that offers international brand names like: Marché Fressness Restaurant, Marché Natural Bakery, Cindy's Diner and Movenpick Restaurants. These represent a complementary and top-quality gastronomic offering at highly-frequented locations.
Following this it makes total sense!!!