Though, after the celebrations drew to a close

Though, after the celebrations drew to a close, I decided to take took a closer look at the winning bid. "Why

was it so successful?" I asked myself.

After collecting and putting all the pieces of the bid MBT Maliza, together, I'm convinced that there were two strategies

used that any one of us can borrow and apply to effective use in getting our advertising messages to be super

responsive.

The first 'Master Secret' was the use of a 'CELEBRITY' to spearhead the campaign.

It's true that the Olympic bid was somewhat spluttering mid way through its campaign and something was needed,

something drastic was needed in order to lift the flagging feeling of the bid.

Enter -(Lord) Sebastian Coe.

You may or may not remember the 800, 1500 meters and the one-mile battles that happened between Coe, Cram and

Ovett in the early 80's. Now, THAT was compelling viewing!

With that pedigree and history behind him, introducing Coe as the main ambassador of the bid, was a touch of

genius. It gave credibility and a unique tie in to what the MBT Sport Shoes games were all about.

With hindsight or not, it's fair to say that the London bid wouldn't have had the same sparkling result if it

were left to the politicians and other 'dignitaries' to lead the challenge.

Reason?

They're not OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST CHAMPIONS! And... most are not 'favourites' with the general public.

So, how can you and I use the idea of a CELEBRITY to boost our response in the market place?

Well, all we need do is find a 'Coe Comparative' in whatever field we're doing business in.

Say we're a local butchers and we want to promote our new range of quality meats that have a certain zing and

flavour to them. Something that just isn't available anywhere else in the local area.

How about getting the editor of the local paper to be in the promotions saying something like, " Geoff Swan of

The Local Gazzette Swears He'd Never Buy Meat From Anywhere Else Than Blah Blah Butchers... The Meat's Just Too

Tasty, Just Too Succulent and Just Great Value!"

When everyone else's shouting 'we've got cut priced sausages', you're wading in there with a 'glamour'

promotion that the likes of which many customers would never have seen before.

And that means... interest and... custom, plenty of it!

That tie in with a celebrity alone will draw in the customers. But, couple that with great offers, warm and

friendly service and a continual communication, it's possible you'd dominate the local area in pretty quick

time.