My family loves being the party-throwers. Starting with my oldest brother Chris and his friends back when they were in college, our family has been involved in the coordinating and hosting of 6 pig roasts. If you've never been to a pig roast, it's like a barbecue, except much more exciting. Instead of burgers, dogs, and sausages, there's a whole pig spinning for hours, making everybody's mouth water in anticipation. It's so exciting that people take pictures next to their future meal. Who takes pictures of the burger on the grill that they are about to eat? Nobody! But when there's a 75-pound pig spinning, it's photo opportunity time.
We threw a pig roast this past Saturday in honor of my graduation from the Adcenter and my brother Geoff's graduation from Virginia Tech's MBA program. It was a blast, and went off without a hitch. 150 of our closest friends ate, drank, and were merry. But there was one difference with this pig roast that the former roasts didn't have. This pig roast had an ad campaign.
We decided that it would be entertaining to the guests if we took some of the strategic planning and advertising tools we had learned in our respective schools and applied them to the planning and advertising of a pig roast. Geoff made a work flow diagram that started with the mission of the pig roast and went all the way down to the tactical initiatives needed to throw the party. Coming from the Adcenter, it was my job to "brand" the pig. With the help of my brother, we created a brand essence pyramid for the brand Pig. We looked at it from the point of view of a pig and what he would value for his personal brand (if he were able to think). The strategic work flow diagram and Pig brand essence pyramid are below.
Once we had our brand, we started branding everything. Cups, balloons, t-shirts, everything. We went all out. It took a lot of hard work, and we didn't sleep much for the few days leading up to the event, but it was worth it. To see people come in the front door, greeted with a branded welcome sign, and then be handed their souvenir branded cup to take home was amazing. I'll never forget it.
It also shows that what we do as marketers doesn't just have to deal with brands. We can use our skills in much more than just advertising. We can plan events, throw parties, and get people excited about just about anything. Anytime that there is a message that's trying to be said to a person or a feeling that is trying to be evoked in a person, marketing can work wonders.
I love the field I have chosen. The wheels in my head are already spinning for Pig Roast VII.
By the way, my niece might have found her calling as a bartender. Good pour, Katie.
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