This is for all of the marketers out there, especially the marketers at dealerships, and it’s all about peanuts and Cracker Jacks. Welcome to TradePending TV.
All of us marketers out there have goals: the immediate, the short term, the middle term, and the long-term. The most successful marketing is the kind that lasts generations, and it’s built upon a foundation of company values and culture, not just branding and advertising.
But sometimes a clever catch phrase goes a long, long, long, long way. Let’s travel back in time to late May 2024.
I’m standing in the snack line with my frosty beverage to watch the UNC Tarheels go on to beat the LSU Tigers in the Regional Playoffs of the NCAA tournament. I figured I could use some salty peanuts to go along with that brew.
But hold on! Look at those delicious sweet and salty Cracker Jacks! I should probably only buy one or the other, but what the hell, I’ll buy both.
Once I returned to my seat, I realized I’d fallen for one of the oldest marketing ploys of all time. “Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks…” That was some brilliant marketing by Big Peanut.
In truth, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was written in 1908 by a couple of baseball-loving songwriters. But over one hundred years later, deep in my psyche, I’d make a buying decision influenced by some serious long-term, even if unintentional, brand marketing. I literally fell for the “buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks” line!
My message is this: it’s okay for us marketers to lift our heads up from time to time, remind ourselves of the big picture, and remember to also be playing the long game.
