The gold rush era happened; it’s not an urban legend or conspiracy theory. So too is the tidal wave we’re about to experience in the coming months and years of what I’ve penned, ‘Capture the Flag Marketing’. For those not familiar with – Capture the Flag, it’s a game played mostly by kids where the end goal is to capture your flag hidden in enemy territory before getting ‘tagged’ out… and before the other team captures their flag. I’m not sure if kids still play this game but I recall coming up with some interesting strategies back in the day. Kids can be incredibly imaginative when we get out of their way.
‘Capture the Flag Marketing’ refers to companies creating a game plan to capture and keep our attention through creative marketing efforts. I believe there are hordes of companies right now brewing up special concoctions in the labs before releasing to the masses. We’ll see much better strategies from bars, restaurants, and local businesses in their Foursquare mayoral rewards programs. PR firms will do a better job helping brands tell their story and connecting with their publics. The time to create a flawless battle plan, ambush the competition, and capture your flag is now.
I think it’s fairly obvious; social media is not a fad. Sorry cabbage patch fans, this one has legs and with any luck won’t jump the shark anytime soon. Companies are taking note and signing up for Twitter, polishing up their websites, and hiring professionals experienced in navigating the digital marketing landmine. Unlike the game in its truest form, with so many flags up for grabs we’re seeing a gold rush mentality taking place and everyone wants their shot.
Sure there are brands already achieving success through their marketing efforts in this new social-everything craze but the numbers are still small in comparison to where we’re headed. Recently Starbucks added a company-wide foursquare initiative in hopes to attract more attention and ultimately more business. There are plenty of other examples you can find sprinkled throughout the Internet, here’s one found on Delicious’ social bookmarking website. Companies are now realizing that instead of waiting for others; they’re willing to get a little skin in the game in hopes of being the first to find the gold.
Creating something on a grand scale takes time; the iPad was most likely incubated for many years before being released as evidenced by this video back in 2007. While Bill Gates talks about what he sees as the future in tech devices, he basically describes the iPad to which Steve Jobs was most likely sitting back and thinking, ‘yeah…we’re on it’. Developing really cool stuff takes time when you think about the entire lifecycle from idea creation to shipping product. Social sites are still relatively new and still not considered mainstream yet companies have been watching, listening, and observing for quite some time.
The first to the flag, the first to create a sustainable buzz that produces results in any market, any city wins. Sure there will be silver and bronze medalists but let’s face it, don’t we all want the biggest piece of the pie? If you’re the first to show up to dinner you don’t have to worry about only getting leftovers and if you’re successful in being one of the first to do something ‘remarkable’ as Seth Godin likes to point out, you’ve hit the jackpot.
What are your thoughts, do you anticipate seeing innovative marketing efforts in the near future or am I just talking pie in the sky? What does your crystal ball tell you?