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ChangingMinds Blog! > Blog Archive > 01-Feb-08

Friday 01-February-08

Holiday taxi ads

A neat way of advertising has appeared in London recently, and it's really nice news for taxi drivers. London taxi drivers are known for their cheery chat with their fares and a holiday advertiser has picked up on this by sending the weary drivers on free holidays to places like Thailand. The general idea is that the driver then waxes eloquent about the vacation to all who will listen.

There are two ways of doing this and I hope the advertiser has got it right. Done wrong, they give the driver a specific script that must be parroted as often as possible. The problem with this is that it quickly sounds just like that -- a bored repetition that also bores its targets (and gives cabbies a bad name into the bargain). Taxi drivers are not actors and fake messages will stand out a mile.

Done well, the driver chats about Thailand because it really is a great place to holiday. It's generally easy to tell when people are genuinely enthusiastic. Fake enthusiasm is not contagious; real enthusiasm is. This is the principle behind a new generation of marketers, such as bzzagent.com, who are seeking to use word of mouth in real situations.

This principle is not totally new and fashion companies have been giving away expensive kit to 'style leaders' for decades. The difference is in the pervasiveness and attempts at creating enthusiastic advocates.

I'm still wondering where to go on holiday next. Taxi!! .

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