Viral Marketing Idea Friday - Start Some Controversy!
I just could not help myself with todays “viral marketing idea” post. This is almost so unbelievable (but not) that its crazy. You will learn why (in just a minute) how there is something wrong with me, and even in the situation I was in, I could not stop thinking about how I was going to turn (what I was experiencing) into a blog post related to viral marketing.
Let me give you a little background - It was my brothers birthday yesterday and he called me up and said a few of his friends were taking him to lunch and asked if I wanted to go. Of course I did, so I told him to email me directions and it was on! This is where the fun begins to this post.
To my surprise I walk into this “fine eating establishment” called “The Heart Attack Grill” that has just about the most unhealthy food you can find on the planet - no kidding - one of the burgers is estimated to be 8000 calories. They even warn you about it. The concept is pretty clever, and you soon realize how come they are doing so well. They call it “The Heart Attack Grill” because of the menu, and give it a catchy one liner “A taste worth dying for”! The cooks are Doctors and dressed in Doctors outfits and scrubs, and the waitresses are dressed in “Naughty Nurse” outfits. This place is like Hooters on steroids. Here is a picture I took to share my experience with all, and believe me this one is probably the most tame outfits:
To me, its not even about the whole concept of “sex sells”, because when I was reading all the press, and media these guys are getting, and how the owner gets 80 emails an hour from people wanting him to franchise (all over the country) it really makes me think of what made this business go viral? CONTROVERSY!!! It all comes down to the controversy that this guy has created with two key elements, 1. The girls in skimpy nurse outfits (even though the owner calls it “PG rated sex”) and 2. The unhealthy food - (this food is way worse for you then anything on the McDonalds menu and they had a documentary done on them!) the owner has sparked up so much controversy that there is no way for him to not succeed. Look here - I am even talking about it! I just found out about this place yesterday!
I thought this was appropriate for viral marketing idea Friday, because it’s a good reminder of what can do well for business whether you are an off line business owner (selling food), or just trying to gain momentum for that new business blog you just launched. If you are not into selling sex (like myself) there are plenty of ways that you can create controversy and go viral without it, I am simply just using this as an example to get you thinking about the whole concept of viral marketing and controversy!
Because I usually give examples of link bait with my posts, the only one I could think of for this is - “10 Bathrooms I Would Never Go In” and of course list this place as one of them for … um …. obvious reasons! Yea, I’ll just end it there!
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Real shame that…*laughs*
Nice post. But its time to cough up and tell us the total number of pictures you took?
Dave, JD
Well, no matter how many pictures I took, I swear it was for “research”!!
Thanks for commenting, and glad you enjoyed!
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