Snakes in shopping centres? Whatever next?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge” – Einstein. But how many marketers know how to use it?

Everyone talks about “creativity” – but most confuse it with being different for the sake of being different.

One man who has an uncanny ability to be different in a way that pays is Ian Mulingani, a pioneer of Experiential Marketing.

For top Mercedes customers he had the idea of hiring the Alhambra in Granada. Nobody had ever done it before.

For VW he had the idea of getting a Touareg to tow a Jumbo jet.

For wealthy Bentley customers he started running Ice Driving events within the Arctic Circle.

One day he saw that an old London bus was for sale. So he bought it and used it to attract people at County Shows. If my memory serves me right, he bought two – and sold one on at a profit.

When he saw Skoda running commercials with snakes in them, he decided it would be great idea to have cars full of snakes in shopping centres.

“You have to go where the customers are,” he explained. “You can’t expect them to come to your showrooms. Why should they?”

It worked – and attracted the crowds. “But what amazed me”, he says, “is that the kids weren’t at all scared. They’d ask what the snakes were called.”

Ian has two qualities you will value.

First, he is very funny, with as many stories as he has ideas. Second, he measures everything and can show you how what he does gives a far better return in investment  than a lot of advertising. And I mean a lot more.

Are you looking for imaginative ideas? They are the only thing that works for you when money is short – as it’s going to be for the next few years.

Ian is one of the speakers at EADIM, who include three PhDs, one professor – and your humble servant who walked out of university, bored to tears. But every one of them will give you ideas that could transform your business.

EADIM only runs once a year, with a maximum of 40 seats.  There is only a handful left, and a saving of £600 if you apply now.