Brands Find New Life on eBay
Marketers searching for a new method to generate buzz about their wares are flocking to the one place that guarantees a captive audience and sells it all—
More and more brands are turning to the world’s online marketplace to promote their products and cause marketing campaigns to reach consumers— this case, the 157 million worldwide registered eBay users— an unconventional way.
Take Wendy’s, for example. The QSR recently auctioned off its “ranch tooth,” a popular TV ad campaign prop, after receiving dozens of calls from consumers inquiring whether such products were for sale.
The tooth, a 19.5-inch-tall, seven-pound fiberglass sculpture, received more than 13,000 viewings and 52 bids during its 10-day hype on the auction block. Bidding opened Sept. 1 at $100, and closed Sept. 11 with a final bid of $1,781. All proceeds went to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
Wendy’s launched TV spots with the ranch tooth Aug. 8 through early September to promote the QSR’s Monterey Ranch Cheeseburger and the Monterey Ranch Chicken sandwich. In the ads, the ranch tooth yells the word “ranch” as a man talks about Wendy’s promotional sandwiches.
The ranch tooth character mimicked the ordinary “sweet tooth,” only this molar yearned a Wendy’s sandwich with Monterey Jack cheese and ranch sauce.
“This was just a way for us to engage a younger online audience in a different and compelling way,” explained Wendy spokesman Bob Bertini. “It’s not everyday one sees a seven-pound tooth wearing a cowboy hat.”
Brands like Wendy’s are turning to the online auction site to reach audiences beyond TV spots and print ads.
“Marketers in a variety of categories are looking for new and innovative ways to launch product and build loyalty and are looking in non-traditional channels to get those messages out,” said Don Albert, senior director of strategic partnership, for the San Jose, CA-based eBay, Inc.
And based on past successes, consumers can expect to see more from brand marketers on the auction site, Albert predicted.
This spring, Paramount Pictures helped promote the release of War of the Worlds and The Longest Yard selling movie props and memorabilia on eBay with a streaming movie trailer and special microsite for eBay users.
Other brands opt to form more extensive partnerships beyond product selling on eBay, Albert said. In 2003, Cadbury Schweppes, the maker of Dr Pepper and 7 Up, ran a loyalty program called Liquid Loot, in which consumers redeemed codes under the caps for points to use on eBay (Xtra Feb. 26, 2003).
“Marketers are beginning to realize the power those…communities have with eBay,” Albert said.
What started out as a fun promotion for Wendy’s, took on a whole new meaning for the QSR.
“It turned out to be something that took on a life of its own,” Bertini said of Wendy’s auction. “The fact that eBay is such a household name, it was a great delivery vehicle for us.”
Though Wendy’s recently ended its Monterey Ranch sandwich promotion, the legacy of the ranch tooth lives on, he added.
