Marketing Decoded

Elf Yourself http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/ by Officemax is into its 6th year.  378 million people in 50 countries, still get a kick (groan), like me, of seeing themsELVES and their kids dance around in an elf suit.  My girls and I have been spinning and poppin’ and lockin’ for a couple of hours now and I still think it’s funny.  I think it’s awesome marketing on Officemax’s part too.  It’s not a store I frequent but they’ve managed to get some bucks from me because of this.  What started out as a viral marketing campaign has been turned into something that generates direct revenue for Officemax.  You can buy yoursELF a mousepad, video, coffee mug…everything that your Mum would want.  As seems to be de rigeur now, they’ve also added a Facebook game: Elfmas Town. What’s cool about the way Officemax does this is that they keep it fresh every year by adding on a few new extras and then they take it away until next year, kind of like Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs. We’re sick of it by the middle of December but delighted again when we see oursELVES the following year. They’ve also figured out how to generate direct revenue from what started out as a neat branding idea.

Hey, I’m bustin’ a move.  Bet you’re thinking about it now too.