So I was sleepily pumping gas at my local 7-Eleven (it’s $3.44 $2.99 a gallon in Orlando if anyone cares- it’s gone down $.40 since I originally wrote this. Wow!) when I saw an interesting promotion above the gas pump. 7-Eleven is getting into political marketing with its 7-Election 2008 campaign.
How does it work? Simply buy a cup of coffee with either Obama or McCain’s name on it. It’s as simple as that. (Interesting sidenote: out of the 30ish states participating, all but two states had Obama as the winner.)
7-Eleven has been doing this promotion through the last 3 presidential election. They’ve also tied in with CNN and USAToday for this promotion.
So here’s why I’m impressed with this promotion, and what you can learn from it:
- It rides on a hot topic, the election. That’s always a smart technique to participate in the buzz. Looking for a way to get a lot of attention? Pay attention to the news. Politics, scandal, celebrities. Figure out how to ride on their publicity to create your own.
- It’s simple. It doesn’t get easier than buying a cup of coffee. Don’t want to put an Obama bumper sticker on your car? You can still show your support by buying a cup of coffee! Avoid complicated promotions or contest, because your audience will be turned off.
- It’s cheap. This is not a “buy a car and get $800 in free gas” campaign. It’s something that every American can participate in, simply by it being affordable. The more affordable your promotion is, the better results you will have. You can guarantee 7-Eleven has more than doubled its coffee sales since this began.
- It’s interactive. The site includes a map that shows who’s winning in each state. This campaign is taking the interactive component of Marketing 2.0 to heart. And that’s what makes it work. If you can get your audience involved, you’ll see an increase in traffic and sales.
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Susan Payton is the Marketing Eggspert, and owner of 
Gosh I love it! Makes me want to run out and buy a cup of coffee too.
Very interesting! 7-11 doesn’t sell gas in my area and I wouldn’t just go there for coffee. If a cafe did that here, all of the Obama cups would sell out, leaving all of the Mc Cain cups to waste.
I guess that words in areas where there is more of a mix?
I don’t like it.
I would never go specifically to 7-11 to purchase coffee just because of the design of the cup. What does 7-11 expect to get out of this? It won’t increase sales (will it?), it won’t be an effective 7-11 brand awareness builder, and people aren’t generally loyal to convenience stores. They shop there because it’s “convenient.”
Just doesn’t make sense to me.
Jon–
I think it will sell more coffees (Dawn said it made her want one). They’re even packaging a coffee and a USA Today paper.
It’s an interesting promotion, you have to admit. Just like people putting Obama/McCain signs in their yard, carrying around a cuppa joe with your favorite candidate around the office makes a statement. You’re paying for what it says about you, not the candidate. Just like clothes. But with caffeine.