The Latest in Promotional Techniques – Lights!

Remember the Golden Age of Hollywood? Everything in Lights—the classic movie poster marquee fenced in illumination by those tiny circular bulbs. My mind can visualize the amimated scene strolling down Hollywood Blvd past Chinese Mann’s Theater captivated by the brilliance.

Fast-forward 80 years to me bustling down a local shopping mall hallway in search of a last-minute gift and a gleam caught my eye. I swung around to behold—marquee Lights!

Adorning the window of a action sports clothing retailer was this promotion—three distinct sweepstakes positioned as the next box office smash. In the bag of retailer sales tools, the consumer sales promotion has experienced a ressurgence over the last several years. Retailers continue to gain intelligence regarding the volume of consumers making decisions at the point of purchase and the factors leading to those decisions. For this retailer, tapping into an nearly century-old jazzy tactic earned them this author’s eyeballs. The question is, what other culturally sticky devices can retailers revive?