Great 2012 Marketing You May Not Know About

University of Chicago – Call Me Maybe

Yes, anybody and everybody has done their take on this rather mind-numbing tune by Carly Rae Jepsen (to prove how mind-numbing it is, it is one of my 2-1/2 year old granddaughter’s favorite songs).  But the coolest  take was executed by my alma mater – the stuffy, staid University of Chicago, which students also have referred to as “where fun goes to die.”

This year, when prospective students inquired about admissions, the school’s suddenly hip Admissions Office sent out letters that were a take on the tune. 

“I know that we just met you – and this is crazy – but here are our numbers…” the letter says.

The school then reveals certain numbers from the sublime (seven Nobel Prize winners currently on faculty) to the inane (351 items in the 2012 Scavenger Hunt).  It ends with the obligatory “So call us, maybe”  (click http://quitzer.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ct-talk-aj-call-me-maybe-0831-1.jpg-20120831.jpeg) to see the letter.)

According  to a U of C spokesperson: “that kind of wit is in the culture of this place.”  Well, my father’s store was located just off the U of C campus, and I did get my MBA there.  So my exposure to the school goes back 50 years, and, through those decades, “wit” is not a word I would have associated with the place.  Glad times have changed, maybe.

LDS Church – “I’ve Read the Book”

Perhaps as unexpected as it is to give the U of C plaudits for its humorous marketing, so too is praise for a marketing tactic employed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or LDS Church, or Mormons). 

As you undoubtedly know, the Tony Award winning and absolutely hysterical (without being mean) play “The Book of Mormon” (a must see by the way), pokes fun at the religion, along with just about everything else.

How would you expect the LDS Church to respond?  I would have expected it to be outraged and mount a campaign encouraging people not to see the show.  So imagine my surprise when I walked into the theater, started browsing through the Playbill, and saw an ad by the Church that said simply: "I've Read the Book."  (Click 

 http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865561906/LDS-Church-buys-ad-space-in-Book-of-Mormon-musical-playbill.html?pg=all to see the ad.)

The Church wisely saw this as an opportunity to spread its message (it also has run the ad in Playbills for other shows) in a simple and elegant manner.  So rather than ignore the play and pretend it did not exist, the Church used the play as an opportunity to reach out and educate without being judgmental of those attending the play. 

While I am not a Mormon nor will become one, the ad did prompt me to research the religion a little more, and gain a lot of respect for the leadership for their savvy perspective.