• by December 2, 2013

Maintaining your brand’s cultural relevance in the age of real-time marketing now means being prepared to use the context of current events whenever they happen. But there are some annual events that always make news, with universal truths that don’t require digital newsrooms to put great creative in media context. 

Case in point, Thanksgiving travel.  Nearly everyone travels somewhere Thanksgiving weekend, and whether you’re coming or going, you’re bound to be waiting somewhere -- especially if you’re flying.

Which is why ZAPPOS took to the baggage carousels of Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport to create a roulette-style game for passengers waiting for their luggage. By answering a style question correctly, passengers were awarded a range of prizes ranging from shoes and backpacks to jackets and appliances.   For downtrodden Thanksgiving travelers in need of their luggage, ZAPPOS once again showed us a way to  “Deliver Happiness” in a seldom-leveraged media to deliver a very contextual message.  Sure, placing your shoes in a TSA bin might be one context – but this time, when every other marketer is Zigging towards Black Friday, why not ZAP and create a more positive mindset?

For a clicks without bricks eretailer like ZAPPOS, this wasn’t just about being top of mind before today’s Cyber Monday sales push.   It was also a way to take the negative cultural context of Thanksgiving travel and turn it into a positive, with an offline creative use of media that’s sure to help the brand online today and throughout the holidays.