What a beautiful thought process. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the Hyderabad Zoo proved exactly that. More importantly, it showed that inspiration can come from any quarter.
Today, anyone with the name “David” was given free entry into the zoo. You may ask, why? The occasion was the 100th birthday anniversary of David Attenborough, the world-famous wildlife photographer, broadcaster, naturalist, and conservationist. Brilliant, wouldn’t you say? But the idea itself is not entirely new.
When KFC entered Hyderabad
in the mid-1990s, it pulled off a very similar marketing stunt. On the opening
day of its first outlet, KFC came up with a wonderfully innovative sales
promotion. Anyone whose name started with the letter “K”, Krishna, Kavita,
Kranthi, Kushal, Keerthi, and so on was given a 50% discount.
Of course, in those days, people had to produce proof such as birth certificates, college ID cards, or other identification documents to avail the discount. Simple idea. Memorable execution.
That is the beauty of creative marketing. Sometimes the most effective campaigns are not the most expensive ones, but the ones that make people smile, feel included, and talk about the experience long after the event is over.
A campaign like this does more than attract customers. It creates curiosity, generates word-of-mouth publicity, and gives people a story to share with friends and family. Long after the discount ends, the memory of the experience remains. That is the real power of creative marketing.
