I was pleasantly surprised this morning. I have been an avid reader of the New York Times online site for a number of years. It has great coverage and is generally very good at conveying the news that I think is important to me.
I was sad to hear that they were putting up a pay wall. I certainly understand their need to make money, they are a business, so I can’t blame them for wanting to do that, but I personally can’t justify the expense; so I just realized that my interaction with the Times, at least for now, was going to be limited. This morning, however, I received an email from the Times about Lincoln. The email stated that they would extend my free access to the Times until the end of the year courtesy of Lincoln. I of course expected a long survey, and a registration to lots of Lincoln stuff. And, of course, a huge sales pitch.
However, when I clicked the link, there was none of that. It just said thanks! Now that was a pleasant surprise, and I would argue, is the way to run a marketing campaign. Will I buy a Lincoln because of this? Probably not, but, I do have to say, it has me looking at them in a much better light. Marketing through consistent, and non-intrusive, ways is, in my opinion, the way to market your business.
Kudos to Lincoln, and their marketing staff for a pleasantly surprising, and hopefully successful campaign!