Building innovative marketing programs requires chutzpah!  You’ve got to take chances, be willing to shake things up and try new things.  At some organizations this can be difficult.  But you don’t have to change the world all at once – in fact it is always best to take a crawl, walk, run approach. Start with one program, test the waters and communicate success.  Look to other innovative programs for inspiration and then build something and make it your own.  Part of what we want to do with this blog is showcase some examples and be a source of inspiration for our members.  Well, here’s another example of an innovative participatory marketing program in action – Amazon’s Customers Vote program. 

Amazon’s Customers Vote is an innovative shopping program where customers vote for, and receive a chance to compete for their most “ridiculous deals” during the holiday season.  It reminds me a lot of American Express’ “My Wish List” effort and it is a shining example of participatory marketing in action.  Here’s how it works.

Step 1: Visitors browse six rounds of deals and vote for the ones they’d like to buy at an amazing price.

Step 2: Participants check their email the day before each buying round to see if they’ve been randomly selected to participate in the ability to purchase the product.

Step 3: If selected, participants are invited to come back for a chance to purchase.

Here is a sampling of some of the deals:

- Samsung 46 inch 1080p HDTV: List Price: $1,599, Winning Price: $699 with 250 Units available.

- TomTom Go 730T: List Price $449, Winning Price: $245 with 1,000 units available.

The result? Thousands of consumers talking about the great deal they got at Amazon, thousands more wishing they got selected and over 500 message board posts.  And what was the glue that helped keep this participatory marketing program going? Relevant, timely email communications that engaged a willing audience.

‘Til Next Time.