According to many definitions in the business world, a complementary good is “a material or good whose use is interrelated with the use of an associated, or paired good, so that a demand for one generates demand for the other.”
For example if the good is peanut butter, and you know that the consumer you are seeking to find is avidly making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, that would make the jelly (and bread) complementary goods. An increase in sales of peanut butter would automatically generate an increase in sales of jelly and bread. The same also works if there is a fall in the price of one good, that even if the complementary good’s price doesn’t fall, the market will still notice an increase in jelly or bread sales due to the consumer’s ability to buy more “peanut butter” now that the price has fallen...
Even if you don’t have a complementary good or service, it is always a good marketing idea to always associate your product with hobbies, interests and activities that your target customer is actively doing or participating in—after all, you don’t hunt polar bears in Africa, right? Consequently you may want to check out what Miller Lite cleverly did with their product and the University of Washington and the Seattle Mariners products/services…
Miller Lite wanted a way to showcase their product (beer) which would stand out from their competitors in convenience stores where demand is pretty high and is certainly a place where beer customers frequent quite heavily. So since the University of Washington's football program (Go Dawgs!) and the Seattle Mariners are sporting teams, what better way to showcase Miller Lite’s product than by placing it in a large, team-colored locker in a local convenience store where the team is based?
These unique and very eye-catching displays truly stood out from the other beer products in those stores. It is difficult to imagine walking into a store and not being drawn to this cool gym locker display and then noticing behind the open door, the locker was stuffed with beer! (Personally, if you were the proverbial super fan of either of these sporting teams, or an Alma mater of the University of Washington, we would imagine your first question to the clerk behind the counter would be; “How on earth can I get one of these great-looking sports lockers?”)
Knowing this type of display would make their product stand out, Miller Lite ordered 125+ of these single tier lockers from us, added the two team’s logos and sent them off to Washington where Miller Lite filled them with beer and placed these "beer lockers" in highly visited gas stations and convenience stores in and around the Seattle area.
Great idea, isn’t it?
We would like to challenge your company and its marketing department to look at your product and how it is associated with other products or services out there—not lockers necessarily, but something your targeted consumers wouldn’t normally and immediately associate with your good or service. (Sports fans, beer and lockers, for example.)
Then go and see if there is a way in which you can associate that good or service, or in Miller Lite’s case find a way to display the product (via a single tier locker) in a way that adds a bit of marketing flair to a campaign that makes your company’s good or service "pop out" from the rest, really setting it apart from your competitors.
If you are as clever as Miller Lite, you will find those unique and innovative ways really do make your company stand out, and create an impact on your current and potential customers…
Remember that a lot of people do in fact “judge a book by its cover,” which makes these Miller Lite displays truly unique and eye-catching! Thank you Miller Lite for allowing us to provide you with these cool Dawg and Mariner-specific "beer lockers" for your unique campaign!
