Issue 6 - May 2003

Quick Marketing Tips

Hoofing it

I opened a new office in February and wanted to let people know about it in the most cost effective way. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade – a huge event for Chicago – offered a perfect opportunity to do something I had been wanting to do for years – to march in the parade with a camel.

I started getting my parade entry organized less than two weeks before the event.

The biggest challenge was finding a camel to rent. I met someone who had used a trained dog for a TV production and he referred me to a company that had an assortment of trained animals, including a camel.

Several days before the parade, I let every patient who came into the office know about our participation in the parade. I also sent e-mails to everyone on our distribution list. There was a lot of talk and excitement.

We knew it was going to be a good day as soon as we arrived. All the parade officials knew about the camel and us. We had more smiles, laughs, friendly comments and a lot of people taking photographs. Patients, family and friends walked the parade route with me giving away flyers. The only “bad” thing: We ran out of flyers half way through the parade.

– Gordon Fimreite, DC