I know it's Wednesday and all, but I'm willing to declare this the best marketing idea of this week. Dare to prove me wrong.
From the
Richmond Times-Dispatch (via
Pop Candy)
If all goes as planned, [7-Eleven] chain plans to refit 11 stores across the US -- Richmond is an unlikely choice -- to resemble the front of the Kwik-E-Mart, the convenience store that Homer and other characters frequent in the classic cartoon TV series.
Customers also will be able to buy products inspired by the nearly two-decades-old show, including KrustyO's cereal, Buzz Cola and iced Squishees (the cup says Squishee, but the contents will be Slurpee).
Granted 7-Eleven is the obviously choice for such an endeavor, so it's unknown whether the studio or the chain came up with the idea.
But (especially in competitive industries) it pays to go for that big relationship with the studios - witness the GM-
Transformers partnership.
Addendum, you have to love the straight-forward quip from spokeswoman Margaret Chabris.
"We've done research, and research shows us that our customers like . . . movies, so we're getting involved with some major studios on some of their properties this summer."