Why Everyone Loves Golden Ticket Marketing Campaigns

Every Golden Ticket idea comes from Willy Wonka ... and mine did too.

Four years ago I was planning a big book launch and we had what seemed like an impossible idea. I thought it would be amazing if we could offer people across the country a "golden ticket" to pick up a free copy of my book.

The impossible part was the fulfillment.

In order to make this real, we would have to get more than 100 book stores across the country to agree to work with us and keep a single copy of Non-Obvious Megatrends behind their front desk for the first customer to walk through the door with a golden ticket to claim their prize.

I've never been good at giving up on an impossible idea.

So my team spent months working on the logistics, calling bookstores, pitching the idea, promising and buying local radio spots to support the effort and very soon after we launched the book we also announced The Great Non-Obvious Scavenger Hunt .

People could enter a lottery to claim a golden ticket online. The winners would download their ticket and visit their local bookstore to claim their prize, which would be held at the front desk under a secret code name: Bunbury.

Readers loved the promotion. Astute literary fans spotted the hidden Oscar Wilde reference (which bookstore owners also loved). Most importantly it got people talking, helping us promote the book all the way to #1 on the Wall Street Journal list.

I was reminded of this promotion over the past few weeks as I watched Michael Scott's legendary Golden Ticket idea backfire from The Office , and also came across two more brilliantly conceived Golden Ticket marketing programs from two very different organizations.

The first was from the AARP AgeTech Collaborative? from AARP as part of their program at the huge Consumer Electronics Trade Show in Las Vegas last month. In a search for innovative AgeTech solutions, the AARP scouted more than 1,400+ early stage startups exhibiting at the show and awarded four startups with a “golden ticket” … an invitation to pitch their product on the AgeTech Collaborative stage to a live audience and a panel of judges. The four winners, Cephable Peri The Adam App and GyroGear each had five minutes to pitch their ideas.

GyroGear won the competition with their wearable glove designed to counteract tremors in real time and allow people to regain some mobility for normal daily activities. The real winner from the show, however, was AARP which managed to do the one thing hardly any other brand at the show did: use their clout to share the stage with smaller players and give them a boost in the process.

As far as Golden Ticket ideas go, this one was delightfully on brand in every way. Lift up those who need the support, share the spotlight and create a wake of viral fun along the way.

My second recent encounter with a Golden Ticket idea was at the Visit Fort Worth Annual Conference where I was invited to deliver the opening keynote. The event brought together over 1000 participants from America's fastest growing city to talk about how to bring more visitors, investment and community to their rapidly expanding city.

At the end of the show, each participant was given a Golden Ticket that included discounts and promotions to local experiences and restaurants. The call to action was simple: go out tonight and enjoy our city! Every tourism event should do this.

The Golden Ticket in Fort Worth added some fun to the event and also gave people a reminder that part of being in the city is going out and supporting all the local businesses and entrepreneurs who live there. The idea inspired me to connect with several local entrepreneurs myself and support their efforts.

Altogether, these stories illustrate exactly how powerful it can be if you take a fun idea that started in a book, was popularized in a movie and then bring it to your own situation. Everyone loves to get a Golden Ticket. Now it's up to you to make it meaningful.