Over the last few years, we’ve repeatedly seen people getting tattooed with corporate logos as a tribute to that particular product or company that they love. Certainly not my cup of tea, but a quick search on the internet will prove that it’s more than a few people’s idea of a great tattoo. But all brand allegiance aside, I’ve got to admit that from an advertising point of view, a company or corporation really can’t go wrong with having their logo tattooed on to the flesh of loyal customers.
To be honest, I find this concept a little frightening. It’s pretty much been proven that every single multinational corporation out there never has enough. They never have enough money, they never have enough locations and they never have enough advertising. Given the chance, Starbucks would (and probably will) not rest until every inch of every major city around the world is covered in Starbucks logos. An exaggeration? Possibly. But the latest corporation to see the advantage in having legions of customers tattooed with their logo in exchange for a meagre 20% lifetime discount is apparel retailer Ecko.
Yes, that’s right: get the Ecko logo tattooed on your body (human billboards can choose between two different designs) and a 20% discount on all Ecko goods is yours for life – provided that you shop at Ecko stores in the United States or Puerto Rico. In addition to the logo tattoo, Ecko is encouraging human billboards to “personalise” their Ecko tattoo, which kind of seems like a contradiction to me.
Oh all right, I don’t want to come off as Mister Grumpy Pants here…It’s just that I can clearly envision this becoming more and more common place as corporations realise how profitable it can be for them to not only have free advertising, but to also lay claim to a host of permanently dedicated customers. Offer a meagre discount for life (something that ultimately costs any major corporation very little), and watch the cash roll in. Thank you tattoos!