October 10, 2024
Sometimes the best marketing strategies aren’t planned: they’re born from last-minute decisions and a willingness to try something different.
Here’s how I turned my van life van into an unexpected B2B marketing success at Main Street Summit.
Decision
The story is, I initially skipped the Main St. Summit —since I run my own events nationwide, paying to attend others isn’t as valuable to me as it might be for others.
Then, the day before, friends started texting asking if I’d be there. That’s when it hit me.
I have this eye-catching van that attendees would recognize.
Why not grab an entry-level ticket ($250), park right by the venue ($1.25/hour), and run van tours all day for people I hadn’t met in person yet?
Strategy
- Create a memorable story worth sharing for years.
- Low investment ($250 ticket) with potential business returns and at minimum, it provides me an opportunity to build my brand.
- Even with racking up parking tickets, one new customer covers all costs.
- Perfect opportunity for an unconventional marketing play.
The decision – it sounds like a fun “Rand” thing to do.
The Execution
So I drove from Nashville to Columbia, Missouri, secured a prime corner spot right by the venue, and announced “come one, come all.”
During any downtime, I’d stand outside the van, catch familiar faces walking by, share my story, and give them the tour.
The Unexpected Wins
Funnily enough, what started with a basic ticket turned into VIP access — on the last day of the event, one person I gave a tour to, offered up his guest “gold pass”, and I was given equal access to the event as if I had a $5,000 ticket.
The story got even better. Over dinner, the Mayor of Columbia mentioned they weren’t issuing parking tickets during the event weekend.
Event Sneak Speak
The Impact
In just one day, nearly 100 people toured my $42,000 van life van.
It proved itself as the ultimate B2B marketing tool – no questions needed.
Now, I just need to actually wrap the darn thing.
Next step: wrapping it NASCAR-style with SMB Community logos and touring the rest of the country.
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