The Power of Waiting Around
The smartest marketing moments this year have happened while we were waiting. Not scrolling. Not buying. Just standing there, slightly bored, slightly open. Think ferry queues, car washes, the five minutes before a community theatre curtain goes up. These are the soft gaps in the day where brands can whisper instead of shout. And some have finally worked that out.
I noticed it first at a provincial ferry terminal. A local cider brand had taken over nothing. No signage takeover. No activation. Just a stack of well worn paper coasters on a windowsill with stories about the orchards they came from. People picked them up because there was nothing else to do. They read them. They took them home. That is attention earned the old fashioned way, by respecting the lead up to something, not the climax.
We spend too much time designing for the moment of impact. The reveal. The launch. The big night. But the real emotional territory sits before that. Anticipation. Mild nerves. That strange calm when you are between places. Great brands are starting to choreograph that space. A radio sponsor that understands the silence before the traffic update. A theatre partner that adds a note from the director in the programme, not an ad, a note. These are not stunts. They are manners.
This is where our industry gets to be generous. To add something useful, or thoughtful, or quietly delightful, without demanding anything back. New Zealanders are very good at spotting when they are being cornered. We are also very good at remembering who gave us something to do while we waited. That is not a media strategy. It is a human one.
I noticed it first at a provincial ferry terminal. A local cider brand had taken over nothing. No signage takeover. No activation. Just a stack of well worn paper coasters on a windowsill with stories about the orchards they came from. People picked them up because there was nothing else to do. They read them. They took them home. That is attention earned the old fashioned way, by respecting the lead up to something, not the climax.
We spend too much time designing for the moment of impact. The reveal. The launch. The big night. But the real emotional territory sits before that. Anticipation. Mild nerves. That strange calm when you are between places. Great brands are starting to choreograph that space. A radio sponsor that understands the silence before the traffic update. A theatre partner that adds a note from the director in the programme, not an ad, a note. These are not stunts. They are manners.
This is where our industry gets to be generous. To add something useful, or thoughtful, or quietly delightful, without demanding anything back. New Zealanders are very good at spotting when they are being cornered. We are also very good at remembering who gave us something to do while we waited. That is not a media strategy. It is a human one.