The Queen's crown is polished, the pillow on her throne
buffed and the corgis pruned in preparation for the diamond
jubilee. With the celebration less than two weeks away,
is your business ready to benefit? Here is our selection of
businesses that are using the royal celebration to increase
sales through selling special edition products.
Nails inc - The nail salon chain has released a
special nail polish, which paints your nails the red, white and
blue of the Union Jack flag. The limited edition varnish comes in a
crystal encrusted bottle to make it extra special. Nails inc is
celebrating the British heritage, or just using the occasion to
flog nail varnish it would have had anyway.
Marmite - No stranger to special editions,
Marmite, has released a commemorative jar for the royal milestone.
The iconic brand has even dropped the name from its packaging,
calling it Ma'amite, in a nod to the Queen.
Stokes Sauces - The Suffolk company has decided
to give its Real Coronation Sauce away
for free in a competition for those having a street party. It's
a bold move by the company's founder Rick Sheepshanks, but he feels
it's a wise one. "It's really important for businesses generally to
be giving something back," he says. "Not to be silly, naive or
sanctimonious about it, but we support different events and
charities for this reason. On the cynical side, of course, to be
seen giving back is not bad for any company's PR."
Wold Top Brewery - The award-winning Yorkshire
based microbrewery is selling a special Diamond Jubilee Ale.
Available all across East Yorkshire, it is expected to sell well.
It has a slight difference to their usual beers, but nothing
drastic. However, by giving it the name Diamond Jubilee Ale, you
can expect people to buy it.
Transport for London - TFL is a British
institution and is using that tag to sell diamond jubilee tea
towels. The towel is designed to look like a train ticket, but with
regal purple strips instead of the standard orange. It's a good
example of a company that has nothing to do with the jubilee or
towels using the occasion to sell more products.
Bentley - The iconic carmaker has launched a
tailored edition of its Mulsanne luxury sedan to celebrate the
jubilee. Only 60 limited editions are to be made and sold in China.
Proof that the demand for jubilee products spreads worldwide.
Konditor & Cook - The innovative bakery,
based in London, is going to bake 3120 cakes, one for every week of
the Queen's reign, and put them together to make a huge fruit cake
portrait of the Queen. The cake, measuring 94ft sq, will be
displayed in Battersea Park and will be sold off at £1 a piece with
all proceeds going to charity.
None of these ideas require a huge effort for companies. The
businesses are not doing anything out of the ordinary. Essentially
they are gimmicks that people will buy into. They may raise money
for charity or they may raise profit for the business.
By focusing products on the diamond jubilee, even if it means
giving products away for free, you can guarantee people will be
talking about the product, and it will raise their profile. So it's
worth taking a look at what you do and see if you can slap a
diamond jubilee tag or special offer on your products.