For me, the best marketing idea connected to this week's launch of the Apple iPhone didn't come from Apple.
It came from a charity.
Amidst all of the hype and media frenzy centered around the launch of the iPhone, Keep A Child Alive, a fantastic organization that provides anti-retroviral drugs to kids and families in need in Africa, came up with a very smart way to break through the clutter and get noticed.
KCA found a simple, easy way to attach themselves to one of the biggest media events of the year. And best of all - It didn't cost them a dime.
Whether its the launch of a new blockbuster film or a hot new video game platform, the media always loves to interview the guy who's first in line having been camping out for days in a sleeping bag waiting for the doors to open.
So what did KCA do?
On Tuesday morning they sent a couple of representatives wearing KCA t-shirts and armed with information about the charity, down to became the first in line to buy the iPhone in New York's flagship store.
The plan is that after the phone is purchased on Friday it will then be auctioned off for charity on eBay.
What I like most about this is that it proves once again that some of the most effective ideas are seemingly the "simplist"
On thing is for sure, KCA knows how PR works.
(Photo nicked from Core77)
