My mom and I went to a taping of ABC’s “The View” yesterday here in Manhattan. When we took our seats, I immediately recognized a man—one of the three men in the entire audience, I might add—in the third row.
I pegged him for Pinny Gniwisch, executive VP of marketing for online jewelry retailer Ice.com. I had seen Pinny speak at least three or four times at various e-commerce conferences in the past and I was sure it was him. My guess was later validated when I noticed he was wearing an Ice.com hat. But I couldn’t figure out why he was there. Maybe a fan of guests Alan Greenspan and actress Anne Heche?
Half-way through the taping, the ladies of “The View” announced that all audience members were receiving a necklace (5-carat green amethyst and diamond 10K white gold pendant with chain) worth $200 from Ice.com. An image of the giveaway, as well as the company’s Web address, was flashed onto the screen for home viewers. What a smart marketing ploy, I thought.
When the audience members received the necklaces after the show, they squealed with delight—all the way to the elevator, where they then swapped comments about their new beautiful parting gifts.
After the taping, my mom and I went to lunch. She opened up her new necklace and sighed. “I just love it,” she said. And here was the clincher: “Maybe I’ll go on Ice.com for some matching earrings, too.”
Smart marketing ploy indeed.
— Samantha Murphy
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