The Amazon Box: Genius Promotion in the Garbage Pile

When is Amazon going to take over the world and destroy every single brick and mortar retailer in existence? I don't know, but wouldn't be surprised if, in say, 5 years, people do 85% of all their shopping on Amazon.

PETE SEEGER - LITTLE BOXES

Amazon is everywhere. And Amazon boxes are all the same... But! They are a world apart from all the other little boxes! Amazon has created a goldmine in the neighborhood trash. Read on!

There is one thing abut Amazon that really struck home to me about last Christmas. In my neighborhood, cardboard boxes are recycled and thrown out in bundles on Tuesday. Right after Christmas, I noticed tons of boxes in those recycled piles that had the Amazon "smiling lips" logo along with their easy to recognize lettering. "Wow!" I thought, "Everyone is doing their Christmas shopping on Amazon."

The Amazon boxes were everywhere you looked! They were much more ubiquitous than they were even the Christmas before.

Now, think about that; see a brand in the garbage and having a positive brand name recognition is a rare case indeed. But Amazon pulls it off. isn't this just genius advertising? Usually any promotion and advertising will stop at the end of the the sale. But not with Amazon! With Amazon, the promotion continues even after the items have been sold, shipped, while they are delivered, opened and disposed of!

Now that is just brilliant in its simplicity and when you stop to think about it for a half a second, its just plain smart business.

Usually if you see a makers box in the garbage, it doesn't have a good image.  When you see a Nike Tennis shoes box or McDonald's packaging in the trash, it's just trash. You don't get any positive feelings about that company. It doesn't have a good impact on your consciousness. But the Amazon mark? The Amazon mark is different. It remains as a very positive note to all who see it. It is a reaffirmation that shopping at Amazon is good, cool, secure and smart. Really! Think about it. 

When you see a McDonald's wrapper in the trash or on the street, do you think, "I want to eat McDonald's!" No. You don't. But when you see an Amazon.com box, you think, "There's another person who is ordering through Amazon." It confirms what you already thought; that your last purchase through Amazon was the best deal and you bought from the right place.

And all of this positive brand recognition all just in how a simple logo and branding is handled. Compare this to how poorly a company like Groupon haphazardly handles their logo; Groupon's is different almost every time you see it. Amazon, like any great companies logo, is the same every time.

I don't know if Amazon planned it that way, but it doesn't matter. The results are in: When anyone sees that Amazon mark on a Amazon logo in the trash, it is a 3rd party opinion that Amazon is a good place to do business with.

Name & logo are unmistakable!

A good 3rd party opinion from someone through a garbage pile to me, the customer, is positive reinforcement and excellent motivation to be a return customer. And that didn't cost the retailer anything extra! 

Can you think of one other example whereby a company uses their refuse to put their company in a positive light to the public? I can't. If that isn't genius marketing, I don't know what is!   

UPDATE! 

Yahoo just reports today that Amazon beats out Costco for prices! Read here.