They Played The Moose Card

My 40th birthday is coming up this week. And this past Friday I received a letter in the mail from the good folks at Moosehead. (Canada's oldest and largest independent brewery)

Inside was a birthday card that read:

"If you think this is just another birthday card . . .

. . . . . . you don't know JACK."

And inside was a $10 gift card to Jack Astor's Bar & Grill with the Moosehead logo imprinted onto it.

I'm already a huge Moosehead fan, but this wonderful little touch solidifies my loyalty to their brand even more. I just finished reading Andy Nulman's book POW! Right Between The Eyes! Profiting from the Power of Surprise (my review of that great book is still forthcoming on this blog, BTW) and I think that this card from Moosehead qualifies as one of those small things that mean so much Andy talks about, as well as the fact that I wasn't expecting a birthday card from a beer company.

I'm not sure who foot the bill for the actual gift card, but it's a pretty brilliant marketing investment. Chances are that I'm not going to go into Jack Astor's and spend a mere $10. Sure, I could do that. But it's more likely that I'll spend more than that. And when I ask for what's on tap, you can be sure I'll be hoping they have Moosehead Lager (that's standard operating procedure for me anyways, but the gift card certainly inspires that behaviour in me).

But even more so, you can be sure that I'll be telling my friends about this experience, offering both companies more word of mouth marketing. That, and perhaps, just perhaps, I'll even blog about it, potentially meaning a few more pairs of eyes will read about how impressed I am with the good folks at Moosehead.