Blog
The Fun in Being Fooled
By ideba | April 8, 2014
Another April Fools Day has passed. For many people, April 1st is no more important than the day preceding it or the day following it; however, ThinkGeek has leveraged this day for years to entertain and do some useful product testing while they are at it. The company makes products that tie in to popular internet memes, science fiction franchises, or other references to geek/nerd/internet culture.
The tradition of joke products dates back to around 2001 and the early years of company. That first year saw joke products such as Caffeinated Meatloaf and MIR Space Station Remnants. When customers clicked on the product they were taken to an April Fool’s Day page telling them it was a joke and offering the opportunity to pass the joke on to a friend. The joke products proved popular and became a yearly tradition (click here to view the various years). Some of the products generated enough interest that ThinkGeek began producing them. A few examples that are in production are 2008’s Personal Soundtrack T-shirt, 2009’s USB Pet Rock and Tauntaun Sleeping Bag, and 2011’s Chocolate Zombie Bunny.
The April Fools joke products are a brilliant strategy for the company and serve two purposes. The yearly joke is covered by numerous internet media outlets and bloggers which increases awareness about the company and its products while driving traffic to their site. Additionally, the company can track interest in these “fake” products and determine if any of them are worth producing and selling. This two-part formula has been successful for ThinkGeek. Profits have continued to grow and they continue to move up the Internet Retailer Top 500 List. If only all marketing/advertising could be this fun.
My favorite this year is the Flux Capacitor Car Charger. What’s yours?
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