Davis Ace Hardware in Davis, California, regularly offers special events for children—but a recent event got an unusual flurry of interest online.
The animated movie “Minions” debuted in July in the U.S., and Davis Ace invited kids to come to the store to decorate marshmallows to look like the movie’s yellow namesake characters.
The event posting went big on social media, getting 75 percent more interest than most of the store’s other posts from the past several months. Shoppers shared the activity on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
On event day, Davis Ace provided marshmallows predipped in yellow chocolate and attached to sticks
like cake pops, then offered icing and candy for the children to use to add faces and clothing. Except for the marshmallows, the project used products from the store’s housewares department.
Store staff demonstrated the full minion-making process for adult shoppers, who stopped by to watch, and the kids got into the icing action.
The store’s free crafts for children, such as flowerpot painting for Mother’s Day and wooden toolbox making for Father’s Day, have also been popular.
However, the film release offered an opportunity to capitalize on the national attention surrounding a major movie.
Think about your existing events and promotions, and consider new ways to link future activities to what already interests your shoppers. Chances are, you already do that with holiday promotions, but perhaps you can build off of that idea.