I was really bummed during a recent trip to NYC because I was going to miss Amma . While the odds of breaking through the crowds to get a hug from her were really slim, I read that she does make the extra effort to give everyone a hug and I know that I definitely needed one following a bad interview.
That’s the funny thing about hugs. No matter who offers it, you always end up with a smile. It is a personal moment – one where an individual offers love and concern to another and says, “hey, I care.”
Which brings me to this story I saw on ABC. It involves the free hugs movement.
For those of you who already know about this, I apologize for old news. But isn’t it amazing that complete strangers offer hugs to you on the street. If you can get over hugging a stranger, then imagine what a surprising pick me up it can be after a long day of discussing ROI on a wild posting.
Even better, why don’t brands offer free hugs? Forget about ROI, tracking studies, and what-have-you, and think about a genuine offering of love. “It doesn’t matter that you buy our soap, here’s just a hug we wanted to give you,” says a brand. Imagine that.
It obviously isn’t a literal hug that brands give but more of the little things that you can do for an individual that doesn’t ask for anything in return, A free wash and blow even though you don’t buy our shampoo. A free cookie even if you don’t buy our coffee. A free oil change even though you didn’t buy our car… because it’s not customers who matter, but people. People matter.
So instead of creating great and lavish communication pieces, why don’t we offer hugs? Even if it’s not an entire campaign, it can be so much more relevant, but more importantly meaningful to people... especially if you approach them at that right time.
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