Today as I graciously made my way off the train, along  with the thousands of other commuters that were half asleep, I noticed a group of people gathered around a women handing out what appeared to be little booklets.

As I drew nearer, I found that the group of people gathered around her were all women too. Instantly I started looking for clues as to what she was handing out and my attention was drawn to her t-shirt bearing the words ‘Bare Minerals’. Even though I’m a firm lover of the make up brand, I had to walk away knowing too well that I would not have a chance to get through the heaps of women and possibly miss my train.

But as I walked away I felt the need to turn around and join the throng to receive a free sample – I couldn’t resist! It got me thinking about how effective this promotional activity was. One woman, in a branded t-shirt had single-handedly stopped many commuters in their tracks and created such a big buzz.

The timing – early morning – was perfect, everyone is fresh and alert. The date – a Friday and the location – a busy, central London tube station-  also worked wonders in terms of exposing the brand to a large number of people. Simple and relatively low cost promotional activity can prove to be very effective and efficient. Definitely something that other brands should look to include as part of their marketing and PR campaigns!