Melted Rabbit Marketing

Easter always reminds me of a particularly funny story from my childhood – in reminiscing about it this year, I realized there was a marketing parallel that I’d previously overlooked.

A Typical Kid — With a Healthy Chocolate Addiction
I’ve always been a bit of a chocoholic, so it should come as no real surprise that when Easter rolled around, my eyes began to glaze over at the mere thought of the bounty that would soon fill my brightly colored plastic-woven basket (it was the 70s, after all).

On the morning after the furry rabbit’s visit, there was certainly a haul — of course there was the standard fare of pastel-colored malted milk eggs, jellybeans and those wall-spackle-worthy peeps. But among the treasure trove of treats was nestled a ginormous solid chocolate bunny. He had big white candy eyes, and a bright yellow ribbon attached to his neck.

He must have been about 8″ tall — and he was all mine.

My kid sister’s basket had considerably less variety, due in large part to the fact that she wasn’t quite three years old at the time. She eyed up my basket’s contents with a look I knew all too well; she was interested in landing her grubby little paws on my rabbit.

I wasn’t about to let that happen.

After a full day of grazing on everything in the basket except the plastic grass, you’d think I would have been content to set it aside for another day.

But you’d be wrong.

As bedtime approached, I became increasingly concerned about my cherished chocolate rabbit. What if my sister nabbed him while I slept? How could I possibly protect him?

Then it hit me. I’d hide him — in a place she’d never think to look.

As I drifted off to sleep, a smug little smile crept across my face.

The Morning After
When I awoke the next morning, my first thought was of my rabbit. But as I sat up in bed, I was horrified by what I saw.

I was covered in a strange brown substance. It was on my hands.

It was all over my pillow. And my PJs. And the wall. It was in my hair.

I began to scream.

When my mother arrived in my room, her first thought was the same as mine — I was a bit too old to be having these types of accidents.

But upon further examination, she realized what it really was.

The Horrifying Conclusion
And then she laughed — hard. As the tears streamed down her face, she struggled to catch her breath.

Mom lifted the pillow, where along with a hunk of melted chocolate, were two candy eyes, and the telltale yellow ribbon.

Ooops.

Never in a million years did I conceive that the carnage in my bedroom that day was caused by my own beloved bunny. It simply didn’t occur to me.

My own greed led to the demise of the rabbit. And the family still laughs about it (everyone but me, of course) to this day.

The Takeaway
So many small business owners operate their businesses from a place of fear. Rather than openly sharing content with readers, they greedily squirrel it away for fear of letting their competition see it.

Instead of looking for opportunities to collaborate, they ostracize themselves — allowing their brilliance to languish.

The world is a big place, and there is plenty of business to go around. Better to share your bunny and enjoy some of it than to allow it to melt all over you.

The latter just makes you look foolish, and leaves you with nothing to enjoy.

About the Author:
Traci Hayner Vanover, aka The Promo Diva®, is a business consultant and coach that specializes in the unique marketing and promotional needs of small businesses, authors and startups. Drawing on over twenty years of Fortune 500 experience in the fields of marketing research and promotion, Traci’s blog, Propabranda, utilizes pop culture and trends to illustrate business concepts and principles, and blends helpful tips and resources with a healthy dose of humor. Traci is the founder and publisher of Everything Small Business Journal. To connect with Traci, visit her on Facebook or Twitter.

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