I confess, I was watching Modern Marvels on the History Channel the other night and it was all about cereal. Sometimes it amazes me what I find fascinating these days, but there was an interesting segment of the program about the innovative marketing tactics of cereal companies.

Now, before you laugh too hard, ask yourself this. Have you ever been in the cereal aisle of the local grocery store when you saw a kid (the human type, not the goat) running for a particular box of cereal because of the “toy” inside? This kid might have a $200 Xbox at home, but he’s just got to have that little plastic trinket. Half the time he doesn’t even like the cereal. One cereal company sold millions of boxes in the seventies by offering a deed to one square inch of the Yukon Territory in each box.

When radios were first invented, Wheaties came up with the first advertising jingle on the radio. When TV’s became a fixure in every American living room, children starting watching cartoons and cereal companies quickly developed cartoon mascots. We still have Tony the Tiger, “Lucky”, the Trix rabbit and many more.

What’s my point? I’m not sure I have one, except that I’ve never really thought about marketing by cereal companies before. Maybe that’s what makes it so good. We’re so noticeably bombarded by cellular phone companies and credit card companies that we find comfort in our old cereal box friends with their secret decoder rings. Maybe we can all learn a lesson or two from Tony the Tiger. Perhaps we should offer a square inch the Yukon Territory with every graphic design project we complete - haha. Seriously, though, the best ways to reach a target market are often non-traditional.