Volume 3, No. 19. October 10,2003
Memories for the
thanks
When customers, colleagues and community sponsors receive a thank you note from
Jill Hofer, director of marketing for Funtasticks Family Fun Park in Tucson,
Arizona, they get a card with art drawn by a child visiting the FEC. These one-of-a-kind
cards came out of program called “Thank You for Fun at Funtasticks”
Hofer launched last year at the Tucson park and at sister FEC Fiddlesticks in
Phoenix, Arizona.
“That
was my best idea of all last year,” said Hofer, whose ideas consistently
win her company several community service awards, and this one won a Gold Addy
Award from the Tucson Advertising Federation. The program started as a way to
send cards of appreciation to U.S. military personnel serving overseas and to
veterans in nursing homes. On the Fourth of July and Veterans Day, Funtasticks
and Fiddlesticks set up activity tables where kids can come in and create their
own card art. The FECs supply the blank cards, crayons and markers.
“Parents
love it, kids love it,” Hofer said. And for each card the kids turn in
they get a free ride on one of the park’s attractions. “Some of these
kids draw eagles. I had several kids draw the World Trade Center towers. There
were lots and lots of flags. A lot of kids put profound things in there like,
‘We’re praying for you,’ and “thank you for keeping us free.’
Even older kids get into it.”
The
age limit is 14 years old, though Hofer admits “we’re pretty lax.
If a teen-ager wants to do it, we don’t turn them away.” The youngest
is anyone who can hold a crayon. “Even the scribbles turn into works of
art,” Hofer said. “Those are the kind I generally reserve for my own
use.”
Which is an added benefit of the promotion. Aside from serving as a military holiday tie in, Hofer always has some cards left over that she uses as her thank you stationary bearing a description of “Thank You for Fun at Funtasticks” on the back. “It’s fun for me because all my thank-you cards are cool now, and every one I send is different.”
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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LLC
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