Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at The Wave: SMPS (Society of Marketing Professional Services) Pacific Regional Conference, held in Sacramento, California. Shortly after arriving at the hotel, I overhead a couple talking about “the mermaid bar.” About an hour later, I had walked down to a local restaurant to grab lunch and again heard someone talking about the mermaid. Once was interesting, but twice was an obvious trend.

I could only imagine how gimmicky a mermaid in a bar would probably look… but I was wrong.

Later that evening, a large group of us went to check out “the mermaid bar” which I later learned was called The Dive Bar. And true to form, they had a 7,500-gallon, saltwater aquarium above their bar, complete with saltwater fish, and a live “mermaid” dressed in a Hollywood-caliber costume, who gracefully swam back and forth every night.

Although the “mermaid” was quite mesmerizing, smiling with her eyes open underwater, what really got me thinking was how powerful their word of mouth marketing had become. Within one hour of being in Sacramento, I had overheard people talking about this place twice. Feeding off of the local word-of-mouth buzz, our entire group of conference goers couldn’t wait to check this place out.

There were other things that could have been used to describe this establishment – the fish, the size of the aquarium, the dueling pianos, the modern decor, the location… but it was the mermaid that people talked about, because it was the mermaid that was truly unique. And not just some caricature of a mermaid, but a very high-quality, detailed delivery of a mermaid.

Has something been designed into your brand that is truly unique, and will get people talking? What is it? What should it be?

Thanks to @AEC_Marketing for sharing the great pic!