Help the Burlingame Pez Museum battle against the man

July 6, 9:39 AMSF Day Trips ExaminerBryan Bennett

Previous

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the SF Day Trips Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

All consumer brands strive for a common goal, and that is to make your best customers your most ardent supporters. There's nothing better than watching free word-of-mouth marketing take hold and rival that of any paid programs. That's the reason you see so much effort these days placed on social media, affinity programs, etc. So when your customers respond by creating businesses and hobbies solely devoted to promoting your product, for free, most brands chalk that up as a major success. Evidently Pez Candy Inc, makers of the small candy since the 20s doesn't subscribe to that traditional school of thought.

According to multiple media reports, the company is suing the owners of the Burlingame Museum of PEZ Memorabilia of Burlingame, CA for copyright infringement. Why you ask? Well Gary and Nancy Doss have run afoul of the candy company by creating an 8-foot, 85 pound Pez dispenser that got the pair into the Guinness Book of World Records. And evidently they did so without the appropriate licensing agreement from Pez Candy Inc.

Hey Pez Candy Inc, here are a few marketing tips free of charge:

1. Rein in your lawyers. Before your crack legal team brings suit against a copyright infringer, you may want to do some homework first. The Doss's have built an entire business promoting your product and claim to have one of every Pez dispenser ever made. They love you and make it their daily objective of furthering your brand. Why would you sue first and ask questions later?

2. Support your supporters. Again, these guys promote you all day. Rather than suing them over the unlicensed giant dispenser, why not reach out to them and get them to sign an agreement after the fact to make the lawyers happy. They built a giant replica of your product at their own expense and the thanks they get is a lawsuit.

3. Create a program to embrace your evangelists. PEZ collectors are one of those niche groups that are either all in or all out. When you find two people that have gone the extra step to opening a business to further their passion, why wouldn't you create a program to connect them to others like them. This would have been a prime opportunity for the powers that be at Pez to sieze the opportunity to create some sort of official program to rally support around these types of muesums, clubs, and collectors.

All said and done, this is a huge missed opportunity for Pez from a brand perspective. Not only that, but it could turn into a PR headache based on the number of articles and blog posts I've already seen about the issue. In a few words, this is an epic brand fail.  But Pez's loss is your gain.  Why?  Well now you know there is such a thing as a Pez museum in Burlingame, and what a better way to support the common man than taking a trip there this weekend.  And if you time it right, you can stick around for Burlingame's concert in the park which occurs ever Saturday afternoon in July.  More on that next time.

For more from me: I write a personal blog about marketing, social media, sports and whatever crosses my mind at The Forty Acres.