Creative marketing

The only marketing I've ever done for Symple was in 2011 when the app had been live for about 20 minutes. I was driving down to Washington DC for my first ever Health IT conference.

I hit the road armed with new business cards, some lollipops adorned with QR code links to the app, and stickers to decorate my table at the expo. These homemade stickers asked *provocative* questions, like 

• "Do I sleep better if I get exercise?"
• "Are my migraines triggered by my morning commute?"
• "What happens if I reduce my prednisone intake?"

Anyway, on my way to the conference, I stopped at a rest area bustling with holiday travelers. As I was doing my business, my eyes landed on the bottom of the bathroom stall door. "Hmm," I thought, "here's a little piece of real estate that could use a Symple sticker." So I popped one on the door. And several other doors, too.

Kind of proud of myself, I sauntered back to the car and got on my way. 

But I liked doing that little bit of subversive marketing, so I did the same thing to every door in every rest stop for the rest of my drive.

Well, guess what?

That week, Symple app launched and went straight to the top of the charts! Okay, well, it was the top of the medical category in the iTunes App Store, but still. Symple hit the top 5 that week.

Anyway, the lesson is...

I'm not sure what the lesson is. Do what you can, with what you've got? Be fearless about spreading the word? Look for opportunity where no one else dares?

I'm not sure, but I am proud of my newbie self. I haven't been so fearless since (the curse of early success). Maybe it's time to have a little more fun. Where next?