With a big day ahead, marketers are turning to numerology

The efforts include a “Lucky in Love” contest by Wal-Mart, giving seven couples free weddings to be held on Saturday at seven Wal-Mart Supercenter stores; a sweepstakes from Papa John’s pizza with “777 ways to win” prizes; and a “7 Layers of Love” contest sponsored by Taco Bell, offering the winner a chance to propose to his sweetheart on a virtual sign to be displayed on Saturday during baseball games on Fox Broadcasting.

The commercialised commemoration of 7/7/07 is an example of a venerable marketing tactic known as borrowed interest, in which the marketers seek to ride the coattails of big events, trends and pop-culture personalities.

Examples include ads with political themes ahead of presidential elections, campaigns for fuel-efficient cars that address the rising price of gasoline, prank-filled ads appearing on April Fool’s Day and samples of headache and heartburn remedies for taxpayers racing to file returns on April 15.

Some marketers, however, deem such ads too generic to help them differentiate themselves from competitors. “I don’t think consumers want to get involved with a promotion,” said Doug Foster, chief marketing officer at 7-Eleven in Dallas. “It’s got to be something that’s woven into their lifestyles, valuable to them and relevant.”

Marketers climbing aboard the 7/7/07 bandwagon say they believe that what they are doing will be special enough to stand out. Taco Bell has menu items with “7” in their names, including the 7-Layer Crunchwrap Supreme.

“We like things that are topical, part of pop culture,” said Will Bortz, a spokesman for Taco Bell in California. “We look at these as ‘buzz marketing’ opportunities, to spike interest in our brand.”

Bortz said the Taco Bell contest, conducted on the tacobell.com Web site, drew about 2,500 participants, who were required to provide “seven reasons why your significant other would like to marry you”.

“The entries we got were pretty creative,” he added, “but we’re keeping the winner secret till Saturday so his girlfriend doesn’t get tipped off”.

The winner’s proposal is to be seen on computer-generated signs behind home plate during the three major league baseball games that Fox plans to broadcast on Saturday in different parts of the country: Atlanta Braves-San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels-New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins-Chicago White Sox.

Wait a minute. “Atlanta,” seven letters. “Angeles,” seven letters. “New York,” seven letters. “Yankees,” likewise. Ditto “Chicago.”

And “Minnesota Twins” and “San Diego Padres” are each 14 letters long, twice 7.Spooky.