Last weekend, the boys and I went and stood in line at Chadstone Shopping Centre waiting to see a couple of the stars of ABC3 at the ABC Shop. We stood in line, waiting for over an hour & didn’t get in - but that’s not the point of my post.

There were hundreds of parents with primary school aged children waiting patiently in the line to get into the ABC Shop. At one point, the staff from Adairs came around and handed out their catalogues to the parents in the line. It gave us something to read while we were waiting as well as some marketing for the shop (which was one of the shops the line passed).

Further up in the line, the staff from Jasper Junior Toys came and gave all the children a sticker to promote their business. This was another shop the line passed.

I was surprised that more of the shops hadn’t taken up the opportunity to go along the line and promte themselves to the families waiting patiently. I also wished I had brought information about the Business Mums Magazine with me!

When you are preparing to hand information to a line of people who are in your target market, make sure you have permission to do so. I imagine that the businesses in the shopping centre would be fine to hand out information, however businesses from outside may run in to issues. Instead of taking hundred of your information, you may want to take just a few so that when you get chatting to those around you, you can give them a postcard or sample.

If there is an event you are involved with, such as an expo where people will be in line before the doors open, ask the organisers if it’s OK for you to go out to the line to give them a flyer or sample.

This is also a fantastic strategic alliance opportunity - you could join forces with a few other businesses to create a brochure for people to read to keep them occupied while they are waiting.