The secret to turning a negative into a marketing sensation

All of us have negatives to overcome, but how would you like to be the city of Ithaca, New York, trying to lure tourists during this winter of record snowfall?

Well, rather than trying to put lipstick on a pig, the Ithaca Visitors Bureau replaced their home page with one promoting visiting Key West instead!

Their home page is headed with the following message, followed by an entire page promoting Key West:

"That's it. We surrender. Go to Key West instead.

Due to this ridiculously stupid winter, Ithaca invites you to visit The Keys this week," the welcoming message says. "Please come back when things thaw out. Really, it's for the birds here now. (Still want to come to Ithaca? Are you sure? Ok, click here.)
P.S. Send us a postcard."

Clicking on the "Ok, click here" link takes you to Ithaca's regular tourism site.

The result? With this tongue-in-cheek gesture, Ithaca has received more publicity than money can buy. A feature article in USA Today, viral exposure on social media, and enough site traffic to crash their server.

CNN's Brian Carberry tweeted about it, and the comment in the image at right is typical of the positive response. @J_Leis said, "That's how you win social media. Awesome."

So what's the secret?

Take a lesson from Ithaca: stop overthinking, start having fun, and start being authentic. You may just find yourself going viral!