As a horde of photojournalists stood outside the hospital for weeks waiting for the first shots of the royal baby, marketing experts and copywriters sharpened their pens. The moment Kate Middleton, in a polka dot blue dress and holding little George Louis Alexander, stood next to her husband, Prince William, at the same spot where Charles and Diana posed 31 years earlier, the camera flashes began, and the media was flooded with timely marketing campaigns.
Advertisers who felt proud to be of British origin or who sell their brands in that market with clever slogans and attractive visuals became part of the royal fairy tale and, perhaps more importantly for them, attracted the attention of the media and the public. The baby, which local media called ‘belonging to the entire Kingdom,’ at that moment became a golden goose capable of selling concrete products. More precisely, everything that was found in, around, and on the baby and her parents at the crucial moment of leaving the hospital in the following days sold ‘like hotcakes.’
Instant Interest
If Entertainment Weekly is to be believed, the ‘must-have’ product was a baby car seat. It was part of a subtly staged performance in which the prince becomes a man, picks up his child and wife, puts them in the car, and personally drives them to their temporary home in Kensington. Nothing is left to chance, of course, as the prince chooses the safest in a sea of car seats, the Britax B-Safe Infant Car Seat, the first royal seat, which can be purchased for a mere $130 at the Target supermarket chain. It is clear that it flew off the shelves as soon as the first media published photos and the brand of the product. Similarly, they say, it happened with the newborn prince’s blanket.
This 100% cotton miniature garment was produced by the company aden+anais, which is already known for numerous celebrity mothers like Jessica Alba, Halle Berry, or Drew Barrymore. The ladies who support fashion magazines that declare Kate’s style impeccable and exemplary were disappointed to learn that the Duchess of Cambridge wore a dress by designer Jenny Packham, which is not available in stores, and with a little persistence, they could get their hands on Pied-a-Terre shoes, although they too were sold out from all earthly and virtual stores. Brands that were not lucky enough to appear in the spotlight found their way to monetize the immense euphoria and joy caused by the birth of the young royal.
Financial Injection
According to Business Insider, the birth of baby George will bring £240 million to the economy of the United Kingdom, primarily from the sale of products and services that are appropriately linked to this media event of the year. If judging by the revenues generated by the wedding of Kate and Will, some brands in America will also feel the beneficial effects of the royal baby’s birth. For example, a replica of Kate’s wedding ring worth only $23 sold out on Amazon, and customers also warmly welcomed the limited edition heart-shaped donut from Dunkin’ Donuts. Precisely because of these projections, marketers rolled up their sleeves to come up with imaginative products that would evoke tender feelings in manufacturers, joy over the birth of the long-awaited child. Unilever prepared small ‘baby’ packages of Persil and Comfort fabric softener, on whose packaging they published photos of adorable crowned babies. Procter & Gamble invited consumers to send congratulations to little George, which would then be woven into the largest blanket in the world.
