New York real estate agency Rapid Realty has offered staff who agree to tattoo the company’s logo on their skin a 15 per cent pay rise as a reward for promoting brand awareness. Yet surprisingly, instead of laughing this idea off, dozens of the firm’s employees are now in receipt of a little extra monthly income after rushing to their nearest tattoo studio.
There is no actual specification regarding the size or placement of the tattoo, meaning that employees can theoretically get inked in a hidden place with only a very small symbol – causing many to believe this is a scheme offering “easy money”. However, most have chosen high visibility areas such as forearms, ankles and hands in a bid to fit in to this club, which to date has 40 members.
Owner of Rapid Realty Anthony Lolli claims to have hit upon the unique marketing idea after a long-standing employee decided to adopt the company logo as a tattoo, originally for no financial gain.
He explains; “He calls me up, he says; ‘Hey Anthony, I’m getting the logo on me.’
“I show up at the shop and I’m like; ‘This is cool, how can I repay you?’”
Mr Lolli has not yet undergone the process himself but has promised his employees that he will be joining them in the very near future. He has also covered the cost of all tattoos, which vary depending on size – so far, the most expensive has cost the company $300 (£193)!
The concern is that tattoos are permanent and even removal procedures are likely to leave substantial scarring or marks on the skin. In the early 2000s, when hundreds of dotcom businesses sprang up, a similar phenomenon spread – yet as many have now gone out of business, the owners are left regretting their decisions.
Yet the Rapid Realty workers do not seem to have any concerns that their corporate ink will cause problems in the long term.
Brooke Koropatnick says; “I had a paycheck coming in that was a substantial amount of money different, so it was nice.”
Advertising will always look for new and exciting ways to draw in consumers and hit the headlines – and an initiative such as this could see revenues at Rapid Realty increase. However, unless the boss fancies changing the Movehut logo to something pink and flowery, I will be remaining ink-free for the time being!
Would you ever choose to get a tattoo for a pay rise, or do you think this is a step too far in brand loyalty?
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