I know that it's the holidays, and as such there's going to be an uptick of "feel good" stories that the media will be putting out there for people to read.
However, this one's one that I truly felt good about. It's evidence of a corporation that not only understands how to advertise, but does it in a way that helps more than just their own bottom line.
An Ashland, OH cookie factory reopened after its prior owners closed it down.
As per the story itself, Lance, Inc., who supplies cookies for chain stores like Target and Wal-Mart, bought out the Archway cookie factory after it had been sold on the auction block. Then, the story becomes awesome:
[L]ast week 60 workers were asked to return immediately, with perhaps more coming back in the months ahead.
Lance didn't have to bring these people back, but they did. And then on top of that:
When it promised to reopen the bakery, Lance gave all 300 former Archway workers a $1,500 prepaid debit card.
$450K in prepaid debit cards to the workers, in time for the holidays, when many believed they would have to have a diminished or eliminated gift-giving session.
Lance has officially gotten my business in the future, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in thinking that. These folks understand how to engender loyalty from their workers, get great advertising for their goods, and know that the hit to the bottom line the gift cards causes is likely to be much less than the brand loyalty a lot of people will suddenly have for them when they hear this story.
I really wish there were more companies who would look at the future rather than the present when it comes to profit-making. The world would be a much better place for it.