Last weekend when I was at the iMedia Breakthrough Summit in Fort Myers, Florida, I enjoyed a nice break from the cold Cincinnati winter. While I didn’t have much free time to hit the beach, it was nice to have the warm sun hitting my face for the first time in months. A reader from Canada wrote me recently to share a story of how two companies paired up to extend his Florida vacation, and it makes for an interesting Marketing with Meaning case.

Johnny (I’ll let him identify himself in the comments if he likes) lives in Winnipeg, Canada, which is also known as “Winterpeg” for the notoriously cold weather each season. He took a vacation to Mazatlan, Mexico, on Skyservice Airlines to escape the cold for at least a few days. On the return flight, where sad fellow travelers prepared to snap back into a cold reality, Johnny found his tray table decorated with an advertisement for Fabutan, a chain of 151 tanning centers located throughout Canada. He first thought, “Great, more interruptive marketing,” but then read on the advertisement that a flight attendant would come around and offer 75 minutes of free tanning so that people could “extend their vacation.”

Just as expected a few minutes later, there was an announcement that flight attendants would be passing out the free tanning vouchers. Everyone seated around Johnny was excitedly talking about the offer and grabbed the vouchers that were offered.

Johnny sent me this story and asked if it was meaningful marketing. Overall I would say it fits pretty well. It was relevant, coming when the entire flight of people is returning to the real (cold) world but wants to keep their tans and good spirits. The 75-free-minutes offer is clearly marketing that itself adds value, falling into the “free sample” camp. The tray ad and intercom announcement are a bit interruptive, so points off there. But people talking excitedly around Johnny is more evidence of meaningful marketing. Leaving discussions about the safety of tanning aside, this is a very smart way for a tanning company to target perfectly and drive visits.

Thanks to Johnny for sending in this story. I think it goes to show that once you have meaningful marketing on the brain, you begin to notice both good and bad examples more clearly. Please keep sending the stories!