Laptops Direct takes grave approach to sponsorship

Huddersfield-based etailer Laptops Direct has pounced upon a dead canny marketing scheme to build traction with UK customers in these uncertain economic times by offering to sponsor funerals that use its logo.

The package, worth up to £5,000 can include a branded coffin drape, gravestone etching, priest's collar, eulogy from Laptops Direct managing director Nick Glynne and a laptop demo stall.

"The credit crunch is seriously impacting our ability to advertise, the costs are going up and it is becoming increasingly competitive so we are always looking at new ways to get our brand out there," Glynne told MicroScope.

Having lost a relative recently, he was shocked by the cost of a funeral which sowed the seed in his mind that he could help out customers, market his firm and drive some positive brand reinforcement.

At around £5,000 for the average funeral, sending loved ones off in adequate fashion is not always possible financially, which can leave lasting scars.

"The end result is that [you may] give the relative an unsatisfactory funeral or in the worst case scenario the bodies start getting dumped in the street," said Glynne.

The company has made a short promotional film to drive interest in the initiative.