In 1987, Hatton Gardens Hotel in Upton Saint Leonards won the inaugural Loo Of The Year award.
The Loo Of The Year is awarded each year to the best public toilet in the UK, based on criteria such as adequate flushing frequency, urinal privacy, overall cleanliness, lighting, lack of vandalism, and, best of all, a “wow factor.”
The Loo Of The Year awards were set up in 1987 by the communications director of a washroom service company.
That first year, only 50 guests attended, and awards were given in only two categories, hotels and restaurants.
There are now 63 categories, and over 300 guests attended the prestigious event and dinner last year.
Yesterday, I talked about the transformative effect that winning the race at Le Mans had on Jaguar, the car brand. To my mind, there are three key elements in something like winning a top-tier car race:
1. A ranking with a clear number 1
2. An incontestable result, a matter of performance, not popularity or opinion
3. An element of glamour
But even if you cannot get all three, two out of three can still be great for business.
Awards and arbitrary “Top 100” listings only offer #1 and #3, ranking + glamour. The results are definitely a matter of popularity or opinion, but so what?
I wrote an email back in 2019 about the impact that the World’s 50 Best Restaurants listing had on the restaurant and tourism industry.
As one extreme example, a Copenhagen restaurant named Noma already had 2 Michelin stars. Even so, they were struggling to fill tables.
After Noma randomly and unexpectedly came in at the top of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, 100,000 people tried to book a table there in one day. Suddenly, generating business was no longer an issue.
As for Hatton Gardens Hotel:
At the next year’s event ceremony, in 1988, the manager of the Hatton Gardens said visits to his hotel had doubled since winning Loo Of The Year.
Such is the power of a #1 ranking + glamour, above and beyond a certification… or a gold star… or a label. (And yes, even toilets can apparently have glamour — at least glamour enough to double business.)
So create an award for your industry, or create rankings.
Or better yet, pay somebody else to create them, and to announce you the winner.
Put on a tuxedo or an evening gown, get your photo taken in front of one of those step-and-repeat banners, and watch what happens to your business.
And if you detest awards show, and if paying some rando to create a Top 50 ranking and put you at #1 turns you off, don’t worry.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you how to have success with only elements 2+3 off the list above.
Can you guess what example I’ll use?
I’ll give you a hint. It’s a man who built a massive, enduring career, out of nothing, to become the most famous entertainer of his age. And he did it with a series of incontestable challenges, dares, and contests, all of which featured an element of glamour.
While you ponder that, let me remind you that my Daily Email Habit has been voted #1 among the World’s Best 100 Email Prompt Services by a distinguished panel of email marketers, all of whom happen to subscribe to Daily Email Habit.
Here’s what one of the distinguished panelists, Australian copywriter Allan Johnson, had to say in casting his vote:
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This is a very useful service. I have always struggled to commit to daily writing (emails or not) and protecting the streak is now a priority, so thanks.
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If you’d like to find out what makes Daily Email Habit #1: