Why? Because there is something of interest in all of them that some how speaks to you. You feel that the message inside is meant just for you. What a fortune cookie tells you has you relating to it on a personal level immediately. You take it beyond the moment and even consider how the contents may shape your future.

That’s powerful stuff captured in just a couple of lines.

When I’m out with others for some yummy Chinese cuisine, we all take turns around the table reading aloud our fortunes and comparing them. They even spur longer conversations filled with dreams, disappointments and hopes that connect us all. I admit I have been known to keep for years fortunes that struck a deeper cord within me.

What do fortune cookies possibly have to do with your marketing campaigns?

Well… nothing… if your campaigns are not accomplishing one or more of the things above. If your marketing had the same affect on an individual as a single fortune cookie does, can you imagine how many readers would be cracking it open to see what’s inside? We can learn a lot as marketers from fortune cookies.

Brand Promise: Fortune cookies have a strong brand you can rely on. You know what to expect when you interact with them. You break it open, and there is your fortune. If you’re lucky there might be two. Bonus!

Market Exposure: Think open rates. Sadly not all fortune cookies are consumed, but it is a rarity that when one finds its way to your table or in your takeout bag that you don’t at least open’er up to see what the gods of fortune have in store for you. That compulsion is a strong one.

Customer Engagement: Content marketing at is finest. Short, sweet and to the point. You don’t see long drawn out text that takes its time to build engagement. Fortune cookie notes have you reading and considering every word. The fortune makes you think and connects with your mind and heart.

Community: There is this lovely group force that brings everyone together in hopeful anticipation when they snap those shells in half. “What does your say?” Comes ringing across the table. When your fortune is odd or not that great, your community gives you supportive, uplifting commentary. What a powerful cookie!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your marketing campaigns achieved the same as a fortune cookie? Before you jump into 2016, take a moment to outline your goals, then really begin to think creatively on how you can reach them with the same cleverness of our fortune cookie here.

Don’t stop there. Contemplation is one thing, but application is where the magic happens.

Remember the beauty of a fortune cookie is that once it is in your hands, it is all yours, in every way. This means your marketing goals have to directly connect to your audience at the same level as a fortune cookie. Your campaigns have to be about them not about you. Your messages should be able to be easily woven into their lives. When you connect with your audience in a way that makes them think, smile and share, then your next fortune cookie will be sure to say, “You are on your way to having the best marketing campaigns with a fanatically dedicated market humming your jingles all the way. Keep it up!”

My latest fortunes are in this post’s photo. Next time you have a good one immortalize it by posting it on our Facebook page. We’ll be sure to send you good mojo for your marketing endeavors.