Interesting Cross-Marketing

As we were driving through Virginia last Saturday, I saw an interesting sign. The sign was for new granite countertops. The sign was in front of a cemetery headstone store.

Definitely some interesting cross-marketing. You can buy your countertop and your headstone all at one time! Or perhaps you can just get the reverse of your countertop engraved, and use it for a headstone later! Or maybe rather than installing your loved-ones headstone at the cemetery, install it in your kitchen instead!

It's actually pretty good marketing, in my opinion. My guess is that the headstone industry is not as strong as it once was. More people are being cremated, using mausoleums, or just using smaller markers instead of headstones. They probably already have all the equipment they need to fabricate countertops instead of headstones.

I must admit, I'm not a big fan of the granite countertops though. I recently wrote about Appliances: The New Midlife Crisis, and More Appliances: The New Midlife Crisis. To me, granite countertops are just another extension of this. Who really needs them?

So after seeing this interesting cross-marketing, I won't be able to forget that all these folks are just using headstones as countertops. And frankly, as much as some people are spending on these things, it's just driving them to their graves anyway! Rest In Peace.