I was showing a dear friend around Baltimore this past weekend and stumbled across a startling and effective piece of marketing while we were out. It made such an impression that I wanted to share it with everyone.

My friend, Peter D’Amelio, was moving to town to open a restaurant in Inner Harbor, Baltimore’s beautifully redeveloped district and a model for most city planners. Peter is not just any restaurateur, rather he was formerly the president of Cheesecake Factory, a very successful chain of restaurants found in just about any suburban shopping mall. I’d bet on any restaurant concept that Peter tries next.

Peter and I were enjoying a great dinner at Hamptons in the Intercontinental and then decided to walk off the lobster and find a local bar to take in the Inner Harbor scene. We sat at the bar to discuss his plans for the Harbor.

After the bartender gave us our beers, she handed us silver credit cards. These cards were unique bottle openers that could be stored in a wallet for emergency tailgates or happy hours.

The message on the bottle opener struck me. The bottle opener was from the railroad company CSX. The bottle opener read ‘this is what a train can do to your body.’ The bartender explained that CSX put these out to combat the rampant problem with people having a few too many drinks and walking along train tracks, meeting an untimely death.

Marketing is about getting people to remember a message and take action. I certainly hope this is successful!