Imagine enjoying a morning run on the local trail and seeing a neat 3-D art stenciling of a wooden bridge over a gaping cliff right on the path.
Like, woah. Where’d that come from?
Now, imagine people having fun with it, pretending to walk over it, snapping pics, and sharing it on social media outlets with their pals, just because it was so cool and different, totally unexpected.
Now, imagine your business logo in the mix, now also being shared on social media platforms, raising awareness not only of the kick ass art, but also raising awareness of your brand.
It’s this kind of out-of-the-box thinking when planning your marketing strategies that can bolster the popularity of your biz exponentially, and ultimately increase revenue.
You might call it a way of allowing your business to stop acting like sheep (going with the flow, only focused on boring typical marketing strategies) and instead behave like a lion.
Clean Advertising
Clean advertising uses stenciling to provide a contrast between what is clean and dirty on the pavement. Who knew playing in the dirt could be so fun or effective?
Stencil your company logo or image as a fun way of getting your business’ name out there while also sprucing up an otherwise grungy area.
Once the stencils are in place, all you have to do then is sit back and let the public go to work for you. This is especially fun and effective when used at local events like festivals and concerts.
The cool thing is it doesn’t even have be expensive.
One cost effective idea might be hitting up a local college art department and asking one of the students to create something for you.
As thanks throw them a few bucks and let them know you’ll be sharing it with all your customers… so not only are they helping you spread your brand, you’re helping them raise awareness of their art.
Switch Up Your Advertising Spaces
Some of the greatest feedback you can get from coming up with good advertising is for someone to say “Ha, cool!”
It’s still necessary to do the usual advertising in your local newspaper or cafes of course, and they can be effective.
But when you can also come up with unique spaces and ideas that throw your brand outside the norm, you’re gonna get a lot more “Ha, cool!” reactions, as well as a lot more people remembering your business.
Of course not every biz can afford to retrofit a zamboni to make it look like a giant razor shaving the ice at a hockey game like Gillette Razor did, but it’s not how much you can spend, instead it’s more about how creative you can be.
Look for Ways to Do Something Unexpected
Some other ideas might be creating a great bumper sticker slogan that supports your business; it’s affordable and travels well. Work out a deal with local sailboat and hot air balloon owners to advertise your business with a colorful logo.
Offer the city government to maintain city bathrooms, benches, or even curbs where you can advertise your business’ website.
One London agency went so far as to advertise Shredded Wheat cereal using crop circles. Another stint was making giant grass sofas along a country side road for various businesses.
Create a Digital Buzz
For the first time, there are more Americans with smartphones than those without one.
Considering I wake every morning and reach for mine before my eye balls barely creak open, I believe this. ::slides eyes guiltily to the left::
According to a Pew study, as much as 56 percent of Americans living today own a smartphone, proving it is vital, if not required, for a business to have a strong online presence.
Using social media as a way to market your business is now as important as remembering to turn the “OPEN” light on. Establishing a website, a Facebook, and a Twitter account is already becoming an almost automatic step when opening up shop or hanging out a shingle.
Your business can even make its own online commercial by combining the use of stock footage with unique video and photo content.
You may want to hire a videographer for this endeavor if you’re completely daunted by the idea. Or go one better… Doritos had an ingenious idea to hold a contest that allowed anyone to create a funny commercial to be played on Super Bowl Sunday.
If you are inspired by this idea, your company can use smartphones to record your own video contest. This can stimulate interaction between your business and the public, which is some of the best kind of advertising out there.
So are you ready to roar like a lion and do the unexpected? Only your mind and your creativity limit you.
Over to You
Have you done something completely crazy in an effort to advertise your biz? Did or work or was it a flop? Share your stories in the comments below.
