Advantages and Disadvantages of Outdoor Advertising and 5 Creative Out-Of-Home Ads

Some of the most creative pieces in advertising are seen outside of the home. It’s an overlooked advertising medium that’s great for reinforcing messages communicated through other mediums such as television or magazines. What it is truly unappreciated by advertisers is its ability to create buzz with its out-of-the-box abilities, which are seemingly infinite, and its high target reach and frequency, which allows the advertisement to hit a many different people more than once (due to habitual travel patterns) in selected markets.

Advantages

-          Target reach and frequency

-          You can select your target by areas (not by people) of demographic interest, creating flexibility

-          Reinforces messages brought to the consumer by other forms of media (TV, Magazines)

-          Great for creating awareness

-          Creative opportunities are limitless

Disadvantages

-          Almost impossible to focus in on a specific target market

-          High cost

-          Outdoor advertising is very easy to overlook

Now we’ll take a look at some of the most creative outdoor ads I found today.

LG

LG pulled a prank on some unsuspecting elevator travelers. They removed the standard flooring and replaced it with several new IPS monitors to showcase how great the displays are on their new product.

Nationwide

Nationwide put together this sweet little diddly to go together with their "Life comes at you fast" campaign.

Kit Kat

This is a fairly simple yet buzzworthy ad. Kit Kat designed a park bench to look like an opened bar of their great tasting candy bar! (Kit Kat, pay me for the free advertising).

 

Caribou Coffee

This is a great example of thinking outside the box. Caribou Coffee turns a bus stop into a great advertising/promotional device that creates buzz with transit riders, drive-by(ers), bus drivers, walker byers, you name it. And of course, famous blogs like this one... right guys?

 

Emart

This has to be one of the most creative ideas I've ever seen in my 21 years on this earth (I know its not long but shut up, what do you know). Seriously watch the video and be amazed at the creativity.

 

Superb right? Don't overlook outdoor advertising. I've been tought that the creative abilities of out of home marketing is limited. After this evidence, I'd say the case is closed. In terms of creativivity, out of home is limitless. On a side note, marketers suck as using QR codes, and this ad is actually a great example of a QR code done right.







Turn Your Part-Time Job into a Business Experience

Each and every one of us has done it. We’ve all worked that crappy part time job that we had no interest in. Whether you’re flipping burgers, bagging groceries or washing dishes, its money in the bank and somebody has to do it. Here’s the deal though; one day when you’ve graduated from school and you’ve moved on to bigger and better things, you’re going to be hiring suckers like yourself to work these crappy jobs. Take the time to find education from what you’re doing and turn your part-time job into a business experience.

Look for connections.

                Whether you’re studying to become an architect, a scientist or you’re just a marketing fiend like me, look for connections between your current job and your education. For an example, I’m taking marketing and I currently work at a grocery store as a cashier supervisor. Before I had any interest in business or marketing, I looked at my place of work like a black-hole that I was destined to die in. I was told what to do, I got mad at being told what to do and I hated doing what I was told to do. Then, something magical happened, I started to give a crap.

                During my marketing studies, I learned about customer service and the importance of it. Marketing doesn’t just happen in office buildings while people where fancy suits and strategize on how to make more money. Marketing happens in the front lines of the workplace every day. It’s people like you and I, who flip burgers, bag groceries and wash dishes, who smile at the customers or optimize a process behind the scenes that make a business tick.  Look for connections, between what you’re learning and what you’re doing.

              Now when I’m told to smile at a customer, I don’t do it because my jerk of a manager told me to do it. I smile because it means something to the people I’m serving. I smile because a plan has been put in place to meet the needs of the customer and I realize its all part of a marketing process. I may also smile because I know that at any moment I could just walk out and they would be totally screwed (I HAVE THE POWEEEEEER) but, mostly the marketing thing.

Marketing Tips from “The Suit Guy”

              Every day we are bombarded with advertisements, sales pitches and promises of a better life with the hip new thing. Once in a while I come across someone or something genuine who really wants to make a difference in a life with what they do. Enter in the suit guy.

While helping my brother shop for a suit for his prom, we came across the suit guy. We bought a suit the first day within the first hour in the first place we went to. When I went shopping for my prom, it took me months to find the right suit. Not because I was picky or anything (to be honest my girlfriend picked a difficult color to try and match) but, I was never really sold on anything that I came across. This is because people were trying to sell it. I’ll repeat. I wasn’t sold on anything because people were trying to sell it to me. Confused? Let me explain.

                There is a shift going on in marketing. It about NOT MARKETING and simply starting a conversation, building a relationship and have the sale be a by-product of that relationship. Where I felt like I was being sold by some used car salesman while shopping for my prom, the suit guy wasn’t about the sale but, seemed more about really wanting to help my brother out.

The Right Things

                Right from the get go, he made us feel comfortable. His approach was genuine and he didn’t simply as “need help with anything?” Instead he simply shook are hands and started a conversation. Not just small talk but, a real conversation where both parties are engaged to relevant content. This was the first step, engaging. He built a relationship within the first ten minutes of meeting us and it was solely based on sports and getting to know my brother and I.

                During the conversation, we found out that we both enjoyed Mad Men starring Jon Hamm as Don Draper. This was the suit guys moment to shine. The fashion on the show is 50’s businessman so as you can imagine, from Mad Men the conversation went to suits. We started talking about colors, cuts, ties you name it.  At this point, he still hasn’t pitched anything! I was wondering how long we could talk about suits without him pitching something to me but, he just genuinely liked talking about them. I could see the passion for fashion in him and that alone was making me want to buy a suit from him. BUT, I was there for my brother, not me. Finally sometime during the conversation, my brother mentioned he was shopping for prom and the suit guy was happy to help us select a suit. The dude had already made the sale and he hadn’t pitched us a thing but, we weren’t going to let him know that!

                THIS is what marketing is about. THIS is what selling is. Don’t position yourself or your product to look like the only goal in life is to make you money. This product was created for a reason and more likely than not, was created to solve a problem. People like their problems to be solved and they like it even MORE when the problem solver CARES.

The Wrong Things

                As great and as legendary as the suit guy was I don’t for the life of me remember his name (or if he even said it). There’s always a character in movies that can “get things done” or always “knows a guy”. I’d love to think that I could have had a guy I could have known that I could have referred to. Could have. Could have. Could have. PEOPLE! SAY YOUR NAME! GIVE YOUR BUSINESS CARD! As a salesperson, you are not defined by your product, YOU define you. YOU are the brand. ADVERTISE! It’s amazing how many people fail to realize this. Do not let your product define you.

                The consequences of the suit guys actions may be lost sales. With word of mouth being so important when it comes to brand awareness and building trust in a brand (social media, blogs like this etc.) always remember to tell people who you are and give them the ability to find you and talk to you again. Learn from the suit guy.

Explaining SWOT with the help of Football Quarterbacks

Explaining SWOT with Football Quarterbacks

                For those of you who don’t know, in business a SWOT analysis is a planning step that looks at the internal and external factors that impact your business. SWOT is an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses (internal), opportunities and threats (external). A SWOT analysis is also great for yourself or if your part of any kind of team like a band, group, sports team or a sales team. Recently during my studies I have come across an interesting association with SWOT and an NFL quarterback. I’m sure there are a lot of different analogies you can use but for you sports fans (and I know you’re out there!) I will be using football to explain SWOT.

Strengths

                The first step in the SWOT process is figuring out your biggest strengths and putting your trust in them. For a quarterback, this can be the realization that one of your wide receivers has a huge play ability. This is a factor that is internal meaning the quarterback can control this. (Something you can’t control is usually external i.e. someone on the other team). In knowing the strength of his wide receiver, the quarterback can rely on him to make big plays and adjust his game plan accordingly.

                With a personal example to further explain, my biggest strength is I am a chameleon. Some say it’s because I’m a Gemini but I like to believe that I’ve been taught how to play nice. When I say “chameleon” I’m saying that I can adjust my personality to fit those around me. From sports fans to comic book nerds, from the analytical to the philosophical to the right brain thinker, I have the ability to converse with anyone. As a self SWOT, being personable and a chameleon is my biggest strength that I can utilize and control to my advantage.

Weaknesses

                During the second step in the SWOT process, you’ll be analyzing your internal weaknesses. Personally, my biggest weakness is I am a procrastinator. I will put something off until the last darn second and it is a terrible habit. This is something I know, this is something I can control, which proves that it is internal. For the most part, a little micromanaging here and there can mitigate my weakness but all in all I still do it every day.

For a quarterback, this can be knowing that your offensive line isn’t too great (sorry Jay Cutler). It is something you can control by adjusting your game plan. You can hand the ball off to the halfback more often or, make quicker throws to your receivers as standing in the pocket won’t be much of an option. Once you recognize a weakness, you can plan to overcome that weakness.

Opportunities

                This is the first step in the external analysis, in other words an opportunity is something you can’t control necessarily but, it is something you can take advantage of. When a quarterback recognizes that his wide receiver, who is 6’4, is one on one with a 5’11 cornerback, there is a great opportunity that he can throw it up to his receiver and he’ll most likely come down with the ball. Another example could be that the quarterback recognizes that a defense is going to blitz, so he audibles accordingly, takes six steps back and burns the defensive on a large throw.

                For those of you who know nothing about football, I will use a personal example. One of my goals in the next year is to lose some weight like most of us North Americans around Christmas time. The only problem is I lack the resources or, in other words I’m broke and can’t afford a gym (weakness). Down the street from my house is a community centre that has a great, affordable workout facility that is only $20 a month or $120 a year to use (compared to $50 a month at most other gyms). Here, there is a great opportunity to achieve my goal of losing some weight by utilizing and taking advantage of an external factor that I cannot control.

Threats

                The final and most difficult part of a SWOT analysis is looking for external factors that can potentially impact your business in a negative way. In football, the quarterback has an easier look at threats as there is a whole defense looking to take him down in any way possible. Specific threats could be as easy as going up against J.J. Watt or Brian Urlacher. Threats that might be more difficult to anticipate could be new plays by the defensive coordinator, injuries or bad weather. All threats are hard to anticipate but in any case, it’s important to recognize these threats and put plans into place to mitigate them.

                In my case, a threats can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be as big as losing my arm in a terrible car accident, losing my buss pass, getting a fine for something I didn’t know I was doing or something I can anticipate like my upcoming tuition fees.

In a SWOT analysis, threats and opportunities are the hardest to asses. There is so much surrounding a person, a team or a business that there is an infinite amount of external factors that can have an impact. Here is another acronym to help you out with your opportunities and threats assessment known as CREST.

Competition- By looking at your competition you can assess their strengths and weaknesses and ultimately figure out opportunities and threats from them.

Regulatory- Every country, city, state and province has different laws, every game has different rules. Learning these rules can clearly outline opportunities and threats that can be addresses.

Economic- What happening in the economy that could affect me or my business?

Social- What’s happening in society that could affect me or my business?

Technological- What types of technologies are out there that could help or hurt my business?

                I use SWOT analyses all the time. Recently I was put into a group for a project where we all did a SWOT to figure out if one person’s strengths could help overcome another’s weakness. If you’re in a band or on a team, you can really figure out the different dynamics of your group and use different people to fit in particular roles. Utilize your strengths, overcome your weaknesses, take full advantage of opportunities’ and mitigate possible threats. Not just for business or for football, but for everyday life.

5 Creative Marketing Ideas for the Aspiring Musician

            With about 7 years of music industry experience, I’ve seen some bad ideas and some good ideas. Marketing in a failing industry such as the music industry is an everyday grind. Personally, I was grinded out so I got out. It’s a dog eat dog industry, it is not kind and it is not easy. There are a lot of ups and a lot of downs but, every once in a while you see something so simple, so absolutely brilliant that you think “Why didn’t I think of that?” This is what kept me around for so long, it was the bright ideas in the marketing of the industry. Here are some tips I hope will help ease the everyday grind.

1.       The Band Stamp

         This is easily one of the most brilliant ideas I’ve never thought of. Go to Staples or any other business depots and get a stamp made of your band name, email or website. Ask the door person to use it on everyone that comes in. At the very least, everyone in the bar or venue will remember your band name or, know how to contact you. At the very most, the stamp will make the show seem like YOU are the focus. It’s a win/win, low cost, high reward advantage over everyone else at the show. It free advertising and mass branding that you only paid $15 to $20 for.

2.       Gift Giving

         This is also a very simple, low cost and effective way to make friends and fans. The hardest part is simply talking to people. Create a signup sheet asking for a full name, date of birth and an address. You don’t necessarily need the year just the day and month of their birthday. Keep the list on hand and whenever one of the birthdays comes up, mail that person a gift! It can be as simple as a shot glass (if they’re turning 18, 19 or 21 depending where you are), a cd or a card simply wishing the fan a happy birthday. This goes a long way in building a relationship with someone. The key is to hit the fans one by one. It is much easier and much more accurate to hit each target one at a time than to knock off a whole bunch at once. 

3.       Getting Creative

         Getting creative is about your band/artist name, a song title or the title of a CD where you can get a creative hook. Consider the Leaderdogs that had an album called Lemonade. While distributing the CD and the singles, they inserted a small packet of lemonade. Fans, radio program directors and producers actually fought over who would get the tasty beverage that cost a whopping five cents. That album charted. Do you have a song title or name that you can get a creative hook out of? Make the most out of it.

4.       Band Expo

         Although every other artist is your competition, the music industry is funny in that your biggest competition could be your biggest help. How about getting together with 5 to 10 artists at a local shop or nightclub that supports local talent and promoting each other. Set up boards, create a power points, hand out business cards and have unplugged single songs scheduled every once in a while. If businesses can have trade shows to show off their products and services, why can’t bands have the same to show who they are and what they do. This is the perfect opportunity to engage with fans, start a conversation and build relationships without the loud music in the background. Keep one thing in mind here, this WONT be about making the sale. This will be about STARTING the CONVERSATION. It is simply letting the customer get to know who you are and what you’re about. It is your opportunity and your responsibility to yourself to leave a lasting impression.

5.       Lastly, Engagement

         This is the least expensive yet, the most powerful tool you have. It’s about NOT marketing to people at all, it’s about NOT trying to sell your music. Engagement is all about having a conversation. It’s about listening to your fans, people with similar interests and fans of similar bands and talking to them. Not about your new single, not about your new t-shirt but, talking to them about what you have in common, what you love about that genre of music or even as simple as how the weather is. Stop trying to make a sale, start trying to make fans want to buy from you.
        Social media has made this a lot easier to do. Things like Twitter, Facebook among many other websites have created one giant conversation for you to be a part of. So many time I see bands misusing these tools. “Yo come out to our show! It’s going to be the best time ever!”. One, this is not managing expectations of the fans because its most likely not going to be the best time ever. 2, you’re trying to make a SALE, this is not cool. Something better would be,  “What crazy thing would you like to see us do at our upcoming show? A. Star Wars Costumes B. Strippers C. Fireworks”. People will talk, they will answer you and if you can pull off all three of those, you’re going to be famous. Stop marketing, start ENGAGING!!!

                I hope this helped out you Musicians out there! As a music lover, musician and formerly in a band, I really want to see you succeed! The music industry needs a boost and if this article can help you be that boost in any way, I’ll feel like a hero. Not the hero you need, but the hero you deserve. Because I’m not a hero really, I’m more like a silent guardian, a watchful protector… a marketing student that really likes to help people out and is really into batman, or a dark knight. If you have any other ideas you might want to pass along, please feel free to comment below, you’ll only be helping out the fellow musician.

A Passion for Marketing

           

             If you’re like I was, creative, full of ideas, energetic but confused, this article is for you. If you’re into Marketing, Advertising and Business, this article is for you. After exploring the perceptions of marketing, the shifts that are changing these perceptions and what marketing means to me, I hope I can convince a couple of you to use your creativity, your ideas and your energy to explore a new interest. There’s is nothing better than using your creativity and making money off it! “Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life” – Harvey MacKay

In my first Professional Selling class, we had to stand up and talk about our perception on sales and marketing. I was the first to stand, the first to speak and the very last because I had said enough in 3 words; “Used Car Salesman”. I had compared my perception to selling and marketing to Danny DeVito in Matilda. This character to me is the epitome of sleaze. The tacky clothes, the forked tongue, the slick backed hair and the shiny watch was marketing to me. This was the opinion of the majority of the class. 

Right now, there a very interesting shift happening. With things like smart phones, email and social media (ESPECIALLY social media) we are always plugged in to the universe around us. This has forced sales people to answer some very important questions. In answering these questions, sales people and marketers are being part of a conversation. This has been the best thing to ever happen to marketing and business; it has essentially changed perceptions about them. From forked tongues and brainwashing to relationships and conversations, people are adopting brands and services as a lifestyle. If we look at Coca Cola, Starbucks, McDonalds, Nike, people are wearing their symbols and buying their products because they want to be part of the conversation. 

For me, marketing has become a way to release my creativity. I was in a band for 5 or so years and I absolutely loved it. The crowds, the performances, the music and centre stage were home to me. So, I thought I would take a course called Music Industry Arts. During my time taking MIA, I learned two things. Number one was to get the hell out of the music industry. It has collapsed in on itself and its desperately looking for new foundation. The second and the most important was, I had found a new calling in my marketing class. Yes, out of all the music history lessons, out of the audio recording techniques, what stuck with me the most was the marketing. In marketing there is strategy, there is technique and best of all there is room for creativity and innovation. Good marketing is an art form.

I just recently finished my first year of Business-Marketing and hope that I’ll be doing this for years to come. What once was a negative has become a great positive. Marketing is an always changing industry and has so much room for creativity and innovation. Again, if you’re creative, energetic and full of ideas, give marketing a try, it might surprise you.

5 Very Interesting Products and How I Would Market Them Issue #2

The Suit Case/Picnic Table

If you’ve got any ideas on how to creatively market this product, please comment below I would love to hear your ideas!

It’s as if James Bond himself were in on this design. This here is a Picnic Table that folds into a Case for easy transportation. I know that personally there are many times when my family and I would go on picnics and there would be no tables available. As cool as it is to sit in the grass or on a blanket, sometimes having a table is just much more comfortable.

Brand Name/Slogan: I’d like to say that something like this wouldn’t really need a brand name because I could see it being sold at Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire but, what’s the fun in that? Let’s get creative here and go with something awesome. A brief case that turns into a picnic table this is obviously The Flipnic Table! The slogan could be something like, “Some things are just better when you flip it!”

Target Market: The target market I could see getting the most out of this product is 28 to 38 year old parents with young kids or, an active social life who like picnics, camping, and outdoor activities with their family. Nailed it. On another note, volunteer groups or camps for kids could also get a great use out of buying many of these.

Features: Well the features that make up this delightful product are nice wooden pieces attached to metal bars, plastic pieces that help protect the vulnerable parts and the fact this it can be a table AND a suitcase.

Benefits: The benefits that will sell this product is the table on the go concept. It’s a great size for packing, a handle to carry it around and this intangible feeling of providing for friends and family when your bring a table, to the table. See what I did there.

Additional Accessories: I can’t see from this picture if you can put an umbrella in the middle of the table but, an easy to carry, flippable umbrella (OR is it called SUNbrella?) would be ca-ray-zay neato.

 

Communications: NOW to everyone’s favorite part. How are we going to get the word out there about this product? My first thoughts was a whole IMC (Integrated Marketing Communications) campaign on flipping things. “Some things are just better when you flip it. So flip it good.” Like when you flip a pancake, or a ninja flip. When you sit in a Lay-Z-Boy chair and you flip up the leg rest or, how a Transformer yells “TRANSFORM!” and he flips his lid. Then there could be a comedic root on how something’s were never meant to be flipped. Like a can of pop (Spill all over yourself), or a car (HULK SMASH).

                Although this would be funny it doesn’t really touch on the main benefit that’s going to sell the product. I was just running with an idea and I doubt that The Flipnic Table is easy to transform anyways. So instead, have an advertisement that shows people transporting ridiculously heavy things. They would be struggling to get through doors, throwing their back out and not getting these big things to fit in the car.

                Then have a man carrying a big bulky picnic table with his family, to a spot and set it down, tired, huffing and puffing. Finally he looks over as a different man and his family walk over to a spot nearby. They simply put down their basket of goodies, unfold the Flipnic Table and they’re good to go. BOOM. Bro is mad jealous and is going to go out and buy two of them right away.

Again, If you’ve got any ideas on how to creatively market this product, please comment below I would love to hear your ideas!

Thanks for reading!  Cheers.