Some methods of marketing may be seasonal or only last for a year while other methods
last for a lifetime. Beware of fads, but always be “aware” of what other people are doing to
market their business.
One of the newer “seasonal” methods for advertising new businesses or homes for sale are
the foot promoters that stand on the street corner with an oversized arrow or sign that has
the name of the company. Some of these guys are amazing because they perform acrobats
in an animated fashion while holding the signs. In fact, if I’m at a stoplight when they are
performing, I get so entranced watching them that I often miss when the light turns green.
It’s kind of hard to ignore a handsome young man flipping a sign up several feet into the air
and catching it behind his back. I can’t tell you the name of the company he was advertising,
but he definitely caught my attention. That is very Guerrilla.
This is similar to moped advertising, where you pay a marketing company that has
promoters to drive a sign around on mopeds to promote your product or service. The
promoter is usually dressed in something eye-catching (like a bikini) and will drive your
billboard around in high-traffic areas where your sign can be seen by large numbers of
people. If you are marketing sunglasses, tanning oil, or soft drinks, it makes sense to
employ this medium at beaches. Mopeds can go where buses and cars cannot. They can go
to parks, ballgames and parades – wherever lots of people congregate.
This is not a passing fad. This marketing system works whenever there is sunshine and
plenty of people, especially on the Florida and California beach fronts. The cost is low cost;
just make sure you have a good liability policy. The car billboard advertising shortly
followed this and is still going strong.
In Renee and Don Martin’s 2010 book, “The Risk Takers,” they discuss the Geek Squad’s™
first billboard car: “When Robert (Stephens) bought the first company car, a 1958 French-
manufactured Simca Aronde, he dubbed it the Geekmobile and painted a giant Geek Squad
logo on the door panels. Robert could not hardly believe the car’s marketing impact. That
moving billboard really got the company noticed without expensive advertising. People
would come up to me and say, ‘Hey, your cars are everywhere’ –and I only had one car.” We
see on the streets cars with pizza company logos, handyman advertising and everything
else in between. If you want to make some extra income, just Google “car advertising” and
you will be able to find a company that will let you advertise someone’s business for
income with your car.
Truck billboard advertising is another very cost effective way to get your brand into the
public’s eye. Years ago when I was commuting back from Silicon Valley coming over the hill
from Fremont to Pleasanton, I saw a large truck with the name of a television manufacturer
on the side. In this advertisement was an image of the television, people watching it and
having fun, the contact information, a list of the retailers who carried this brand in the
surrounding cities and the store hours. That is a lot of information to take in at one glance,
however, most of the people who saw this truck billboard saw it on a regular basis and
could easily pick out the retailer closest to their home. This truck was parked in the same
place daily from 4 -7 p.m. religiously. The billboard ran quarterly, then a new company
would put their advertisement up. Brilliant. Even though it stayed the same for three
months, you knew you would feel compelled to take some kind of action to buy the product
before that advertisement went away. Here are some outdoor traveling stats from various
sources:
. 98% of mobile viewers said they noticed truck-side ads-according to - American
Trucking Association
. Outdoor advertising delivers immediate results for advertisers. 29% say outdoor
advertising caused them to visit a retail store within a week. The more time spent in
the car, the more likely that outdoor advertising motivates consumers to visit a
retail store. - Arbitron National In-Car Study, 2003
. There is a 97% recall of the advertising message when you use mobile advertising,
according to RYP & Becker Group
. Compare 97% recall (above) to a 19% retention rate for static signs, based on -
Outdoor Advertising Magazine TACA’s market research July/August 2002
. 74% of most commuters don't watch TV news, and 27% of them do not read a
newspaper. These commuters drive more, make more money, are higher educated
and are more likely to have children - according to the Arbitron Outdoor Study.
Truck billboards build brand recognition!
Here are some sources:
www.truckads.com
www.gotrucktravelingbillboardadvertising.com
www.themobilebillboardguide.com
There is also airplane banner advertising. I see a lot of airplane banners while attending
ballgames or in a crowded outdoor shopping area on the weekends. If you are marketing
your furniture store or a rock concert and you know where these people hang out, it might
make sense to market your business on an airplane banner. There are airfields all over that
have people who do this. Just check into your nearby airport for people who use their
planes to advertise.
One of the best eco-friendly advertising methods is using wind to propel your brand across
the sky. Some of us are using the power of the wind to generate our electricity at home;
why not our businesses? Utilize this free source of power.
Blimps, once a mainstay for Goodyear®, now fly high for other marketers. Anything that
flies can be one of your advertising media strategies.
How about kites? Yes, kite advertising is more popular than ever and more cost effective
than truck billboards. This would definitely fit into the seasonal section, since you need
wind. Spring and Fall are the windiest times of the year, so start planning your “air attack”
now for the upcoming season. Chicago anyone? The windiest city in America has
thousands of “flying kites” all over. I am purposely equating kites with fliers because that is
essentially what they are. Perhaps kites are even more cost efficient than paper fliers which
need to be printed and handed out. It doesn’t stop there with kites, there are also flying
banners and the air dancers. Here are some wind advertising sources:
www.windwavers.com
www.windsign.com
www.spaceads.com.au
www.ameramark.com
Don’t leave out balloons for marketing your product or service. Party stores and balloon
stores are in every town. This is a fun way to advertise anything. Balloons make people
happy. Balloons are festive and invoke a lightness of spirit. They come in all shapes and
sizes to suit your needs. The large spiral braid of two colors, usually blue and white, are
used at a lot of auto dealerships. If you have ever seen a large inflated animal displayed at
an event/store, these are simply another form of balloon advertising. They get my
attention, how about yours?
Balloon banners, dancing balloons, blimps and even air balloons are available. Children
themes, business themes and logos, tool shapes, animal shapes and more exist. As
Guerrillas, we think “outside the box.” Back when waterbeds were more popular, a local
waterbed retailer filled a waterbed mattress with helium and tied it to a rope to be
displayed as a float over his store, That way, it could be seen for miles. Not all the cars that
drove by stopped, but many slowed down and noticed the store. The owner of the store
says that the stunt enabled him to sell his average monthly volume in one day and to
double it within one week. Crazy, but it worked.
Take a look at a few of these advertising balloon web sites to get an idea of the variety and
colors that are available. It is absolutely incredible what designers come up with.
www.advertisingballooncompany.com
www.arizonaballoon.com?Advertising_balloons
www.bonanzaballoons.com
Now let’s talk about some more “down-to-earth” marketing methods. The most common is
t-shirt advertising. T-shirts have everything on them nowadays. There are literally
hundreds of companies online and offline that will make a t-shirt for you at the drop of a
hat (no pun intended), but they make those too. This is called the advert T shirt advertising
method. People become your walking billboards. If you have a group meeting, host an
event, or want to promote your brand, give your audience an advert T-shirt. T-shirts can be
thrown into a crowd or into the baseball stands because they are durable and don’t break.
The same goes for hats or visors. These items make great giveaways and are useful.
Everyone likes getting something for free, especially to wear. T-shirts come in all shapes,
sizes and colors. If you are in doubt that the advert T-shirt method works, take a look at the
fashion industry. High-end labels such as Nike®, bebe®, Guess®, Adidas®, Old Navy®,
Gap®, etc. all have their brands on T-shirts. A lot of them have the “bling” element of
adding rhinestones or glitter to make the shirt “pop” and be in style. Baby boomers love a
little bling here and there. It makes them feel fun, fresh and in current style.
Here are some fun sites to check out:
www.tshirtadvert.com
www.creativeadvertisingusa.com
www.tshiradvert.com
Less popular these days are A-frames, also known as sandwich boards. These are signs
draped over foot promoters that walk back and forth in front of large groups of people.
These signs tell the benefits of buying from you or will have a special announcement. This
type of advertising was used a lot during the turn of the 20th century. It was effective and
affordable. Similar to a human billboard, this method works best when in a crowded area
like a train station, ballpark or airport. As a Guerrilla, you have an obligation to give serious
consideration to many of these “non-traditional” marketing tools. If you decide to resurrect
this old advertising method, just make sure you do it in a highly trafficked area. Remember
the billboard with the ballpark, hot dog vendor who wore the A-frame? There were quite a
few vendors who caught your attention with their bellowing voice and persuasive gestures.
You probably didn’t want to let the guy down if you didn’t buy a hot dog.
Also consider contests and sweepstakes. These definitely attract people. Those who enter
often become involved with you, and involvement can lead to sales. Just remember that the
purpose of contests and sweepstakes are:
. To get names, e-mails or phone numbers for your mailing list.
. To separate you from the ranks of other advertisers (so you feel ‘special’).
. To entice people to enter your store or web site in order to enter the contest.
Be sure to place the entry box at the back of the store or Web site so people are forced to
view your sales items while they try to win that free trip to Hawaii.
Certainly you have seen ads or received mail that screams, “You have been selected,” or
“Fabulous Sweepstakes,” or “You may have already won $1,000,000,” or “Be a winner.”
There are now Web sites which offer help with entering sweepstakes, online sweepstake
magazines and individual retailers with separate sweepstake Web sites. The psychology of
gambling comes into play here. Deep down most people feel lucky or entitled to win. As
with anything else, always check with your lawyer or local authorities to see if holding a
sweepstake or contest is allowed.
A similar tactic is also prevalent on famous talk shows. The talk show hosts tells the
audience that a special announcement will be made next week sometime. It could be a special guest or to enter a contest. This makes the audience have to tune in to find out what
the “special announcement” is about. That breeds anticipation and eagerness to tune in. If a
contest is announced one day, the details will be revealed the following week. Again,
anticipation creates participation with the audience. I’ve seen this happen where the whole
process is drawn out over two months sometimes. Then finally, a winner is picked and the
audience cheers. This process creates an escalated environmental frenzy of excitement.
During this process, your product, brand or service is in your prospect’s mind. This process
is and can be carried over into your Guerrilla media.
Guerrilla media is always changing and evolving. Mobile phones, androids, the cloud and
other techno gadgets also make up Guerrilla media. I use my iPhone as my computer when
I’m out of the office. If you are afraid of technology, you better get over it and fast because
the techno world is speeding ahead. There are literally hundreds of ways to multiply your
business online. The question is what device or devices are you going to use? Blackberry or
iPhone? Androids are becoming very popular. Whatever you pick, make sure you sit down
through several sessions to learn how to operate your device. Be patient. Unless you are 30
years old or younger, learning a new operating device can be very trying.
A lot of entrepreneurs are marketing their businesses by educating the prospect. A great
way to do this is to make a video. I use Camtasia Studio. This tool is essential for any
serious online marketer because you can give demonstrations from the computer about
your product or service. Jing® is one of Camtasia’s products. Jing enables you to take
“screenshots” of your computer and send it to someone in an e-mail. This is very handy
when you are demonstrating or instructing someone on how to use your product. Jing is
free. You can also record a video up to five minutes. I elected to buy Camtasia, a one- time
fee of $197 and monthly fee of $97 because it is important to be able to show people how
to do things on the computer, or present your product via PowerPoint video. I was able to
share “how-to” videos with you in chapter 15 using Camtasia. Another benefit with
Camtasia is their support. Whenever I think about buying a product, I first check out their
telephone support system. When I need to talk to someone about my difficulties, I do not
hesitate to call Camtasia’s support (that’s partly what you are paying for on a monthly
basis). I have actually called them so much that I know the support people on a first name
basis.
A quick, but important word about support: Even if you can’t talk to someone, you must
receive an e-mail from the support system within 24 hours of inquiry. If you do not receive
an e-mail or an attempt to contact you, get your money back and find a different company.
You can also upload your videos to Youtube via Camtasia. The more people who view your
videos the better — as they will become familiar with you and your product, thus
establishing trust, which convert to sales. Guerrillas have a knack for spotting necessities
for their business and Camtasia is one of them. You will need a good microphone, which
you can get from Radio Shack, Best Buy, or another tech store. My microphone clips onto
my lapel. The sound definition is tremendous. Headsets are very popular as well. Use the
device that is most comfortable.
There are always new technology gadgets that will help the Guerrilla marketer. Stay in the
forefront of these tools. Select what works best for you in your business marketing to baby
boomers. Join a tech forum or blog to find out what the latest and greatest products are to
help you in your business.
last for a lifetime. Beware of fads, but always be “aware” of what other people are doing to
market their business.
One of the newer “seasonal” methods for advertising new businesses or homes for sale are
the foot promoters that stand on the street corner with an oversized arrow or sign that has
the name of the company. Some of these guys are amazing because they perform acrobats
in an animated fashion while holding the signs. In fact, if I’m at a stoplight when they are
performing, I get so entranced watching them that I often miss when the light turns green.
It’s kind of hard to ignore a handsome young man flipping a sign up several feet into the air
and catching it behind his back. I can’t tell you the name of the company he was advertising,
but he definitely caught my attention. That is very Guerrilla.
This is similar to moped advertising, where you pay a marketing company that has
promoters to drive a sign around on mopeds to promote your product or service. The
promoter is usually dressed in something eye-catching (like a bikini) and will drive your
billboard around in high-traffic areas where your sign can be seen by large numbers of
people. If you are marketing sunglasses, tanning oil, or soft drinks, it makes sense to
employ this medium at beaches. Mopeds can go where buses and cars cannot. They can go
to parks, ballgames and parades – wherever lots of people congregate.
This is not a passing fad. This marketing system works whenever there is sunshine and
plenty of people, especially on the Florida and California beach fronts. The cost is low cost;
just make sure you have a good liability policy. The car billboard advertising shortly
followed this and is still going strong.
In Renee and Don Martin’s 2010 book, “The Risk Takers,” they discuss the Geek Squad’s™
first billboard car: “When Robert (Stephens) bought the first company car, a 1958 French-
manufactured Simca Aronde, he dubbed it the Geekmobile and painted a giant Geek Squad
logo on the door panels. Robert could not hardly believe the car’s marketing impact. That
moving billboard really got the company noticed without expensive advertising. People
would come up to me and say, ‘Hey, your cars are everywhere’ –and I only had one car.” We
see on the streets cars with pizza company logos, handyman advertising and everything
else in between. If you want to make some extra income, just Google “car advertising” and
you will be able to find a company that will let you advertise someone’s business for
income with your car.
Truck billboard advertising is another very cost effective way to get your brand into the
public’s eye. Years ago when I was commuting back from Silicon Valley coming over the hill
from Fremont to Pleasanton, I saw a large truck with the name of a television manufacturer
on the side. In this advertisement was an image of the television, people watching it and
having fun, the contact information, a list of the retailers who carried this brand in the
surrounding cities and the store hours. That is a lot of information to take in at one glance,
however, most of the people who saw this truck billboard saw it on a regular basis and
could easily pick out the retailer closest to their home. This truck was parked in the same
place daily from 4 -7 p.m. religiously. The billboard ran quarterly, then a new company
would put their advertisement up. Brilliant. Even though it stayed the same for three
months, you knew you would feel compelled to take some kind of action to buy the product
before that advertisement went away. Here are some outdoor traveling stats from various
sources:
. 98% of mobile viewers said they noticed truck-side ads-according to - American
Trucking Association
. Outdoor advertising delivers immediate results for advertisers. 29% say outdoor
advertising caused them to visit a retail store within a week. The more time spent in
the car, the more likely that outdoor advertising motivates consumers to visit a
retail store. - Arbitron National In-Car Study, 2003
. There is a 97% recall of the advertising message when you use mobile advertising,
according to RYP & Becker Group
. Compare 97% recall (above) to a 19% retention rate for static signs, based on -
Outdoor Advertising Magazine TACA’s market research July/August 2002
. 74% of most commuters don't watch TV news, and 27% of them do not read a
newspaper. These commuters drive more, make more money, are higher educated
and are more likely to have children - according to the Arbitron Outdoor Study.
Truck billboards build brand recognition!
Here are some sources:
www.truckads.com
www.gotrucktravelingbillboardadvertising.com
www.themobilebillboardguide.com
There is also airplane banner advertising. I see a lot of airplane banners while attending
ballgames or in a crowded outdoor shopping area on the weekends. If you are marketing
your furniture store or a rock concert and you know where these people hang out, it might
make sense to market your business on an airplane banner. There are airfields all over that
have people who do this. Just check into your nearby airport for people who use their
planes to advertise.
One of the best eco-friendly advertising methods is using wind to propel your brand across
the sky. Some of us are using the power of the wind to generate our electricity at home;
why not our businesses? Utilize this free source of power.
Blimps, once a mainstay for Goodyear®, now fly high for other marketers. Anything that
flies can be one of your advertising media strategies.
How about kites? Yes, kite advertising is more popular than ever and more cost effective
than truck billboards. This would definitely fit into the seasonal section, since you need
wind. Spring and Fall are the windiest times of the year, so start planning your “air attack”
now for the upcoming season. Chicago anyone? The windiest city in America has
thousands of “flying kites” all over. I am purposely equating kites with fliers because that is
essentially what they are. Perhaps kites are even more cost efficient than paper fliers which
need to be printed and handed out. It doesn’t stop there with kites, there are also flying
banners and the air dancers. Here are some wind advertising sources:
www.windwavers.com
www.windsign.com
www.spaceads.com.au
www.ameramark.com
Don’t leave out balloons for marketing your product or service. Party stores and balloon
stores are in every town. This is a fun way to advertise anything. Balloons make people
happy. Balloons are festive and invoke a lightness of spirit. They come in all shapes and
sizes to suit your needs. The large spiral braid of two colors, usually blue and white, are
used at a lot of auto dealerships. If you have ever seen a large inflated animal displayed at
an event/store, these are simply another form of balloon advertising. They get my
attention, how about yours?
Balloon banners, dancing balloons, blimps and even air balloons are available. Children
themes, business themes and logos, tool shapes, animal shapes and more exist. As
Guerrillas, we think “outside the box.” Back when waterbeds were more popular, a local
waterbed retailer filled a waterbed mattress with helium and tied it to a rope to be
displayed as a float over his store, That way, it could be seen for miles. Not all the cars that
drove by stopped, but many slowed down and noticed the store. The owner of the store
says that the stunt enabled him to sell his average monthly volume in one day and to
double it within one week. Crazy, but it worked.
Take a look at a few of these advertising balloon web sites to get an idea of the variety and
colors that are available. It is absolutely incredible what designers come up with.
www.advertisingballooncompany.com
www.arizonaballoon.com?Advertising_balloons
www.bonanzaballoons.com
Now let’s talk about some more “down-to-earth” marketing methods. The most common is
t-shirt advertising. T-shirts have everything on them nowadays. There are literally
hundreds of companies online and offline that will make a t-shirt for you at the drop of a
hat (no pun intended), but they make those too. This is called the advert T shirt advertising
method. People become your walking billboards. If you have a group meeting, host an
event, or want to promote your brand, give your audience an advert T-shirt. T-shirts can be
thrown into a crowd or into the baseball stands because they are durable and don’t break.
The same goes for hats or visors. These items make great giveaways and are useful.
Everyone likes getting something for free, especially to wear. T-shirts come in all shapes,
sizes and colors. If you are in doubt that the advert T-shirt method works, take a look at the
fashion industry. High-end labels such as Nike®, bebe®, Guess®, Adidas®, Old Navy®,
Gap®, etc. all have their brands on T-shirts. A lot of them have the “bling” element of
adding rhinestones or glitter to make the shirt “pop” and be in style. Baby boomers love a
little bling here and there. It makes them feel fun, fresh and in current style.
Here are some fun sites to check out:
www.tshirtadvert.com
www.creativeadvertisingusa.com
www.tshiradvert.com
Less popular these days are A-frames, also known as sandwich boards. These are signs
draped over foot promoters that walk back and forth in front of large groups of people.
These signs tell the benefits of buying from you or will have a special announcement. This
type of advertising was used a lot during the turn of the 20th century. It was effective and
affordable. Similar to a human billboard, this method works best when in a crowded area
like a train station, ballpark or airport. As a Guerrilla, you have an obligation to give serious
consideration to many of these “non-traditional” marketing tools. If you decide to resurrect
this old advertising method, just make sure you do it in a highly trafficked area. Remember
the billboard with the ballpark, hot dog vendor who wore the A-frame? There were quite a
few vendors who caught your attention with their bellowing voice and persuasive gestures.
You probably didn’t want to let the guy down if you didn’t buy a hot dog.
Also consider contests and sweepstakes. These definitely attract people. Those who enter
often become involved with you, and involvement can lead to sales. Just remember that the
purpose of contests and sweepstakes are:
. To get names, e-mails or phone numbers for your mailing list.
. To separate you from the ranks of other advertisers (so you feel ‘special’).
. To entice people to enter your store or web site in order to enter the contest.
Be sure to place the entry box at the back of the store or Web site so people are forced to
view your sales items while they try to win that free trip to Hawaii.
Certainly you have seen ads or received mail that screams, “You have been selected,” or
“Fabulous Sweepstakes,” or “You may have already won $1,000,000,” or “Be a winner.”
There are now Web sites which offer help with entering sweepstakes, online sweepstake
magazines and individual retailers with separate sweepstake Web sites. The psychology of
gambling comes into play here. Deep down most people feel lucky or entitled to win. As
with anything else, always check with your lawyer or local authorities to see if holding a
sweepstake or contest is allowed.
A similar tactic is also prevalent on famous talk shows. The talk show hosts tells the
audience that a special announcement will be made next week sometime. It could be a special guest or to enter a contest. This makes the audience have to tune in to find out what
the “special announcement” is about. That breeds anticipation and eagerness to tune in. If a
contest is announced one day, the details will be revealed the following week. Again,
anticipation creates participation with the audience. I’ve seen this happen where the whole
process is drawn out over two months sometimes. Then finally, a winner is picked and the
audience cheers. This process creates an escalated environmental frenzy of excitement.
During this process, your product, brand or service is in your prospect’s mind. This process
is and can be carried over into your Guerrilla media.
Guerrilla media is always changing and evolving. Mobile phones, androids, the cloud and
other techno gadgets also make up Guerrilla media. I use my iPhone as my computer when
I’m out of the office. If you are afraid of technology, you better get over it and fast because
the techno world is speeding ahead. There are literally hundreds of ways to multiply your
business online. The question is what device or devices are you going to use? Blackberry or
iPhone? Androids are becoming very popular. Whatever you pick, make sure you sit down
through several sessions to learn how to operate your device. Be patient. Unless you are 30
years old or younger, learning a new operating device can be very trying.
A lot of entrepreneurs are marketing their businesses by educating the prospect. A great
way to do this is to make a video. I use Camtasia Studio. This tool is essential for any
serious online marketer because you can give demonstrations from the computer about
your product or service. Jing® is one of Camtasia’s products. Jing enables you to take
“screenshots” of your computer and send it to someone in an e-mail. This is very handy
when you are demonstrating or instructing someone on how to use your product. Jing is
free. You can also record a video up to five minutes. I elected to buy Camtasia, a one- time
fee of $197 and monthly fee of $97 because it is important to be able to show people how
to do things on the computer, or present your product via PowerPoint video. I was able to
share “how-to” videos with you in chapter 15 using Camtasia. Another benefit with
Camtasia is their support. Whenever I think about buying a product, I first check out their
telephone support system. When I need to talk to someone about my difficulties, I do not
hesitate to call Camtasia’s support (that’s partly what you are paying for on a monthly
basis). I have actually called them so much that I know the support people on a first name
basis.
A quick, but important word about support: Even if you can’t talk to someone, you must
receive an e-mail from the support system within 24 hours of inquiry. If you do not receive
an e-mail or an attempt to contact you, get your money back and find a different company.
You can also upload your videos to Youtube via Camtasia. The more people who view your
videos the better — as they will become familiar with you and your product, thus
establishing trust, which convert to sales. Guerrillas have a knack for spotting necessities
for their business and Camtasia is one of them. You will need a good microphone, which
you can get from Radio Shack, Best Buy, or another tech store. My microphone clips onto
my lapel. The sound definition is tremendous. Headsets are very popular as well. Use the
device that is most comfortable.
There are always new technology gadgets that will help the Guerrilla marketer. Stay in the
forefront of these tools. Select what works best for you in your business marketing to baby
boomers. Join a tech forum or blog to find out what the latest and greatest products are to
help you in your business.
Next Page - Chapter 28: You Have A Successful Company, Now What?
