You’ve developed your marketing campaign, bought ad space, and yet, you’re still not seeing the sales you hoped. So what gives? Ad blindness. It’s a common experience that can make even the cleverest ad go unnoticed. With the internet at our fingertips, it’s easy to mass produce and distribute marketing. But most consumers have seen it all – or at least something very similar – so only the most creative will stand out.
Luckily, there are ways to get around ad blindness: you can redesign your ad positions, optimize your e-newsletters, or create a fresh look to your website. However, no matter what, you’re going to need to inject a little more creativity into your advertising. To give you a little push, here are 3 ways to breathe some new life into your marketing campaigns.
Redesign.
The easiest way to pull attention to your brand is to change the logo or design of your product. A new logo or product design is a reason to distribute press releases and organize special promotions. Remember the press explosion over the new Starbucks logo? And how about Coke’s new sustainability design? There is a chance that people may not love it, like Gap’s logo attempt, but it’s certainly guaranteed to spread the word.
Simplicity.
Less is more. This not only applies to minimalism and blog posts, but also successful creative marketing. Don’t use twenty words to say what you can in five. Don’t use twenty images when two will do. There have been many successful campaigns that made use of just a single image and their company name. To announce the integration of free WiFi in all of their restaurants, McDonald’s used four fries to form a WiFi signal on a plain red background. Between the colors and the symbols, nothing more needed to be said.
Go to the Streets.
Yes, we live in an Internet-driven world, but we still go outside. Marketing is not limited to banner and text ads. Try some guerilla marketing to really get the creativity moving. A baggage claim painted like a roulette table to sponsor a casino? Brilliant. A urinal placed near the ceiling to promote Spider-Man 2? Genius. Consumers will always stop and take a second or third look at some really interesting and non-typical advertising.
If you’re not ready for some full-on guerilla marketing, how about renting a billboard and taking a creative or provocative approach? Billboards not only offer 500 brand impressions per dollar, but they provide a huge canvas for your potential creativity. Who wouldn’t double take at the living room IKEA set up on their billboard?
I get that these are all big budget examples, but the concepts can easily be adapted for smaller brands: change the shading on your logo, de-clutter your website, or put up some lawn signs. The bottom line is that change can be good. Change will make your customers take the time to acquaint (or reacquaint) themselves with your brand.
Are there some other ways that you can shake up your marketing campaign? Have you tried any?
Article by Mandy Kilinskis
Mandy is proud to be a part of QLP’s content team. A self-professed nerd, her interests include video games, sitcoms, superhero movies, iPods and iPhones but never Macs, and shockingly, writing. Her claims to fame are: owning over forty pairs of Chuck Taylor All Stars, offering spot-on coffee advice, and knowing an unbelievable amount of Disney Princess facts. You can also connect with Mandy on Google+ or Twitter.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Mandy, you’ve definitely got my gears turning. Thanks for the great tips and inspirational examples!
Not a problem, KB! I hope that your creative juices think of something awesome!
A lot of cool ideas here! I think redesigning a logo is really interesting one, because as you point out, it can be great for a company or it can backfire. I remember reading a while ago about Tropicana changing its orange juice carton design, only to change it back to the way it was after customers complained. Over an orange juice carton! But it got people talking about Tropicana, for sure–enough so that I still remember it after all this time.
I also really like your suggestions for simplicity and off-line advertising. Great post, Mandy!
Yeah, logo redesign seems to be either a hit or a miss. People seem fiercely allied to their brands and how they look. Which is probably why you should keep it subtle. Starbucks only removed their name from their logo – they kept the already established siren front and center.
Great blog post Mandy! I love all of the example links you added in here–super creative! Sometimes a change is what a business or person needs. A fresh idea can make a big difference! =)
They really are all super creative! I hope that all of those marketing creators got bonuses!
Your bit about simplicity is SUPER important. With constant distractions available (smartphones, iPads, etc.), the window to get someone’s attention is getting shorter and shorter. Keep it simple, get to the point, and don’t waste people’s time.
Yep. Simplicity rocks.
As seen in this reply.
Great post, Mandy! I love the minimalist ads and the creative guerilla marketing campaigns. They are so creative and would definitely get my attention if I saw them on the streets or in a magazine! It is so important for ad campaigns to go the extra mile to be creative — settling for the easy sexual innuendo will only get you so far. These creative examples are more likely to be remembered for a long time.
P.S. Thanks for the link!
I really wish that I had stumbled across that Folgers coffee ad on the street. How brilliant and simple, yet I wanted coffee so badly after seeing it! I love seeing what companies come up with to market themselves.
P.S. No problem!
Great post Mandy! Using guerilla marketing can really get your company’s brand out there in a fun and unique way. I love visiting big cities and seeing what creative ways they’re attracting customers.
In my opinion, when it comes to company logos, you shouldn’t change a good thing.
I don’t know why GAP even changed their logo to begin with…however, I really don’t understand why people hated the new one so much either. It wasn’t offensive or obnoxious, it was just different type! Ahaha! It makes my head spin
Anyway, great blog Mandy!
“Less is more.”
Truer words were never spoken. Simplicity in design is always something to adhere to. When your message or image becomes cluttered, you’re bound to lose some of your brand appeal.
Oh, and I love those examples of guerrilla marketing that you linked to. The “Shark Bus”? Too freaky!
And yes — change is definitely a good thing!
Great post, Mandy!