Happy 4th!
July 5th 2007 00:19
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
AMERICA!!!!
One of the problems facing marketers today is a problem not at all foreign to many professionals, creative thought and originality. Nearly everyone in a professional position of needing to utilize their creative juices runs into the proverbial writer's block at one time or another.
When thinking about marketing, it's important to be your own guide. Certainly, with respect to the internet, your idea today is likely 100 people's tomorrow, but again, duplication is a very sincere form of flattery. Today I want to talk about jumping outside that proverbial box.
I read not long ago (apologies to the now forgotten author) of a situation where a guy wanted to get his website seen. Wanted to get on the map. An average guy, he decides to go to a place where people tend to spend money. He went to the local mall. He made a bunch of business cards and had them printed with his website & logo. It was a hot summer day. He decided he would pay a group of 3 or 4 people a sum of money to hand his cards out for a few hours. Sound normal?
This guy happened to be marketing a product in a market where the average buyer was a 21-35 year old male. Hmmm. The guy ends up finding 3 of the prettiest young ladies he can convince to hand out cards for him and convinces them to do it in swimming suits. Needless to say, his cards went fast. A fairly simplistic out of the box marketing plan, but effective.
When marketing your product or service you must get outside the traditional landscape. In television, how often is the commercial, service, or product we most remember associated with an irritating or down right stupid commercial? We remember dumb things. We remember gross things. We remember graphically strange things. When the NFL Super Bowl rolls around again this year, look at the commercials that are most effective. They will leave an impression with the viewer in one form or another that will ultimately lead to product recognition, and isn't that what it's all about?
One more example then I'll bid adieu for the day. Let's take an internet example. Recently a supposed guru type marketer (Gary Ambrose) launched a program called ListBandit. One of the marketing venues was the Traffic Exchange industry. If you're familiar with it, you will know that the basic gist of a traffic exchange is to view sites in exchange for having others view your sites. One of the standard rules is to not place sites on these exchanges that somehow slow the surf bar or redirect to another site independently thereby stopping the individual's surfing.
List Bandit was built to do exactly that, a framebreaker where the viewer ends up directed away from his or her surf bar to sit hopelessly staring at the big ol List Bandit page. Insider information now is that this was intended. So in essence what happens?
I've received no fewer than a dozen emails from program owners banning List Bandit from their surf sites. Most are not critical and state that you need to create a splash page for the site (some will....most won't). End result here is this site gets even more promotion and even more advertising because of it's built-in violation.
I don't advocate nor am I giving license to the idea that in order to gain success one should create hopelessly stupid ad campaigns or purposely violate terms associated with advertising venues. However, this is what we're talking about when discussing "outside the box" kind of thoughts. Now, to be sure, this is in the area of marketing and not selling (refer to past blog entry if you don't remember or know the differences), and one must be very careful when treading on this thin line of "outside box hopping."
Reputation is easily established whether one is fully intending to do so or not, especially on-line. If you somehow see yourself, product or service starting to take on a reputation you may not want to live with for the rest of your marketing days, STOP and consider what you're doing. Remember, it's the long run that matters. It's not getting one site instantly famous that's going to make a difference in the internet marketing world. So do think outside the box when marketing, but be very ready to crawl right back inside that box should you need to take cover.
As always.....PEACE and have a safe and happy 4th for those who so celebrate!
ONEQUARTLOW.COM BLOG
AMERICA!!!!
One of the problems facing marketers today is a problem not at all foreign to many professionals, creative thought and originality. Nearly everyone in a professional position of needing to utilize their creative juices runs into the proverbial writer's block at one time or another.
When thinking about marketing, it's important to be your own guide. Certainly, with respect to the internet, your idea today is likely 100 people's tomorrow, but again, duplication is a very sincere form of flattery. Today I want to talk about jumping outside that proverbial box.
I read not long ago (apologies to the now forgotten author) of a situation where a guy wanted to get his website seen. Wanted to get on the map. An average guy, he decides to go to a place where people tend to spend money. He went to the local mall. He made a bunch of business cards and had them printed with his website & logo. It was a hot summer day. He decided he would pay a group of 3 or 4 people a sum of money to hand his cards out for a few hours. Sound normal?
This guy happened to be marketing a product in a market where the average buyer was a 21-35 year old male. Hmmm. The guy ends up finding 3 of the prettiest young ladies he can convince to hand out cards for him and convinces them to do it in swimming suits. Needless to say, his cards went fast. A fairly simplistic out of the box marketing plan, but effective.
When marketing your product or service you must get outside the traditional landscape. In television, how often is the commercial, service, or product we most remember associated with an irritating or down right stupid commercial? We remember dumb things. We remember gross things. We remember graphically strange things. When the NFL Super Bowl rolls around again this year, look at the commercials that are most effective. They will leave an impression with the viewer in one form or another that will ultimately lead to product recognition, and isn't that what it's all about?
One more example then I'll bid adieu for the day. Let's take an internet example. Recently a supposed guru type marketer (Gary Ambrose) launched a program called ListBandit. One of the marketing venues was the Traffic Exchange industry. If you're familiar with it, you will know that the basic gist of a traffic exchange is to view sites in exchange for having others view your sites. One of the standard rules is to not place sites on these exchanges that somehow slow the surf bar or redirect to another site independently thereby stopping the individual's surfing.
List Bandit was built to do exactly that, a framebreaker where the viewer ends up directed away from his or her surf bar to sit hopelessly staring at the big ol List Bandit page. Insider information now is that this was intended. So in essence what happens?
I've received no fewer than a dozen emails from program owners banning List Bandit from their surf sites. Most are not critical and state that you need to create a splash page for the site (some will....most won't). End result here is this site gets even more promotion and even more advertising because of it's built-in violation.
I don't advocate nor am I giving license to the idea that in order to gain success one should create hopelessly stupid ad campaigns or purposely violate terms associated with advertising venues. However, this is what we're talking about when discussing "outside the box" kind of thoughts. Now, to be sure, this is in the area of marketing and not selling (refer to past blog entry if you don't remember or know the differences), and one must be very careful when treading on this thin line of "outside box hopping."
Reputation is easily established whether one is fully intending to do so or not, especially on-line. If you somehow see yourself, product or service starting to take on a reputation you may not want to live with for the rest of your marketing days, STOP and consider what you're doing. Remember, it's the long run that matters. It's not getting one site instantly famous that's going to make a difference in the internet marketing world. So do think outside the box when marketing, but be very ready to crawl right back inside that box should you need to take cover.
As always.....PEACE and have a safe and happy 4th for those who so celebrate!
ONEQUARTLOW.COM BLOG
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