A Thirst Quenching Campain

An Italian marketing agency makes a memorable statement in a campaign promoting Chinò brand Italian sodas. Over sized, three-dimensional drinking straws popped up on sidewalks of Turin, Italy in July, capitalizing on the summer heat to get peoples' mouths watering for their soda. This soda campaign, albeit not terribly original, implemented a larger-than-life strategy that works quite successfully with traditionally miniature objects, such as straws. It grabbed the attention of passersby, creating a unprecedented celebration of the straw.

I'm not sure if Chinò was anticipating the straws to realize an iconic status, but not long after they were planted around Turin, people started to steal them for personal pleasure or to sell them on eBay...quite a lot of press for a soda brand. To really seal the deal with parched tourists and locals, Chinò could have distributed promotional drinks around the city.

via ADVERBLOG

Stabilo was The Highlight of the Day

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Stabilo, a German pen brand, took to the streets (or rather the escalators) of Tokyo for a unique Guerrilla Marketing Campaign. The in-your-face approach to advertising their pens involved larger-than-life cardboard highlighters at the base of escalators, creating the mezmerizing effect of a continous (i.e. long lasting) yellow line coming from the felt highlighter tip. The ubiquitous yellow line of paint that goes up the escalator stairs seemed to be coming from the highlighter itself. Not only did the public encounter a gigantic pen with the words "Stabilo Boss: Long Lasting," but the campaign litterally ascended with them as they moved up the escalator. This is certainly a memorable promotion, but I think it would have made an even "longer lasting" impression if they had been handing out some promotional pens once the ride was over and the people had reached the top of the escalator. That would have added an element of surprise, and people always love receiving free things

Via Direct Daily

365 on Death Row

In the year 2005 at least 2,148 people were executed by the law. That's about 6 people per day. A tear-off promotional calendar was created by ALIVE e.V. to demonstrate how heinous the death penalty is and how many people are falling victim to it. On the back of each day's page there is a picture of a sentenced person as the day's representative victim. By tearing off a consecutive sheet every day they want to communicate that during each day of the year the lives of people are being torn apart, thrown away, and ended in the most vicious way one could think of. Interactive promotions help draw attention to your brand, or in this case an idea.


via DirectDaily

Modess Maxi

Johnson & Johnson needed a unique and creative way to show women the superior absorbing power of their new product Modess Maxi. Unlike other maxi-pads they wanted them to be able to see the item in action. What better place to catch a female's attention about such a product than in a public bathroom! A promotional sticker of the Modess Maxi was placed in each sink surrounding the drain so that when a woman started to run the water, they would see the pad absorbing the moisture right in front of them. Another tremendously effective, attention-grabbing promotion.

via DirectDaily

A Great Idea Falls Short Without Promotional Products

Here's an interesting advertising idea: To recognize "World No Tobacco Day" an advertising agency created a mock crime scene. They outlined a human body, and then they placed cigarettes next to the body with signs that marked the cigarettes as evidence. By placing this crime scene in the smoking section of a busy cafe, they were able to get their message across to the exact people they wanted to target. It's hard to imagine a better placement, and the surprise effect had to be really effective.

I think that your responses to the advertisement have to go something like this: Imagine that you are walking by the cafe, and you see the police tape and chalk outline of a body. At first, you think that a crime actually took place, but upon closer inspection, you realize that this is a commentary on the negative effects of smoking. You are stunned because the advertising played with your expectations. By making you think one thing, and then forcing you to re-evaluate, you are much more likely to remember their message.

Even though this no smoking advertisement is a great example of a well thought out advertisement that pushes all the right buttons, I can't help but think that it could have been even better. The advertisers could have stayed with the police theme and handed out promotional citations, or they could have handed out promotional t-shirts that were customized with a clever image. I can really imagine some cool designs that I'm sure would have been popular. If only the organizers had used promotional products, this event would have been really easy to take to the next level.
(via Ads of the World)

Puma Floats Above the Competition (Literally)

Back in March, Puma instituted a unique promotional campaign in Antwerp for the launch of their new Travel Golf line of apparel, accessories and travel golf club bags. 2,000 golf ball shaped promotional balloons attached to Puma golf items floated down a busy shopping street, taxi stands, and train and bus stations, with people free to take any of the items. In addition to apparel and shoes, cards were attached to the balloons providing information about the new line as well as directions to visit Puma's website. Puma's Travel Golf tagline is "Portable. Packable. Playable." and this guerrilla street marketing initiative was meant to convey those qualities. I think it's a pretty cool idea - and I would have loved to snag some free Puma clothes . . . if only they'd do this in NYC!

Whether or not you have the marketing budget to give away thousands of free clothing, street marketing can still be an extremely effective way to spread the word about your company, products, or services. Rather than an outdoor poster-type advertisement, creative guerrilla marketing surprises people and is more likely to get them to pause for at least a moment to see what's going on (and to get some free stuff!). There are tons of inexpensive items, when put to use creatively (like the Puma balloons), that will attract some major attention on the street, and often the ROI will make up for any costs involved!
(via Marketing Alternatif & AdGabber)

DSL Tops Them All

There was a time not so long ago when DSL was a new phenomenon and most of the world was still connected by dial-up. So how do you market an innovative technology that will drastically change internet usage? With promotional spinning tops that declare "DSL IS TOPS" of course! I would think this must have accompanied some informational literature from Pacific Bell (now AT&T) that explained the benefits of DSL and how it works. However, for a quick reminder about a new product launch, this top is both fun and to the point. Browse our promotional games & toys for some entertaining promotional ideas.
(via Flickr)

Empty Photo Album Raises Money

Here's another ad that really pulls at your heart. The German charity “Stadtmission Nurnberg” used a direct mail promotion to target specific groups to raise money for Alzheimer's. They sent a photo album that was titled “My Life,” and in this album all of the photos were blank except for a few photos from childhood. This was designed to simulate the effects of Alzheimer's and make recipients realize how terrible the condition is. The photo album even looks old, and it is easy to imagine how this would be effective.
After this direct mail campaign, donations increased 30 percent, and the agency raised an extra 200,000 euros. The photo album certainly seemed to have the desired effect.

(via directdaily)

Now I See

Rodenstock Eyewear wanted to launch a promotion that will help people clearly visualize what the world looks like through a pair of their eyeglasses. A sculpture made Berlin artist Stefan von Essen of a giant banana peel, was placed in various shopping malls. The point was to show people that if they wear bifocal glasses by Rodenstock, they won't miss any slippery banana peels on the street. A great addition to this promotion would be free giveaway eyeglass holders for anyone that inquired about the product being advertised.
via DirectDaily

A Ball of a Time

Nike, the well-known sports equipment powerhouse, really showed off their style with this promotion. They managed to utitlize promotional sports equipment in a creative fashion. At various parks, Nike placed “Play to Win” vending machines, where you could purchase an actual soccer ball to play with. These are great for people who go to the park and need something to do. I would love to see Nike (or another company) place these vending machines in more places, and with more promotional sports equipment. It would be awesome if you went to the park, and there were vending machines with soccer balls, footballs, frisbees, etc. waiting for you to play with!

Check out our array of soccer and other sports-related items available for personalized branding.

Sparkling Goodness

The Schweppes brand is known right now for its bright and colorful displays, and constantly seems to look for a way to market its bevarges as more than just carbonated water and ginger ale. With this ambient marketing, Schweppes has certainly done that. In this European campaign, Schweppes placed large versions of their tonic water bottles on top of fountains. When the water was forced upward, it looked as though a fizzy bottle had exploded, demonstrating the power of the Schweppes product. Although the advertising is effective, if my soda can had that much force behind it, I would definitely want to place a lid on it.

And while we're on the subject of tonic water, be sure to check out these cool bar accesories.

Serve!

This ad is by far one of the most creative I have seen. As a way to promote the sport of tennis in Shanghai, a large trampoline was laid out and made to look like a tennis racket. Written on the side of the trampoline is “The fastest serves generate over 560 newtons. Enough force to propel a human skywards.” This is exactly why the best part of this enormous promotion is the man in a tennis ball suit jumping on the trampoline. What intensifies the stunt is that he (or she) only looks like a tennis ball when tucked into a cannon-ball position and doing a flip many feet in the air. Now if that's not an interesting job to get paid for, I don't know what is. Since the trampoline was placed in a busy square in a bustling business district, the promotion certainly reached many individuals, including those that may have the spare time to take up the sport.

Via: http://www.marketing-alternatif.com/2007/03/08/tennis-master-cup-shangai-2/