Top 10 Marketing & Advertising Ideas of 2013 (So Far)

When it comes to marketing and advertising a business it's important to try to think outside the box. There is unlimited potential when it comes to marketing and the more creative you are with your tactics, the more your business will stand out (in most cases). There are many companies out there that will manage your marketing or advertising campaign entirely for a reasonable price, but how you go about launching the marketing campaign for your small to medium sized business is entirely up to you. 

Marketing and advertising your business can be a lot of fun, so why not let loose and think outside the box. The article below is from a recent article at SpringWise, in regards to the top 10 marketing and advertising ideas as of June 2013. These creative, fun ideas have made various companies and products stand out from the crowd: 

1. Magazine ad offers free wifi to readers   

Smartphones are everywhere these days, but finding that elusive free wifi connection to use them can be much more difficult. To advertise its Office 365 software, Microsoft teamed up with Forbes magazine and T-mobile to insert a miniature hotspot into selected copies of its May 6 2013 issue. The campaign, created with advertising tech firm Americhip, simultaneously promoted the validity of Microsoft’s cloud-based program and gave Forbes’ readership another reason to carry the publication with them – killing two birds with one stone.

2. In South Africa, drones repurposed to deliver beer to festivalgoers 

 Brand sponsorships at popular music festivals can be great for businesses, but often limit product choice for attendees. Looking to go that bit further to create brand engagement, Windhoek developed a system whereby revelers at the OppiKoppi festival – taking place in South Africa in August – can order a free beer through their GPS-enabled smartphone and promptly receive a can to their approximate location, delivered through the air via specially-repurposed flying robots.

3. Shopping cart-mounted tablet detects nearby items and offers recipes in real tim 

Having made our Top 10 Food & Beverage Ideas list last year for its innovative Recipe Receipt campaign, Hellmann’s returned to provide another unique way to experience the supermarket. Trialled in Brazil, the initiative saw shopping carts fitted with NFC-enabled tablets. When users placed a Hellmann’s product in their trolley, the display showed potential meal ideas they could make with the other items on the shelves next to them. According to the company, sales rose by 70 percent. This is a marketing campaign with serious potential as a future option for in-store advertising.

4. Thailand billboards can be used to build homes when they’re not in use 

It’s clear that in the age of internet, consumers know a lot more about brands and how they act on their social responsibility. In order to present itself as a people-centered business, Thailand’s HomePro DIY store collaborated with BBDO Bangkok to create The Other Side campaign. Since the country’s homeless population often reappropriate road-side billboards in order to create makeshift shelters, the company decorated the reverse of their advertisements with wallpaper and fitted them with practical shelves and hangers. When they’d served their use as marketing tools for HomePro, they could then be used to brighten up the lives of those less fortunate.

5. Concept store enables customers to make and share their own digital ‘look book’ 

Social media has arguably become an integral element to any business’s marketing strategy, although there are different ideas on how it can best be used. For the launch of the new Karl Lagerfeld Store in Amsterdam in April, the fashion label tapped into consumer desire to share purchases with friends and family by placing iPads in changing rooms, loaded with an app that enables shoppers to take photos of their look, apply a filter and post online. The store also enables visitors to leave their comments on the Karl Lagerfeld Facebook page via tablets located around the space. A great example of combining the online and offline worlds.

You may read the rest of the article here.

If you're a small to medium sized business that has yet to implement a successful marketing campaign, it's due time. Both inbound and outbound marketing is a way for you to build relationships with your current or prospective clients and grow your business -- faster than many of your competitors. Today there are many companies that you can hire -- and for a reasonable price -- to manage your marketing campaigns, like Classic Image.

These companies will handle the day-to-day marketing needs of your campaigns while you can focus on what matters most... growing your business. In many cases you can get a reasonable quote to jump start your campaign, ensuring that you don't break your bank.

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Great Innovative Marketing Campaigns of 2013 (So Far)

Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Regardless of whether you and your business are working on an inbound or outbound marketing campaign, what makes a marketing campaign effective is an emotional connection - an emotional connection with your readers, your audience, your customers and your potential customers. It used to be that the only way to make that emotional connection was through outbound marketing techniques such as cold calling, door to door marketing or direct mailings. Today, thanks to the growth of technology, there are a million different opportunities for a business to truly achieve that emotional connection and obtain long-term customers, making an affinity between your customers, the messages and your product or service.

Because there are so many ways to reach your customers in this complex digital world, marketing professionals have a million and one different ways to promote their business, their services and their products.

The article below talks about five of the most innovative marketing campaigns of 2013 -- so far. These marketing campaigns have made their mark and that is only the beginning:

1) Coca-Cola Sharing Can
Coca-Cola has really hit it out of the park recently with their campaigns. They have done an incredible job at connecting with their audience through understanding their motivations and the nostalgic feelings behind craving a can of Coke. Another impressive aspect of recent campaigns is the attention that Coke puts into making each message global. Coke has smartly positioned themselves as a brand that connects millions of people across the world.
Recently, Coke has upped their game with how they get people to not only emotionally engage with their brand, but also with each other. They created a vending machine that enabled people in India and Pakistan to communicate. And in Europe Coke is offering customers a chance to customize their own Coke bottles with their names. The most recent iteration is the idea of having a can of Coke that twists apart into two smaller cans so you can share! I immediately resonated with this. I love Coca-Cola, but I often can’t finish a full can, so having two small cans that I can share with a loved one is genius. Currently, the cans are only available in limited quantities during a trial through their “Happiness Truck”. So that is a bummer, but I have high hopes the concept will make it to the mainstream.

2) Senador Volstead Beer
This is a truly innovative campaign. Senador Volstead is a beer company based in Spain named after Senator Volstead, who decreed the start of prohibition in 1920. So how do you promote a beer that is themed after 1920s prohibition? Why not make it hidden on your own website? I have never seen anything like this, which immediately makes it memorable.When you go onto the Senador Volstead website you might be confused at first because it appears to be a website selling teddy bears. 

3) Game of Thrones Season 3
OK, truth be told, I love Game of Thrones. I also love HBO and I think their marketing is genius. I mean, True Blood? That first campaign truly set a precedent. But what I am really into right now is Game of Thrones, and their marketing campaign for Season 3 was clean, consistent, mysterious, and of course cool.
The big theme for the season premiere this year was a subtle, yet mysterious shadow of a dragon. The beauty behind this campaign was that it was extremely consistent and its subtlety did a lot to build momentum to the premiere. First came the poster and magazine covers:

 4) ORPHEA Billboard Fly Trap
This example appeals to emotions in a different way. Instead of focusing on the warm and fuzzy feelings of nostalgia or excitement over looking forward to something in the future, ORPHEA relies on the relatable pain point of bug hating to bring their customers together. And they used an extremely unique marketing technique to get their message across.

They rented a billboard in Milan and created a giant insect trap using transparent glue that was placed on the billboard in the shape of an aerosol spray. Over time, insects naturally got trapped in the glue and created a huge, and very visible insect trap. Gross? Maybe. Shocking? Probably. Memorable? Definitely! It certainly attracted millions of people’s attention. The lesson here is never be afraid to try something different.

You can read the rest of the article here.

 For B2B businesses or small to medium sized businesses who would like some tips on successful marketing and social media marketing tactics, please contact us at Classic Image today to see how we can help your business with all of your marketing campaigns from social media marketing to direct marketing. We strongly believe that combining inbound and outbound marketing tactics is a great way to help any business flourish

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The Best Advertising Campaigns of All Time

An advertising or marketing campaign is something that stands out and a good advertising campaign should be something that will stick with you, something you will remember. Slogan's are also something that people tend to remember, such as Nike's Just Do It campaign or Got Milk? so they are just as important as a solid marketing or advertising campaign. 

Any business - including small to medium sized businesses - should make sure that they have a solid advertising or marketing campaign that will make them stand out. A campaign that will still with potential customers or current customers for years to come, solidifying your place within the marketplace. In order to do this properly you will need the expertise of a company who's main focus and goal is to help a business like yours ride to the top through marketing or advertising efforts, just to ensure your efforts are effective and your hard earned money isn't wasted. 

The infographic below shows the best campaigns of all time. These are campaigns that probably everyone remembers, which means they are also effective campaigns. 

Are there any advertising campaigns that you remember that are not included on this infographic? 

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Video Marketing: A Few Video Marketing Ideas That Stand Out

Interesting Video Marketing Campaigns of Summer 2013

Video marketing is becoming increasingly important in today's day and age. Social media marketing and video marketing often go hand in hand, and with the right techniques they could really help a small to medium sized business grow and flourish -- faster than businesses who do not utilize social media or video marketing tactics. Today it is possible for a small to medium sized business to take advantage of video marketing and for an affordable price. 

Throughout this blog I have included a few very interesting video marketing campaigns that have recently shown some success -- or who have at least brought awareness to a company's products or services. 

Samsung's New Ad Campaign

Buddy the Dog has somehow managed to get the attention of customers worldwide. What do you think of this video campaign? Do you think it's effective? 

What about this other ad campaign below? 

For businesses that would like to take advantage of what video marketing or advertising has to offer there are a wide variety of companies out there that will fully manage your video marketing campaigns as well as search engine optimization and tactics. I've worked with quite a few and I've found that my business has grown quite a bit by combining video marketing and social media with traditional marketing tactics like direct mailings and so on. 

If you or your business is in need of some marketing assistance, Classic Image is a premier marketing and design agency that has helped hundreds of companies over the last decade. They are affordable, too, so you don't have to spend an arm and a leg while you're trying to bring your business to the top. 

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Cost-Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies for the Small to Medium Sized Business

Ten Ways to Develop Cost-Effective Social Media Strategies

Photo Courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many small to medium sized business owners find themselves too busy to develop solid social media marketing strategies that will do what they are supposed to...grow their business. Instead, business owners are working in their business, 50 to 60 hours or more per week, not having any time to focus on what matters most. Social media marketing is a way that business owners can expand their reach, but there are certain strategies that business owners should follow to make their campaign as successful as it should be. 

Social media marketing allows you to grow relationships with your potential customers and current consumer-base. If you don't have the time  to focus on social media efforts alone, you might want to consider utilizing a company that is known for growing businesses and their social media efforts. 

The article below discusses ten ways that you can develop your social media strategy to ensure that it provides you with the results you need:

• Does your business lend itself to showing off its work? Strutting your stuff brings to mind visual portrayals, like photographs and video, although it can include other presentation formats. Social media is very useful for businesses where prospects perceive there are high risks. Many bridal photographers use blogs to highlight their work while many bakers use Flickr to show off their masterpieces. Show real patrons using your services with before and after photographs. Don’t forget to get patron’s permission to use their likeness.

• Can you give prospects information they find useful? Think in terms of small bite-size chunks of content. Twitter is great for providing a tip of the day whether you’re an accountant or a massage therapist. Clothing stores could provide an outfit of the day. Think outside of the box when it comes to information. How about food recipes or scrap-booking.

• How do you solve people’s problems? At the core of most marketing is fulfilling prospects’ needs. Therefore, create content that helps people with their problems. For example, if you’re a financial advisor, why not give out tips on budgeting so that prospects have money to invest. Here’s some advice to create a professional blog.

• Does your product lend itself to some form of education? This is a great way to win prospects over. Teach them! Not the old-fashioned school marm but the fun stuff. Think: how to add memory to your computer or how to apply makeup. You can use videos, webinars or ebooks.

• Can your business disseminate entertaining content? This information doesn’t need to be your business’s main focus. Orabrush built its brand with the use of entertaining videos. Is there something funny or engaging about your product?

• Are there targeted or niche communities where your prospects and customers naturally congregate? While this doesn’t apply to all businesses, where it exists, it’s a useful way to participate in the community. You can participate in the social media community and advertise to targeted prospects. For example, yarn shops participate and socialize on Ravelry, a knitting community.

• Does your business tap into people’s passions and/or hobbies?When it comes hobbies and special interests, participants often make different spending tradeoffs. The strength of these interests is great since your customers want to share their share their hobbies and special interests using photographs, videos and blogs. This can apply to fishing as well as it can to quilting.

You can read the rest of the article here.

For B2B businesses or small to medium sized businesses who would like some tips on successful marketing and social media marketing tactics, please contact us at Classic Image today to see how we can help your business with all of your marketing campaigns from social media marketing to direct marketing. We strongly believe that combining inbound and outbound marketing tactics is a great way to help any business flourish.

Read More