Marketing is ubiquitous. Streets are flooded with billboards, begging for your attention. The second you crack open your laptop, you’re targeted with ads. Pop into your inbox? Bold subject lines will entice you to click.
Marketing messages blend in with everyday lives — so unless your campaign is extremely unique, it’s possible people won’t notice it or give it a second glance.
But, with a little creativity, there’s hope to create an out-of-the-box marketing strategy that will turn heads.
Here’s a look at 4 ideas that are unignorable.
1. Multi-media marketing
It’s common for marketing campaigns to stick to one format. In other words, there’s written content. There are videos. Audio. Reports. Infographics.
And then there’s Visions.
Visions is a marketing report from Future Commerce that stands out from the crowded sea of marketing campaigns.
Why? It uses several engaging media formats to present its cutting-edge data.
Instead of reading the report line-by-line, the audience is captivated by its highly-visual, well-designed, and interactive representations of the data.
2. Out of home ads (OOH)
Out of home ads are making a huge come-back, and people are paying attention to these offscreen ads. In fact, Nielsen found that 80% of people notice OOH advertising weekly.
It makes sense. Humans are visual creatures and there’s no ad blocker you can download for real life.
So, if you’re looking to engage your on-the-go audience, consider investing in an OOH ad campaign.
Here’s a great example from Drink Hun.
You can’t help but notice the pink street sign, urging you to enjoy great wine in a can.
The best part about considering OOH ads? Stats show there’s an average of nearly $6 returned for every $1 spent on OOH ads.
3. Experiential marketing
It’s impossible to ignore a marketing campaign that you’re…well, a part of.
For example, when you walk past a store and the employees hand you a free sample of their product, it’s now officially a part of your day.
There are other creative ways to engage your audience with experiential marketing besides handing out free samples.
Consider:
- Creating a pop-up store. Disrupt your potential customer’s daily routine by creating a new pop-up store that appears on their regular route.
- Organize an in-store event. People may be used to walking by your store. But are they used to walking by your store when you have music playing, product demos, or other entertaining activities?
- Leveraging QR codes. Place a QR code on any of your marketing materials that leads the viewer back to an online, interactive experience, or gives them a unique discount code.
Any time you can get your audience to not only notice but also participate, you can count on capturing new customers.
4. Augmented reality (AR)
Technology has come a long way in the past few years, and smart brands are leveraging new tech to improve their marketing and sales efforts.
For example, there are several make-up brands that are now adopting AR technology to let people try on make-up in a virtual setting.
Last year, NYX partnered with Poplar Studio to promote its Halloween cosmetics via its “NYX Professional Makeup Haunted Dollhouse” campaign.
The brand featured five unique doll character looks by illusion makeup artist Mimi Choi. Unlike simple makeup filters, this interactive AR allowed users to explore a 3D haunted house and try on the themed makeup looks, with engaging effects like blooming flowers for 'Caterina' and a falling button eye for the 'Voodoo Doll.'
Users could share their AR try-ons on social media and purchase the actual makeup products to recreate the looks, with NYX branding present throughout the experience. What a creative approach and winning idea!
