Stamping A New Path Of Promotion

There is a new type of promotion that this taking over the world of branding recently, street art. I first noticed this type of advertising when I was on my way to the Temple University Tech Center. I noticed a small stamp near the bell tower on the ground in bright white chalk paint with the name of an event and a date. I couldn’t help but consider how genius this type of marketing strategy was, it was extremely simple while at the same time generating great publicity for the event. 

Upon doing some more research on this new type of promotion, I discovered that the street stamp is becoming more and more popular in cities as a way to get people interested in new brands. The main idea of the street stamp is to subtly draw attention to a brand, event, or organization by leaving a small stamp with the logo in high traffic areas such as public walkways, college campuses, and city sidewalks. The main reason that this type of branding is successful is because it draws curiosity to the brand. The first time that I saw the Temple Made Live stamp on the sidewalk I was immediately intrigued. I quickly started asking around trying to figure out what the deal was with the event. 

While posters and flyers are the typical types of promotion used to generate publicity about people or events, the street stamps are almost always more successful because they generate that curiosity. With posters and fliers, all the information you need about an event or person is automatically given to you; but with the street stamp, you are required to do your own research. This type of promotion will drive people to Google the brand or look it up on Twitter or Facebook, which ultimately is generating the brand more publicity than it would receive otherwise. 

Have you noticed any street stamp promotions around? What drew you to them and where have you seen them? Let us know!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Lexi Drexler 

The Science of Guerrilla Marketing

Guerrilla marketing, also known as low cost publicity strategies, is a popular technique that is used by many industry professionals in todays society. There are many different strategies that are used by guerrilla marketers in order to raise awareness of their issue, brand, or group. Below are a few of the popular techniques that are commonly used by today’s top publicists: 

Street Teams:

Street teams are a common marketing technique often used by music industry professionals and other entertainment professionals. The goal of a street team is to get people interested in a product, person, or group using their current fans. Most street teams establish connections with fans in all major cities. They then ask the fans to perform simple publicity stunts  to create exposure. These acts consist of social media blasts, putting up posters, passing out stickers, and attending events and shows. 

Graffiti:

Graffiti is used as a tool to gain publicity for organizations and companies. Companies hire graffiti artists to create graffiti that promotes their brand, organization, or product. Many companies often choose locations of high traffic so that their graffiti gains as much exposure possible. 

Sticker Bombing: 

Sticker bombing is a popular technique that is often used in political campaigns. This technique involves creating a sticker and placing it all over areas in mass quantity. A somewhat popular example of this technique was the KONY 2012 campaign. Hundreds of thousands of activists for this organization placed stickers and posters all over major cities to make citizens aware of this issue. 

Have you ever heard of or used guerrilla marketing techniques? If so, let us know which one and how it worked for you!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Lexi Drexler

Coca Cola Shares Happiness Through Hugs

Coca Cola has always been known for its innovative marketing strategies, so its no surprise when buzz started generating about the new vending machine stunt in Singapore. Located on the campus of National University of Singapore, the machine reads "Hug Me" and spews out free cans of Coke for anyone willing to give it a squeeze. The stunt is a part of the "One Happiness" campaign in addition to Coca Cola's recent strategy to personalize cans and bottles with the first names of potential customers.

"The Coca Cola Hug Machine is a simple idea to spread some happiness. Our strategy is to deliver doses of happiness in an unexpected, innovative way to engage not only the people present, but the audience at large," said a representative from the company’s "Open Happiness" campaign, Leonardo O’Grady.

I believe Coca Cola's new strategy is a winner. It's unique, it's consistent with the branding of the company and most of all - it's fun. It was also incredibly smart to place the machine on a university campus. Students are constantly making social gestures through their social networks such as Facebook and Twitter via status updates and uploaded pictures. This campaign is simply an extension of those social gestures that are increasingly important to younger generations. Coca Cola has been a company that strives to evoke warm, nostalgic feelings from its products and campaigns, whether its the adorable polar bears or the old-fashioned Christmas commercials. What better way to get that warm fuzzy feeling than from a hug?

Watch the video here:

Guerrilla Marketing Sensations

Everyone loves guerrilla marketing tactics. They're outrageous, unexpected, creative and ridiculously successful at generating a buzz for your product. They cost little money and are a thousand times more effective at capturing the attention of consumers over standard advertising. I have had the opportunity to help generate stunts for student organizations that I'm involved in on campus and can attest first hand at how effective they are at generating interest (and have helped grow the membership base of my theatre organization immensely).

While coming up with creative ideas for our next big stunt for an upcoming event, I came across a great post from Mashable with 11 great guerilla marketing videos. Some of the videos included were Nike, Ikea, Absolut, UNICEF and Volkswagon. All of the videos were great, however my personal favorites were Ikea and UNICEF (who wouldn't love to relax at a posh bus stop?) The most important part about any stunt is that its memorable and is consistent with the branding of the product or mission. It has to be purpose driven and it needs to provide results. Guerrilla marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool when used appropriately.

Be sure to check out all of the great videos here.

What was your favorite video? What are your thoughts on the use of guerrilla marketing to promote your client?

Let us know!