There’s no secret that different types of websites attract different levels and types of advertisers – but the variance is rarely elaborated upon. For instance, Facebook’s top 100 advertisers spend $49,045,000 per month, while the top 100 advertisers of IMDB ($7,217,400), CNET ($3,094,000), and NYTimes($7,128,500) combined spend about 1/3 ($17,740,000) that of Facebook. This of course addresses the levels of ad revenue by popular sites, and is just one of the findings from the most recent Nielsen AdRelevance report. Of special note are AT&T’s spending trends, and the rate at which this brand has invested online, especially in the four sites included in the study.

(click image to enlarge)

Not every company has a multimillion dollar advertising budget to work with. And increasingly, even those that do are turning to more creative means of reaching their audiences. Many consumers have become averse to slick commercials and polished sales pitches over the years, causing savvy marketers to adapt with offbeat, attention-grabbing marketing campaigns. Following are 18 of the most memorable guerrilla marketing campaigns and what made them so effective.

Cingular’s “Dropped Calls” Billboard

(Source)

Few things irritate cell phone users as much as their calls being dropped mid-conversation. But rather than take to the airwaves, Cingular tackled the problem in true guerrilla spirit, and addressing this widely-felt problem in bold, dramatic, in-your-face billboard This ad, which portrayed a call being “dropped” onto the ground below, instantly arrested the attention of passers by and those far off who cannot help squinting to see what “that crazy looking billboard” was all about.

Folgers’ Steaming Coffee Cup

(Source)

Folgers took a page out of the guerrilla marketing playbook with this optical illusion of street art. Passersby on this city street see what appears to be a coffee mug embedded into the ground, emitting steam in your direction as you pass. Anyone who had decided to go without their morning brew will no doubt second guess themselves once they encounter this ad.

Oscar Meyer Wiener-Mobile

(Source)

Arguably the most famous in-your-face marketing campaign of all time is the Oscar Meyer wiener-mobile. Shaped as an enormous hot dog, the car makes its way across the nation, drawing attention from kids and adults alike as they watch the edible-looking vehicle lumber down the street. Entire songs have been written about the wiener-mobile, which has made appearances in TV shows and movies for decades since its launch.

Tent City

(Source)

Profit-making corporations are hardly the only ones utilizing guerrilla marketing strategies. France’s Médecins du Monde, for example, expressed its commitment to fighting homelessness by distributing hundreds of tents to Paris’ vagrants in a maneuver nicknamed “tent city.” The huge cluster of tents quickly commanded public attention, to which the  French government responded by allocating $10 million for emergency housing in response to the demonstration.

Diesel’s Not a Dirty Word

(Source)

Automaker Audi has had the daunting task of trying to sell diesel to the driving public as a viable and eco-friendly fuel, but on the strength of this ad, it has made quite a bit of headway. Operating under the tagline “Di*sel | It’s No Longer A Dirty Word”, Audi has aggressively marketed what is known as “clean diesel” to the marketplace according to GreenCarReports. Interestingly, the shift to clean diesel has also been sold as a means of achieving national energy independence – suggesting that Audi’s adoption of this tag line is not just a slick attempt to sell a car.

Crashed Nike Ball

(Source)

Some bright marketing manager at Nike knew that a huge soccer ball lodged into the side of a building would turn people’s heads. Perhaps designed to give the impression that soccer players would be infused with mind-blowing power if they used Nike balls, this is another prime example of creative marketing orchestrated in a way that appeals to the product’s very specific target audience, as well as everyone else.

Red Bull Pitstop

(Source)

Sometimes the best way to get people’s attention is to get right in their way. The marketing team at Red Bull kept this in mind when masterminding this “pit stop” in the middle of Time Square in New York City. While myriad other advertisers waged the war for consumer mind-share on billboards and street lamps, Red Bull’s pit stop arrested everyone’s attention who so much as walked by down the street. The promotion turned out to be a huge success for word-of-mouth longevity.

Superman Return’s Twisted Telephone Pole

(Source)

What better way to promote Superman Returns than by placing a twisted telephone pole in the middle of a busy city sidewalk? Even people with no interest in, or intention of seeing the movie, could not help but stop and inspect the pole. And, unlike commercials, it advertised the movie continuously at a fixed cost.

Vodafone’s Streakers

(Source)

Some big companies avoid guerrilla marketing campaigns, as what seemed like creative tactics in the planning stage, can sometimes be considered controversial when implemented. The “Vodafone streakers” offer a case-in-point: two guys who ran out onto the field during a New Zealand vs. Austria rugby game wearing nothing but the company logo painted across their bodies. The resulting public outrage was so fierce that Vodafone’s CEO had to issue a public apology and, and subsequently donated $30,000 to a local charity aimed at reducing sports injuries. Inappropriate, maybe. Effective, arguably.

Kia Spend Less

(Source)

Some take to the airwaves, some take to the streets, and some take to the skies. Kia did the latter two in its nationwide campaign aimed at convincing consumers to “spend less” – on its brand of cars, of course. Accompanying the more flashy airplane-drawn ads were fliers stuck onto telephone poles with tear-away strips containing Kia offers and prices. While these “cheap” methods are typically used to promote apartments and tag sales, Kia reported a nice sales boost from its localized, targeted campaigns that accompanied the fancier plane-with-flags approach.

Reynolds Wrap Garage Door

(Source)

Advertisers are known for making some pretty over-the-top claims about the products, but few pitches top the absurdity of using “heavy duty” Reynolds aluminum foil as a garage door. As the caption under the photograph states, the aluminum foil was installed in order to “demonstrate the product’s strength and toughness.” Cute advertising (and obviously effective since we’re still talking about it years later), though we question how long it would’ve withstood a serious attempt at breaking and entering.

Axe

(Source)

It’s tough to walk through a larger city these days without seeing one of the now famous Axe “running” ads. Plastered around cities across America, the ad suggests how women will flock to Axe wearers, due to the product line’s chick-magnet scents. Judging by brand’s recent popularity, the ads appear effective.

MeowMix Mobile

(Source)

Taking a page out of Oscar-Meyer playbook, cat food manufacturer Meow Mix developed the Meow Mix Mobile (pictured above), to cruise around spreading brand awareness on local streets and highways. As if that weren’t enough, Meow Mix also ran a reality TV show that put web-cams into a house full of cats so America could see what cats “really” do when people are not around.

Half.com, Oregon

(Source)

Perhaps no advertiser on this list went at it as aggressively as Half.com, who actually persuaded (and paid) an entire city to adopt “Half.com” as its new name. The move was a runaway success for Halfway.com, which, as Entrepreneur.com notes, earned a $300 million buyout from eBay in 2000 just five months following IPO. “Half the town”, however, was disgruntled with the web retailer for allegedly breaking promises made at the outset of the bizarre naming deal.

Goodyear Blimp

(Source)

One of the most recognizable of all campaigns is that of Goodyear. Seen on television, and throughout cities across America, the Goodyear blimp is a classic conversation starter, something that begs to be pointed out to anyone you happen to be walking, driving, biking, or talking with at the time it hovers overhead. The publicity generated for the tire company by this blimp over the years is incalculable and has inspired countless ripoffs ever since.

Snapple Popsicle

(Source)

Despite its noble goal of erecting the world’s tallest (real) frozen treat, Snapple’s foray into guerrilla marketing did not end well. After being pulled into upright position by a crane, the 80 degree heat rapidly began to melt the gigantic dessert, sending a veritable flood of strawberry-kiwi-flavored liquid down onto the streets of Manhattan. Insert your “sticky situation” joke here.

Sony Playstation Graffiti

(Source)

In a truly brave move, Sony Corporation paid graffiti artists to adorn brick walls with Sony-themed images around New York City in attempt to drum buzz about the then-forthcoming PSP. While reaction to the street ads have been mixed, any company willing to knowingly break the law to advertise its product in such a creative manner (especially one as big as Sony) deserves mention in an article like ours.

Taco Liberty Bell

(Source)

Rumor had it in the mid-90’s that Taco Bell had purchased the Liberty Bell and shamelessly re-named this important piece of American history as “The Taco Liberty Bell.” Hysteria was drummed up through ads like this (above), announcing the transaction in a convincing, matter-of-fact way. Some initially panicked, but in the end, everyone got that it was just a publicity stunt by the fast food chain – arguably a successful one.

]]> http://www.permuto.com/blog/2009/10/15/18-of-the-most-memorable-guerrilla-marketing-campaigns/feed/ 6 http://www.permuto.com/blog/2009/09/30/13-poorly-executed-and-photoshopped-ads/ http://www.permuto.com/blog/2009/09/30/13-poorly-executed-and-photoshopped-ads/#comments Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:13:35 +0000 Permuto http://www.permuto.com/blog/?p=386 jQuery(document).ready(function($) { window.setTimeout('loadFBShareMe_386()',5000); });

The intended purpose of advertising is to reach out to and create customers. Companies spend millions to produce ads aimed at besting their competitors, capturing market share, and communicating a message. Every so often, however, there are ads so bad they turn people off from a brand, even to the point of potential customers going out of their way to not buy the advertised product or service. Below are some of the most noteworthy examples of poorly executed and horribly Photoshopped ads, which should act as a ‘what not to do’ guide for potential advertisers:

Race-Changing

source

This specific ad became famous when Microsoft executives decided the Polish market was not ready for a black male to be prominently featured in one of its ads. When they swapped the man from the original ad’s head (above) for that of a white male (below), the angle was off, and, the hands were not adjusted to reflect the change. To top it off, it looks like the subject of the change is using a MacBook with the logo removed. This ad has been widely distributed online as a an example of what not to do with ads in Photoshop, and it’s safe to assume a lot of people got fired for this.

Body-Swapping and Failing to use Spell Check

source

This is one of the many ‘extreme weight loss’ ads, as well as one of the more well-known types of badly produced advertisements you would find online. The premise is that one could find the secrets to weight loss by clicking through this ad and purchasing whatever is on the other side. However the creators of the ad failed to use the same model in both images (which doesn’t help the believability of the claim), nor did they run spell check.

Using Upside-Down Numbers

source

This ad features the use of $100 bills to communicate that employment opportunities advertised by this ad could make you lots of money. But, a failure to pay attention to detail has resulted in an embarrassing mistake. If you notice, the $100 bills have Benjamin Franklin’s head upside-down, or because of they way the artwork was flipped, it appears that the numbers are upside-down. Featuring fake money in an advertisement for employment opportunities probably led to less-than-ideal results.

Adding Sunglasses at the Last Minute

source

Giving a free gift with purchase is one of the oldest types of marketing around. But promotions should either: A) be some thing that someone would want; or, B) be some thing people believe to actually exist. In this ad, it looks like the designer simply changed the opacity of a sunglass vector file, and slapped it on the model’s face. In any event, the fabricated sunglasses are the more eye-catching than any else in the ad, which is not good.

Manipulating Anatomy

source

There is no shortage of glaring Photoshop mistakes online, but few are as bad as this one. The very fact that this final product made it into an ad should be alarming. If you look at the dozing young man for more than a few seconds, you’ll notice that he has three arms. While this might not preclude one buying a last minute plane ticket, it doesn’t do much to strengthen the brand.

Manipulating Anatomy II

source

Changing body parts around in Photoshop can be tricky. The difficulty lies in maintaining proportions and placement. In the case of the ad above, the model’s forehead is made to look about 400% larger because of the insertion of the green banner that reads, “Sei klug, studier in Halle!” . The picture at the bottom right corner shows how the image looked before the addition of the banners.

Manipulating Anatomy III

source

This is another fairly well-known ad, and what makes its execution so poor may seem subtle at first. But, If you look long enough, you will notice that her right leg is quite a lot longer than her left. Once you notice this, the longer you look at the leg, the longer the leg looks. As is the case with the above ads, it completely detracts attention from the product being advertised.

Manipulating Anatomy IV

source

This ad is interesting because it appears the Photoshop mishap (her right eye) could have been avoided by simply leaving the image alone. This ad, featured online and in print, quickly brings attention to her strangely sized/colored eye rather than the watch. There is also something strange going on with her smallest finger, but this might just be the angle of her hand.

Failing to Line up Objects and People

source

This Russian computer ad is a perfect example of how not to blend two images together. The result: the computer tower appears to be floating in front of the girl. Her hands also look very strange. It’s peculiar that the advertisers did not have the girl hold the tower for the picture.

Using Multiple Rates of Motion

source

This ad is interesting because the car’s wheels appear to be rotating, even though the rest of the car appears to be parked in front of the house. I don’t know what the ad agency that came up with this was thinking, but it looks like the picture of a car in-motion was just added to the image of the front of the house. The alternative, is that the wheels were made to appear spinning on purpose — but I don’t know why that would be the case.

Offering a Fake Survey

source

This is one of the worst examples of a failure to disguise an ad banner as a survey. The question: “Which tastes better?”. The possible answers; “Yes”, and “No.” Fake banner advertisements are generally regarded as annoying, and this one fails to even suggest that a real survey is on the other side of the banner. As such, it reflects poorly on both Coke and Pepsi, regardless if one of these brands were even paying for this ad campaign or not.

Failing to Account for Reflection

source

At first glance this ad doesn’t look absolutely horrible. But upon further inspection, you will notice that the check is simply an art file super-imposed over the man’s torso. Note: the check has no reflection on the Hummer. To make matters worse, the ad is for a ‘make millions at work from home’ scams so popular now online. You would think advertising a questionable product would lead to some slick ads, but you would be wrong in this case.

Replicating an Reflection for no Reason

source

While you have to admire the intentions of this ad’s designer, something doesn’t quite ad up. If you notice, the iPod that is front in center is actually leaning up against the iPod that is facing to the right. And as a result, there should not be a reflection. Instead, there should be a reflection of the back and side of the iPod. Perhaps this is an example of a designer being over anxious with showing their ability to reproduce reflections in such a way.

]]> http://www.permuto.com/blog/2009/09/30/13-poorly-executed-and-photoshopped-ads/feed/ 6 http://www.permuto.com/blog/2009/09/17/10-most-commonly-made-mistakes-in-online-advertising/ http://www.permuto.com/blog/2009/09/17/10-most-commonly-made-mistakes-in-online-advertising/#comments Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:07:08 +0000 Shaukat Shamim http://www.permuto.com/blog/?p=213 jQuery(document).ready(function($) { window.setTimeout('loadFBShareMe_213()',5000); });

It’s no secret the recent economic crisis has forced many businesses to rethink their marketing and advertising expenditures. While, not long ago, many were once satisfied with ad reach and exposure, ad executives and business owners have become increasingly concerned with ad efficiency and ways to increase ROI. If you currently spend money advertising online, or are interested in advertising online you should do your research; there many potential pitfalls, and no shortage of ways by which money is spent with little to no conversion impact. For businesses large and small, the following constant the ten most commonly made mistakes in online advertising — and should be avoided at all cost:

Turning Potential Shoppers Away

source

While high-conversion traffic should be a primary goal of advertisers, discouraging all types of traffic is never a good idea. One way advertisers can seriously curtail multiple flows of traffic is by turning potential shoppers off from their brand. Aesthetically unappealing, offensive, or altogether annoying (ie., pop-ups, or forced advertisements) can turn customers off.

Pegging Success to Traffic, Not Conversions

source

While a lot of advertising is about grabbing attention, the end goal is ROI. Many new advertisers become excited by the opportunity to build brand awareness and web traffic, but neglect potential customers’ experience while on the site. The sales cycle is ever-changing, and with a slower economy, and increasing number of shopping comparison sites, advertisers must present a site that educates and assists consumers.

Poor Ad Placement

source

Today many turnkey ad solutions are available to the aspiring advertiser, and understanding where and how ads are placed is extremely important. For example, with Google AdSense, leaving the content network on and allowing broad match can lead to increased visibility, but also increasingly less-targeted ads. Additionally, if search terms are more specified, including the use of long tails, and commercially-linked terms, a more customer-targeted strategy will be realized – one that may generate less traffic, but it will most likely have better conversion rates.

Not Having a Call to Action

source

The intention of generating web traffic is to eventually generate conversions. Having an extremely well-targeted ad campaign – display or search – without a (or with a difficult to find) call to action, is a very bad idea. By sending web visitors to a homepage, from which they have to then navigate to the product that initially sparked their interest, makes it more difficult to complete the transaction. Effective advertisers are those that make purchasing as easy as possible

Putting All Your Eggs in One Basket

source

While new technology has enabled small-level players to reach broader audiences, one mistake many advertisers make is restricting ad placement to one channel. Recent research indicates that customers spend significantly more when multiple channels are used, and a failure to embrace new channels, such as m-commerce and social networking traffic, can seriously limit a campaign’s effectiveness. Similarly, this can also include restricting ad spending to only certain type of sites, especially when similar audience and presumably similar conversion rates exist elsewhere.

Not Understanding Reach of An Advertising Plan

source

An online advertising campaign should be thought of as integral to part of a larger marketing plan. Advertisers should be able to account for where their ad dollars are being spent. Effective advertising includes accounting for where ad spending is allocated and tracking levels of efficiency. The tools for tracking conversions are better today, and , under-performing ads should be scrapped, in favor of new avenues being explored. This will help to save money in the long run.

Wasting Money

source

While this might seem like a very broad statement, it is not. Many online businesses, look to expand their reach and allocate specific budgets to advertising, without a plan for creating customers. If are looking to advertise online, and do not have a plan to reach as many targeted audiences as possible your learning curve will be very gradual. Ad spending should be increasingly specific and targeted -– awareness has been replaced by effectiveness, as it is more easily measurable.

Ignoring the Competition

source

The Internet has increased competition. There are more players in each industry trying to get the attention of the same audiences. Failure to pay attention to your competitors efforts can be hugely detrimental, in that trends in how to generate customers can be altogether missed. Additionally, keeping a watchful eye on competitors can help you to avoid making the same mistakes they do, which will always save you money in the long run.

Writing Off Social Communities

source

Social Media, Social Networking, Social News. While many thought they were just trends, the last several years have proved otherwise. Each social community is increasingly commercializing, and each offers new channels through which advertisers can appeal to new audiences. Similarly, they increase dialog and engage existing audiences in new ways. Sites like Twitter and Facebook in particular, allow businesses and customers to interact in a way not possible five years ago.

Failure to Measure Results

source

Failure to measure, or failure to understand measurement are common mistakes made by many advertisers. Using analytics tools to understand ad effectiveness will lead to increased understanding of: which ads are more efficient, which sites send more conversions, and what customers do when they get to your site. Understanding how customers navigate your site can not only help refine your ad campaign, but also illustrate shortcomings in the user-friendliness of your site. Failing to measure is a conscious decision to ignore the most precise measurement tools in all media.