Posed with a quick-turnaround assignment of generating worthwhile – can’t breathe without ’em – marketing ideas? Happens every day, right? Come up with original, can’t-miss ideas to promote products or services. That’s marketing. So, what to do?
Here, taken from pop culture, history, and recent events are just a few simple ideas to at least kick-start brainstorming for successful marketing campaigns.
Posed with a quick-turnaround assignment of generating worthwhile – can’t breathe without ’em – marketing ideas? Happens every day, right? Come up with original, can’t-miss ideas to promote products or services. That’s marketing. So, what to do?
Here, taken from pop culture, history, and recent events are just a few simple ideas to at least kick-start brainstorming for successful marketing campaigns.
- Go Natural
No surprise, marketing is a beauty pageant. Sometimes, though, the secret is to show off more than the glitz and glamour. Beauty queens are often reviled for being shallow, superficial, and, er, uh, augmented. But not all of them. In this month’s Miss Universe Pageant, Miss Angola, Leila Lopes, was asked what physical trait she would change if she could. Lopes took the honest route:
“Thank God I’m very satisfied with the way God created me and I wouldn’t change a thing," Lopes said. "I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life."
Odd? Or fresh? Either way, it works. Who doesn’t want to hear a beauty queen disavow any interest in altering her physical appearance? But the true value of Lopes’ response came with the diamond-encrusted tiara given to Miss Universe.
- Break A Few Rules
Who says you can’t wear plaid with polka dots? Well, a lot of sensible people. But what happens if you do? You certainly get attention. Remember New Coke? Sure, it flopped, but Coca Cola got attention. Lately, the University of Maryland football team unveiled new uniforms. A mix of patterns from the state flag, the uniforms were at once lauded and reviled. But they got attention for the football program, for the school, and for their maker, Under Armor. Of course, it’s wise to be prepared for the reaction, especially if it’s negative, and take advantage of the notoriety.
- Mystify ’Em
Take a lesson from Rod Serling. Remember The Twilight Zone? Eerie tales of curious goings on that often came with morals to the stories. Serling captured people’s attention with common settings and situations: a used car lot, an insurance office, a library. But those stories, his deep voice pointed out, carried viewers to “another dimension.” Watch an episode and then try to not think about the implications, the deeper meaning. Take consumers to the edge, make them look over; show them something they don’t expect to see.
- Remember Your Audience
Shakespeare lives. No, not really. He’d be all wrinkles now, more than 400 years old. The Bard’s plays and poems are etched in history, but they also were immensely popular in his lifetime, and not just with one strata of society. The Globe Theater, site of many Shakespearian performances, held all elements of Elizabethan Society. Shakespeare had to give royalty something international, some intrigue. He gave nobles their due with stories that included and revolved around their issues. And he also gave commoners, the “Groundlings,” a good dose of violence. Romeo and Juliet had it all: noble families at odds, romance of two beautiful young people, and then, their deaths in the name of love. I’m not advocating you embrace their same fate by any stretch. But knowing your audience usually goes a long way!
- Rank ’Em
It’s that time of year again . . .
December means holidays. Memorial Day and Labor Day mark seasonal vacations. Even cold as ice February has the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. September is known as the back-to-school month. It’s also when U.S. News releases annual rankings of U.S. colleges. The rankings generate little middle ground. Many proclaim them as their alma maters climb to the top. Some decry them as beauty pageants with no real meaning, comparing apples and kumquats. But everybody checks the rankings, even secretly, to see which schools ended up where. They also provide a chance to sway junior to embrace a “good” school – or at least to get off the Dorito-covered couch and aspire to . . . something, but that’s a project for another marketing campaign.
Michael Clark, founder of Consider Communications, is a writer, editor, author, Web content manager, and more. You can reach him at info@considercom.com or 571.232.2986. For more information about Consider Communications, visit www.considercom.com.