Getting creative in marketing often means doing so both online AND offline. Linkbait doesn't just happen online. Ask Ask, for example. They are using billboards in the real world to create viral linkbait for their search engine, and these bizarre, quirky messages do have people talking about them.
Now, I don't know about you, but I can't really afford to rent billboard space. But what if I would like to get an interesting message out to the offline world, especially if I was working on a local campaign focused on an upcoming event? I'd want to be able to engage moms sitting in a doctor's waiting room and rouse their curiosity. I'd also like the person processing my local electric bill payment to stop for a moment and wonder what that strange message is on my bill. I'd want to place my creative, head-scratching, gotta talk about message in places in the real world where people can't help but notice them.
How could I make someone in my local area notice my message and go to my website in such a way that it becomes the next viral marketing campaign? And how would I do this easily and cheaply?
Assuming I've already come up with my advertising message, all I'd need to do now is turn it into a rubber stamp! Actually I'd probably create a series of rubber stamps, each with its own unique message, and order them in multiple quantities, so that I could have my friends, family, and business associates help me in this venture.
With stamps in hand, I'd begin my marketing campaign. While waiting at the doctor's office, I'd take out my stamp pen and mark the magazines with my message (surreptitiously, of course). Did I mention how cool those stamp pens are? You just take the cap off and there's the stamp! So suppose I've got my stamp pen in my pocket, and I'm standing on a street corner waiting to cross. What would I do? I'd stamp a flyer on a telephone pole. Or maybe I'd be waiting in line at the grocery store. If the woman standing in line in front of me at the checkout counter wasn't looking, I'd place a stamp on one of the items she is purchasing.
(Time to throw in a reality check here. Keep in mind that you don't want to make a nuisance of yourself, or ruin something really nice. Don't stamp people's clothing for example, or do anything illegal. Be smart while you're being creative).
In any case, since there are lots of ways stamps can be utilized in a real world marketing campaign, I went to RubberStampChamp.com to find what might be needed. The first product I noticed was their stamp pen. As you've seen above, this would be perfect for my stealth mode marketing. Moving on, any of their self-inking stamps would work for the address stamps that I need. I'm not sure that I'd need date stamps for this marketing campaign, but I'd keep them in mind just in case. If my campaign is focused on an event that is happening shortly, the date stamp might be needed. Definitely, if the event is coming up soon, I'd want to be able to get the stamps asap, and that's one of the reasons I really like RubberStampChamp to begin with. They have amazing turnaround time. They create and ship the stamps lightning fast. In addition, because RubberStampChamp can customize a stamp to have just about anything I want on it, I can create some stamps with just graphics designed to make people wonder what they are, some with intriguing questions that cause people to want to know the answers, and some with answers just begging for a question. All of them, of course, would include the URL so that everyone knows just where to go to get their curiosity satisfied.
So that's how I would market a local event via the real world - viral marketing that begins in the offline world with rubber stamps, lures people to the online world, only to lead them back to where they started - the local event in the real world they live in. Nice huh? If you decide that rubber stamps are an item that your creative genius could use, get them created and delivered quickly from RubberStampChamp.
There are all sorts of ways to be creative. I just proved that by reviewing some very nice, useful products that don't ordinarily seem related to SEO but certainly can be, given the right amount of marketing creativity being applied. 🙂
Now, stamping other peoples babies/kids etc… that would be acceptable, right? Quick and easy kidvertising?
Oh, I got it! Give the stamps to your friends kids, and have them stamp all of their friends! 🙂
Yes! Now you’ve got the idea! 😀