More and more brands are capitalizing on the benefits of launching a mobile tour program – they’re nimble, they allow for flexibility and invaluable one-on-one consumer interactions.

Brands, such as Wendy’s, Burger King and McDonald’s have launched national mobile tour campaigns betting on the effectiveness of guerrilla-style sampling, which is basically what happens when you don’t have a plan. In 2011, one fast food giant rolled out a fleet of 30 sampling trucks to distribute fresh smoothies and salads from it’s fresh menu makeover – the vehicles attempted to pass out samples without permission from venues or ties to any established events. This led to their vehicles being escorted out by security and infuriating fans who visited promoted locations, hoping to try new samples, only to realize that the highly touted food truck had already been kicked off the premises.

At Beyond Traditional, we don’t need 30 trucks – with a well thought-out campaign timeline and a concrete calendar of contracted and well-attended events, we can generate the same results for our clients with a single vehicle, a seasoned driver and a crack team of mobile tour experts working tirelessly behind the scenes.

When planning mobile tour campaigns, our team designs a tour schedule based around popular, established events where we have permission an­­1d documentation stating that we are welcome. This guarantees us a steady flow of traffic and vastly increases the number of brand impressions and quality consumer interactions.

While we have an extensive history of launching and coordinating wildly successful mobile tours, our most recent mobile campaign was with Verizon. We outfitted one of our 3D glass showroom vehicles with a flat screen television and eye-catching red lounge chairs and toured the Pacific Northwest spreading the word about the company’s new HomeFusion service.

Over 21 days, the vehicle travelled more than 2,000 miles and made stops at 33 targeted venues across Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The attention-grabbing vehicle garnered over a million impressions for Verizon and was most successful at the Seahawks blowout game against the Cardinals. Instead of paying an expensive sponsorship fee in order to advertise on CenturyLink Field property, we thought outside of the box and sought out a prime, privately owned location, on a major foot traffic thoroughfare, used by hoards of fans heading to the game. The vehicle and brand ambassador team was able to directly engage with crowds of fans and garner the same number of impressions as they would have on stadium grounds, but for a fraction of the investment cost.

If you’d like to chat about how to plan a thoughtful and strategic mobile tour, give me a call at 206.599.9855.

Cheers!

-S

Like most everything in the world, advertising is an industry of fads. Once a concept is projected out into the universe and achieves “cool” status, every agency, marketing company and design shop will line up to grab a piece of the cake, chew it up and spit it out, over and over again. Once an agency grabs onto one of these popular, proven concepts, it’s easy to fall into a spin cycle that can last for months—with the same ideas being tossed around until both the staff and the clientele is sick of hearing about it (i.e. flash mobs).

That’s not to say the idea itself should be completely thrown away, just for the sake of breaking the cycle. For example – in 2011, the flavor of the year was photo booths. Incorporating a photo booth into a campaign works because it’s nostalgic, it promotes a fun interaction between brand and consumer and audiences will walk away from the event with an instant photo memory to share with others in-person and through social media. Instead of removing photo booth experiences from your agency’s repertoire, focus on what elements made it work and innovate outward.

Rather than pitching the same, tired photo booth concept, take the roots of what made it a good idea in the first place (social media potential, connectivity, fun, personalized takeaway) and creatively pursue new frontiers. With advancements being made everyday in 3D printing capabilities, brands can easily recreate life-like scenery, environments and scaled figures to pose with and share with friends online. Who knows – in a few months, printing 3D miniature takeaways, on-site, of consumers having fun at your event could soon be a reality.

Check out this article on 3D printing being used for portraits in Japan: http://www.webpronews.com/you-can-get-a-3d-printed-model-of-yourself-in-japan-2012-11

Interested in learning more about how to upgrade old campaign ideas? Contact Sam at 206.599.9855.

For decades, advertisers have chosen spokespeople who are the elite of the human gene pool – tall, svelte, proportionate and beautiful, the rest of the population has watched as these Adonis figures pushed product under the guise that they are ‘just like you.’ That [beauty] school of thought is no longer working and it’s time for marketers to go back to the chalkboard.

In an era where Photoshop slim-downs, airbrushed silhouettes and digitally eliminated pores are items to be checked off before a brand hits print, it’s easy to understand how audiences can be left feeling jaded. When the average American is exposed to 600+ ads a day, how can we expect them to remember, and differentiate between, the products that the same recycled, cookie-cutter model-types were promoting?

To really stand out from what has become the norm (or far from norm), advertisers need to get real. Authenticity, sincerity and simplicity are three powerful factors for driving home a message that audiences can relate to and appreciate.

Brands have already made huge impressions by introducing everyday people into their advertising campaigns. In 2004, the personal care brand, Dove, became a trailblazer by launching its Real Beauty campaign, the goal of which was to help change the Western perception that beauty is one size (and one age group) fits all. In 2012, high fashion house, Lanvin, hired real New Yorkers, not models, to pose wearing its clothes in an effort to portray and “celebrate individuals with individuality.”

When planning your next campaign, think about the people who will be buying, using and wearing your product. Remember the remorseful buyer’s sentiment of “It looked better on the hanger;” consumers won’t continue to buy a product if what they get isn’t in-line with what was advertised. Develop a campaign that will fit the person, not the hanger.

Music festivals provide an unparalleled opportunity for advertisers to get their brand in front of a crowd of 100,000+ amped-up fans.

With the music festival season kicking off with SXSW in Austin last weekend, now is the time to secure those coveted advertising/vendor spots and start planning in-festival promotions at the nation’s largest music events.

Here is a list of a few of the most widely attended music festivals in the United States:

• Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, April 2012, (Indio, CA)
• Electric Daisy Carnival, May 19-20, (New York, NY)
• Sasquatch! Music Festival, May 25-28, (George, WA)
• Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, June 7-12, (Manchester, TN)
• Summerfest, June/July 2012, (Milwaukee, WI)
• Lollapalooza, August 3-5, (Chicago, IL)
• Bumbershoot, September 1-3, (Seattle, WA)
• Austin City Limits Festival, October 12-14, (Austin, TX)

To pick our brains about innovative ways to market at music festivals (i.e. sponsoring hand washing stations, hosting a compelling karaoke fan stage, creating an unforgettable ‘chill’ zone inside a 3D glass display truck, etc.) contact us at 206.973.3660 or email samuel@beyondtraditional.com.