The marketing industry is running wild. The average person is bombarded with dozens of ads every day, and people are getting tired of it. So, how do you advertise your business without pissing the audience off? Answer: creativity.
Creativity in marketing can take many shapes and forms. Here is an overview of three creative methods suitable for any business model, including yours.
Be Funny and Interesting
The average person will pass over generic ads without noticing them. Some internet users will go a step further and ask Google not to show them generic ads, including by paying for premium services. However, many people will be more than willing to view a funny ad; after all, most people on the internet are there for amusement. Laughter sells, so make your ads funny.
If you cannot be funny, then you should try to be interesting, at the very least. Being interesting will help you catch your audience’s attention, and this alone will get your foot into the playing field; the ticket to the finish line, in this case, will be the relevance and suitability of whatever you have to offer.
The LEGO franchise is a perfect example of how to make your ads funny and relevant. LEGO fans pay to watch the company’s adverts because they are fun and exciting, and each ad registers impressive ROIs because viewers are so thrilled that they can’t help but buy the merchandise and have more fun recreating the action.
Remember, making your brand known is the goal here. For instance, if you wish to create a custom flag for your business, make it relevant and interesting to attract the attention of the people.
Stroke Your Audience’s Ego
The trick to getting people to like you is to get them talking about themselves. Sadly, many marketers are yet to realize this because it makes for a useful creative marketing idea.
Capitalizing on your audience’s ego would be a win-win for you. For starters, you would collect a lot of information about the person’s preferences, dislikes, and more (such kind of data is the building block for successful marketing campaigns). Second, you would gain the person’s trust and bring them on board your brand.
One creative way to advertise while still stroking your audience’s ego is by sponsoring exciting quizzes. These can be interactive quizzes in the form of a game or revealing quizzes designed to help the person discover more about themselves. You would also attract more favor and nurture more trust if you offered a reward at the end of the quiz; this would also give you a chance to showcase your products/services, which would make the ideal reward.
Court Controversy and Raise Awareness
People love controversies; after all, it is what keeps the debate going. Many businesses have been embroiled in controversies recently. Some have profited considerably from it, but others have paid heavy prices. This is why it is advisable to consider this approach with caution, despite the potential gains it promises. Pick your battles wisely, and if you decide to settle on any, make sure that it is relevant to the brand and worth fighting for.
You can also take the opportunity to raise awareness about pressing issues with your audience, such as the need for disaster relief. Again, this needs to be relevant to your business; otherwise, your audience will think that you are just another hawk seeking to capitalize on the world’s misery. If you decide to do this, focus on a subject in which you have philanthropic interests and are in a unique position to offer aid.
Orion Telescopes once ran (and still does) a funny and controversial advert touching on the tense trade relations between the U.S. and China. In the ad, Orion asserts that its telescopes are powerful enough to see the American flag on the moon and the label “made in China.” It is controversial, but it is also funny and can get a pass even with the ardent critics of trade with China.
Caution: Remain Relevant
It is easy to miss the mark – selling your brand/product – when trying to be creative. If this happens, all you will be doing is amusing the public at a cost to your marketing budget. As such, find a way to make your brand/product the central theme of your ad while still trying to be creative.