Monsters and Cashmere

In Ithaca these days the freak weather is confusing us all. Currently the perfect apparel is certainly the sweater. I happen to wear my own cashmere sweater that I cherish and in searching for ways to promote my cashmere sweater I happened upon a guerilla marketing campaign.

The Michael Alan Group arranged for models to parade around NYC walking cashmere goats with them. Each model held on to two goats while totting a Saks bag on their shoulder. The models made appearances at the Fashion Week tents in Bryant Park, Wall Street, Union Square, and Central Park. They also appeared at the Saks' Gala event held at their store on Fifth Avenue. The model were all wearing the same outfit as they strolled about the city.

This case study of guerilla marketing was creative, interactive, and timed perfectly.

Another stunt for AMC involved 50 werewolves and zombies invading Manhattan. They roving band of monsters wandered the city handing out branded buckets of candy corn to interested men and women.

The Hip-Hop Project commands respect.

Last night I went to see a free showing of The Hip-Hop Project. The movie was about a group of African-Americans that were lured into a meeting for the purpose of getting signed to a record deal. They were not signed but they did end up putting out a record. They all went through a transformation of their own and became something better. They told their lives and their trials through lyrics and verse.

I got the ‘tingles’ many times throughout the movie thinking about what they have gone through and fought to obtain and what I have had handed to me. I was nothing less than inspired. They asked us to tell five people about their music and if this is a way I can help them then I will do my best.

I can’t rap, and this post can’t just be one big ad for their band so I will throw out some ideas for them that they might be able to use. Guerilla marketing ideas. They are the perfect candidates to use such a method. They are underground, small and dynamic and clean of corporations. I will give what I can.

First, the idea to come to a small white college far away from any city was genius. I think that more of that will surely help your cause. Actually talking with us made all the difference and I think that all of us were impressed with your performance.

Second, using myspace is a great idea. This is another way to use viral marketing to promote your product, I am going to check and see if you actually respond as you said you did.

Third, when you blow up, and you will blow up, stay true to where you came from. Give back to kids. I know you have heard this but that is a great way to attract positive press, giving back to the poor community.

Four, develop some type of logo or insignia. Use this logo all over cities, as graffiti. It will help spread your word. Just don’t get caught and have to pay for the clean up as some companies do.

http://www.art-start.org/programs_hiphop.php

Need a light?

I just read about how Freedom cigarettes is paying celebrities to smoke their cancer sticks. These celebs get to go to any local bar, smoke their free butts, and then get paid!! How is this possible. Ok, ok, let me try not to get carried away with ethical jargon, this could be a good idea. I guess if the logo was printed on the side of the cigarette and the celebrity was viciously chain smoking trying to do their job. I don’t think that most cigs are very notable without serious scrutiny, I could be wrong, I am not an avid smoker. I know that Marlboros are all white and the Camels have the brown filters. If the celebrity made a show of pulling out the box of Freedoms when ever getting another and then waited for someone to offer them a light, this could be a viable form of Guerilla marketing.

Ethically, this is a little disgusting. I think that the celebrity should be fined and the company sued. But it does raise notice to a new trend in Guerilla Marketing, real life product placement.

This new trend pays people to go out and chat up certain products. They don’t have to just be a town wailer and scream about their products all the time. In normal conversations they are supposed to bring up their product and push it on the unsuspecting men and women. This is very interesting and though it might be worse than the free cigs in the long run, I feel that it does have potential and is still growing.

Billboardzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Just found some awesome sites for Guerilla marketing. billboardom.blogspot.com focuses mainly on billboard ads and has some very creative ones. There are examples from Europe and China. The ads for molsen dry were especially fun me. The separate billboards seem to interact by shooting each other with supersoakers that are filling with beer. The people are jumping around or just getting hit in the chest from the beer and having fun. Making different ads interact gets the eye to travel to both ads.

The most important thing to remember for billboards is that if selling is the focus of the ad, it will fail. I feel that billboards shouldn’t have a call to action or put any type of pressure on the consumer. Billboards should leave the consumer with a smile on their face, a laugh in their voice, and the products name in the back of their mind or on the tip of their tongue.

Through Billboardom I found a link to another fun site worth checking. adsoftheworld.com