THE MOST GROUNDBREAKING MARKETING STRATEGY: STREET MARKETING
Marketing is made up of an infinity of tools, strategies and techniques to promote the knowledge of a certain brand or the loyalty of its clients. The team of The Social Media Family , digital marketing agency in Madrid , we like to teach you tools and techniques that you can apply in your businesses to increase your sales and customer loyalty . In this case we are going to talk about a strategy that is carried out on public roads, which does not leave consumers indifferent and we assure you that through this technique many more potential customers will meet you: Street Marketing .
WHAT IS STREET MARKETING ?
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The Street Marketing is a set of strategies and marketing techniques executed in public in order to create a greater impact among consumers . What makes the difference compared to other types of campaigns is that many times people interpret it as an experience and not as advertising . Today users are looking for more than just being attracted to a brand. What they really want is to have an experience with the company, to feel part of it .
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Therefore, these are usually campaigns with a high degree of creativity and interaction with users, to stay longer in their memory.
THE STREET MARKETING VS. GUERRILLA MARKETING
Having defined what Street Marketing consists of , we would like you to differentiate it from other very similar techniques in terms of impact with the client. Guerrilla Marketing can be understood as a set of unconventional marketing strategies, in which a great impact is generated on the consumer through ingenuity and creativity . Therefore, Street Marketing and Guerrilla Marketing are two terms with a great similarity. The big difference between both techniques is that the first one is always performed on the street. For its part, Guerrilla Marketingit does not necessarily have to be done in this space. Many times you can find cases in which all the characteristics of the two techniques meet. That is why Street Marketing can be understood as a strategy that is part of Guerrilla Marketing .
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STREET MARKETING AND AMBIENT MARKETING
Both Street Marketing and Ambient Marketing are relatively modern forms of advertising that come from the same predecessor: Guerilla Marketing. Since their provenance is the same, they may seem the same because they have many more similarities than differences.
But for that we are here, to tell you what is the way to differentiate both techniques.
One of the differences that we find between these two concepts is the way of acting with the environment. On the one hand, Street Marketing refers to promotions, actions and advertising campaigns that are carried out in the urban environment with techniques not controlled by media companies, while Ambient Marketing takes advantage of the elements of the everyday environment to transmit a message in an original and creative way with the aim of generating impact on the public. In other words, it does not insert new elements into the environment, but merge with it. The Ambient Marketing is much more subtle than the Street Marketing.
WHY SHOULD YOU BET ON STREET MARKETING ?
Times change and professionals in the field of digital marketing have had to reinvent their techniques. Citizens have already become accustomed to the billboards on the facades, to the signs at the bus stops. This is where Street Marketing comes into play. This technique makes use of public spaces where people do not expect to see advertising . There are many ways to implement Street Marketing , it can be seen in the form of graffiti , lampposts, stairs or even on the beach. Still, it doesn’t have to be limited to stationary objects. For example, many companies hire workers with advanced communication skills to promote a good brand image. Another of the options that have been in fashion in recent years have been the massive flashmob . It is they who encourage citizens themselves to join the movement that is generated. And the most interesting thing is that it must seem that he is not prepared.
STREET MARKETING STRATEGY
When considering a Street Marketing strategy , the first thing you should think about is the place where you are going to carry out the campaign. You have endless possibilities: beaches, sports centers, cinemas, public transport. The trick is to locate spaces where there is a high traffic of people on a recurring basis . If you find yourself in a point with little influx of walkers, the chances of finding potential customers will be greatly reduced.
Once you have set the space, you have to develop a plan to define which market target you want to target your campaign, as well as what means you are going to capture their attention. You don’t need to invest a lot of money . The brightest Street Marketing strategies have been created with very little budget .
Do not worry if you are afraid that people will not notice your campaign. Making use of common spaces and objects on the street, it will easily attract the attention of walkers. Remember that the objective is to create an impact on the user so that they associate that emotion with the brand . In this way, the person may or may not buy the product, but you will have obtained that he has received the input . For this you have to put yourself in the shoes of people, being able to understand their behavior in the market will help you to attract the attention of more people, since users move through emotions . By generating the appropriate reactions, you will be able to reinforce the image of the brand .
STREET MARKETING EXAMPLES
GRAFFITI
This street art is rejected by many official institutions for “ polluting “ the architectural aesthetics of the streets. But as far as Street Marketing is concerned, it is one of the most captivating options for the public. In recent years, so-called 3D graffiti , generally located on the ground, has become fashionable to cause a feeling of depth and vertigo. Coca Cola, Converse or Adidas are other companies that have opted for this marketing method to attract the attention of their customers. Analyzing these campaigns will help you find inspiration for your brand.
BUS STOPS
People are already used to announcements of stops. Even so, there are companies that have known how to reinvent them so that they remain engraved in the memory of potential customers. Keep in mind that it is a place where users basically just wait, the perfect time to distract them with your campaign. Remember that one of the main characteristics of Street Marketing is interaction with the public. That is, the ability to create experiences together with the potential buyer .
Apple is one of the brands that knows very well how to generate that relationship. You just have to see the distribution and the possibilities that customers have when entering their Apple Stores . In this case, with the launch of the MacBook Air , the lightest laptop in their line, they represented that lightness by placing a swing at one of the bus stops. Swings are elements that transfer users to childhood, connect them with memories of when they were young, without all the worries of adult life. That unconscious gift that Apple gives, makes the brand capture the attention of the person who has interacted with the object. It is clear that this brand knows very well how to generate emotions linked to the product.
Another example of how you can take advantage of bus stops, is like in the video that we leave you below, of a Pepsi Max ad , in which they use the stop to simulate a zombie abduction or a meteor shower.
STREET MARKETING ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT
The routes in which public transport is used are ideal to captivate people with the wit of your brand . A good example is that of the Rayban brand that in this campaign plays with two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements to catch the attention of subway commuters, putting a seat in the shape of a sunglasses, and using subway lines to promote sunglasses. Sun.
Another curious and striking example is that of the Russian beer brand Baltica, which took advantage of the handles of the buses to put cans of its beer. We hope you empty …!
ZEBRA CROSSINGS
Can there be anything more common than a zebra crossing? An element of the most common in the day to day can become a key to give the push that your company needs.
Among the brands that have used this Street Marketing strategy we find McDonalds . The creatives of the company saw a round opportunity at the crosswalks.
They were able to move one of their star products at street level . The white stripes that make up the zebra crossings became the biggest potatoes McDonalds has ever put on the market. The illustration simulated how the potatoes came out of the characteristic red container with a large yellow M. Surely more than one wanted to eat chips.
Another of the most famous actions with this element have been the zebra crossings with the colors of the rainbow. This initiative, which has been carried out in thousands of cities around the world, seeks to denounce the deplorable situation of the LGBT + community in countries like Russia, where people are persecuted for their sexual condition.
Pedestrian crossings are placed in front of embassies of countries where this situation occurs as a protest action . As you can observe, the Street Marke ting is not reserved exclusively for commercial activities, it is also very effective in social causes.
HOW FAR CREATIVITY TAKES YOU
One of the examples that we liked the most because of how creative and dynamic it is, is a campaign carried out by the television network TNT , placing a button in the middle of a street in Belgium to promote all the series that its channel has available .
CONCLUSIONS
There really are no set rules, nor is there a perfect place to carry out your Street Marketing strategy . Everything lies in how you interpret the space to achieve the most creative interaction possible with the client. The most important thing is to open your mind well and analyze what possibilities your product has. And transfer it to public roads. Once the attention is captured, the rest is practically done.
From The Social Media Family agency , we hope that you have enjoyed these campaigns and examples that we have shown you, and we encourage you to share Street Marketing campaigns that will impact you.
If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact us. See you in the next article!