I tell you what when the price of gas is where its at today you have to try your best to laugh it off. Easier said then done. Maybe I could win the lottery. I was at a gas station the other day and saw an ad for the lottery on top of the gas pump.
I guess I should have played but I was in a hurry. Probably would have won the big bucks. You know what they say about a premonition, that might have been one. As always keep on visiting your local gas station.
Just the other day I was driving behind some strip malls and I kept seeing these cool dumpsterswrapped with anti-smoking messages. They were green and even had the kind of rusty patches that are typically found on garbage dumpsters. I was in the city of Yakima but I understand they were also in several cities across Washington state.The ad was a featherless turkey smoking up against the garbage dumpster. It made the turkey and smoking look gross and also placing them in a very negative environment. I actually saw some smokers on break standing within view of the dumpster. Great way to target closet smokers!!
I was at a great bar and grill they other day and again I came across a very unique idea in a coaster that was placed under my drink. It was for the Lottery and it had a cartoon of a guy with a hairy chest from back in the 70’s. The chest hair said scratch and sniff and the tag line was “Its scratch time baby.”
The colors were kinda disco and the smell from the scratch and sniff was some kind of cheap cologne like English leather or aqua velvet. The coaster was square and was really a great conversation starter for all of the people around the bar.
I was in a local sports bar just the other day and notice a full motion video for the Washington Dept. of Health. The ad placed by a company called Pacific Media was a featherless turkey smoking a cigarette against a wall in a dark and grungy alleyway. It was very effective and humorous at the same time.The dartboard had a high resoluton that was about 19″ and was prominantly displayed above the crowd at the estabishment. The ad seemed to be part of the attract mode the machine used to grab peoples attention. Cool Stuff!!
I was visiting the local pub the other day and noticed framed posters above the urinals. The one board in front of me had a 17 x 22 poster for MSN and the logo for Pacific Media that included their phone number. The ad had a tear off pad for filling out a chance to win a trip to the super bowl.
Their was also a board above the urinal next to me. That board had two ads that were 17×11 in size. What a great way to get you message in front of potential customers. I have never seen a more captive audience. My wife said they also had them in the women’s rooms and they were on the back of the stall doors. Very creative. 
I went to one of my several gas stations a week and witnessed a cool looking Sound Transit sign advertising one of their many bus routes. Might be something I should look into with all the gas I’m using and the outrageous price. The ad was placed by Pacific Media and looks to be a perfect fit for the community.After I left the station I noticed I was only within yards of the actual route the ad was promoting. I didn’t think much of this until later on I was in a totally different area and noticed the same thing at another station same ad, same bus route, and again the stop was within a few yards of an actual bus stop.
I realized then that I could have taken the bus directly to this stop for the change in my pocket. Unbelievable.
One of the great Non traditional items executed by Pacific Media is Chalk Art. Placing chalk art in targeted areas offers unlimited advertising opportunities. Chalk Art grabs the attention of people on the street in the exact area your looking to hit. The creative placed can be real simple stencils or highly crafted full color 10′x10′ artwork. When placing the chalk art you have the ability to get permission from the sites you wish to use or simply going out and tagging the sidewalk with non-permanent chalk. We stress the non-permanent for those of you against graffiti. Tagging is done quickly usually art must be simplified to allow completion in less then 1 hour. On the other hand if you get permission there is usually a higher cost but much more detail can be used.
Specifically, Gas Station Advertising will help you achieve your marketing objectives for the following reasons:
Geographic Targeting – Our Gas Station Ads go where traditional outdoor is restricted or non-existent . . . High income, commercially restricted and residential areas. By being able to choose the zip codes in which your ads will be placed, you can bring your ads to the people in the areas you want to target.
Cost Effective – Because our Gas Station Ads are priced well below traditional billboards and deliver on average 38,850 Monthly Viewers, your cost per thousand (CPM) is well below $2.00. Compared to an average CPM of $4.00 for traditional billboards.
One tactic referred to as stealth marketing causes an interaction with the target audience and product without them even knowing they are the target of a marketing campaign. Such a tactic has even included paid actors requesting that a group of people take their picture or even video games with gadgets ‘made’ by a particular company. Some controversy has been caused but this type of non-traditional advertising because certain ways of implementing this type of marketing has said to make the intended audience feel insulted because of the way their marketing ploy was implemented.
But not all non-traditional advertising is created the same. Even with a majority of intended viewers ignoring straight forward advertising there are ways of grabbing consumers attention and the most effective ways of advertising have been geared towards connecting with the intended demographic. Creativity is a huge part of capturing attention but also exposure time, with limited distractions. So where do people spend a significant amount of time that will allow for this type of exposure? Full-color poster bathroom advertising has certainly shown this type of potential with 1 to 3 minute exposure time and the potential for a viewers undivided attention. After all there is not much else to stare at other then then straight in front of you.
