Well we have reached the final part in the five part series on creative marketing strategies for your business in a downturn. We have covered it all: the basics of marketing, doubling your exposure with half the budget, the power of selling packages and the secrets of powerful copywriting. Now it’s time put it all into practice. Find out how being a little creative saved one business $500,000.
It was the early 80’s and AFL had come to Sydney and the state’s new team was born, The Sydney Swans. The only problem was that Sydney was a rugby town and the future of the team depended on getting people to the games.
The club identified that their target market were the under 18’s. This was largely due to the fact this group would represent the future and as they grew up and got married they would have kids of their own and pass on their love of the game. They did some market research and found that ‘music’ was the common denominator or motivator for kids at the time.
They went to a top city ad agency who presented their campaign proposal that they believed would reach around 30 percent of under 18’s but it would take three years and cost at least $500,000.
The club was not satisfied with just 30 percent and they wanted to see results immediately. However they were short on money, so they got creative and took head shots of all the players to schools and colleges throughout Sydney with one question: “who is our sexiest player?”.
In the end there was one clear winner – Warrick Capper.
They recorded a song, made a music video, gave him white boots instead of the usual black and made him wear shorts two sizes too small for him so he ‘stood out’ on the field. The song was played at discos, on radio and the music video on TV as publicity swelled around the ‘first ever singing footballer’.
After just eight weeks they had reached a massive 80 percent of the under 18’s and the cost of the whole campaign was … nil. They actually made a profit from the sale of the records!
Most recently Tourism Queensland decided to get creative and came up with the ‘Best Job In The World’ campaign which advertised an Island Caretaker’s position where the lucky recipient was paid $150,000 to live six months rent-free on the Great Barrier Reef.
The results were phenomenal – 4,000 people from around the globe applied, the website attracted 50 million hits and 40,000 videos appeared on YouTube – all for just one brand.
So dare to be different, be creative and think outside of the square.
– Tony Eades is the Creative Director for The Brand Manager www.thebrandmanager.com.au
People who read this, also liked:
Creative Marketing Strategies Part Four: Powerful Copywriting
Creative Marketing Strategies Part Three: Selling Packages
Creative Marketing Strategies Part Two: Small Changes, Big Results
Creative Marketing Strategies Part One: Back to Basics
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