Marketing is a lot more than just handing out business cards and driving around town with magnetic signs on the doors of your vehicle with your business name on them. Marketing has evolved into a sophisticated, calculated series of strategies designed to target specific demographics and draw them closer to your product or service. However, sometimes you have to jump outside of the box and use a curveball to get some extra attention.
In this article, we will take a closer look at five unusual marketing ideas that any startup can implement. They are not complicated but may take a bit of advanced planning to properly pull off, but when executed properly, the benefits will be worth the extra effort. So, if you have been looking for new, innovative, and unusual ways to market your startup, take a look at the ideas below and either use them or let them inspire you to do something better.
Unusual Marketing Idea #1 – Don’t Be Invisible
One way to develop brand awareness is to be everywhere with your logo and branding. This goes far beyond just blogging and social media activity. Your branding should be in people’s faces as often as possible and can take many unusual marketing forms. For example, why not have it plastered across the side of a building in a busy part of town? Or a huge banner stretched across the entrance to the busiest tunnel or bridge for commuters? Can your business name be spelled in lights on a skyscraper full of offices? Be everywhere so that even if people don’t know what your service is or the products you sell, they will know your name.
Unusual Marketing Idea #2 – Find An Unlikely Partner
Sometimes you have to hook up with another brand to do some effective cross-promotion. This is common when several businesses combine in the sponsorship of major events. However, the most unusual way to make this type of marketing strategy work for you is to connect with a very unlikely partner. Say, the local funeral home or some other business that is the polar opposite of yours. Then work together to market as a team. This will not only give your brand some exposure that may not be considered traditional, but it also puts your brand in front of a completely new and different audience. The spin-offs should benefit both partners.
Unusual Marketing Idea #3 – Be The Charity
Giving money to worthy causes has always been a good move for any size business. For many, it launches a life-long commitment to a specific organization that benefits both parties. But an unusual marketing idea that comes from this concept has a bit of a twist to it. Instead of choosing a charity to support, why not create a brand new charity or cause where donations have to go through your business to be recognized? It will put your brand in a new place and will give your startup a fresh demographic to reach. An example would be if your community does not have a food bank or soup kitchen, your business creates one and builds it with community support.
Unusual Marketing Idea #4 – Laugh At Yourself
Humour is an effective marketing tool. However, it is also one that has to be used skillfully to gain attention. A somewhat odd idea would be to find a spokesperson to be the “face” of your startup and use that person’s identity in all of your marketing programs. But instead of using someone slick and polished, find someone who flubs their lines, or otherwise causes problems that are funny in how they don’t work or are poorly executed. The idea here is to not take yourself so seriously and to use an approach that everyone else can identify with. Doing the opposite of everyone else, and poking fun at it will make your brand stand out.
Unusual Marketing Idea #5 – Let Your Customers Do It
Setting up opportunities for your customers to brag about your product or service in their social media feeds is a lot easier than you may think. In your storefront location, set up selfie stations where customers can pose and show off what they just purchased in front of a branded background or behind a giant cut-out frame with your branding on it. You can even have tablets in certain locations within your business and encourage customers to log in and post status’ or whatever state they are in your business. The more you encourage customers to engage this way, the more they feel part of your business which leads to loyalty and trust.
Bonus Idea – Give Stuff Away
You can never go wrong by giving things away to your customers. But instead of waiting for a special occasion or holiday to roll around to do this, why not offer a prize of some kind every day? It doesn’t have to be significant, but as long as whatever you give away contains your branding, you will be reaching customers differently. Give away hats, pens, flashlights, doughnuts, whatever your budget will permit. When customers receive something for nothing, it makes them feel special. The giveaway can happen as soon as they enter the store, at a random place in the store, or as each purchase gets bagged at the checkout. Giveaways are always good.
Final Thoughts
You can spend money marketing your startup in the same way as everyone else and get lost in the crowd, or you could opt for something unusual. In today’s world of new technology, it takes creativity to stand out. For many, that creativity leads to unusual marketing strategies. The ones listed above are intended to inspire you to think outside of the box and do something so unexpected, it gets your startup noticed and produces the exposure needed to become successful. All it takes is an idea that is a little bit off-center but still true enough to target the audience you need to see your product or service in a new and different light.
Maria Turea works as a content manager at Digital Authority Partners, a content strategy firm based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
