| |
Human Billboard Shakes Up Advertising World
By Bob Cefail
You all may remember this famous headline which appeared on
thousands of Internet sites, news outlets, and in the News of the
Weird sections of local newspapers. This type of story gained
momentum after Andrew Fischer of Omaha Nebraska auctioned his
forehead on eBay for 30 days of temporary advertising. He was
paid $37,375 in the end.
Now after laughing a bit from the absurdity of it all, it dawned on
me that there must be some underlying need in the advertising
community for alternative promotions.
Sure enough while doing research for another article on the
advertising industry, the words TiVo came up more times than I
could count. What is the ¡°TiVo problem?¡± It is all about consumers
who fast-forward through the commercials associated with
television shows that they copy to their TiVo system. Madison
Avenue refers to this as ¡°ad avoidance.¡± Advertisers call this their
worst nightmare.
Well, after some brainstorming I figured out a sure-fire way to make
millions and help out advertisers - make a walking billboard. My
idea was grand. Get people to wear a billboard promoting a
company or product, develop a catchy design that grabs attention,
and then find out some incentive for the people to wear the
billboard for free. I was onto something and felt I needed to get
some extra advice from a marketing genius with whom I roomed in
college.
I met my buddy in a coffee shop and carefully laid out my plan.
When I finished my outline, I looked to him in mounting anticipation
for some sage advice. At first he laughed and then he scornfully
stated the obvious, ¡°Your new invention is called a t-shirt, you
idiot.¡± The next sound was that of hissing air from the imaginary
balloon in my head. My buddy then continued on by saying that I
wasn't a complete fool, and that smart companies were now taking
T-shirt branding very seriously. Unique designs for T-shirts were
now being developed and used in the thousands by corporations
who have to somehow figure out new ways to get in front of
people.
My buddy then asked me if I had ever heard of Mr. Merch
Graphics. I didn't know if he was referring to a college marketing
professor or some marketing guru. It turns out that he was talking
about the leader in the ¡°apparel branding industry.¡± I knew then that
my next story was going to revolve around the evolution of the T-
shirt as an advertising medium.
When I called up Mr. Merch Graphics (www.mrmerch.com
), the company, I was half expecting
to begin my interview with an old hippie from the 60's, who started
out in the t-shirt world with tie dye. The person I ended up talking
to was Joe Dominick, who I can safely report is not a long time
resident of Haight Ashbury. (For all you youngsters out there, those
were the two cross streets in San Francisco that some say was the
birth place of the 60's revolution.) Here was a very sharp guy who
pretty much gave me a college degree in apparel branding in about
20 minutes.
Considering that his client list included such corporate giants as
Avis, Capitol One, Merck, and Dove, I was pretty much going to
shut up and listen. ¡°You have to understand how valuable
continuous branding is when thinking of a T-shirt,¡± states Dominick.
¡°If you have someone sitting in front of you for an hour with an
impressive T-shirt, you're going to look at what it says.¡±
Dominick went on to tell me about the key to effective T-shirt
presence-Design. ¡°If your going to use the T-shirt as a promotional
medium, design is the key,¡± warns one of the founders of Mr.
Merch Graphics. ¡°One should spend the time to develop a unique
design because people will then want to wear it more, which gets
your brand out. A good design will also attract attention and isn't
that why you are using the T-shirt as a marketing tool?¡± asked
Dominick.
I could see now why Mr. Merch Graphics had such an enviable
client list. Joe went on to say that they didn't just work with
corporate giants. He said they work with small, medium and large
companies. Dominick is also proud of his successful track record
with colleges and high schools. Virginia Tech, one of my favorite
college football teams, uses Joe's company for their branding. ¡°We
make a great T-shirt, bottom line,¡± announces Dominick at the end
of my interview. I can't say that I disagree.
Well, my days are over as a great human billboard mogul, thanks to
my college buddy and guys like Joe Dominick. I did get something
out of this though. My son starts his little league baseball season
soon, and I know the person I'll be calling for the team's T-shirts.
That's right, Mr. Merch Graphic's Joe Dominick. Maybe they'll give
me a discount?
Bob Cefail
Publisher
Press Direct International
About the Author
http://www.mrmerch.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/15276.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/15276.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| |
|
|
|
