Interactive Marketing, Connecting with Consumers

Yesterday we had a guest speaker talk to us about the creative process of marketing to consumers; he specifically focused on interactive marketing. He went into detail about use of location, words, and visuals to get across the message.

He used the example of Carlsberg who ran an interactive billboard campaign on Brick Lane. It took place aside The Old Truman Brewery. The billboard dispensed free Carlsberg beer for the public, printed on it was ‘Probably the best beer in the world’ with a single dispenser underneath. Hundreds of people turned up after it went around on socials, prompting this were the hashtag printed on the side #ProbablytheBest. This event is a prime example of simple yet effective guerrilla marketing, all Carlsberg had to do was put up a billboard, add free beer and the rest ran its course naturally because of social media. The whole concept was matched to the location (Brick Lane) around that area are a lot of ‘edgy’ young people who would appreciate both the idea behind the campaign and the free beer.

After the lecture, I found a couple other examples of creative interactive guerrilla marketing:

Fitness First: Weighting for the Bus

This campaign was targeted at unsuspecting commuters waiting for the bus. The seats at the bus stop were connected to a digital board that told them how much they weigh. It’s a spin-off of the old idea that people who get on a bus are lazy and that they should get off and walk instead. The campaign could be seen as slightly fat-shaming; however the idea behind it is to motivate commuters to go the gym to get their ‘summer body’. I like the concept of the campaign being informative as the commuters will then think about their health and lifestyle.

UNICEF: dirty water vending machine

This campaign took place in various cities on busy streets. A bright blue vending machine stands in the middle of the street resembling a fizzy drinks machine. However, when you get closer the buttons where you would normally choose your drink each read a different disease; Malaria, Cholera, Typhoid, Dengue, Hepatitis, Dysentery, and Salmonella. You pay $1 to provide a child with 40 days of clean drinking water. In return you get a bottle of ‘dirty’ water. I’m guessing this campaign gained a lot of money as it plays on the curiosity of people, they would had wanted to know what was going to come out the vending machine.

Interactive marketing allows people to have an experience with a brand, on a personal level. They get the physically touch, taste, see and interact with the brand narrative. I think this is a great way to gain a larger audience as it allows brands and the public to fuse a relationship in the flesh, which you cannot do in a TV advert or poster.