The Advent of Advertising – 7 Unique Marketing Ideas You Should Try in 2018

With so much marketing content circulating across all forms of media, it can be hard to make your brand and products stand out. Innovating marketing ideas set you apart from other competitors and make customers remember your brand.

LED Walls are just one example of an eye-catching, modern marketing tool that takes advantage of technology. In fact, high interactive digital signage systems are estimated to grow 35.1% in revenue over the next decade.

LED wall ad at Westfield World Trade Center Mall, NYC
photo credit: SomePhotosTakenByMe / Flickr

If your marketing tactics are becoming stale, it’s time to freshen things up by trying these seven unique marketing ideas in 2018.

1. Guerrilla marketing

The term ‘guerrilla marketing’ is used to describe unconventional systems of promotions that rely on imagination. Guerrilla marketing approaches usually involve encounters in public places, street giveaways and other unconventional PR stunts.

What marketers really enjoy about guerrilla marketing is that it is fairly low-cost in nature. However, this hasn’t impacted its success. Major companies including Coca-Cola and Red Bull have utilized guerrilla marketing tactics and Youtube to draw further attention to their products.

2. Urban marketing

Thinking creatively is the key to capitalizing on the opportunities provided by urban living. Partnering with prominent brands, sponsoring festivals or displaying your product on the side of city sponsored bicycles, are just some ways to utilize urban marketing for your business.

Divvy bike sharing in Chicago

3. Youtube channel

Video is incredible when it comes to drawing in and retaining the attention of users. In fact, the retention rate for visual information reaches 65%, versus text-based information at just 10%. You can use your Youtube channel to provide your customers with a visual demonstration of how your product works, or use it to film and publish your awesome guerrilla marketing stunts!

The greatest marketing minds create videos that go viral, resulting in millions of views and new customers for the advertised brand. A great example of a viral video marketing campaign is Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ video, which now has more than 60 million views.

4. Responsive billboards

Responsive billboards are the tech-advanced counterpart to the conventional street billboard. Artificially intelligent poster campaigns can change font, layout and copy depending on each passerby’s length of engagement. One responsive billboard has even adapted its content according to how much the audience smiles.

5. Innovative print

There is a new cult of modern advertisers, who are transforming the use of print marketing campaigns. Major companies including Adidas, have utilized the fold of magazines to make their print advertisements interactive. The ink of print work has even been utilized for a social cause. Using the magazine medium, the ad showed ink dissolving to symbolize the memories of those living with Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer awareness print ad
photo credit: Pattie Wu / Pinterest

6. Creative business cards

Everyone knows that the average business card gets lost quickly in the wallet. That’s why it is important to make your business card stand out. The most creative business cards, however, provide the necessary information while being useful to the holder. For example, a business card that also acts as a cheese grater. Having an innovative and creative business card is sure to make potential clients remember your name.

Mylene Poission Sommeliere business card design
photo credit: BoredPanda

7. Street marketing

Street marketing promotes products or services in an unconventional way in public places. Utilizing common public areas including sidewalks, bus stops and even sewers to incorporate their brand has resulted in big success for many companies. Business giants such as McDonalds have even taken part, making their own version of a crosswalk using a giant image of a packet of fries.

McDonalds fries crosswalk - street ad

Unique marketing tactics are the best way of making your brand and products memorable. The best campaigns require the most creativity, not the most amount of funding. Staging the campaign at the right time, in the right place, can also up your businesses visibility dramatically. With the right idea and the right execution, your brand could be the subject of the next viral advertising sensation.