KISS: Keep it Simple, Stupid

This AdRants post says the best practices for billboard advertising better than I ever could. What is the expression, "The more you add the more you take away"? (Or something to that effect.) I wish more billboard advertisers would heed the sage advice of AdRants imparted in the last paragraph:

It's unfortunate most agencies and marketers don't realize the billboard medium is at its most powerful when it's used for simple, direct messaging. Two to four words and a simple visual is about all the medium can take. Too many marketers and agencies try to cram the entire marketing plan onto a single 14 X 48 foot space which is usually seen for less than three seconds. For billboards, simplicity rules. In creating this McDonald's billboard, Leo Burnett clearly understands this.

Heineken A Winner at the U.S. Open

I found this article in Forbes and wanted to talk about it before it was too late.  Sports marketing is a personal interest of mine and this piece does a great job of showing how sponsors of the U.S. Open do more than just plaster their logos around the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.

Tennis, like golf, attracts a high net worth fan.  While most companies leverage their sponsorship of a sports event or team through venue signage, the U.S. Open is an event that warrants a more interactive approach.

"Marketing is getting more experimental, more aggressive and more direct," says Andy Glaser, brand director at Heineken USA, who adds that the four annual tracking studies the company performs show that its U.S. Open sponsorship improves its recall with customers. In addition to its Red Star Cafe sampling site, the company is unleashing vendors with funky-looking space age backpacks to dispense Heineken beer to fans in the seats.

I like this tactic - why not be proactive in getting your product into the hands of potential customers? Especially when a high concentration of your target market is in a setting that fits well with the brand attributes you want to highlight. 

I hope more sports sponsors take this interactive approach.  The Fan Fests are nice, but let's see more experiential attempts that allow consumers with a more enriching experience.

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