Marketing like you mean it. How to entice and capture the entire funnel of potential customers.

In the last 50 years, marketing and advertising have gone from trucks with loudspeakers cruising around neighbourhoods blaring a loud voice to silent messages on every app and device we own. Billboards must still work because there are over 130,000 of them, and annoying flyers under my windscreen wiper almost assuredly mean I will never buy from you. The point being, capturing customers is an ever-fluctuating process that requires many vectors to reach the largest market share.

Methods change as generations advance. If possible, my parents would still prefer to read a physical newspaper and thumb through the discount pages for special deals on stuff they want or do not even need. How about you? What is the most effective way to place a product or company into your view?

​Repetition works with almost every mind, either consciously or subliminally. Too much repetition seems like a needy company blasting in all directions to see who, if anyone, is interested. As for digital marketing, artificial intelligence can be tuned to target specific niche customers of any demographic you could imagine. We see advertising on sports jerseys, race cars and a lot of usable items I will call corporate swag.

​Who does not like free swag? If you look up swag for definition, it is unlikely you will find a reference that meets how it is used here, but you know what I mean. Swag is the free keychain you get with a car, a mousepad with your new laptop, or even the box it came in, being used to market beyond a purchase. This is a form of indirect marketing.

​Effective marketing results in new customer interest and sales. Repeat customers require you to deliver a good product or service as intended. You see, AI can send all the referrals in the world to your landing page, but if it is hard to use or confusing, they will bounce out. If you capture them as a customer and fail to deliver, they will also bounce down the search results to another vendor.

​While your custom beach ball is bouncing around an event, being touched by many hands and seen by even more eyes, your company logo, name or product can be marketed to everyone, creating a fun memory association with your company. This also creates reinforcement and authority for your online presence. People get to see you in a different light.

​At the beach or your next party, a custom esky or even a beach towel, if you are not on it, will draw eyes every time it is used. Frisbees might spin too much to make sense of the logo, but a footy or volleyball might do the trick. Bocce ball sets could reach a certain demographic, and pickleball is an exploding sport where fun can be used to extend your marketing reach.

​If it is not a sunny day at the beach, the different light they see in your company could be through the hues of custom umbrellas, hoodies, or hats. You see them every day. The functional items we wear and use each day bestow an appearance of legitimacy to your brand.

​Nearly everyone is carrying some type of Yeti, Stanley, or CamelBak insulated drink container or bottle. Unique designs or patterns catch the eye of those who carry a similar brand of cup, and your emblem could be right in front of them. Custom drinkware in general is a hot item. Coffee mugs, beer koozies, and sports bottles are used ubiquitously and nearly in that order.

​On the way to work or university, a backpack with flair will draw attention. Inside the office, a person’s custom notebook, laptop bag, or phone cover can be a conversation starter that results in referral business from a trusted co-worker or classmate. Or maybe your co-workers just get to see your headphones as you diligently work, and without words, a brand is being marketed.

​Are there any sports jerseys without advertisements on them? Where is your company’s branding? I have to believe a sports club coloured stadium scarf with your emblem on it would raise interest from more than a few people. Everyone enjoys originality when showing team loyalty.

​Even our nation’s fearless leadership understands the importance of continuity in branding. They have entire sections of law regarding it and how to most effectively use it. Look at how much they have to advertise to sway opinions. They are relentless, and other than through voting, we have to “buy” what they are “selling”.

​Brand your company better than them. Touch people with fun and usability, not force or undesired repetition, with paid advertisements alone. What did the potential customer say to the marketing department? Catch me if you can. Different people respond to different ad vectors. Make yours enjoyable from every angle.