Creating Hype when you're not on the High Street
The explosion of shopping centres in recent years, is not so much due to the convenience and safety factors that the consumer demands, but that shops in a shopping centre work in synergy. If the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, then the atmosphere created by a collection of stores around a common space (often themed), has a greater impact on the consumer's spend than the addition of each isolated store on its own. The Oxford Dictionary defines hype as an 'intensive promotion of product', and you could say that that is what these centres do - they allow intensive promotion of products due to their collective ambience which in turn creates a more intensive atmosphere conducive to selling. In a word: hype.
So, if hype is such an important element to get people to buy (whether they need to buy a product or 'buy into' the spirit of a sporting event), then the creation of this hype becomes a crucial activity in itself. Sometimes the task is relatively easy - with 20 000 runners crossing a bridge at once, or 50 000 cyclists on the road, a large part of the hype comes from the event itself, supported even more by the bunting, flags and banners of the many advertisers who wish to reach the participants and their audience. The task here is a somewhat different one - to get your message to stand out amongst all the other hype.
However, many events are not that intensive. Golf days for clients are relatively sparse affairs where you have to create hype literally over square miles with little people density to charge the atmosphere.
In those instances, here are 5 ways to get the most from your efforts:
- Don't think of promotional material in isolation. Buying 10 banners may seem like a lot, but when you have to cover 18 holes (plus the 19th) your efforts could look woefully inadequate. Rather think of 18 holes.
- Set expectations early - begin your promotional efforts outside the venue. This leaves no doubt in the mind of the guests that you 'own' the location, albeit for a day. And people like people who own things.
- Things can move. In the morning, placing all your promotional material in the driveway can have a pronounced effect. But then their job is done - you can then move the promotional material, say to outside the clubhouse leading up to the first tee. However, organising events means that you are available 100% - so delegate this task if you can. The idea is to host an event not carry flags and banners around.
- Be creative with placement. Choose unique locations that stand out to place your material. Putting a flag in the middle of a water hazard (perhaps with a tailored message about the dangers of not using your brand) can do wonders. And your wet trousers will be long dry while your guests remember the message.
- When setting your budget, assume what it would take to 'hype the place up' and then multiply by two. Open space can be misleading, but if you get the formula right, you can turn neutral territory into a very powerful message for your brand.
Bowhead Branding Systems is the appointed supplier of the unique Bowhead banner - the global benchmark for quality promotional banners.
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