“As consumers, we see over 3,156 images a day. We’re just not conscious of them,” says Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst of the consumer research firm NPD Group. “Our subconscious records maybe 150, and only 30 or so reach our conscious behavior. If I have a celebrity as part of that message, I just accelerated the potential for my product to reach the conscious of the consumer.”

That quote is found in a NY Times article about the power of celebrity and how some brands can enhance their message’s relevancy by using celebrities to hawk their products.

It illustrates the competition marketers have for consumers’ attention and the importance of using smart methods to cut through the clutter.  But “smart” doesn’t always have to mean using a celebrity.  It just happened to have helped in the cases cited in that article.

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.

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.

Circa December 2006 I wrote about Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin vetoing plans by a few outdoor advertising companies to erect digital billboards in Atlanta.  But over on the Left Coast, there’s no such ban and some Los Angeles residents are pretty upset.

Clear Channel is doubling its number of digital billboards in L.A.  To paraphrase the company’s president and COO, the more congested a city, the better it is for billboards.

So he’s saying that the worse the traffic, the better it is for advertisers to use billboards.  I can see the logic that if you’re sitting in traffic and need to stare at something, why not make it an advertisement?  And why not make it a relevant ad since these digital billboards can change their messages pretty quickly? 

Those who live near those billboards can tell you why not.  The flashing lights are garish and disruptive as they stream into the windows of nearby apartment dwellers.

As I said before, I think this is a bit Big Brother-ish, but not a bad marketing tactic.  I just prefer marketing methods that are more one-to-one rather than one-to-anyone who happens to drive by.

“While traditional marketing remains an important part of our approach, we are focused on incorporating new components into this year’s Back-to-School campaign that will truly reach youth in an authentic way,” said Mike Boylson, chief marketing officer for JCPenney. “Using this unique approach, we’re able to break through the marketing clutter and sameness to attract kids and teens – whether it’s at the movies, in the mall, on the phone or on the Web.”

But for all the channels J.C. Penney is working in this campaign, there’s no social media! 

There’s a lot of one-way information going on here.  I think the clothing retailer could really cut through the clutter by adding two-way dialogues with the teens and youths they’re targeting.