Looking for something different to promote your brand?

It can be a constant battle to make your brand stand out in a crowded marketplace and not just repeat the same, familiar promotions time and time again. This is even more difficult when times are hard, and consumers are struggling financially. Persuading people to choose one brand over another, or create a good impression of a brand when it has been facing lots of criticism requires skill and innovation.

We’ve pulled together some unusual promotional activities that have proved immensely successful.

Purple Mattress

Capturing viewers attention on Facebook can result in a lot of social media views, making a brand popular and talked about. American mattress company Purple was targeting young adults and millennials. They decided to create a bizarre web series called Purple Boys and pulled in a couple of well known American comedians, Tim & Eric. Each episode involved the duo interviewing weird characters trying to sleep. They only succeed when they eventually sleep on a Purple Mattress. Information about the mattresses is carefully woven into each interview storyline. The episodes went viral, and high sales resulted.

Ambush Advertising

Instead of running a traditional advertising campaign, confectionary giant Skittles decided to make a musical called ‘Broadway the Rainbow’ which made fun of advertising. Characters talked and sung about how adverts had ruined their lives and how they felt they living in one massive Skittles commercial! Ticket sales quickly went through the roof, with every ticket being sold. Never made available online or on TV, the fact that you had to buy a ticket to attend made it feel very exclusive and special. It also meant that it got a lot of attention with people talking about it. USA Today described it as “the most inventive end run in the history of ambush advertising”.

Nivea Kids Sunscreen

Debuted at Cannes in 2016, this German marketing stunt made headlines.
Marketing agency Jung Von Matt/Elbe created a very realistic seagull drone that squirted Nivea Kids Sunscreen onto unsuspecting children playing on the beach. The aim was to stress how important sunscreen was, and that every child needed to be protected from the sun even when they refused to apply it themselves. The media loved it, with headlines such as ‘Nivea’s Drone Bird poops sunscreen on your kids’ (Dronelife), and ‘Seagull drone poops sunscreen … uh, thanks,’ (CNET).

Cannes Lion Jury president Sir John Hegarty commented “It’s the most stupid thing I’ve seen in my whole life. I actually thought the Monty Pythoon team had got together and entered it’.

No awards but lots of publicity!

Milka Chocolate

When launching in France, Swiss chocolate company Milka worked with Parisian agency Buzzman to create a very unique way to introduce themselves to French consumers. A small square from 13 million chocolate bars was removed. Consumers had the choice: Do you want the ‘last square’ sent to you, or would you prefer to send it to a loved one?

Every consumer purchasing a bar with a missing square also received an online code. This enabled them to make their choice – together with a personalised message.

Tiger Beer

What can you do with air pollution? Tiger Beer worked with Graviky Labs to find out. Using a special scientific process, they captured pollution and turned into Air-Ink, a fluid black paint. Diesel car pollution only needed 45 minutes to produce thick black paint which Australian artists then gleefully used to create art works for the project.

Have a quirky marketing idea and need staff to help you pull it off?

Envisage has been providing event staff and extras for PR stunts and other marketing activity since 2010. So if you have an idea or would like to discuss how we can help you then get in touch!