On the 4th, as I was swimming my laps and working on my backstroke, right above my house this appeared in the sky:
This isn’t brand new technology, but I had never seen it before. I was captivated by it. The last time I had seen a sky-writer, in that case a traditional one, was when I was in kindergarten, so this was just cool! And, since I live in San Diego and not too far from the beaches, I was perfectly located to see them target the holiday crowds on the coast using this medium for consumer advertising. Sure, we’ve all seen the planes dragging banners, ho-hum, but this “skytyping�? makes people stop and watch.
But would it be a good idea for you? Probably not, at least not if you tried it at the beach or over a football game. Most of you are not targeting consumers. However, if you did it over the convention center where the AIGA was having its annual meeting or over Cannes during the advertising competition, that’s something different. Then, it’s targeted correctly and, it’s such an unusual idea for a creative business to use, you might get quite the results.
So, while it’s all marketing, it only is good marketing if you target. The next time a client says “well trade you ad space in the magazine for the image�? look at the magazine’s demograph. Placement is something like a city mag (like Columbus Monthly or San Diego Magazine) has no value to your business. But if it’s Communication Arts, say “yes.�?
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One quick note—my new book is about to go to press. Keep stopping back for details and information about how to purchase it.