What are the most out of the box marketing ideas ever?
From “Mystery Beers” to Pepsi’s Harrier Jet TV commercial, here are answers to the question, “What’s the most out of the box marketing idea you’ve ever seen?”
- Patagonia’s Worn Wear Campaign
- Mystery Beers
- Clothing Brand
- IKEA and Paris Metro
- Buy a Pair, Give a Pair Program
- The Sound of Silence
- Don’t Buy This Jacket
- The Marmite Chrome Extension Blocking Got Spoilers
- Liangelo Ball Getting Arrested in China
- Pepsi Harrier Jet TV Commercial
Patagonia’s Worn Wear Campaign
Patagonia’s Worn Wear campaign is a long-term campaign that focuses on building trust with customers through sustainability measures. Within the program, customers can return used outdoor clothes that are in good condition in exchange for credits.
Patagonia also offers repair guides that teach customers how to fix their products when they wear out. Rather than purchasing new apparel, the company encourages customers to reuse their old clothes.
As part of the campaign, they launched the “Worn Wear College Tour,” aimed at visiting college campuses and fixing students’ clothes. They also produced a short movie under the tagline “The Stories We Wear” set in agonia’s repair center. It highlights customers sending their well-worn items for repairs and explaining why a particular item is important.
The campaign tells a larger story by showing the people who cherish Patagonia products and the memories they create wearing them.
Natalia Brzezinska, Marketing & Outreach Manager, PhotoAiD
Mystery Beers
One of the most out-of-the-box marketing ideas I’ve ever seen was a campaign by a local brewery. They created a series of “mystery beers,” where the label on the bottle was completely black, and the only way to find out what was inside was to buy it and try it. The mystery aspect of the campaign generated a lot of buzz and intrigue, and the brewery was able to sell out all its mystery beer bottles within a few weeks.
They also leveraged social media to further promote the campaign by encouraging customers to take pictures of themselves trying the mystery beer and share it on social media with the hashtag #MysteryBeer. This campaign was a great example of using creativity and surprise to generate interest and drive sales.
Will Gill, Event Entertainer, DJ Will Gill
Clothing Brand
One of the most out-of-the-box marketing ideas I’ve seen is a campaign by the clothing brand Guerrilla Group, where they placed ads in public restrooms. The ads were designed to be interactive, featuring a QR code that customers could scan with their smartphones.
When scanned, the QR code would take customers to the brand’s website, where they could purchase the featured product. The campaign was designed to surprise customers using the restroom, and the interactive QR code provided a convenient way for customers to buy the spot.
This campaign was unique because it utilized an unconventional space for advertising that most people wouldn’t expect. The campaign’s success was driven by the fact that the brand could reach a younger, tech-savvy audience in an unexpected place, and the interactive element of the ad made the overall experience more engaging for the customers.
Ariel Westphal, Marketing Director, Net Pay Advance
IKEA and Paris Metro
One of the most out-of-the-box marketing ideas is a campaign by IKEA, realized in Paris Metro. The company created a series of showrooms in subway stations and decorated them to look like different rooms in a house, such as a bedroom, a kitchen, or a living room. The campaign was designed to promote a concept store’s opening and showcase how IKEA’s furniture could fit seamlessly into different living spaces.
Additionally, the idea behind it was to give people a sense of what it would be like to live with IKEA’s furniture in their homes by allowing them to experience it in a realistic and interactive way. Its most important advantage was that people could check IKEA’s offerings while on the move, without visiting the store itself.
The campaign was a huge success, with thousands of people visiting the fake subway stations and taking pictures and videos of themselves interacting with the different rooms. Thus, it’s a great example of an interactive and engaging marketing campaign.
Nina Paczka, Community Manager, Resume Now
Buy a Pair, Give a Pair Program
One of the most out-of-the-box marketing ideas I’ve ever seen is Buy a Pair, Give a Pair from Warby Parker. This campaign works by donating a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair purchased. It is an excellent incentive for shoppers that also serves an important purpose. This type of approach appeals to consumers who want to feel good about their purchases and has the potential to reach a larger audience than traditional marketing approaches.
Warby Parker made giving back part of their core mission, creating incredible brand loyalty from its customers. Buy a Pair, Give a Pair is an excellent example of creative and effective out-of-the-box marketing that can benefit businesses and their customers.
Kate Wojewoda-Celinska, Marketing Manager, Spacelift
The Sound of Silence
Marketing is all about creativity and timing. What works today may not work in 10 years, and that is what keeps marketing interesting throughout the years.
One of the most interesting and recent campaigns I got to experience was from a food delivery service called Zomato. What they basically did was advertise their whole 15-second ad just like how you would see any other food commercial, but without any sound. I got to see it while watching YouTube and realized it wasn’t my phone being silent, but the ad that was silent itself.
I realized the genius of it much later: even though it was a silent advertisement, I still remember the name of the company and what it did, which was food delivery, therefore succeeding in its purpose.
Connie Glover, General Manager – Product & Market Development, Bfx
Don’t Buy This Jacket
One of the best marketing ideas I’ve ever seen was done by an apparel company, Patagonia. In 2011, Patagonia ran an ad campaign for their “Common Threads” initiative, which encouraged customers to buy only what they need, repair what breaks, and recycle or donate their clothes when they’re done with them.
The ad was a full-page spread in The New York Times that featured a large “Don’t Buy This Jacket” message next to a picture of one of their jackets. It was a bold and unexpected move for a company whose primary focus is selling clothing, but it was also a powerful statement about its commitment to sustainability and environmental protection.
The ad sparked a lot of debate and discussion, and it was a great example of how a company can use unconventional marketing techniques to make a statement and drive engagement. This ad campaign was a great example of out-of-the-box thinking that had a huge impact and generated a lot of interest in the company and its commitment to sustainability.
Isabella Meyer, Editor, Artincontext
The Marmite Chrome Extension Blocking Got Spoilers
Viewers of the hit HBO show, Game of Thrones, struggled to avoid countless spoilers during the last two seasons when the show peaked in popularity.
Marmite Sri Lanka social media accounts capitalised by creating a chrome extension known as Spoiler-mite. The user simply installs it and Spoiler-mite obscures any potential spoilers while giving users the option to view it.
If the user indicates they love it, they can view the spoiler without it being obscured. If they hate it, the spoiler is completely blocked. Users can add further keywords to the extension if required.
Such a simple idea reportedly increased Marmite social media following by 35%. They also received extensive exposure with their brand appearing above Game of Thrones spoilers.
The cherry on top is the whole campaign cost a reported $1,300 USD, 75% of the total going to promoting the app itself.
Jake Oldfield, Marketing Officer, Australia Scaffolding & Formwork
Liangelo Ball Getting Arrested in China
This is not a marketing strategy that could (or should) ever be replicated, but LiAngelo Ball’s infamous shoplifting incident in China resulted in free exposure for the family brand, Big Baller Brand (BBB). LiAngelo’s father, LaVar, made an appearance on CNN to talk about the matter and how his son was pardoned by former President Trump.
While appearing on national television, LaVar made a point of plugging the brand. The advertising value of this experience was estimated to be worth $20 million.
Nick Varga, Chief Riding Officer, ERide Journal
Pepsi Harrier Jet TV Commercial
Pepsi’s 1996 spring TV commercial was a breakthrough. The commercial launched Pepsi Stuff nationwide. Pepsi offered hats to mountain bikes for a certain number of points.
The point requirements for each item were listed at the bottom of the advertisement. However, the fine print highlighted that seven million points were required to acquire the jet during the “joke” portion of the ad. Unfortunately for Pepsi, one brave person felt seven million was achievable, collected the points, and sued Pepsi for $33 million when they failed to pay out the jet. They lost, but the brand had to hire many lawyers and fight in court.
The editing room reduced the 700 million Pepsi points to seven million since it was hard to read. And with one quick move, Pepsi showed how important it is to use carefully chosen words in ads and make strategic choices. Despite (or possibly because of) the bad press, Pepsi Stuff became the company’s most successful promotion.
Alvin Wei, Co-Founder and CMO, SEOAnt
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