Although plagued by guilt, I learned a valuable business lesson from my third grade fun run.
(This column first appeared on RIMOFTHEWORLD.net on April 25, 2011.)
I can’t fathom there exists an exercise more torturous than running. I’ve always felt this way. In fact, the only time I ever cheated in school was because of the sport. When I was in third grade, my PE teacher stood at the corner, stopwatch in hand, to time us individually as we ran 743 miles around the perimeter of the entire white brick school building.
At first, I surprised myself by having a little bit of fun while the warm sun beat down on my back and a cool breeze brushed against my cheeks. Then, two minutes into the grueling physical fitness test, I hit the wall. My legs felt like logs. My heart raced. I struggled to breathe.
Panic set in as I struggled to determine how I could convince my body to cooperate. Miraculously, I rounded Tufts Ave and started up Sherman when it hit me: I might be able to make it if I cut across the grass on the back side of the school outside of Mr. Bowen’s line of sight. I didn’t even care that the kindergarten classroom windows faced the grassy yard. To this day, I don’t know if five-year-olds and their teachers watched me as I ran. All that mattered was survival.
When I emerged at the end of the course, Mr. Bowen stopped the timer and told me that my score was good enough to save me a repeat run the following day. I smiled. But guilt plagued me. The next morning, I tearfully confessed to a teacher who was more surprised at my poor time than at my deception.
Taking pity on me, he said,
If that’s the best time you could run just half of the distance, I won’t make you redo the entire race. Just promise me you won’t join the track team.
Looking back, I wish Mr. Bowen had made me repeat the run because you can’t succeed if you cut corners…in PE or in marketing. Believe me—I meet business men and women every day who try.
At first, out of desperation, prospects say:
I don’t care how much it costs. Just help me build more business and then there will be plenty of money for advertising.
Then, after my agency’s efforts bear fruit and business is booming, customers ask if there is a way to “get the same results for less.” Unfortunately, however, when it comes to marketing, the adage applies: you get out what you put in.
The good news is that you can choose what it is you want to invest. If you are low on funds, opt for guerrilla marketing techniques which require sweat equity instead of cold, hard cash. Or, if you are short on time, use the capital you have on hand to hire someone else to do the dirty work. If you are like the rest of us—short on both time and money, read on:
For Free—
Guerrilla Marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than big bucks. Typically unexpected and unconventional, this type of campaign is often interactive and targets consumers in unexpected places.
The object of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz. What’s not to love?
You are probably well aware of some popular guerrilla marketing techniques. But have you tried them?
- Fliers on windshields
- Dancers holding posters on street corners
- Yellow Pages and classified ads
- Billboards
- Amateur videos
- Street art
- Bumper stickers
- Tiny slips of perforated paper tacked to community bulletin boards
On a Limited Budget—
Guerrilla campaigns aren’t always free. In fact, advertisers make a living because of their ability to think outside the box. If you can’t afford to hire a professional, ask friends for unconventional ideas for promoting your business. Sure, some of their ideas might blow. But you get what you pay for. Besides, even advertising pros have off days.\
The Sky’s the Limit—
If you have the option, hire a team to come up with something that is truly inspired. Here are examples of some successful guerrilla marketing campaigns conceived by Madison Avenue giants:
- The Hollywood Sign Who knew?
- Product placement, which is said to date back to Thomas Edison, who, after he invented the motion-picture camera, shot movies of people on a train with advertisements for his own products on the side of the boxcars.
- The Goodyear Blimp I’ve actually ridden this thing and it never occurred to me that I was sitting inside a flying billboard.
- Nike’s Gone Running Campaign Though market research reports the campaign has been a rousing success, I remain skeptical. Not even Nike could convince me to run.
Until next time, I’ll be Bowling for Business.