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Marketing ideas gone bad...

adopt a highway Name recognition is a goal for most people in business. Everyone in the real estate industry is always looking for ways to get their names in front of the consumer.

I was driving down a stretch on Interstate today when I noticed a local competitor had "adopted" the stretch of highway. What a great idea I thought. Here was a sign with the guy's name and company right there for all the passer-bys to see. Thousands of cars travel by each day, many do so daily. What an opportunity to garner recognition.

Ah but wait, as I sped by at 70 mph I couldn't help but notice the litter lining the freeway! Trash was everywhere! What kind of advertisement is that?

Granted I have no idea how much time and attention it must take to maintain a busy strip of highway. For all I know it turned into a weekly job. In all fairness we had snow on the ground for nearly two months, so maybe that's the problem. In any event if I were the guys who's name is on that sign, I'd be worried about my image. Maybe it's time to hire some high school kids to get the place back in shape. Removing the sign is another option...

The other form of advertising I see on the road are the signs on cars. Sometimes I think the drivers of the cars forget that having your Name and Company on your car means you must mind your P's and Q's. If you aren't the most courteous, pleasant and talented parker, perhaps you should fore go having your name plastered all over your car.

Another form of marketing that can go bad is something you find in urban areas; bus benches. Having your name and perhaps your photo on a bus bench can be very risky. How many times do you see bus benches defaced? I guess if you look really good with a mustache and horns, then bus bench advertising might be for you. If not, I'd be sure I had a bus bench located where I drove by it frequently, just to check the condition.

Sometimes our best laid plans aren't all that great. Evaluating the actual result vs the desired result is important to both your reputation and your piece of mind.

Posted by Kristal Kraft ~Denver Real Estate~303-589-2022 on 04/01/2007 10:11 PM

Comments (15)

real estate marketing

Originally posted at: Denver Real Estate & Relocation: Marketing ideas gone bad...

15 Comments on Marketing ideas gone bad...

APR

2007

Kristal - This points out the importance generally of brand extension when we advertise or sponsor to extend our market presence. I do wonder how a passer by would react? Would they make the connection to the highway sponsor? I would be interested in some opinions.

By the way did you get on your bike this weekend? Saturday was brutal in the wind!

James

Good examples. Sometimes people are just so busy that they forget about the sign on the road. Especially if it's a road that they don't travel very often. Being that I do not litter, I would not want to volunteer to pick up trash where people have tossed it from their cars.

James ~ no cycling for me this weekend. I have a steady stream of relos from now through next week....Yeah for business, not so good for the bike! BTW the sign says the "highway is adopted" by so and so. People can read, hopefully they will connect or should!

Judi ~ So many people do not litter, I wonder where all the litter comes from! Picking up trash is not so bad if you are protected. For me, I'd not do it because I know there are snakes along the highway....yuck!

SNAKES!!!!!! That's it! I'm done. Forget that kind of advertising! Not going there!

As to bus benches... We had a bench in one of the Minneapolis suburbs which the neighbors dubbed as "Mary's bench". Her face had been there for as many years as I lived in that suburb (a very long time). Something happened and "Mary" changed companies. Suddenly another agent's face appeared on the bench and it was all wrong. Neighbors commented and I actually called the agent. Even though she had paid for the bench, the contract with the bench company was with her broker. When she left, the broker would not release the contract so she lost her bench! Nobody could remember the new guy's name but the comments were, "What's that guy's face doing on Mary's bench!"

So true so true. A very lovely Real Estate Mortage Banker/Broker that I work with has a lot of Bus Benches. The majority of them are defaced with Horns and Mustaches etc. In the begining it bothered her. Recently though she has mentioned it in her marketing efforts as a reminder to others how they may be viewed if they choose this form of advertising. Because of her long contract that she negotiated to get the signs she has to weather the storm

Right on Kristal - you need to think ahead and know how different methods of advertising will affect your image. I know I've considered bus benches, but would never place my photo because of the reasons you mentioned, adopting a dirty highway is not such a great idea and personally, I could never advertise myself on my car because I drive a little on the aggressive side.

Oregon had the problem a few years back where the people with their names on the signs were not doing the cleaning; the highway department was. It generated a lot of bad publicity. There was hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent by the State; not by the sign sponsors. The State implemented new measures and things are not that bad now.

Yeah Bonnie S N A K E S ! I run over them every chance I get... Really! Geeze, poor
Mary she became institution and lost it. I can understand why the other guy was looked upon as an imposter! Guess that's another point to make, be sure to CONTROL your own marketing. Having your broker pay for it is nice, but that might come back to bite you later!

Herb ~ I am surprised there isn't some provision in the contract to repair the signs. Guess the agent would have to pay for them again. That bites!

Ines ~ Aggressive? :) You are wise woman to keep your name off the car! I can identify, aggression is sometimes just a way to stay ALIVE on the road. I'm not my Grandmother, that's for sure. ;)

Wayne ~ interesting, guess we aren't alone here. I can see where the Highway Department might fill in. It certainly isn't fair, maybe they should send the guy a bill?

Great post Kristal. This stretch of highway cleaned by "KNOWONE." I can see where this would backfire.

Let when you ask the kids, who did it? They say IDONTKNOW. That's who did it.

APR

2007

Kristal - excellent post - I've often thought the same when I see branded cars and people not living up to their best versions of themselves (smile) - Always having to watch for those "unintended consequences"- huh?!? What's weather like in Denver?

APR

2007

KK,

Seeing your point of view, I am wondering if this person have good hits of people even having this enverironment.

It's kind of difficult to get away from the scene when your name and telephone number are plastered all over the car. The mask won't do you any good. It's kind of like the bad guy leaving his wallet at the scene.

I saw the hummer wrapped with a great advertisement for one of our AR peers. It was beautiful. I did wonder whether you call the company number or a separate 1-800 number to report bad driving. I'd really have to pay attention.

APR

2007

Cyndee ~ I'm a little late in getting back to my comments here. The weather in Denver is different every day. Tomorrow we will have snow. Yuck.

Ray ~ Hits? I really don't know. I did tell my inspector to tell him to clean up his highway! :) We shall see. I think our weather has been a big damper to a lot of things...this included.

Jennifer ~ no kidding. Leaving big bad clues for lousy driving, cutting people off or running red lights is not exactly the smartest thing to do. :)

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