Five Places You Never Thought to Advertise

When it comes to marketing, a little bit of creativity goes a long way. Creative concepts, dazzling design, and compelling copy are all staples of a successful marketing campaign. You can take your creativity level to new heights with unique ad placement, since advertising in unexpected areas has more influence for your prospects. Here are five places you never thought to advertise ... but should:

Golf carts

Golf is one of the most popular sports in the country as millions of golfers hit the links each year. So it stands to reason that printing custom stickers that can be affixed to golf cart dashboards, steering wheels, and exterior moldings can help you reach a large audience with minimum investment.

Municipal property

More and more municipalities are selling ad space on vehicles, telephone poles, sidewalks, buildings, dumpsters, architecture, and other civic property to help offset operating expenses without increasing taxes. Print stickers that can be affixed to these items. See if you can insert a brochure or flyer in with outgoing utility bills. You might be able to work out a mutually rewarding deal that lends more revenue to your municipality yet is cheaper than mailing these items yourself.

Doctors' offices

Nearly everyone goes to the doctor, and even though no one wants to be there we're often left waiting with little to do but read everything that's around us. Print stickers to affix to waiting room magazine covers, posters for the walls and brochures and flyers as take-aways. Even better, see if you can get office staff to hand out your brochure or flyer for you when patients check out. Be creative! For maximum effect, see if you can place stickers on free samples or on ceilings, especially in dentists' offices where patients lie on their backs during check-ups and procedures.

Restrooms stalls

Few places represent as unique - and oft-visited - advertising arenas than restroom stalls. Again, stickers are the perfect medium for displaying your message. You don't necessarily have to market to the locale, just to your audience. For example, if a local night club agrees to allow you to place your stickers in their stalls, you don't have to promote a mixed drink - but you should promote services relevant to the night club's clientele.

Pizza boxes

Pizza is one of the most popular take-out items in the country, delivered to millions of American households each month. If you can strike a deal to place printed flyers on pizza boxes at a cheaper rate than it costs to mail them, then by all means do. If you're a smaller business in a small community, you might be able to get away with free advertising by merely folding pizza boxes for a local pizza parlor - you get to place your ad on each box you fold. While your competition struggles to come up with new concepts for the same old advertisements, you can outpace them by reaching your customers in their natural environments. Add a creative twist here and there, and your marketing strategy will have a major influence.