ADT home security has launched a brilliant but ethically questionable new campaign to influence apartment owners in Santiago, Chile to consider a new security system. By using a specialty spring loaded box to deliver their message, the ADT marketing hit apartments and condominiums to convince residents that their homes are easy to break into. They would slip the flat box under the doors and on the other side it would pop up into shape and make it seem that someone infiltrated their home just to leave the box. The box features an ADT logo with menacing copy reading, “Breaking into your apartment is easier than you think.” Although this ad is very clever, unique, and probably very shocking it seems very unethical to advertise their services by literally invading their home. I really like the creative concept and execution of this advertisement but it is blatantly unethical. Although most home security advertisements do carry a message invokes fear to the potential customer to scare them into using their product, this guerrilla tactic crosses the line of decency as it crosses the audience’s property line. It makes the audience feel unsafe in their own home. Besides being unethical, there are potential downfalls for ADT using this tactic; people might believe that ADT actually did break into their homes to leave the message and become fearful, distrustful, and alienated, which is the exact opposite of what you want when you are a home security company. Although it is very ingenuitive, unique, and engaging the advertisement was also unethical and potentially dangerous for their brand.
This new viral campaign by Volkswagen features a giant slide installed at a Berlin subway station celebrating their new Fast Lane campaign. This new campaign, FAST LANE – Driven by fun, “is dedicated to everyone who loves to go beyond the regular, who is curious for new stuff and who simply enjoys to speed it all up a little.” They have found a simple yet effective way to demonstrate their campaigns new philosophy while engaging their target market. This campaign takes the focus away from the actual cars and it celebrates the feeling of driving them. Subway stations have been the venue for many different viral campaigns because they are high traffic areas that are typically seen as boring and mundane. These guerilla marketing campaigns introduce a new level of fun and excitement to a commonly predictable commute.
This month, Swedish furniture giant IKEA launched an interesting campaign in Paris. Using four high traffic metro stations as their venue, they displayed furniture collections on the subway platforms. The subway walls were also lined with prints showcasing interiors of IKEA’s showrooms transforming the stations into living rooms. This interesting, interactive campaign gave potential customers a chance to interact directly with the brand and try out products in a memorable atmosphere where commuters can comfortably wait for their train in style. Sure, this campaign is risky with the extremely high possibility of vandalism and damage done to the furniture and wouldn’t work in every subway station but this experiential marketing campaign will no doubt be talked and tweeted about long after it has ended.
Experiential marketing, utilizing unique marketing tactics giving consumers the opportunity to engage and interact with brands to create an emotional connection based on a branded experience, continues to evolve, finding new approaches to connect with consumers. One of the most interesting is the latest campaign from Pepsi’s Tropicana brand. In January, Tropicana traveled to the northern Canadian town of Inuvik, which experiences weeks of constant darkness during the winter, to brighten their day. Knowing the adverse effects of 31 days without sunshine they decided to bring them the sun. This seemingly impossible task was accomplished by constructing an inflatable electric powered artificial sun that was raised high above the town. While the locals gathered to watch the sunrise they were given bottles of Tropicana. Not a bad way to market your brand when you want to be associated with morning sunshine. The best part of video was the people’s reactions as they gathered to bask in the “sunshine” with an astonished look on their face. Instead of simply distributing product samples, Tropicana made it an event that will not be soon forgotten. This experiential campaign was especially effective because of the strong emotional connection they made with customers with the unique experience, they will always remember how Tropicana came to their town and did the impossible. They managed to give them an unforgettable experience that is impossible to duplicate at the perfect time and were able to center the whole experience on their brand.
As experiential and guerilla marketing techniques are used more frequently to make a stronger connection between the consumer and the brand I predict we will see more campaigns like this. After all providing customers with an experience centered on your brand is the best way to make an emotional connection and foster a strong brand relationship that will last long after the campaign is over.
