In Lesson 8, teams are encouraged to create ads to promote their projects. Through this process, they’ll identify what makes an ad work, craft their own ad, and advertise through various media to their target audience. While some methods, such as social media pages and posters, are low-to-no cost and tend to work very well for promotion, we wanted to help generate a handful of more creative low-cost options to help increase visibility for your team’s ads.
Below are a few other “guerrilla” marketing techniques you can try:
- Get your message up on outside signs. Does your school have a electronic billboard? See if you can get your message on it.
- Create T-shirts for your team. Don’t just put your slogan on the front of a t-shirt– explore ideas to make your t-shirt into an ad. You can give them away as prizes to help raise even more awareness.
- Put your message on door hangers. You can use in your school, with permission, or canvas local neighborhoods.
- Partner with your local non-profit to get your message out via their marketing channels.
- Conduct a letter writing campaign to local politicians or other important community members to help get them to rally around your cause.
- Create and print three-fold brochures. Sometimes you need more space to communicate your message and brochures can help.
- Write an article. Does your school have a school newspaper or newsletter? If so, ask them if you can contribute an article about your project.
- Partner with other clubs or groups who can help spread your message. Does your school have an art club? You could ask them to help design a poster to promote your project.
- Work with local businesses where your target audience shops. See if you can set-up an event there, have a booth or be able to promote your event through their marketing channels.
- Be the ad yourself. You’re the best spokesperson for your cause. Go to where your target audience is and use your “elevator speech” to share your team’s mission with others.
These are just a handful of simple, low cost ways to extend your reach and increase the visibility of your advertising. Please let us know in the comments below other ideas your team has used to help advertise.