Monday, August 31, 2009

Indianapolis Advertisers/Marketers Don't Read This Post

If you are a professional advertiser or marketer in Indianapolis do not read this post. Go away, don't read any further.

Okay, now that those folks are gone, check out this very interesting and progressive campaign run by the quickly growing, and popular underground toy company Kidrobot out of New York. Go HERE to see how they used QR codes and a fun scavenger hunt idea to promote their new line of Dunnies toys. This kind of initiative is not necessarily new and has proven effective in many cases.

If you are not familiar with QR codes and how they can be utilized for various marketing initiatives simply Google search the term and you will get all you need to know.

We (The Basement) have proposed very similar ideas to various groups that we work with, and some that we would like to work with. What is interesting to me is how different the reactions have been from different groups we have pitched these ideas to. I live in Indianapolis, have worked here my entire career and am yet to work with few, VERY FEW, who are willing to execute a progressive campaign like this on behalf of a client. We have pitched progressive initiatives like this to our neighbors to the south, a mere 1.5 hours away in Louisville and they have at a minimum been receptive, listened and are willing to take it to their clients to see if there is interest. In some instances we have some folks very excited about moving forward with a unique batch of projects that will most definitely get their client a lot of earned media and increased traction with their customers and increased sales.

To be fair, we have a few Indy clients that have taken a walk on the "wild side" with us and have seen the results of significant sales, large online experience times, educated customers, huge increases in brand awareness and tons of earned media and more.

That being said, why is the Indy market so resistant to change? So resistant to new, direct and effective techniques in marketing and advertising? Is this a cultural thing? Is it the Midwest as a whole? Not just Indy, but other Midwest markets? I, for the life of me, do not understand why new and proven marketing techniques like QR codes, augmented reality, sophisticated micro site strategies, etc. are so strongly resisted in my beloved hometown. These techniques are good enough and quite often very successful and effective for those that reside elsewhere in places like New York, California, Seattle, Kentucky, Texas, Minnesota, etc. so why are they shunned in the Circle City?

We have some good clients and relationships with smart people in Indy, so I ask again, why is Indy waiting so long to progress as it relates to marketing, advertising and media? The market deserves more and the clients deserve more. Let's be clear, I am not criticizing, I am asking the questions.

Since my friends from Indy are not reading this I guess I will not get any answers to my questions.

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