Thursday, May 15, 2008

The grass is greener…

Our environment is saturated with advertising, which makes it increasingly difficult for companies to differentiate themselves from the pack. For the most part, the strategy of advertising is to inundate the world with branded imagery so that everyone is familiar with the company and their product. This form of advertising will probably be the staple of advertising for generations to come.

While familiarity and brand trust is extremely important, it isn’t always the most engaging way to reach an audience. It is far more effective to engage the audience and really stimulate their mind. This is why guerrilla marketing is so effective at the moment.

In an effort to promote their commitment to the environment, Sony turned to Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney to create “a living grass car for a Sony corporate image campaign. The car was parked around Sydney with tags announcing Sony Australia's initiative to offset carbon emissions caused by corporate travel.”

http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=1e1f0205

Not only does an ad like this create a lot of attention where it is displayed but also creates a lot of buzz online and through word of mouth. By doing something that’s intriguing and out of context, people will naturally pay more attention to it. This grass car is a fantastic example of engaging alternative advertising.