Offline Marketing: Does it Work and When Should You Use It?

Offline marketing has had a resurgence with an Event Marketing Report revealing that 95% of marketers prefer live events (which is a form of offline advertising) as it helps them build connections. But there are so many more innovative offline tactics you can still take advantage of.

Here’s why offline marketing does work and some brilliant real-life examples to back it up.

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Does Offline Marketing Work?

In short, yes it does. There are plenty of offline marketing methods still used today and to really get the best results from your effort, you can even blend digital and offline techniques.

Print Materials: Think business cards, brochures, pamphlets and pretty much any other form of print advertising you can think of. When designed and printed on high-quality materials, they’re brilliant for leaving a bigger impact - more than a generic email ever could - as they can be aesthetically pleasing and difficult to put down.

They’re difficult to forget about, they demand attention and print is actually more trusted by buyers than digital.

With 82% of users trusting print adverts when making buying decisions, it shows that it’s definitely worth considering.

Events: Another good way to combine both offline and digital marketing is by hosting events and marketing them in the right away. Over 84% of leadership figures believe in-person events are critical to business success, so it’s an offline method you should think about taking up.

Then there are digital techniques to market this offline marketing tactic. Send out an announcement email, add a sizzler video, showcase your speakers, offer early bird discounts and even combine email with physical mail so guests never miss an invite.

To really hammer home how effective offline marketing can be, we could be sat here all day. Instead, here are some other useful (and proven) offline marketing tactics to make sure you take advantage of include:

  • Capitalise on branded merchandise.
  • Think about sponsorships.
  • Hold competitions and offer prizes.
  • Set specific discounts.
  • Network at events.
  • Enter relevant awards.
  • Get extra creative with guerilla marketing (where people aren’t sure whether it’s marketing or not).

By using the methods above, you’ll place yourself in a much better position to succeed with offline marketing.

Real-Life Offline Marketing Examples

We’ve compiled some of the best, most creative and effective real-life offline marketing examples that’ll surely inspire you. Plus, if big-name companies like the ones below are investing in offline marketing as well, then it shows that it’s still a valuable method to adopt.

2014 Winter Olympics

As part of the 2014 Winter Olympics Sochi promotion campaign, a special train ticketing machine was built in Moscow. Passers could do 30 squats in exchange for a free train ticket - which promoted an active lifestyle alongside the Olympics.

Who doesn’t like free stuff? It’s a perfect way to get your audience to do something and interact before receiving a prize. Plus, it can make your campaigns more memorable and fun.

Fox TV’s Living Poster

To promote the new TV show, The F Word, Fox’s marketing team spread out interactive posters throughout the streets of Los Angeles. As unsuspecting people walked past, Gordon Ramsay spoke to them through the poster.

Built with video cameras and microphones to let people converse, it was a great way of incorporating print and digital through technological influences to engage an audience.

Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland, an annual dance music festival held in Belgium, sees their tickets sell out quickly year after year. The ‘tickets’ they post are wristbands that are packaged in an extravagant treasure chest so that recipients feel a sense of exclusivity.

tomorrowlandImage Credit: Pinterest

It gives recipients the chance to film and share their unboxing videos online, which is great free advertising. Plus, doing something similar gives consumers something to feel proud and exclusive about. The knock-on effect is that they’ll return the favour through free promotion.

NissaN

This one might make you put down that can of Air Wick.

In 2014, Nissan worked with Air Aroma to create their own unique Nissan scent. The scene was used at Nissan trade shows, their offices and then rolled out to dealerships worldwide.

Their goal? To have customers immediately recognise Nissan before they even see it, all through their sense of smell to create an immersive brand experience.

Engaging the senses that consumers don’t expect is both brave and clever. With Nissan being able to control this, it was perfect to create a one-of-a-kind brand experience.

Globetrotters

Globetrotters sell a variety of heavy-duty sportswear for consumers to use in harsh weather conditions. To show off the usefulness of their apparel, Globetrotters installed a weather room in a store to simulate extreme weather conditions, ranging from -30°C temperatures to harsh rain and storm-grade winds.

globetrottersImage Credit: Reddit

It’s a perfect tactic to let customers demo and experience products first-hand before they make a purchase as it helps to elevate the credibility of your product.

Burger King’s McWhopper

A great example of guerilla marketing came from Burger King, unexpectedly offering a truce with McDonald’s to support a non-profit organisation called Peace One Day. Burger King took out a print ad in the New York Times with an open letter to the McDonald’s CEO and also purchased billboards next to McDonald’s restaurants to publicly offer a collaboration.

mcdonald's burger king mcwhopper proposalImage Credit: Reader's Digest

McDonald’s were left surprised and turned down the offer. However, the campaign was a success as it generated enough fans who followed an online instructional video to create and share content of them eating a self-made McWhopper. A perfect way to leverage your market share competitor’s brand name and popularity.

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