They're not off the hook though. They forgot to think this tactic through. They forgot to think like a consumer. 

First of all where is Jiffy Lube? They are thinking as themselves, not as the consumer. Of course THEY know where Jiffy Lube is because they work there! But does every consumer know where it is? NO! It is not difficult to simply add the address or intersection to this particular outdoor poster. It wouldn't distract from the creative. As the consumer in this case I am certainly not motivated to go out of my way to look up the address. It's simply not worth the effort. All the work they put into this creative is wasted because the consumer has little or no motivation to act upon this particular offer because it's too inconvenient to do so.

Secondly, if I am looking at this particular poster I am standing in a bus shelter. If I am standing in the bus shelter I am most likely waiting for a bus. If I am waiting for a bus, how likely am I to own a car? Not very likely. And if I am unlikely to own a car, how likely am I to be interested in changing my summer tires to winter tires?? You guessed it, not very likely at all. Again, because they failed to think like the consumer the entire marketing tactic is wasted.

Please, don't waste your advertising. Be creative, yes. Be simple and clear. But I beg you, make sure you take the time to think about each particular tactic and, most importantly, think as though you are the consumer. 

YOUR TURN:

Am I wrong?  Would you take the time to look up the address?

I noticed that my last few blog posts have been on the negative side.  My intention is not to be simply mean, but to point out things that I don't necessarily like so that you can each decide if I make a good point or I'm off my rocker. 

In any case, I thought it was time to showcase some marketing brilliance.  

McDonald's is in the spotlight today.

This bit of creativity, very similar to the creativity I commented on in a previous post (hey, maybe they stole the idea and it's not that creative after all?), makes them memorable!

The ability to create something that's unquestionably memorable is a rare feat in marketing, since so much of it is noise.  Kudos to the golden arches for coming up with this gem.

LESSON FOR MARKETERS:

We must remember that marketing is noise and we need to stand out from the noise.  Uniqueness does that.  McDonald's could have chosen a simple (typical) billboard with a (typical) image of hot, delicious-looking coffee which might have registered slightly in the subconscious of the passerby.  In this case, each passerby notices -- really notices -- this marketing tactic.

YOUR TURN:

Do you recall an outdoor tactic that you remember because it was truly noticeable?

Nooooooowww, it helps to have the money that Sprite has to do stuff like this, but I post this because the point is, we can all think of things to do differently from the usual marketing noise.  

Don't do the same thing that everyone else is doing.  The best example of this is the auto industry.  If you flip through the paper (Toronto Star has a "Wheels" section, for example) and all the ads look the same.  Same emphasis on lease/financing rates, same emphasis on awards they've won, same emphasis on fuel economy, blah, blah, blah.  But to do something like this is much more memorable.  And isn't that the biggest battle?

LESSON FOR YOU, THE MARKETER:

Think of really cool or different things to do.  If not, it's just noise.  Sounds simple enough, right?  Try it.   

I work mostly with small businesses.  They don't have the marketing budgets that the Nikes and Apples of the world do.  It's often times a harsh reality when they're trying so hard to be competitive.  So when they venture out into marketingland and try to stand out from all the noise, they need to spend their money wisely.  They need to do something like this, which is 100 times more effective and memorable than, say, a billboard, for probably 3 times the cost of said billboard. 

It's creative, and that's why it counts!

LESSON FOR YOU, THE MARKETING PERSON:

If you're going to spend money on marketing, please, spend it wisely.  Do something about which people will say "You should check out this _____ I just saw."