My first advertising idea

I remember when I first started I was posting postcards at my local supermarkets. I also had order these marketing pieces that looked like folded twenty dollar bills. So my daughter and decided we were going to play a prank on the customers walking out of the store. We would drop the fake twenty on the parking lot too see how people would react.

It was hilarious people would pick it up and look around and slip it in there pockets. other would look at and have a disappointed look on their faces. I don't remember anyone throwing it back on the ground and I also don't remember anyone cleaing for anyone that found my fake 20.00 bill on the ground  

What was your first marketing or advertising piece?

My first and shameful advertising was attaching flyers with discount card to helium balloons and letting them fly. Some had 50% off cards and a few even had a free cleaning offer.

I let loose 75 balloons with high hopes that it would find me some new customers and a cute story to spread around town.

Only 7 were ever claimed and I had 4 complaints from people claiming that it clogged their gutters.

I'm sure your idea will fare a whole lot better.

milspec6 wrote:My first and shameful advertising was attaching flyers with discount card to helium balloons and letting them fly.  Some had 50% off cards and a few even had a free cleaning offer.

I let loose 75 balloons with high hopes that it would find me some new customers and a cute story to spread around town.

Only 7 were ever claimed and I had 4 complaints from people claiming that it clogged their gutters.

I'm sure your idea will fare a whole lot better.

LOL, how the heck did you put the flyers in the balloon ?

They were just tied to a string.

Stupid idea, but at least it was cheap....actually my niece's idea. She was fired after that one.

I'm embarrassed to say, but our first marketing idea, long ago, 25 yrs or so, was to target auto/RV cleaning.........although I'm not sure why because I hate cleaning them!!  We (my partner and I) made flyers targeted at Auto/RV's and put them on cars and just threw them out the window while driving around, I know it's littering.lol  
We did get a few jobs from them, but like all "flyers" I've ever done, not really worth the time or trouble.

haha Mo I did the 20 dollar bill one back in the day for landscaping when we were first starting out mowing lawns...

it did work kinda, people will definitely pick them up but maybe not the best image they will have of you lol

people will always pick them up and at least open it to look at the inside even from 20 ft away it really catches the eye

Did a nice simple letter and mailed them to a real nice neighborhood.got 2-3 jobs. One of them I cleaned for them for 18 years; sometimes 2x a year.
Another, I had a flyer that I faxed to businesses who's fax # I found in YP ads. I used my father in laws fax machine at his dental office. Ya, didn't think that one thru.

Mil, 7 jobs from 75 balloons - that's a pretty darn good return.

My initial go around before my direct mail hit the homes was mailbox hangers. Got a couple of jobs out of it, and got a couple of pissed off people asking me not to litter their property. Really was not worth the time, money, or effort.

Davey Cracker wrote:  We (my partner and I) made flyers targeted at Auto/RV's and put them on cars and just threw them out the window while driving around, I know it's littering.lol

 LOL

I can just picture you getting tired of putting them on cars and and just through them out the window

I missed that Rob you got 7 jobs out of it?  That was a pretty god ROI.

That might explain why you have a large service area

7 didn't please me back then....I thought it was such a brilliant idea at the time that I was expecting something in the 20's. Lesson learned was that only a small percentage of your advertising efforts end in jobs.

The farthest one did make it almost 40 miles.

Mo wrote:

Davey Cracker wrote:  We (my partner and I) made flyers targeted at Auto/RV's and put them on cars and just threw them out the window while driving around, I know it's littering.lol

 LOL

I can just picture you getting tired of putting them on cars and and just through them out the window

That's basically it, we were tired of walking around and on the way home we said "F it", and started throwing out the window!!

Did I mention, the name we used on that flyer was "Kleen Wheelz"......we were young then.

The funny part was we got a call from a Doctor to do some cleaning in his Rolls Royce, and we went to look at it and he wanted us to clean the head liner.  I still remember him saying "just take the car"..........as in take the car and do the cleaning and bring it back.  Can you imagine giving the keys to your Rolls to two 20 yr old kids?!?!

Wow, I'm surprised you don't have a GTA in your record Dave, if I was there and was 20 years old, I would've stole the rolls