6 Reasons This Is Smart Marketing

I picked up my dry cleaning last week wrapped in the bag in this photo. I love this marketing initiative for a number of reasons. Here's why I think this is smart marketing.

1. Smart space. The ad adds value to space not currently being used for advertising--far more interesting to me than a banner ad.

2. Smart vehicle. This is a print vehicle that has potential to hang around for awhile. (Bad pun not intended.) I leave my clothes in the bag until I wear them again. I've looked at this ad every day for the last week and it may stay in my closet for months when I retire my winter clothes for the season.


3. Smart target market. I don't know the exact demographic for dry cleaners, but I bet it is a very identifiable, desirable target market. It is also very local making it easy to target specific DMAs, down to specific neighborhoods.


4. Smart message. The headline connects with the medium: Dry Humor, Clean Fun. Points for being clever.


5. Smart spending. Again, I don't know what it costs to print dry cleaning bags, but I bet the cost per thousand is considerably cheaper than a national 30 second spot on TBS during The Bill Engvall Show.


6. Smart distribution. My cleaners is a local independent in Nashville, TN. I don't know how much they pay for bags but I bet if a supplier provided a couple free roles they would happily use them.

Kudos to the marketing exec at TBS who came up with this promotion. If you happen to read this blog post, I'd love to know some of the specifics: number of bags distributed, target demographic, target DMAs, and results. Did you see any ratings increase you can attribute to the promotion? Please let us know.

Agree? Disagree?