A short post today regarding the advertising industry, and what you can learn from this for your own professional gain, mostly focused on breaking the ‘barriers’ associated with traditional marketing.
Everywhere we go, posters, commercials and billboards are talking to us, shouting at us, to listen to them. (Some studies indicate that we are ’shouted’ at more than 200+ times a day in fact!) So it takes some very creative thinking to stand out from the mass of shouting to really make an impact on the average listener (consumer). This is nothing new. So, I’ve always been curious about the ‘boundaries’ involved with traditional advertising, and the various guerrilla methods used to get out to the listeners. That’s why this ad really caught my attention. That’s some great creative thinking. It’s one thing to invent a whole new ‘guerrilla’ means of communicating through advertising, it’s another altogether more difficult thing to work within a well established form of communications such as this, and be so effective. And most amazingly, to make it so simple (which most often the best ideas are; and that’s worthy of it’s own post altogether)
For those of you thinking about marketing or advertising yourself to get work (students and professionals alike), it can be extremely valuable to look around at the landscape and ask yourself, how can I stand out from this? It’s similar to advertising when you think about it. Dozens, if not hundreds, of students and professionals alike, trying to find work and catch the attention of employers. Many of the students I teach are stressed something new and amazing way to capture employer’s attention, however that thinking can be both daunting and frustrating. Why not take a cue from some of the best communicators out there – advertisers – and see how their ‘in-the-box’ thinking can help your ambitions?
So my question: looking at your portfolio, resume, demo reel, networking tools and even interview answers and presentation. How do they compare to the mass of people out there trying to say the same thing you are? What simple idea and attitude can you apply to your own conversation with the world that makes you memorable and valuable? A small hint, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel; instead, why not make a truly memorable wheel!
As an added point of interest, I found this image and article on PSFK.com, a great site I’ve been frequenting quite often these days! I’d recommend checking it out!
Would enjoy your thoughts on this article! Why do you think these sorts of ads are so successful in capturing our attention?
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