Apr 01 2008
That’s not MY target.
I was hiking at Waimea Falls on O’ahu last week. I had to take a little “break.” I entered the port-a-potty. (Enough personal information)
I noticed on two of the walls an advertisement. Both were the same.
Now, who could possibly be my target in a port-a-potty? Who could I possibly want to reach in there in that way (or any way, for that matter).
What I am really curious is what is the unique nature of the demographic of a port-a-potty user that would make it anyone’s target market?
I tend to think that if you are going to target a particular market, it should be defined a little more strictly than “everyone goes here, so you should be here too!”
Corey Smith is the Chief Web Architect for Dealer Marketing and maintains news for the copier, printer and document management industries.
Like you said, it was one more hit than you had before, right?
Your comment refers to whether or not Blog Rush makes sense to use. If something like Blog Rush can get me one more visitor because of a few pixels on my web page, that is one thing. If I have to pay money to put an ad in a toilet, that is something completely different.
Not necessarily. Let’s talk in terms of currency, not money… Currency can be money, but it can also be time, opportunity, and reputation.
One might argue the ROI for placing an add in a port-o-potty (I know quite a few executives that go fly-fishing to disconnect), and I might argue that it would be cheaper to pay a nominal fee rather than spending my time or more money on more expensive ventures. For instance, I know I should always hire an HVAC repair person to fix my HVAC system if it breaks b/c the time offset translates to me spending less time doing something else I am getting paid to do.
Besides, it’s about the same thing to me as putting a newspaper or advertisement in a urinal stall at a restaurant. You are a captive audience, and maybe the monetary charge is fairly negligble… Heck, I might even compare the relationship to Google Adwords (without the smell of course). I hate going to sites and seeing completely mismatched material.
I thought you would get a kick out of this from this company’s website:
Micro Target Media Advertising Structures (MTM• AdS) are the medium by which Micro Target Media is able to deliver high-impact advertising to targeted CAPTIVE audiences at special events, venues and work sites around the world.
I also think its hilarious we are debating a port-o-potty ;-P
Well, it is funny that the target of our discussion is a port-a-potty, but the substance of the discussion is targeted marketing. Blog Rush does provide targetted marketing.
I agree, MTM provides marketing to a captive audience, but there is no way any sane business man could consider the advertising to a targetted market.
Plus, how effective is it really when they can’t get anyone to advertise besides themselves? You might be interested on my other post on billboards and advertising?
Yes, I know the substance of the discussion is TM, but it wreaks of port-o-potty
I would contend that Blog Rush might offer targetted marketting; if you can aim a shotgun, that is targetting alright.
Re: Billboards and advertising blog: I would say its just as effective as customizing your 404 page, for instance… Why waste the space? At least use it for something… Sure the ad company isn’t necessarily bringing in money, but they are bringing in currency by building their brand, right?
On a final note, I am just playing devil’s advocate to your MTM comments… it’s definitely a demographic I think I might steer clear of!