Guerrilla marketing

On a long, tired road between Windsor and Lucerne, little breaks up the scenery of houses and agriculture. Sometimes, the drive from the burgeoning town of Windsor toward U.S. 85 seems to last forever as the hills roll on.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the word, 'Adopt,' flashes as you drive by, taking about as long to read it as you pass.

It's a sign of plastic cups spelling out simple words that are getting great results. All that for less than $5.

"You wouldn't think that something that simple could catch people's attention, but it has," said Rachel Kruidenier, owner of K9 Bed & Biscuit, a no-kill animal shelter along Colo. 392, where red cups in a chain-linked fence has done much more for the struggling business than traditional advertising. "This kennel has been out here for 20 years, and I've owned it for two. I'm amazed at how many people come in and say they didn't even know we were here."

The cups were the brainchild of one of K9's volunteer dog walkers, Christine Kovacs, who just happens to work in advertising in Fort Collins.

Kovacs said she got the idea from a similar stunt she pulled in high school when she used cups to spell out "happy birthday" on the school fence for a friend. She and a friend change the sign at K9 regularly to keep passersby looking for more.

While it may have been a stunt she pulled in high school, she unwittingly stumbled onto a key "guerrilla marketing" technique at a young age.

"It's really looking for ways to reach individuals in a unique way that causes them to take notice," said Michael Leonard, executive professor of marketing at the Monfort College of Business at the University of Northern Colorado. "The key to guerrilla marketing is creativity, doing something different."

Guerrilla marketing has long proven to be better than traditional advertising because it stands out. While oddball advertising methods are commonplace in New York City, where moving billboards with people blaring messages through a microphone are the norm, such tactics are still a bit much for the Western regional market.

But the truth is, business owners will have to step out of the box in a world full of media messages hitting consumers from every angle.

"Most consumers are exposed to hundreds of marketing messages each day," Leonard said, noting the advertisements in everything from newspapers to billboards to television. "The advent of TiVo, which allows you to shuttle through the commercials, is a significant issue in the industry. It has marketers worried about the traditional models. It used to be if you wanted to advertise, they'd put it on television where there were only four channels to choose from and it was a captive audience."

Out here in Weld County, where the economy is slowing somewhat, guerrilla marketing can really have a lasting effect on memories and the pocketbook.

Cactus Hill Farms, for example, doesn't advertise at all. For years, the family farm on Colo. 257 just north of Windsor, has relied on word-of-mouth. A couple of years ago, when it began selling compost, familiar roadside signs popped back up along the property.

The signs, about five of them running in a series, spelling out a little saying or slogan, have opened some drivers' eyes. Admittedly, they're a throwback to the old Burma Shave signs that blanketed the American landscapes from the 1930s to the 1960s, but their magic still seems to carry on.

"Like any advertising, it's hard to know how effective it is unless you keep statistics or ask people when they come in," said Nels Nelson, who owns Cactus Hill with his father and brothers. "You could put an ad in the paper, and people knew you were there, but the signs may have been what kicked them over the edge" to come in.

Nelson said his father thinks up the sayings, which they change a few times a year for about $100 for the cost of someone painting them. This month, he might put up a new saying to along with the season: "Republicans and Democrats both agree, sheep compost is what you need."

"We just kind of wanted to see if we could give someone some entertainment along the road," Nelson said.

For Liberty Tax Service, which has two locations in Greeley, the unmistakable people dressed in statue of liberty costumes each spring bring clients in droves, said Jackie Blackwell, manager of the businesses at 2412 10th St., and 2616 11th Avenue. She said it's cheaper to hire people to wave at motorists, and it gives people a job.

"It's our No. 1 form of advertising," Blackwell said. "When you ask customers how they found out about you, more than 50 percent of them state they remember the person standing by the road. ... We pride ourselves on guerrilla marketing, with lots of outside marketing, person-to-person, and a lot of business-to-business marketing."

Blackwell said Liberty takes such tactics a step further by partnering their advertising with complementary businesses or working out deals with local companies to attach coupons to employees' W-2 forms, for example.

"It's less expensive to team up with other businesses to do advertising," Blackwell said.

While it may be difficult help the potential customer wade through the clutter, a little creativity can help any business get the word out, Leonard said.

"guerrilla marketing is not necessarily a science," he said. "It's not money intensive, it's time-intensive. Give it a try and do your best. Sheer creativity is the essence of guerrilla marketing. It suits both small and large companies, and it can be as simple as taking advantage of a busy street."