Turn Your Marketing Upside Down
TL;DR Turn your marketing upside down in the right context and it will draw attention and be memorable.
I recently visited my parents. My daughter and I had breakfast with my parents at Stables Restaurant in Hadley, Massachusetts (order the veggie omelet if you go). Here's the placemat I found at the table:
Notice the advertisement in the lower right corner. I couldn’t stop talking about it to my daughter, who’s a third-year college student. What I loved:
1) The Upside-Down House
With every other ad facing upright, this one stands out and its location in the lower right corner doesn’t hurt. Step one is getting attention. Accomplished.
But how to keep it?
This ad held my attention because the upside-down house reinforced the headline of "flip this house." If it was an ad for house painting, I’d say, "Eh, nice try," and move on. But instead I said, "Nice!"
2) It’s Experiential
The ad invites you to color it in. I bet you a dollar that The Stables Restaurant keeps crayons at the counter. Coloring is a great activity for kids while their pancakes and waffles are being made.
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And an opportunity for parents to enjoy their coffee and catch up with one another. And guess what kids will do when they’re proud of their coloring job?
Take the placemat home and stick it on their refrigerator!
And now the advertisement extends to guests when the parents host their next dinner party.
3) The Drop Shadow
I didn’t notice it at the time, but the company’s logo (which is also upside down) has a drop shadow on it. That makes it look like a 3D object in the photo, which makes it more memorable.
The Only (Potential) Issue
To make out the company name (E&M Properties) and phone number properly, you need to turn the sheet upside down. This creates a small amount of friction. There’s a chance that interested people jot the phone number down incorrectly because they didn’t flip the sheet over.
Note: When I flip it over, I notice an "Ask for Mark" underneath the phone number.
Bravo on this ad, Mark!
Lesson: You can find inspiration to inform your future marketing. Everywhere.