Ten Forms of Alternative Advertising Opportunities You're Not Using (But Should Be)

As marketing budgets continue to tighten, people are struggling to find new and innovative advertising and marketing techniques that won't break the bank. Many have turned to online advertising channels. While these options can typically provide an affordable alternative to more traditional advertising methods, some businesses are still looking for an additional punch. The answer, it turns out, is as simple as looking outside the box - and outside of your home.
Out of home advertising opportunities have been around for ages, yet many companies are unaware of their marketing potential. In fact, many people are unaware of the full extent of alternative advertising opportunities that exist around their day to day lives. These alternative and outdoor advertising opportunities are everywhere and they are not just billboards; walls, windows, vehicles, sidewalks, subway stations and segways are all examples of outdoor media. Unlike other media channels, these ads can't be zapped, flipped, fast-forwarded, closed-out, minimized or deleted. So, think outside of the box. The world is your canvas.

Street Teams:
Street Teams are a powerful mobile outdoor advertising technique involving direct contact with your target audience. A street team is a group of individuals who "hit the streets" to directly promote a product or service. These street teams are generally inexpensive; some of them will work for free if they are advocates of what they are promoting, and are given some free samples.

Street teams use guerrilla marketing techniques such as placing posters and stickers, passing out brochures, and distributing informative literature. They can utilize multiple forms of alternative media in their promotion of a product or service.

Taxi Cab Toppers:
Taxi cab toppers are a reliable form of alternative media advertising which will guarantee exposure. Every day over 12,000 taxi cabs crawl around the crowded streets of Manhattan alone. These cabs are often stuck in traffic or stopped to pick up a passenger. These "mini billboards" can transport one ad all across a city.

Digital Spectacular:
Digital media advertising has exploded in the past 25 years. The digital spectacular realm of outdoor advertising includes any media form which takes the computer video technology often found in major motion pictures and applies it to the creation of an over the top advertisement which is, well, spectacular. These commercial spots are often played on "advertisement only" screens which can be found in the centers of nearly every major city worldwide. Recently, the issue of ensuring that these alternative advertising forms are safe and secure digital media has become an issue of paramount importance.

Waste Receptacles:
Every major city needs to have thousands of waste bins in order to keep up with the high volumes of trash. Whether or not people are actually using them, they see them every day. Since waste receptacles are generally placed in the highest areas of pedestrian traffic, this can be an extremely effective form of guerrilla marketing.

Truckside:
Did you know that the ads that you see on semi-trucks are not always ads for the cargo inside? Truckside advertisements are a great form of alternative media that can provide exposure for a brand or product that will be seen for miles: literally. Think of them as cross country billboards.

Window Graphics:
Window graphics are a unique form of outdoor advertising which allows an image to be displayed on the exterior surface of a window without obstructing the view from the inside. These ads are commonly found on city busses and charters.

Street Furniture:
Guerrilla advertising techniques often involve street furniture, such as bus stop benches. This alternative media form is doubly effective because it is seen by those who are waiting for a bus and those who are riding it.

Car Wraps
Car wraps are a creative advertising technique that is gaining popularity with consumers. Essentially, the sellers of this alternative media form will offer to make people's monthly car payments in exchange for a large, visible banner to be painted onto their rides. The companies selling car wraps will sometimes provide free cars to drivers who don't own their own vehicle.

Construction Barricades:
The surest sign of a big, bustling city with a growing population is construction. Cranes, barricades and dreaded "orange barrels" will often stand out more than anything else a driver sees on the road. This is precisely why this outdoor advertising technique is so effective. This form of outdoor media exposure is unavoidable.