Three marketing takeaways for your business

We are bombarded with so much information and advertisements that many messages, frankly, go unnoticed.  When I was in NYC to tape a recent episode of MSNBC’s Your Business, I saw this clever example of breaking through the marketing noise at the Muse Hotel.

I walked into the hotel bathroom and noticed that there was a note on the mirror.

I wasn’t expecting that, so I took a closer look and saw this:

I found three great marketing examples to learn from this particular tactic:

Reach the customer where there is little- or no- noise: Many companies tend to market in places where there are other advertisers- television, newspapers, social media sites, etc.  That translates into significant competition for mind-share.  This was an advertisement in a completely unexpected place where it wasn’t competing with other messages for my attention.  The surprise element made me pay extra attention to it as well.

Make it about me!: The note started, “Hey Good Looking” (who wouldn’t like that?) and gave me an immediate, actionable special offer that benefited me.  This made it feel fun and not intrusive.

Make it relevant: Not only was the special offer actionable, it delivered a benefit that was relevant.  The restaurant is in the hotel and as a traveler, I am likely going to need a place to eat.  It got me to the restaurant not just once, but twice during the trip (which was awesome, since they had ridiculously tasty food).   If it had been an offer for something that didn’t fit into what I was doing or thinking about, it would have been lost on me.

Have you seen any clever marketing tactics that were unexpected or broke through the noise?  Share them- we would love to hear!