I've read a lot of books about sales and marketing techniques for the budding entrepreneur. The Guerrilla series by Jay Conrad Levinson are among my favorites. As a result, I almost never pay for advertising but still have enjoyed a lot of exposure.One tactic mentioned by Levinson is to sponsor sporting events. So I decided to spend a little money and sponsor the US Masters National Swimming competition hosted by the Swimming Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences both before and after the event, then evaluate my Guerrilla tactics during a live fire engagement. At the time of this writing, I have just begun to put my plan in action. Thirty days after the event, I'll share the results and determine whether or not this was a good move. Here is my plan of attack.
Justification
The Texas Swimming Center is a world class venue and the Masters National is expected to host nearly 2000 competitors from all over the country. For each competitor I figure there will be three or four friends, family, coaches, assistants, and officials. Hopefully, as many as six to eight thousand people will see one of my ads over the weekend competition.
I've been to a lot of meets at the Texas Swimming Center so I know the territory well. Most people spend their time chatting, reading, and working on their computer while waiting for their swimmers to compete. In this respect, they are a captive audience. There is a good possibility that a lot of them will visit my web site during the competition itself over wireless Internet. Additionally, I know the importance of the program booklet because it's impossible to follow the meet without it and it is often used to record race results. So, I think a lot of people will see my half page ad and take it home with them.
Cost
Most sporting events have several sponsorship tiers ranging from a business card in the program booklet to banners and video scoreboard spots. The top tier sponsorship for this event includes a thirty second video on the scoreboard, a three-by-five foot banner in the main arena, a half page ad in the program booklet, and a ticker message on the scoreboard. That's not a bad deal and I usually like the "big fish in a small pond" theory. So, I'm opting for the top tier sponsorship, which is priced at $1,500. Add $120 for the banner and $50 for the artwork. I already have a thirty second commercial, so there's no additional cost for that. That would bring the total cost to: $1,670.
Strategy
Utilize the video scoreboad commercial and ticker message to offer a "free shipping" promotion on GoOHSO.com. Create a familiar association with the print ad and banner. Use Google Analytics to measure web hits on my site. Use a promotion code on the buy-now page and special "where did you hear about us" selection to track orders directly to the event.
Goal
To sell one hundred OHSO Travel Toothbrushes within thirty days of the competition. If I can do that, I'll improve my cash flow and will have gained new customers that may otherwise have never hear of us.
I'll report back in a month or so with the final tally. Now that I am committed, like all entrepreneurs, I remain hopeful. Either way, I'm pretty confident that OHSO will benefit from this Guerrilla engagement.
