We have a new advertiser in our classified ad section. Up to Something. Todd Turner and Richard Molinaro are the founders of Up to Something and they have a passion for creating memorable campaigns. We asked Todd and Richard to share one of their campaigns and they picked a project they recently completed for Neil Bell at New South.
You all recently launched a very clever self promo campaign for New South Outdoor. What sparked this campaign?
Neil Bell: We’ve typically posted “Advertise Here” or “Be Seen” ads on our unsold inventory. Those work well in some of our rural markets, but in our Huntsville market–our biggest market, we wanted something that was more on-brand and positioned us above our competition. And our competition isn’t always another billboard company. More often than not, we’re competing for advertising dollars that are currently going to other media formats such as online, radio, print, and TV. I had followed Todd and Richard at Up To Something for a while, and I knew they did great work for advertisers. I asked them if they would do self promo for a media company, and they were all about it.
What was the process like?
Richard Molinaro: We write a creative brief with our client before anything. We ask a lot of questions usually starting with background information. We learned that New South is not the biggest billboard provider in Huntsville. Then we talked about the core audience—local small business owners. We learned often times business owners don’t know the billboard companies in their town by name or who owns what inventory. Neil also had a stat that three new businesses pop up in Huntsville every week. They are prime candidates for building awareness with billboards.
Next we explored the New South brand. One of our favorite questions to ask a client is, “Which celebrity is most like your brand?” Neil said Rudy Ruettiger—an underdog with big dreams, the little guy with limitless drive.
With insights like that, we start concepting—making connections between two different things that help tell the story we’re trying to tell. We came up with about nine different concepts, picked the best, and presented those to Neil.
Why did this concept get picked?
Neil Bell: This one just felt right. The funny mediums like carrier pigeons and wacky waving inflatable tube men, made me chuckle. It positions New South as the highest level. It spoke to local business owners about their advertising choices. It’s the one that stuck with me the most after the presentation.
Todd Turner: Stickiness is what we’re going for. If a viewer has to do just a little bit of work to understand an ad, that’s what makes it stick. I’ve had billboards that haven’t been up in 10 years that people still remember. Those clients are still reaping the rewards of that stickiness.
So people see these billboards, and then what?
Neil Bell: I’m sure the New South name will be more recognizable in Huntsville very soon. The campaign has only been up since January. The billboards will give many business owners a first impression of our company, so when our sales reps are calling on customers, we have some awareness already.
It doesn’t end there though, does it?
Neil Bell: No…These guys are like a good idea factory. Todd and Richard helped tweak our website to include some of the same designs and wording. And they’re working on a bunch of other pieces like leave-behinds for the sales reps, business cards, email marketing, and social media. It will be one integrated campaign when it’s all said and done.
You can sign up for New South’s new email newsletter here. And see how Up To Something can help your billboard company here.
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