This morning my co-workers and I attended Seattle Goodwill’s Appreciation Breakfast, which honors volunteers, sponsors, and scholarship recipients.  As a proud sponsor of Goodwill we were humbled by the stories of individuals whose lives were changed by the job training and support that Goodwill offers.  It truly brings into focus the reason behind everything we do in support of an outstanding organization that for over 80 years has been devoted to our community.  To ensure that Goodwill continues to thrive, we throw our creative energy into developing thought-provoking campaigns and guerrilla marketing events on behalf of Goodwill, and this past Memorial Day weekend was no exception!

To bring awareness to the many reasons for shopping at Goodwill, we staged a mock protest at one of the largest events in Seattle – Northwest Folklife Festival!  With over 250,000 attendees over four very spirited days, it’s the perfect opportunity to utilize guerrilla marketing at it’s finest… in other words, GoMobile = kid; Folklife = candy store.

We crashed Folklife Festival with protestors dressed entirely in outfits found at actual Seattle Goodwill stores carrying picket signs encouraging attendees to “Free Your Wardrobe!”, “Eliminate Waste, Save a Shirt!” and “Fight to Stop Outfit Dumping!”, etc.  We also passed out 10,000 coupons for 30% any item at Goodwill, which alone is quite a feat!

Everyone at Folklife Festival was very receptive to our spirited protest and we were happy to have the opportunity to converse with hundreds of people about their history with Goodwill.

SEATTLE – When Goodwill Industries decided to launch a new store on the hippest street in Seattle’s University District, VP of Development and Communications Catherine McConnell knew they had to get the attention of the 18-22 year olds who frequent the street known as simply “The Ave”. That meant ditching the typical clean, white walls for burnt red and army green, and organizing the store to fit the choosy demographic.  Dresses are sorted by decade rather than length/color to complement 1980’s dance parties and 1950’s cocktail hours, and an entire section is devoted to western-style shirts, boots and hats to make that Halloween costume even easier to assemble.  Another difference is the bold statement above the cash registers reminding customers that they’re shopping for a good cause.  In 2007, Goodwill Industries served over 1 million people through employment and training programs with the 1.9 billion dollars in funds from over 2,000 retail stores across the country.

To market the new location, Goodwill turned to GoMobile Advertising, an experiential marketing company specializing in outdoor and event marketing.  Together they created a 3D mobile showroom that will travel around the University District announcing the store beginning January 13. The interior of the glass-walled truck features fashion-forward outfits with pieces from Burberry and United Colors of Benetton, all found at local Goodwill stores.  The declaration “Not Your Mom’s Goodwill” is printed on each side of the display to differentiate Goodwill On The Ave from other locations.  “This mobile showroom can be likened to owning a window display that spans The Ave in its entirely.  That kind of exposure will help introduce this unique Goodwill to the public in a fun way”, said GoMobile President Chris Schuler.

The “Not  Your Mom’s Goodwill” campaign will wrap up on January 28th.

We will open the book.  Its pages are blank.  We are going to put words on them ourselves.  The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.

~Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year from GoMobile Advertising!  May 2009 bring you continued happiness and success!

-GoMobile Advertising Staff

Pacific Northwest Ballet and GoMobile Advertising collected canned food and over $600 in cash donations at the Macy’s Holiday Parade for Northwest Harvest.

The economy may be suffering, but American shoppers are still finding room in their hearts and their wallets to donate to a good cause this holiday season.  With 35% more families visiting food banks this year, the call for donations has never been more urgent, and Seattle shoppers helped answer that call during the Macy’s Holiday Parade on November 28th.

Throughout the day, Pacific Northwest Ballet, GoMobile Advertising and event staff donated by AC Model and Talent raised over $600 in cash donations through their “Feed the Nutcracker, Feed the Community” food drive.  Canned and non-perishable food was also collected, with all contributions benefiting Northwest Harvest.   The “Feed the Nutcracker, Feed the Community” food drive has been collecting donations at local grocery stores and events in the greater Seattle area since mid-November.

This Saturday, December 6th, the Nut truck will be attending KING 5’s Home Team Harvest Food Drive.  The Nut truck will be at Tacoma Mall from 7am-9am, Northgate Mall from 10am-12pm and Everett Mall from 1pm-3pm accepting non-perishable and canned food as well as cash donations, all benefiting Northwest Harvest.

For a full list of upcoming donation events or more information, visit PNB.org.

SEATTLE – There’s no greater gift than a magical memory and no holiday entertainment quite like Nutcracker. Pacific Northwest Ballet has brought this cherished Stowell/Sendak classic ballet to the Northwest for 25 years and to celebrate, they’ve brought the joy of Nutcracker to the streets with a 3-D mobile display courtesy of GoMobile Advertising.

The “Nut truck” features an enchanting excerpt of Maurice Sendak’s storybook world, complete with stage lighting and characters, while some of Nutcracker’s most memorable music plays to watching crowds through an external sound system.  The truck will be seen at events around King County to bring cheer to families as well as awareness of Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2008 Nutcracker season that is now underway.

To give back to the community that has supported Nutcracker for 25 years, Pacific Northwest Ballet has teamed with Northwest Harvest, GoMobile Advertising, and Industry Graphics for a food drive coined “Feed the Nutcracker, Feed the Community”. “The creative forces at GoMobile have expertly transformed our Nut Truck into a roving collection site for NW Harvest. This unique collaboration has expanded our collection efforts for NW Harvest, while offering great discounts on Nutcracker tickets–clearly a perfect partnership!” said Lia Chiarelli, PNB’s Associate Director of Marketing and Communications.

Giant Nutcracker bins will be at local grocery store events as well as Northwest Harvest events and the Macy’s Holiday Parade on Friday, November 28th to collect food for local families in need.  Upcoming events include:

Albertsons Mercer Island

November 21, 2008 from 4pm to 7pm
2755 77th Ave SE
Mercer Island, WA 98040

Tackle Hunger with Seattle Seahawks 12pm-2pm
November 23, 2008 game starts at 1:15pm

Macy’s Holiday Parade
November 28, 2008 8am-7pm

Westlake Center & Pacific Place

Look for the Mice & Nutcracker Bins!

Safeway Coldcreek

December 4, 2008 4pm-7pm
6911 Coal Creek Pkwy SE
Newcastle, WA 98052

Home Team Harvest with KING 5

December 6, 2008
NORTHGATE MALL

Corner of Northgate Way & 5th NE
in the Northgate Mall parking lot
10AM-12PM
EVERETT MALL
1402 SE Everett Mall Way
1PM-3PM

Broadway QFC
December 12, 2008 4pm-7pm
523 E. Broadway
Seattle, WA 98102

Shanty Cafe Holiday Fundraiser
December 16, 2008 Until 3pm

Adventures in Bellevue with the IKEA Teen Truck

8:15am – While stopped in downtown Bellevue, I noticed a car pass ever-so-slowly by the IKEA Teen display.  I waved as I always do, and he turned the corner.  Minutes later, the same car passed by again, this time with a camera out the window, taking pictures of the display!  We love this stuff!

12:30pm – I was passing Interlake High School when a group of about 20 students waiting at the bus stop saw the vehicle and display.   They all let out a big roar when they saw the IKEA truck coming and cheered as it passed – that was really great!

-Henry

I’ll admit: When I was told I’d be driving a static billboard campaign, I was a skeptic as to how effective it would be.  Added to that the fact that the campaign is a controversial energy initiative, and I knew it would be quite a ride.  After witnessing the reactions I have gotten, both positive and negative (toward the initiative) I’m no longer a skeptic.  This is the first campaign where I can park the truck for 5 minutes, even in a vacant lot, and have people pull up wanting to debate with me.  I believe the colors and the size of the lettering on these banners are key factors.  In conclusion, I think mobile advertising would be quite effective for a political candidate…

-Wade

With fall approaching, loyal college football fans are eagerly anticipating the start of the 2008 season.  To create excitement and promote ticket sales, GoMobile Advertising has teamed up with the University of Washington’s own Husky football for an exclusive and shared billboard scrolling campaign.

The billboards feature breathtaking creative that allows passersby to feel as if they are face-to-face with a gnarly Husky football player ready to pounce.  To further the anticipation of the 2008 Husky football season, GoMobile’s signature scrolling mobile billboard vehicle will be blasting traditional UW fight songs, including “Bow Down to Washington”, “Victory for Washington” and UW marching band hits like the ever-popular “Tequila!”.  With the first game of the season against long-time rival Oregon rapidly approaching, die-hard Washington fans can bask in the ambiance of being at a real game in the meantime with GoMobile Advertising.

To check out the 2008 Husky Football season lineup & buy tickets, click here.

SEATTLE – In order to help roll out the 2009 issue of their popular idea book to eager followers, IKEA is taking a unique approach to the traditional delivery system: they’re getting help by using a mobile billboard and 3D showroom vehicle from GoMobile Advertising, an experiential marketing company.  The truck will travel around the greater Puget Sound area, as well as make appearances at local fairs, festivals, and parades, passing out approximately 1 million copies of the IKEA catalogs for the third straight year.

“This year, you’ll find 374 pages that provide ideas, inspiration, and solutions to everyone’s home furnishing needs. The theme for our 2009 IKEA catalog is ‘Home is the most important place in the world’. It will showcase our unique point of view – the home is made for living. You will find that we are focusing on three main areas of the home – the kitchen, the bedroom, and living room.” says IKEA Store Manager, Laurie Helm. “We’re always excited this time of year to show our customers all of our new products at our new lower prices.” The free-of-charge catalog will be released July 29th in more than 27 languages and shipped to over 35 countries around the world.

The BioDiesel-fueled truck is a signature vehicle by GoMobile Advertising, and features mobile billboards on multiple sides that display new IKEA products at their ever-affordable prices.  The crown jewel of the truck is a complete living space encapsulated in the truck’s glass sides that acts as an invitation to the IKEA store as well as inspiration to customers.  This is the seventh partnership for IKEA and GoMobile, with past campaigns including the Twice Yearly Sale and their latest, “Live Small (in a BIG way)!” which showcased living ideas for small spaces and dorm rooms.

The campaign kicks off July 29th and ends September 1st.

SEATTLE – Furniture giant IKEA takes another step in promoting environmentally conscious living in their latest campaign “Live Small in a Big Way” which offers fun, economical solutions to small space living.  The campaign utilizes experiential marketing, including a mobile 3D showroom that began touring the streets of Seattle beginning July 14th.

The campaign, which began just in time for college-bound students to start planning their dorm décor, features a complete room display as well as mobile billboards.  Echoing its environmental undertones, the alternative campaign runs entirely on GoMobile’s BioDiesel-fueled trucks.  The entire room showcases furniture that can be incorporated into petite spaces, acting as a mobile idea-book for consumers.

“Live Small in a Big Way” marks the sixth campaign partnership for IKEA and GoMobile Advertising to date, with past promotions including IKEA’s new Teen Zone, as well as their infamous Twice Yearly Sale.  “IKEA has always been about getting the most for your money, and this campaign physically shows how far that money can take you in designing a room around a small space,” says IKEA Advertising Manager Carol Merry.

The IKEA campaign began July 14th and wraps up July 26th.