One of the most eco-friendly cities in the country just got a bit greener!

In late May, we partnered with BicyTaxi to introduce Seattle to the concept of emission-free pedicabs, offering rides absolutely free of charge!  Staying true to our “beyond traditional” slogan, we launched the ground-breaking fleet (branded by GoMobile as TerraCabs) to introduce the new AVEENO® NOURISH+ Hair Care Collection to Seattle residents.  The new product and its four separate lines (Revitalize, Soothe, Volumize, and Moisturize) were showcased on fully wrapped and branded pedicabs, each stocked with free samples for riders.  To create even more buzz for AVEENO®’s new launch, Haven Salon in Ballard offered free wash & styling appointments using only the AVEENO® product line to allow customers to feel the AVEENO® difference for themselves.  “Before and after” photos were taken of each client and they were invited to share their hair’s “story” and write about how they attempt to tame their mane.

The pedicabs were used to transport clients to and from the salon and cruised the salon’s general vicinity, passing out samples and answering questions about the promotion.  This new medium was quite a sight for Seattle residents, and considering this was their first time on the streets of Washington, understandably so!  Such a unique service easily generates interest and with conversation starting being as critical as it is, the pedicabs most definitely did their job.

Best of all, the promotion was a complete success!  We’re happy to report that We exceeded the client’s and salon’s goal of filling their photo board with over 30 before and after blow-outs in only eight hours to eager customers and handed out hundreds of Aveeno shampoo sample bottles over the course of the day.  For more information on GoMobile’s pedicab products, visit TerraCab.com or contact us directly.

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.

If the name doesn’t give it away enough, GoMobile Advertising is an extremely mobile company, both as a business model and as a team of individuals.  Among our group there are avid bikers, boaters, skiers, snowboarders, climbers, rafters, travelers and explorers, and at any given point it seems at least one person is in Mexico.  But staying mobile represents a bigger idea in the advertising world, and it’s critical to building a brand.  Here’s how we do it:

1.    Technology: Although we play hard as a staff, we always stay connected.  Since ours is such a visual medium, keeping our department heads equipped with iPhones has been instrumental showing people the types of campaigns we’ve created.  We regularly update our devices with our latest photos and videos to flip through with just about anyone we meet.  If they didn’t know what experiential mobile marketing was or can’t believe we created a 25ft Chicken & Biscuit Bowl for KFC inside a mobile showcase, they can see for themselves!

2.    GPS Tracking: Each of our multimedia advertising vehicles is fitted with a GPS tracking unit that allows our staff, and better yet, our clients to see exactly where their campaign is on the streets at any particular moment.  Even better, we take our clients on “Ride-Alongs” where they get to experience first hand  the amazing reactions of real people where they live, work and play.

3.    Events: The cardinal rule of advertising: “You don’t schmooze, you lose”.   We make sure to stay active in both the local advertising community, attending AdClub meetings and events and serving on numerous boards around the city.  We also attend national advertising conventions and galas that honor the best in our industry each year.  We’ve even been honored with a few national awards ourselves – check it out!

Take it from the experts in mobile: it pays to get up out of your desk and get out where the people are.  It drives brand engagement, builds lasting connections, and best of all – works that kink out of your neck from staring at this blog.

-Jamie

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

HOUSTON – The Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU), a not-for-profit financial cooperative with over 125,000 members is kicking off the launch of a new advertising campaign dubbed “Young & Free” with a college campus tour to search for the program’s spokesperson.

Young & Free, a financial management package being offered to banks around the country, hopes to transform the credit union industry by engaging young people towards effectively managing their money.  Texas youth aged 19-25 may audition for the “Young & Free Spokesperson” position at events where a mobile showroom truck courtesy of GoMobile Advertising will be touring.

GoMobile’s most intricate and thrilling campaign to-date was designed to engage the hard-to-reach 19-25 demographic by creating a “festival on wheels.”  The display includes seven flat panel TVs, an eight speaker surround sound system which blasts a hip playlist, a Guitar Hero competition setup, wireless microphones and brand ambassadors.  Participants are invited to compete in Guitar Hero and enter to win grand prizes including an XBOX 360.  In addition, they learn about the benefits of managing their money at TDECU.

“This campaign has allowed us to really flex our muscle in terms of just how many captivating elements we can include in our mobile event vehicle.  It’s all about prolonging the audience’s engagement with the brand, and with this vehicle, there are so many cool elements – nobody will want to leave!” said GoMobile Network President Mike Seifert.

GoMobile’s partnership with Young & Free will extend to Alberta, Canada in their next launch set for mid-September.

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.

I was sorting through some papers in the office and found a couple notes that I thought I’d share.  Back in April we held the 2nd annual GoMobile Affiliate Conference here in Seattle and were thrilled with the positive reaction of all the attendees.  The three day conference included a cruise on Seattle’s Puget Sound with dinner and drinks, and guest speakers Jim Copacino and Betti Fujikado of Copacino + Fujikado, a national award winning advertising firm.  They had an outstanding presentation and had some truly valuable information for us, which we all sponged up eagerly.

Thanks to everyone who attended and made the Affiliate Conference such a success and we look forward to seeing you all next year!  On to the letters:

“There are no words to express our thanks for the way we were treated during our brief stay.  So many topics were covered in a short period of time, but team “GoMobile” covered them with a great deal of attention.  You made us feel that there is such a thing as “team work” without losing individuality.  On behalf of Pilar, Eric and myself I want you to know that you and your team made the impossible become possible in a very short period of time.” – Mike Amengual, Future 2000 Corp.

“Just a quick note to say thank you for the awesome job you all did hosting the affiliate conference.  It was a delight to see each of you again and to meet all the fine affiliates you have attracted from around the nation.  Best wishes to everyone for great continued success and thanks again!” – Dennis Anderson, Anderson Mobile Media

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.

SEATTLE – AT&T is promoting key store openings and “a million reasons to buy a new phone event” around the Pacific Northwest featuring an innovative wrapped mobile advertising vehicle in AT&T colors from GoMobile Advertising. The vehicle features tongue-in-cheek banner messages offering a million reasons to buy an AT&T cell phone. The vehicle will be located at store grand openings in Portland, Spokane, and many AT&T sponsored events throughout the greater Seattle area.

This innovative mobile vehicle has a 3D orange carpet display that spotlights an AT&T graphically branded money-blowing machine that participants enter for a limited time with the goal to grab as much AT&T cash as possible to use towards purchasing a new AT&T cell phone or accessory. There are nine scrolling billboards on the vehicle with messages such as “one human year is thirty cellular years” and “because your phone went hottubbing”.

“Mounting a money machine in the back of our GMA advertising vehicles was a smart move on AT&T’s part,” says Chris Schuler, President of GMA.  “it  offers AT&T a unique opportunity to create an emotional connection with their customers who can then turn their experience into cash for products sold at AT&T stores – a promotion that converts immediately into a purchase – the holy grail of marketing!”

SEATTLE – To combat the expected sweltering summer heat in the months ahead, A&W will begin touring a mobile ice-cold smoothee and slushee machine around the Yakima area for consumers just in time for Independence Day, beginning July 3rd.

A&W will utilize a special mobile advertising truck for their “Sweets & Treats” campaign, which features 10 scrolling billboards showcasing the new A&W Cherry Lemonade slushee and BananaBerry Dream smoothee.  In a 3D mobile showroom, the truck will feature a replica of a 1950’s A&W diner, serving samples of the sweet treats to event crowds.

The state-of-the-art truck comes courtesy of GoMobile Advertising, an experimental marketing company that A&W is partnering with for their campaign.  “The idea of a mobile drink machine where we could physically show consumers the product on-the-go is just what A&W needed for these summer events,” said Chris Schuler, President of GoMobile Advertising.

A&W and GoMobile Advertising’s campaign will wrap up August 3rd.

About A&W Restaurants, Inc.

A&W Restaurants, Inc., based in Louisville, Ky., is the longest running quick service franchise chain in America. Since 1919, A&W® All-American Food® has been serving a signature frosty mug root beer float and All-American pure-beef hamburgers and hot dogs. There are approximately 400 A&W All-American Food outlets in the U.S., more than 250 outlets outside the U.S. in 10 countries, and 640 additional points of distribution at Yum! Brands multibrand restaurants.