Innova street team searches for Des Moines' wackiest talents; finds that nontraditional marketing will play in Des Moines
DES MOINES, Iowa, August 14, 2008 – For the past month, metro residents have been showing off their zaniest talents at community events like Urbandale Friday Fest, Zoo Brew and Fridays at the Fountain. A street team from Innova Ideas & Services, a full-service marketing and creative services agency, has been frequenting the events searching for bizarre local talent to capture on camera — and the team hasn't been disappointed. But since viral and social networking campaigns are surrounded by hype, the most exciting find of all may be the proof that these unconventional tactics do connect with Central Iowa consumers.
The "Exotic Talents" campaign, which wrapped up last week, centered around an Innova street team that visited community events, recruieds volunteers, and videotaped their strangest abilities. Videos appear on a campaign website, www.findinnova.com, where the public voted on the week's most awesome ability. Five finalists were judged by Des Moines roots rockers the Nadas, Barnstormer cheerleaders The Stormchasers, Blank Park Zoo CEO Terry Rich and Historic East Village businesswoman Barb Niccum. The final winner received a Nintendo Wii.
To drive web traffic, the campaign blended traditional and new media. Print advertisements urged readers to text or e-mail Innova for the street team's weekly location. The campaign also had a presence on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter.
The team has been surprised by the unexpected range of odd talents—singing the name of every country in the world in two minutes, crossing only one eye, or yelling like "Star Wars"' Chewbacca. What's not surprising, says Innova Strategist Nicole Torstenson, are the campaign results. "The creativity of the campaign really drew people's interest. Doing something fresh and new is one of the keys to successful viral marketing."
Other tips for nontraditional marketing success, according to Innova, include:
- Be unexpected. Consumers are overloaded with content in today's media-saturated world, so surprise them to break through the clutter.
- Think outside YouTube. To many, "viral marketing" means online videos, but anything spread by word of mouth and social networks can go viral.
- Give up control. Marketers are used to strictly controlling their message, but successful viral marketing often requires you to pass that control on to the consumer.
Viral marketing is flexible and inexpensive, and the results of Innova's hidden talents campaign prove the Des Moines market is open to such nontraditional tactics. The campaign has resulted in Innova's highest website traffic ever, and a 129 percent increase in unique visitors when compared to the same period last year. Additionally, more visitors are remembering the firm's name and URL, and are arriving at the website directly instead of through search. Perhaps most importantly, these positive online metrics translate into real financial results: The month-old campaign already has driven new business, and has returned more than its investment.
"The ‘Exotic Talents' contest has been a fun way to engage the community," said Beth Cross, president of Sigler Companies, Innova's parent company. "It's been wonderful to uncover the hidden talent in our community, and a great opportunity to display our own talent of providing fresh and innovative marketing solutions to our clients."
About Innova
Innova Ideas & Services is one of Iowa's top marketing and creative services agencies in number of employees and in earnings. From offices in Des Moines and Ames plus Seattle, Innova provides strategic marketing, public relations, graphic design, web design, copywriting and event management. Innova's clients cross the nation and virtually all business sectors, including education, finance, health care, manufacturing and not-for-profit organizations. In 2008, Innova is celebrating its 10th year in business, and has moved its downtown Des Moines location to 3rd street, along the city's creative and entertainment corridor. Additional information is available at www.innovaideasandservices.com.
About Sigler Companies
Sigler Companies is the parent company of Innova Ideas & Services, a creative services agency with offices in Des Moines and Ames, Iowa; Sigler Printing, a premier printing and production house; and Signify Promotions, an apparel and promotions business. Besides its Ames and Des Moines businesses, Sigler Companies also is the parent company to Sigler Marketing Services, based in Seattle. Sigler Companies was founded in 1958 in Ames, Iowa, as Sigler Printing. In its 50-year history, the company has continued to expand its capabilities, and currently offers clients across the United States an end-to-end solution of creative services, printing and promotions. Sigler Companies is privately held. Additional information is available at www.siglercompanies.com.
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CONTACT
Scott StuartInnova Ideas & Services
515.697.7226
scott.stuart@sigler.com