I was on my way to a client strategy day meeting driving down the freeway. Driving is a good time for me to think and develop thoughts. As I was cruising down the road, I passed a van. Not unusual on the freeway. But the back of the van was painted with various beverage bottles and smack dab in the middle of the side-by-side rear doors it said “Like us on Facebook” in a big blue Facebook style box. Since I was going to a social media strategy meeting and I’m always on the lookout for how organizations are using social media and social networking tools, this one caught my eye. I saw the side painting on the side of the van as I passed the vehicle. It was a Spike Beverage van. I’ve never heard of Spike beverage before, probably because it’s an Arizona beverage company. But, it sticks in my mind now. And, will go check it out on Facebook sometime. Not sure if I’ll “like” it or not because I don’t drink much soda or don’t know if it’s even carried in Little Rock stores. But, it was a clever way to use offline marketing for it’s product. There was one thing that I thought they could have done to make it even more compelling. If they had put a reason for me to “like” their Facebook page, I may have been more inclined to do it when I had a chance. For instance, they could have said, “Like us on Facebook for your special gift”. Then, if I went to their site, if the welcome page included a coupon for a free trial bottle of their beverage (especially since it’s likely not many have heard of this product and getting people to try it would go a long way to earning new “fans”), that would be much more compelling for someone to follow through on their call to action. Still, it’s a clever way to market your product in an offline fashion.

What products or services have you seen marketed offline that you thought was interesting or caused you to go online to check it out?