Marketing Home Products

First we bartered, then we used cash, now plastic. What’s the next big change in commerce? How about your phone? If Google has its way, in just a few short years we’ll all be using smartphones to pay for everything from clothes and food to furniture and homes.

Google recently announced the latest installment in its long line of innovations and applications. Google Wallet promises to revolutionize the way we do business by putting our debit and credit cards, coupons, and loyalty cards all in one place, easily used with just one tap of your phone. Google’s vision? To eventually replace wallets with phones. In the future, the company hopes that Google Wallet will store not only all your credit cards, but your gift cards, receipts, boarding passes, tickets, and keys as well! When you’re ready to purchase something with your Google Wallet, simply tap your phone on the payment receiver at checkout. Google Wallet will automatically apply any saved offers you have for the retailer as well as loyalty points.

Google Wallet is designed to make the checkout experience easier and faster for customers, but what does it mean to merchants? Along with Google Wallet, Google is releasing Google Offers, which will allow businesses to send discounts and coupons directly to customers’ phones.

On its initial release, Google Wallet will utilize the MasterCard PayPass system, but Google is working to develop its own SingleTap checkout system. Initially available on certain Android phones, you can be sure Google is working to bring Wallet to every mobile device. And while the digital wallet currently will only use Citi MasterCard and Google Prepaid cards, Google expects to eventually support all cards.

Retailers like Macy’s, Subway, American Eagle, and Walgreens have already signed on to accept Google Wallet, and retailers who currently accept MasterCard PayPass (including Home Depot, CVS, BP, and Office Depot) will also be capable of using Google Wallet.

As more home improvement companies begin to accept Google Wallet, advertising opportunities for home products will rapidly increase. And who knows, someday you could be paying your plumber, electrician, and even your contractor through the convenience of your phone!

Are you ready to trade in your leather wallet for a shiny smartphone? Do you think offers and discounts on smartphones will be an effective way to engage customers?

Why look at an advertisement when you can smell, feel or taste the product? Feeling the need to work out of the box, advertisers now consider experiential advertising more effective and eye (or nose or mouth)- catching than a simple print ad. A few months ago, I wrote about Absolut vodka advertising in bus shelters, posing as faux-bars and providing a colorful and mouth-watering wait for riders. And there’s a billboard in North Carolina that actually smells like steak, triggering the senses of those riding by to crave some serious meat for dinner.

The latest company to embrace these off-the-page advertising ideas is Frito-Lay. In a time where consumers are increasingly concerned about where their food comes from and how it is prepared, Frito-Lay demonstrated the wholesomeness of its all natural products in the middle of Times Square last month. Set up with a fully functional Flavor Kitchen above the Hard Rock marquee, Frito-Lay Executive Chef Stephen Kalil, along with numerous guest and celebrity chefs, spent a week showcasing the natural ingredients that inspire and compliment Frito-Lay products. The event was broadcast on video boards in Times Square and on the Frito-Lay Facebook page.

In addition to the Flavor Kitchen, Frito-Lay is embracing several other non-traditional advertising outlets to engage their customers in conversations about all natural snack foods including a culinary web series, integration with the popular Zynga game Farmville, QR codes, and on-package bar codes. Frito-Lay saw customers respond positively to its Times Square event – in just 24 hours, the company’s Facebook page had 1.5 million new fans.

Also using Times Square as its promotional platform is Milk-Bone, when last year, to celebrate its 100^th anniversary, the company built a giant dog house in the middle of Times Square. The 480 square foot building was covered in 100,000 dog treats and housed a variety of activities for dog lovers including a pet psychic, pet palm readings, dancing dog demonstrations, and celebrity appearances. The event kicked off Milk-Bone’s 14 city tour and nationwide Milk-Bone Moments contest encouraging people to submit pictures and video of their favorite pet.

With events like these becoming more popular, companies are challenged to create campaigns that are increasingly attention worthy. Consumers want to be engaged by the advertisement, and they respond to campaigns that stand out from the norm.

What do you think of promotional events like the Frito-Lay and Milk-Bone events in Times Square? Have you ever responded to a similar campaign by watching a company’s videos, liking their Facebook page, or attending the event?

You’ve seen how far some will go for prizes as small as a free lunch. Think about game shows putting contestants through goofy obstacle courses, or kissing a fish at the supermarket in order to take it home for free. But having someone pay your mortgage? That’s a freebie offer to turn heads.

So what does it take? Up-and-coming advertising firm Adzookie is promising paid mortgages for homeowners willing to have their house painted in the form of a giant advertisement for the company. The stipulations are that the house must be painted for at least three months and be in a location that allows it by law. (The unwritten stipulation: your neighbors will likely gripe.)

Adkoozie is a mobile ad network that places ads for local businesses for free in exchange for allowing Adkoozie ads on their own sites. Painting the company’s logos, colors and social media icons on houses is its bold move to drive more traffic to their site and services.

What do you think of this advertising move? Would a paid mortgage be worth it for you to have your home transformed into a giant billboard? How far have you gone for “free”?