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501 Killer Marketing Tactics
to the public to create awareness, promote trial visits, and encourage more frequent visits by existing customers. The following pages offer a number of specific tactics that have proven successful. Tailor them to your situation.
231. Beach Activities Best For Most business types Objective Increase awareness, increase community goodwill, improve your image, stimulate trial Target Potential new customers
This is a year-round promotion for businesses located in warm-weather climates and a spring-through-fall project for temperate zones. It’s a bit more ambitious than some other tactics, but it’s very effective for introducing yourself to a new audience. Contact local sporting-goods retailers to arrange sponsorship of community beach activities or other public outdoor activities as a partnership promotion. Activities like volleyball, Frisbee, or tug-of-war tournaments on the beach work great. The participating retailer supplies the sporting goods, and you follow that up with a luau, barbecue, or clambake sponsored by your business. As the event ends, present trophies to the participants as prizes. Consider partnering with a caterer or local restaurant for the food portion and/or a local beverage supplier for the drinks. Be sure to contact the proper authorities when you plan on sponsoring such an event, as different rules and regulations apply in different counties and states. Promote the activity through the use of newspaper advertising, radio advertising, and posters in your business and the sporting-goods store. On the day of the event, if you can afford it, hire a banner tow plane to fly over the beach for a couple of hours.