Monday, October 26, 2009

Curbside Handouts

I'm not sure which comedian it was who said that 'the guy on the corner handing out fliers might as well be saying; "Here, can you throw this out for me" as he hands you the post card'. This is pretty hilarious, but it's not always true. A little while ago, I got a card from John Allan's. From the looks of the card, the place must be a spa or health club. Or at the very least an up-scale barber.

Upon closer inspection, the picture on the front shows a pool table in the foreground, and a bunch of men getting their hair cut in the background. Seems like a good place to go to get my hair did. Below the picture, they offer a nice coupon. The kicker to this handout, though, is the free sample of shampoo that is stapled to the top corner. How clever. Most people will toss a postcard without giving it a second look, but if there is a free sample attached, well, this one is a keeper.

The little pouch of shampoo is branded with the barber shop's logo and colors. This must have been a custom job. To get the shop's own shampoo in these little pouches is really impressive. This must have been a national campaign (they have 1 location in Chicago and 4 in NYC).

You can see that the integration of printing and promotional products can make a big splash. Just like our Awesome-vitiation, which combined the 2 items, it is not only a memorable gift that the potential client receives, but also a postcard full of valuable info. This combined with direct mailing is sure to bring in clients and spur up some curiosity about any business.

Play pool while you wait!