Marketing Strategies for Any Budget - Ministry and Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

In case you missed it, check out this survey from Media Week's 2007 Media Plan Award Winners. If you're short on time, skip to the coverage of SanDisk's brilliant anti-Ipod campaign which won for "Best Plan Under $1 Million," or check out McDonald's uber smart Seattle campaign which won for "Best Use of Nontraditional Media."

Great ministry and business buzz spreading doesn't have to cost a lot of money. In fact, you shouldn't think about what you'd do if money were no object. Rather, take a cue from SanDisk and prayerfully consider how to break through the clutter, to the glory of God.

I also strongly encourage you, to beat an old drum, to use viral widgets to spread your media and message far and wide. With the new, free SproutBuilder, you can build slideshows, music players and more without hiring a Flash programmer. Check out my recent post on Sprout and widgets here.

And you need to research and prayerfully consider Bluetooth broadcasting. It's hot for good reason in Europe and doesn't have to be a pain to consumers.

In fact, why don't you pastors and ministry leaders create simple graphics/promo stuff, load low-cost Bluetooth broadcasting software onto the smart phones of your students, and send them out to concerts & coffee shops? Call it guerilla ministry!

Why don't you store owners set up a low-cost Bluetooth receiver and send coupons to passers-by and customers? Check out Powerade's use of Bluetooth marketing here, complete with scanners that read barcodes right off of mobiles. Again, Bluetooth marketing doesn't have to be annoying and invasive; solid consumer response to past such campaigns shows that a significant percentage of customers actually appreciate this targeted marketing.

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