The cornerstone of H2M's
marketing strategy with Zorbaz
is, and always has been,
billboard advertising. But
before you raise your eyebrows
at a company concentrating a
majority of its marketing dollars
in 2016 in outdoor signage,
Hanson would like a word.
"We've got years of experience
with what people call
traditional media," he says,
"Which is usually used as a
pejorative now. But we call it
'proven-effective media.' And
that's a big difference between
us and other agencies, I think.
To me, social media is the
unproven media at this point.
"But to me, billboards, done
correctly, are the most – you
can't ignore them. You can't
turn the page. If you're driving
by them, you're going to see
them, unless you're halfsleeping at the wheel. I think
billboards are an absolute work
of art when done right."
A billboard-centric approach is
ultimately not about Hanson's
personal preferences, though.
It's a product of where most
Zorbaz stores are located and
the crowd they're trying to
attract.
"It's very much a destination
restaurant," Hanson says.
"They're all on lakes, on water,
and that's the deal. That's their
key. You have to want to go
there. So it's just keeping that
logo in front of people as often
as you can, in places they're
likely to be intercepted heading
that way."
The billboards, which are
typically humorous and topical
in nature (a recent example
being: "Zorbaz: Eazier to
Order than ObamaCare"), are
not necessarily intended to
steer people into the nearest
Zorbaz parking lot, according
to Hanson.
MARKETING
BILLBOARD
right then, on most products,"
he says. "'I saw that billboard,
I went right to the place and
bought a pizza.' Humans
aren't like that. They don't
respond that way. The saying
we have here is, familiarity
breeds trust."
It's that trust that H2M is
constantly trying to establish
and re-establish with the tens
of thousands of lake-going,
potential patrons who drive by
their boards year-round.
"We're never selling," Hanson
explains. "These boards are
just expressing the attitude
of the company, the owners,
the managers. This is a fun,
irreverent spot. The tone is
tongue-in-cheek, and the
maxim has been to take it to
the edge and then go right
over it a little bit. And then we'll
pull back to where we think it's
okay."
"Oftentimes, people – when
they see advertising – they're
not in a position to purchase
Zorbaz's billboards
follow their trademark
style of replacing every
's' with a 'z'.
OTHER NOTABLE
H2M CLIENTS
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DuraTech Industries
Lake Region Healthcare
Lund Boats
702 Communications
Essentia Health
Kroll's Diner
Otter Tail Tourism
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