Placemat Ads - I need feedback!

[JerzieJennie]

Hello everyone,

Brief Summary in case you missed it... Rudy Giuliani is on the place mats on some of the Trenton area diners. We are buying a spot and thereby kicking him off the place mat, because I did research, and his contract is up.

We have a chipin to raise money for the cause. I had to move the first $650 to my bank account so I can write the guys a check for the down payment. So, now the goal is another 250. Our place mats will be seen by 225,000 diner patrons and will last through the primary in February. The contract is exclusive, and no other politician may be added to the place mat.

http://ronpaulplacemat.chipin.com/ron-paul-mercer-county-placemats



Please go to my flickr site to give feedback about the ads!
DO NOT CRITIQUE MARGINS, ETC. I SUCK AT THIS. These ads are all going through a professional designer as part of the fee, so we are just showing him the general idea.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15184313@N02/sets/72157602827852405/

Thanks so much! Please donate if you havent already :)

[Lord Xar]

hmm.. There is a designer out of NH named Linda L. - she is extremely talented and will probably do these for free.

Can they be color?

PM me and I will forward you her contact info.

[me3]

I like RP5 best. It's not too crowded and it focuses on name recognition.

[Tina]

They are all nice. I like 3 and 5 the most.

[dmspilot00]

I'm not sure which one is the best. I like #4 though. #5 might be confusing because it doesn't say he's a congressman. I like #3 too.

You have to ask what kind of audience will be looking at this. Are there going to be a lot of pro war people?

[Paulitic]

I like RP5 the best...though I'm biased since that was my design! ;)

RP1 is good too.

[jgmaynard]

I like #4 - lots of white space and "President" stands out nicely to be eye-catching. TY! :)

JM

[JerzieJennie]

Just a follow up.

This is for Trenton, NJ, so everyone knows who Rudy is - his place mat just said "elect Rudy"... We are torn between name recognition and trying to give info, since many people will not know who he is.

Also, the crowds in these diners are 1) Princeton area people and 2) Trenton city people. Typically diners have older crowds during the early birds, younger crowds in the later evenings, and families in between.

NJ is a very democratic leaning state, and I would venture to say most are anti-war. We do have pro-war, too because we are so close to NYC and 9-11 effected many of us very personally.

Feel free to suggest changes, as well. We have a professional ad person putting it together. Its a free service with the purchase of space.

[JerzieJennie]

Does anyone know how to start a poll for this?

Also, I think we only get black and white. I forgot to answer that.

[madcat033]

Trust me, cram the info on there. As long as you have decently sized letters for a headline to catch people's attention. People are BORED when they are waiting for their food and they will often read fine details.

[Zarxrax]

Yes, I think people are focusing WAY too much on just name recognition. No one is going to vote for ron paul just because they recognize his name on the ballot! Definitely cram all the info you can on there, but try to focus on issues that can be seen as a clear positive by the vast majority of people, rather than issues that can be devisive.

[sylvania]

1 and 3. I like it when there is a message attached and since it's a diner (and not a drive-by) they'll have time to read it.

[scbissler]

Just chipped in $25.

And I liked #1 best - For Liberty! For Smaller Government! For Peace!

[Chaos Unlimited]

#3 - people have time to read - better to say what he's done than throw out campaign platitudes.

[tangent4ronpaul]

I really feel like an Atari in this campaign. Yet another idea I was trying to sell the PCC on back in March or April... UGH!

However, I was pushing a different market, so I'll tell you what I told them, but a bit more verbosely...

Advertise on placemats AROUND CONVENTION CENTERS! You're trying to connect with community "roll models" and "authority figures" - priests, doctors, dentists, locksmiths, etc. Basically, people that make above average salaries and have extended contact with the general public on a daily basis. In this case, the graphic design has to be good, because you will be competing for their attention with colleges who they want to talk to. They come in for a few days, then spread all over the country. Regulars are rare, so you get better exposure for the money.

I'd suggested going after the mom&pop places and offering to buy their placemats for them, so we got the whole visual "real estate". I'm guessing that cost to print each would not be that much more than cost to advertise on each. You are dealing with a lot of pockets in the middle, in the latter case.

It's a "perfect storm" situation for spreading a meme epidemic.

consider it.

As to the variation that is being proposed here, where you are targeting a local community - interesting... what are the costs involved for how many impressions? I gather this is going to be one square among many. Did you ask about the percentage of "regulars"? - if it runs for 3 months and Joe comes in M-F for lunch, that's 60 impressions, most of which will be wasted on him. This might be pretty cost effective.

just my 2 cents...

-n

[JerzieJennie]

One diner is in Princeton, NJ on Rt 1 which has a ton of traffic that stops in "on the fly" as they are traveling to and from work/business. There are scholars and students that may venture out, as well.

The other diner is in Trenton, NJ which is the state capital, so there is every walk of life that you can imagine in there - politicians, families, old folks, etc.

The reason the locations were picked is:

1) these are two of the nicer diners in the area where we felt the audience would be receptive to the message if given a chance to learn about DrP.

2) Rudy was on the mat, and we wanted to boot him off before he renewed his contract.

3) We could provide the most exposure with the least amount of money, and have a captive audience to show our message to.


That being said - about finances.
225,000 placemats = $0.004 per placemat

If 10 percent of the people are unique eaters, we hit 22,500 people for 4 cents each.



The way I think about it... If it motivates 100 people (.04 %)out of that whole bunch to look into him, we have succeeded! Ron Paul supporters have big mouths, and we like to spread the word. I just think of the spider web of people that this could bring our message to.

The repeat viewers certainly dont bother me. I'm sure it will take some people to see his name 3 times, and then hear him on the TV, or see an article, and make the connection.

[runderwo]

I like #1

[cmc]

This is such a great idea.

Customers will be exposed to Paul while sitting waiting for their food, and maybe even talk about him to each other at the table. Plus, no one throws away a placemat without using it first (unlike mailed ads or even slim jims).

Be sure to tell the people working at the diners about the Tax Free Tips act! :
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=22597

[Corydoras]

I like #1 the best-- gives details and context. I like the way it gets at how and why he takes the positions he does.

There's a popular restaurant near me that has insanely detailed placemats, and people really do read them, so I think a moderately detailed message like #1 is good.

[LibertyEagle]

hmm.. There is a designer out of NH named Linda L. - she is extremely talented and will probably do these for free.

Can they be color?

PM me and I will forward you her contact info.

Jerzie, please contact Lord Xar about this.

[randy9294]

I like #1 and #5 the most. I think the detail about his positions are important and if you have the opportunity to present them, then by all means do so.

[Eric21ND]

Awesome idea!

[Win_Witka]

I believe that #1 is the best placemat because it has Ron Paul's picture, name in bold, and where to locate the info about him. Then it gives the finer points about Ron Paul in which the reader recieves the WORD that we are trying to get acrossed.

[James R]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15184313@N02/sets/72157602827852405/

Thanks so much! Please donate if you havent already :)

I like the simple 3-bullet point RP3 version. Most people are not going to read a lot of text on a placemat, but if there is three simple points in big bold letters, chances are they will read them.