Advertisements that Work: Lessons from Tissue Pack Marketing
If you’ve been to Japan, you might have noticed the popular practice of tissue-pack marketing. Companies hire agencies to distribute small tissue packages with advertisements inserted in them. These tissue packs are then handed out at crowded city areas to various types of passerbys. Some target only men or women, depending on the product/service advertised.
Around four billion tissue packs are distributed every year in Japan. An internet survey of over 100,000 consumers show that 76% will accept the tissue packs, with over 50% saying that they’ll definitely look at the ad. In terms of appeal, tissue packs are more welcome than flyers and are more likely to be retained by the recipent.
Why? Because tissue packs are useful. People need them in their daily life and their lifespan is not limited to the time it takes to look at the ad, before throwing it away. Flyers and junk mail easily go in the bin, while tissues can be kept and gradually used for a period of time. Some consumers are likely to glance at your ad several times before they exhaust all the tissues.
What will the consumer see? Alongside the offer/pitch, company logos, phone numbers, website urls and addresses are usually the basic information included in the advertising inserts. Large and small companies often use tissue-pack marketing as a general branding strategy or a specific tactic to launch a new product or service offer.
Image Credit: Examples of tissue packs
It’s a simple but useful way to spread a marketing message and reach the people you want to target. There are two main things I like about it:
- It is more than an ad. It is useful to the recipient. Bundled value asset (tissue paper) facilitates initial acceptance of ad message. It may also increase overall retention.
- It is persistent. The message usually stays with the consumer for the lifespan of the pack: there is continual and repeated exposure over a period of time.
A tissue pack isn’t the only asset you can use. The basic strategy is to tag a marketing message to a portable functionality that extends its lifespan and value. Packs of specially branded chewing gum. Most people don’t mind chewing gum. Cardboard binoculars during a music festival. It helps people to see better. Anything that makes your message more than an ad increases the likelihood of it being accepted and retained by potential customers.
I’m not suggesting that you should start creating ad copy and bundling them with tissue packs to pass them out in your neighborhood. Of course, that can be done. But if you’re not keen on offline promotions, the principles of the tissue-pack can be carried over to online marketing.
Web users are going to tune out the typical ad that sells and sells only. Some automatically remove all image ads via a browser addon like Ad Block Plus. Display ads do work to get attention but a holistic marketing plan should also involve the use of ads, pitches and offers that are substantiated by an attached asset which extends its value.
An ad that isn’t just an ad. An ad that doesn’t just involve a pitch and sell. An ad that is actually useful for the recipient. An example: affiliate marketers give away free PDF reports as teasers to show actual product depth. Inside these informational reports are links and more details on the actual offer. People will read and pass around reports embedded with marketing messages because they find something of value in them.
The same goes for consultant firms who release white papers as an indirect way to market one’s skills and services. Establishing thought-leadership via educational reports focused on the needs and interests of one’s target audience is an effective way to build a reputation that will attract sales leads and referrals in the long run.
An advertisement for your firm, website or business doesn’t always have to look like a pay-per-month graphic banner. An ad doesn’t have to stand alone and face consumer resistance. Learn to bundle it with assets that extend its lifespan and value to your target. It helps in message retention and may even assist in the spread of word-of-mouth.
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Maki,
I will call it…. Tissuevertising! It’s a good way to give an ad to the mass market through tissues. Of course there are hundreds of other products we can consider to reach in the same way.
What else more inside?
Fascinating concept and one I didn’t know about. I did use a novel one for my offline business recently, which was based on the same premise. I bought 100,000 sachets of sugar branded with my company name, logo, strap line and URL and then gave them to all the local bars and cafés. Good subliminal stuff.
Reminds me of something I had seen a while ago, took me a minute or two to find it on Google: http://www.freehandads.com/index2.php
They distribute free note paper on college campuses with a “banner ad” at the top of each page. Brilliant.
The tissue pack marketing could be also used on lighters, they last longer, and if the lighter is a cool one, the smoker will show it to his friends for sure.
That is really creative advertising. We need to be continually changing the way we advertise on our blogs because as you say, people become accustomed to the ads and take no notice of them.
Giving a PDF away, in certain ways, the marketing message carried over is more subtle due to the usefulness of the content. Ads on tissue pack are still ads, but content that leads to a solution is more like a recommendation than ad. Of course, proper copywriting plays a significant role here.
Excellent analysis. I had never heard of tissue packs, but the concept of creating ads that are useful is a great one. Thanks for sharing.
We don’t have those ads on the tissue paper pack here in the Philippines. Well, it just gave me an idea how savvy Japan is.
Like what Hendry Lee said, e-books can be like these Tissue Packs, but, there may be this one thing that’s more persistent, more visible, and more easy-to-get stuff here in the net that can be used as a marketing media. And these are free non-ad articles to be given either to established blogs. Established blogs having plenty of traffic and when a big portion reads your submitted post, It’ll sure give you instant regular visitors.
Interesting - great piece. The concept of giving something away (of value) which can invoke a conditioned response of compliance (response leading to a “sale”) reminds me of Robert Cialdini’s book, “Influence - The Psychology of Persuasion.” See his chapter on Reciprocation. “The rule (of reciprocation) says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” He calls these rules the “Weapons of Influence.” Turns out there is power in giving - a gift received (free sample) - can and does motivate the recipient to “give” something back. Business Networking International (BNI) built their organization on the “Givers Gain” principle. The Krishnas solicited donations by first giving away a flower - which they refused to take back regardless of the recipients response. Sales people give compliments and small gifts in order to break through resistance and get their prospect to be willing to listen…which of course leads to more courtship…giving and receiving. Godin would call this permission marketing - dating your prospect, building up a relationship of trust and yes, compliance.
I’d never heard of tissue pack marketing. I wonder why it hasn’t caught on here in the U.S. Anything that effectively gets the word out about your product is nothing to sneeze at. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
I did not realized that the Japanese are not only good in technology, but also in advertising. Come to think of it, this is also why some Internet marketers are making good money from giving away free videos and e-books.
Advertising never goes out of style, I guess. It is an endless art, only getting better.
This reminds me of the time I was at a 4th of July fest and received a bandanna for Bush’s baked beans..I still have that bandanna. As a person who is in the Uniform industry, I am partial to giving away t-shirts with company logos. By far my favorite way of getting somewhat free advertising.
This is defiantly an advertising angle I’d like to see more of in the UK. Today I was out shopping at the Bullring in Birmingham and I cant even begin the count the amount of times I was given a leaflet or flyer of some description. You know where they ended up, (if the managed to actually give me the thing) the bin. But if they were to hand it over bundled with gum or tissues then I’d be a lot more inclined to take their advertising message on-board.
The turtle lays a thousand eggs, the chicken lays only one. The turtle lays her eggs in silence, while the chicken squawks and carries on.
The chicken has a much larger market for her eggs.
It pays to advertise.
That’s a pretty cool idea for swag. Sticky notes are also a thought - I have 3 branded sticky note pads on my desk right now.
I wouldn’t be likely to accept any kind of personal hygiene products from a random stranger handing them out on the street, but thats just me I guess.
Smart marketers, those Japanese. A great example of non-intrusive B2C (business-to-consumer) advertising.
Our biz is B2B, but the “make it useful” rule has worked well for us. We give out a lot of note pads (not those tiny ones with 8 sheets , but the 4×5’s575-count, with our logo and contact info printed small enough so people can actually use the pads for telephone messages. They stays on their desks for several months, a constant reminder that we are there.
Same thing with our e-tips. 90 percent good, useful strategies and 5 percent gentle promotion. It actually made people more responsive when we do send a sales message.
Great post. Thanks.
Promotions and branded goodies have been around forever, the tissue packet concept is new to me and I think that’s a great and resourceful one. That’s also the reason at a trade show or somewhere you will always see companies giving out pens and mugs, because they are used regardless of what brand is on it. What are the type of costs involved with the tissue packages? This is a great strategy for larger companies who can afford the packaging and can hire people to stand out and pass them along. For smaller companies this would be difficult.
Intersting post. No doubt the advertising matters. Look at auto insurance in the United States. It’s the most boring topic; yet, the advertisement are funny and well known from the talking lizard to the quacking duck to the cavemen.
@Susan Greene - I agree with you Susan, I don’t know why something like this isn’t business as usual in the US. Now I need to find out how expensive it would be to implement. Maybe that could be the hold back in the States.
Hey M - submitted it to sphinn for you and your audience to vote on - http://sphinn.com/story/94744 - Hope you’re having a great holiday season! Hope to talk to you soon man!
You’ve got a solid head on your shoulders. I love the way you take the obscure, strange and peculiar and roll it into something practical and profitable.
I really like the idea and I like the reasons behind the move as well, strategically, such as longetivity… but am I the only one who is a little concerned about having my audience blowing their nose with my brand?
The medium is the message right? Luxury products will not have their ads in a newspaper in black and white, rather they will have it in color in a glossy magazine page right?
Just my 2 cents… I’m curious as to what people think…
The idea with tissue is very interesting. I have never heard about something like that. We do not have this special tissue in our country…
Thought provoking post.
It does make an impression on how can we make a more lasting impression then banners? Even ebooks seem at times to be in your face but like you said think to find something useful to everyday life.
Maybe great content like this post can create value to go over time and again.
I will remember Japanese tissue pack ads for a while !
Thanks!
Excellent read! That is what I love about this blog, it is way different than any other thing I read on the Internet. This tissue pack marketing is something that I have never looked at as being successful. That probably is because I never actually thought about it. Now if there was only something like this that you could do on the Internet that would be the same type of thing. What I mean, is give something away with your company’s name on it or your blog’s name on it. Because this would give you tons of publicity. I will have to definitely think about this and see what I can come up with.
Tissue advertising is always a popular one — but as always you need to think about your audience.
You are targeting a specific (but wealthy) group.The female shopper in her 20-40’s. Which woman doesn’t need a package of tissues? They are the only ones who will accept a package of tissues when offered on the street.
So this works for products that target them — but forget about promoting cars on tissues. (Unless the car is cute, pink and has a pop star promoting it).
Man that notes idea is AWESOME!
I sent them an e-mail asking about their pricings. I will definitely
use them when I launch my blogging product.
Craig you couldn’t be more right with cups etc on trade shows etc
There is one “must do” thing if you ever sell stuff at a trade show.
Every customer gets a branded plastic or paper bag.
Get the customers early and they will carry your bag with your
logo into your competitors show rooms!
-Tobias Fransson
Good write-up Maki. Havong lived three years in Tokyo it brought back smiles and remembrance of good times … always a good thing on New year’s eve.
To the comments about just realizing Japan was good in marketing as well as technology … kind of shows the often backwards concept many online have. It’s the marketing that makes thew product, not technology. Some of the best technical ideas in the world have probably never been seen by more than a handful of people, becuase they didn’t get effectively marketed and thus we don’t even know what they are.
One reason for the packs’ popularity you didn’t touch on thiugh, and the fact that as a forigner I always grabbed every pack I was offered is, unike the US, there’s never any toilet paper in the bathrooms … and flat tissue packs are easier to carry than a roll of regular TP in your back pocket … the need for the advertising medium itself may slightly skew the acceptance rate. (Living in Manila now I don’t know how this could be translated to the Filipino advertising model, here you can hardly find anyone to sell you toilet paper, much less give it away).
The other acceptance key is the fact the tissue pack distributors are predomineintly young women slected for attractiveness and dressed in very short skirts.
And at least in entertainment districts much of the advertising is for hardcore porn … often, as aforeigner, I would have an offered pack snatched away when the distro gilr realized I was not supposed to ‘konw about’ certain advertisers. “Telephone Clubs”, which by law don’t accept foreigners are big tissue pack advertisers, for example.
But don’t take these comments as negative … it’s a good thought provoking article and an idea that can be translated into many good marketing ideas.
Happy New Year.
Hello !!
Thank you so much for these tips I really liked them, and the tissue idea is very great,
but I think that these tips depend on the type of the visitors that visit your website or blog, don’t they?
for example you are here at Doshdosh dealing with webmasters, and it’s not the same with a site about movie reviews, is it?
thank you so much.
Thanks for this great article
I would like to add this strategy can be a part of marketing campaign.
@Tobias Great idea with the plastic bag. That could be a few hours of basically free walking billboards at that point.
@Ali - Hey Ali, you just gave birth to a great name for that kind of advertising. Although I had never heard of this type of advertising here in India (I know it must be active and in practice.)
By the way, I visited your website Ali which has a very cool design but you seem to be from a very different niche.
Hey Maki, I am here for the second time and this time I couldn’t stop myself from commenting. You seem to be a very professional writer as you gathered complete information about Tissue advertising first. Thx for the info.
Regards
Laksh
http://makemoneyonline-withme.blogspot.com/
A local web startup recently gave me some chapstick branded with their company details. It was a very handy and appreciated gift in the cold winter!
As the number of ads and content signals increase, ads are definitely gonna have to get more innovative.
@Ali
Tissuevertising sounds appropriate. Yes, there are a lot of other products you can use. The basic concept is the same.
@ Mike
Cool. That sounds like something that would work. On a similar note, I once had a friend who set up a coaster company selling drink coasters that could be customized for any company or business. He did pretty well.
@ Walt
That would work really well if you have something that is very relevant to college students. I wouldn’t mind getting free paper to use!
@ Mihai
Lighters would be nice too, although a little more costly.
@ Jim Kukral
You’re welcome!
@ Jesse Panganiban
Yes, I think its all about coming up new and innovative ways to market online. The basic principles is just to make it more than just a ad/pitch but something useful to the target.
@ Greg Elwell
I’ve never thought it about but I think reciprocity does play a role, especially when the arrangement is unconditional. In the end, the relevance and quality of the product/service matters most but on a sub-conscious level people do recognize and remember kindness. This might just be enough to tip the customer over when deciding to make a purchase or not.
@ Susan Greene
I think it may be done in the US but on a small scale.. perhaps at special events and less on urban city streets.
@ Samuel Barns
I know what you mean. I still have some products (hat/sunglasses) I got at outdoor music festivals. I actually keep them because its kind of a memento.. like ‘i was there!’. Great way to advertise.
@ BlogStew
Exactly. Flyers are rubbish, I dump them after one look. Or not take them at all. Things are different when something useful is bundled with the ad.
@Judy Dunn
You’re welcome. ‘Gentle promotion’ — I like the sound of that. Soft selling is always more successful in building long time trust.
@ Craig
I have no idea of the cost. The only article I found on the net stated that it costs ¥10 to ¥25 ($0.11 to $0.27USD) to do it but it did not state whether the cost was per pack or not.
@ Gary Lee
Thanks dude for the submit.
@ Demian Farnworth
Thanks for the compliment.
@ Alphonse Ha
As with every form of advertising, the results will vary. Would it lower the prestige of a luxury brand? Some might think so. Some might not. It’s hard to ascertain the response of potential customers. I don’t think it matters that much since a good luxury brand is largely defined by its exclusivity and price. Both of which are not deflated by the form of advertising, although the medium itself might affect the ‘image’ that it has manufactured.
@ Scott
You’re welcome! Yes, I was thinking in those lines as well. Making a lasting impression. Something persistent, instead of a simple see-and-forget-banner.
@ Martijn
Yup, the products must be relevant to the recipient. Although I think some companies like to engage in tissue ad blitzes just for branding purposes. Keeping their brand in the minds of their prospects.
@ Dave Starr
Cool stuff, thanks for sharing. I’ve lived in Tokyo for a while as well so I totally know what you mean. Different city areas have different tissue pack distributors and tissue ads. Something in Shibuya/Harajuku would undoubtedly be different from somewhere like Kabuki-cho where the ads are more oriented towards the nightclubs and services there.
I love tissue packs, never refuse one when I’m offered. I don’t know why but I always think that ‘you can’t do worse with a free pack of tissue, so why not?’
@ Arab Publishers
The same theory can be applied to other niches. Its all about making the ad more than ad, into something that’s useful for the audience.
@ Everyone else
Thanks for your comments!
@Make money online with a 17 year old kid - Dear Laksh, Thanks for your appreciation. Frankly, I am Ideas Executive for my clients. My key job is to give effective ideas to products or service. ‘Gazelle’ brand envelopes’ online promotion is one of my recent projects.
Let me know if I can guide Or help you any more.
All the best.
Ali.
I agree with the principle outlined here. On a similar note I think free little software applets that actually solve a useful problem but bundle ads would be another excellent method of persistent advertisement.
Looking forward to your next post.
Thanks,
Ayo
Tissue marketing is quite good. Perhaps people in the US will make it quite popular here too.
Wow. I definitely agree with you. And I think I’ve already encountered most (if not all) of these effective ads used by companies as tactics to get noticed. Online, I always received these free reports which looks useful for me as a web developer but actually contains numerous links to other articles on their websites which in turn will bring you to their products or services. Very keen observation you got Maki. As always!
Tissue pack looks to be pretty cool idea of reaches out to the masses. The other day, I saw a local head hunting firm giving hand cream with the pamphlet. I use the hand cream but do not remember anything about the contents of the pamphlet.
Tissue pack to be a twitter of internet marketing. Nobody took twitter seriously till it caught the fancy of internet savvy public.
Cheers,
Santosh Puthran
Yep, when it comes to advertising, creativity and making the ad interesting are the most important elements. I would definitely rather pick up a tissue than a flier.
It was an excellent analysis and the concept of adding ads is the best way and useful one.Sure i had never heared of this “tissue pack” and think so it is one of great marketing way.Thanks for sharing.
That type of advertising is quite popular in the US but mostly in the bigger cities. I remember in Chicago, they used to have small billboard style ads about urnials in public restrooms. hehe
Great Post!
Wish you a Brilliant 2009!!
Prakash
hi there maki - great post.
Anyway It’s quite a long time since I last visited dosh dosh and I find that your blog’s niche has moved away from meta-blogging - was wondering why and how this happened?
Also it would be nice to see you posting more often.
This is just an observation since I’m an avid reader of this blog until I got busy during the end of 2008.
Happy 2009!
wew..that was amazing number pack of tissue….wew…
Fliers stuck under my windshield usually just annoyed me (maybe that’s why I sold my car). People should consider printing their ads on a low cost air freshener. They are about 50 cents if you order them in bulk, maybe there is a company somewhere that custom prints the stinky little pine trees.
I am not saying this a e very good idea. I keep my good ideas to myself
Great post, Happy New Year Dosh!
I think tissue pack marketing works well in Japan. Japanese do not simple throw rubbish on the floor as I’ve personally noticed before. Even though they have finished use, they will keep it until they found a rubbish bin.
This concept works very well in Japan as my own experience since I’ve been working in Japan before. One day can even collected up to 30 packs if you hanging around near train station. LOL!
Free tissue, why not?
It’s an old and time-tested idea.
That’s why they stand outside the restaurant to offer a piece of chicken to lure you in!
That’s why they send you 2 weeks free newspaper, so that you can extend your subscription to paid.
…
Happy New Year Dosh Dosh. I haven’t been around for a while but discovered you again after searching for advice on sponsoring wordpress themes, something that you covered a good while ago.
Are the tissue pack survey result accurate. Surely it is the content of the pack that is useful, not the advert. Well, unless the advert is written on the tissue of course
Second attempt at this post, got a “page not found” error first time around.
Are the results of that survey really informative, or will people glibly say they read the adverts just for the sake of it. Surely it is the tissue itself people find useful?
It is briliant ways of advertising, sincetissue being use frequently by most of people . The advertising could reach targeted audience. May be , we need to start something new like them..
I have recently started reading this blog and I have yet to be disappointed.
This latest point is a great observation, I have been to Taiwan/Japan numerous times and as I look back I recall many of these tissue packs being handed from one person to another. On that note, the item in question (Tissue Packs) have so little value and yet enough value to have you hold onto them, that passing them along to a friend is not out of the question. In a way, the marketing manifests itself into a viral marketing scheme. Brilliant marketing and great observation.
Images have always been a powerful marketing tool. I always have remembered of products/people/moments just by seeing an image or smell that reminded me of them.
Indeed we could learn anything through simple things. I was a gamer and surely could apply what I learned there into blogging.
As someone who used to have about 3 of these tissue ads per bag, I can tell you, this is definitely a much more effective form of advertising than handing out fliers. Sure, I’m keeping it because it’s always convenient to have a tissue pack when I’m on the go, but I usually read the ad several times and those that catch my attention enough, I actually purchase their products/services when the need arises
Great advice! When looking for new promotional products, it’s always helpful to give away something your customers can actually USE. I personally don’t like getting random items at shows or as hand outs, but I’d probably keep a tissue pack. I’m surprised it’s not more popular in the US.
The specialty advertising industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. I have seen bandage dispensers, pen knives, squeezie stress balls and even chocolates with advertising on them For your dollar, or yen in this case a calendar would be your best bet. A calendar hangs for a year with your ad on the bottom seen every day. You can even get them custom made with imagery of your choosing to even get your message across more effectively.
I agree images have a very powerful tool. You can attract a reader by using a tempting image. It can also at times used to convey messages.
Sounds like another guerilla marketing in the making! I like unorthodox way of advertising like this. The ingenious way of putting ads make people remember what you are promoting and will most likely attract a lingering attention than paid ads you see on gigantic billboards.
I wish I can come up wit something as ingenious as that for my infoproducts.
Wow thats a good way to market. I can put my website name on a tissue or tshirt and know that people are not going to throw it away. Awesome dosh
The tissue marketing made me giggle - fun, subversive, ingenious!
BUT a throwaway product. Surely, you want your name on something that will last longer, no? (& is hopefully reusable, recyclable & environmentally friendly!:)
SOO.. what I’m sayin.. even if I may NOT like Bush, I like the bandanna and T-shirt idea so far best!! (especially if it’s from organic cotton! and with eco-friendly dyes!)
Wouldn’t it be better if the customer actually used your ad… forever? or, at least for decades..?
(& freecycled or recycled it at the end of its use)
I still hate the fact that my sis sleeps in the hated T-shirt & what’s more, still orders stuff from the said company!!
Excellent content here and a nice writing style too - keep up the great work!
Awesome articles dosh. I love the new theme.
Great article. I have always felt that traditional advertising techniques tire out very quickly because they lack usefulness. However, I do think there is a fine line between effective marketing and intrusive marketing.
Not sure about how I feel about the tissue-pack advertising. I do feel like advertising is creeping to much into my personal space. But techniques such as free pdf reports seem to be effective as well as useful.
Thanks Maki!
Very interesting… that’s a great idea.
Thanks!
Lew
This is the same concept as using promotional items such as writing pens, stress balls, magnetic business cards, and many other items - even cell phone holders. The best place to put your URL is on any item that will be handy when the potential buyers will be making the decision to buy.
I made a similar mention concerning the serviettes that StarBucks use whereby they could have a new advertising tip from Google, directing non-users and members to otherwise hard to find sites.
I should imagine advertising on tissues or napkins or anything used within the hospitality industry is a boon to developers & vendors given the flood of daily visitors that do not frequent the Internet.
This strategy can help many vendors improve their sales without the costly price tag of advertising costs that are generally associated to their products and, in hard economic times, this may become more as an important tool for companies to survive the meltdown. In any event, any message is relevant including and not forgetting the welfare & charities that will need a surplus of revenue to stave off the recession as it hits across Europe and the World. Good tactical thinking is necessary.
This is brilliant! I have often thought of creative ways to advertise my business. Candy handed out at parades with ads on them, water bottles in marathons with your ads on them, hats, if flying first class you can offer the flight attendant a handful of pens with your ads on them for passengers to fill out forms, etc. There are so many creative ways to get the word out that don’t cost of ton of money!
Great post by the way, thanks!
Maki, you’re right on with the concept of “advertising” through PDF’s
This is a tactic I have used personally over the past year.
I write free eBooks (in PDF format) which I distribute initially through my blog. These always attract interest, loads of backlinks and have played a great part in the success of my blog so far. I assume that many are also redistributed as I receive loads of emails from people thanking me for the info provided in my PDFs who seem to have arrived on my site from the links in the ebook rather than from other sites.
In some of my eBooks, I have recommended other sites of interest (without having been asked) and I honestly believe this has led to increased traffic through indirect advertising to these other sites too.
So perhaps something to consider is asking to be included (as a recommendation/sponsor/favor) in a PDF/eBook if you know someone who is writing one? I haven’t tried this tactic myself, though I would imagine it could be a good strategy provided the target market for the PDF is the same or very similar to that of your own site.
Thanks again for the great article. I personally find the Japanese concepts of advertising highly interesting. Like the billboards which tell you to search for “X-Name” on MSN/Google/AOL rather than offering a long drawn out URL. Highly effective and far more memorable.
Hi Maki,
I’ve actually seen those tissue packs in action in Singapore. I thought it was a cool concept but never realised how widespread it’s being used in Japan… and of course it works - it just makes so much sense! Love it when people use a little bit of creativity combined with old-school marketing.
Asher
I really hope this catches on in the U.S. - to think I actually just BOUGHT little packs of tissues to have some for my purse and car!
I head of a marketing firm that took it one step further and printed ads on toilet paper. Imagine going to the bathroom and seeing ads on the toilet paper! Needless to say, this idea did not catch fire like the tissue idea.
TomG.
Tissuvertising is just a breath away from old-fashioned branded giveaways…corporate logos on candy, gum wrappers and pen wipers have been around for years…some mainstream western marketers may be reluctant to promote a brand with something that folks are going to wipe their noses with…
If you think about other cases in which we see this form of advertising, the biggest one is right in front of us.
All hail - Gmail - the ultimate tissue pack marketing tool.
Not only is it free to distribute from friend to friend, but it has “smart” advertising depending on what you’re reading in your e-mail.
Great marketing strategy. One has to be creative and a step ahead in marketing world.
@Craig -
Hi Craig,
Cost of this approach doesn’t differ much from free pen or free mug approach (well, mugs are much more expensive). This form of advertising is also very popular in Taiwan and it has led into development of specialized companies, which provide tissue packaging and distribution.
Tissue package business runs almost like direct mailing, customer pays for tissue package with their “banner” on covers of the package and for specific distribution area and for total volume. Supplier then packs it and gives to face-to-face distributors who are usually students making some extra money.
There are enough customers to supply enough tissue packages for one person to distribute through afternoon rush hour. Also this doesn’t necessarily run every day, you are more likely to see tissues distributed during weekends.
One more important thing. These are not only for branding. Many of these packages have a special offer in them. Never miss an opportunity to sell. For example, telecommunication company might give a discount if person brings this sort of package with them to a shop. Fast food joints are also common sight in these packages, maybe you happen to be slightly hungry today or one of these days…
They actually talk about these specific marketing techniques in a book I read recently.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0618785914?ie=UTF8&tag=102b-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0618785914
It’s all about creativity.
This has got to be one of the most interesting (and probably successful) ideas I’ve read about in quite some time!
I completely agree with what everyone else has said on here, too, from this possibly not being so successful in the United States to adding special discounts if someone were to bring in the tissue pack during the time of their next purchase.
It’s a surefire way to get folks to remember the company, too!
Must say I like the basic idea but would probably want to weigh up the environmental cost of doing this.
This idea is fascinating. The tissue pack marketing can be applied to website promotion and internet promoting. With creative designs and the right distribution techniques, this marketing technique can be quite useful.
Wow, I really would not even think of advertising of this kind, but I think this is genius. Imagining what I would do, this is a brilliant way to advertise. I wonder, though, if there is a sort of advertising this, but translated to the internet as a medium or transfer.
50% will look at the ads. That seems like a good rate. I wonder what evil genius came up with that idea.
I think as well it all depends upon region and country. What works for some people will not work as successfully to another.
I agree with Jake. It is the same as giving a pen or something on those lines away. The best ones being something that isn’t disposable- a paper weight, or the STOP buttons that Staples gives away.
However the addition of a discount within the tissue box is similar to when music artists give away their CDs they also include (or should do) a discount or insentive to use them again.
That is the problem, the reuse issue. If 50% look at the ad, how many more actually go on to purchase? It could be the classic banner ad, you get loads of people to look at them, but relatively small percentage click on the link, then a small percentage buys. How many times do you really want to buy tissues?
I will pick up most things if they are free, but will I act upon it? I don’t know.
Google balls…Have you heard of them in your marketing travels? If not, do a search and you’ll find them & on the subject matter, why doesn’t Google advertise their brand on tennis & golf balls?
Perhaps taking it one step further, the Baseball Super League, Football, AFL, Rugby and the list becomes endless! On tissues, why not McDonald’s Hamburger tissues??
They have franchises all over the world now, put a link helping people find Google on the tissues with an occasional random link surprise!
Great!!! on Tissue Pack Marketing. Persistent, consistent ads will surely hit the business market, pitch the market.
When my wife was working in real estate her office provided magnetized calendars to all of their agents to hand out to prospects and clients. Its an effective way to keep your name in front of their eyes for a whole year and it also provides some value to them.
The reason why the japanese choose tissue pack for advertising is because they are more thin, smaller, efficient and it used for general purposes and this is absolutely not working when you use flyers as they are easily to get dumped when the advertisement is over while the tissue pack can still be kept for much longer even though the ads inside of it are no longer existed. Also don forget that the japanese often to advertise their product by condom too or any other smaller thing. Maybe all the japanese are like to brand their product with anime logo inside of it to attract the customer, They are smart
@OfficeSupplyGeek - nob
Advertising and Marketing is the key to successful business and main component of any Business arounf the world, but there should be some unique and new idea to advertise and market your products and services.
More interesting advertisement will grab more target audience to your products and services so in the end your ideas should be very unique.
That is a very interesting idea. However, you cannot track how successful that form of advertising is. It seems very wasteful; so much paper will be used and get thrown out.
Very insightful (and as usual amusing) post Maki
Tissuvertising certainly beats useless brochures and flyers by a mile. At the very least people will get some sort of value for their trouble.
@Greg Elwell, really made a good point about the concept of reciprocation.
Nice work on this article!
Excellent article. A very creative way of advertising.
I agree with @Tom - StandOutBlogger.com, we do need to improve the way we advertise on our blogs because people really become accustomed to the ads and most of the time will ignore it.
There is a plugin/tool that can easily installed on your website, that can “bookmark” the current page and “share” it to other people. I forgot the plugin/tool name.
Mh, quite an effective idea…
I should work on something like that in my country…
I’ve witnessed this first hand during my stay in Japan. Most of these ladies stand outside stations and give away these packs. There is an interesting thing to note here though. Most Japanese pople do not take this too seriously.
I actually once stood out watching the entire process and discovered that 5 out of 10 people would not take the tissues (I do not mean to say that it does not work though)
What is even more interesting is that most of the advertisements carry the name of the company and a map of how to get there. This is one very important aspect of tissue paper marketing, and omitting the map takes the importance away (the map can tell the customer that the shop is close)