When you’re running a business, it’s perfectly natural to look for any way to expand your reach and overall exposure. With the expansion of the internet and the evolution of all types of businesses, getting exposure was never easier, but there are ways to expand your reach even further. Using street art, graffiti, murals, and generally the techniques of old street artists, you can achieve quite a lot.
We did a bit of researching on how and why street art has affected the marketing, and how you can benefit from it. This article covers a little bit of history of graffiti, as well as how it influenced modern marketing. Hopefully, it will help you understand how you can benefit from some of these techniques, or just learn to appreciate this interesting form. So, let’s not waste any time and let’s get straight to it.
A little bit of history
Let’s go way back to the 70s and take a look at some general marketing ideas and practices. Back then, marketers were competing to secure large billboards and advertising spaces, as well as investing loads of resources into TV and radio ads. During that time, graffiti artist already started hitting up trains, buses, nightclubs, toilets, and various other public locations. They started becoming famous and their style was recognizable.
If we fast-forward to the present day, you will realize that most of the marketers you see these days (if we don’t count digital advertising, of course) are using exactly the same techniques as old street artists. Every train, bus, building, toilet, nightclub, and basically every other public place is covered in different ads from different brands. We can find a lot of similarities like these between modern day marketing and the approach to graffiti art as soon as we take a deeper look.
With limited supplies, almost non-existing budget, the law against them, and tons of different obstacles, old graffiti artists had to plan out their art to the finest detail. They had to know exactly who their target audience is; they had to understand how to stand out, and most importantly – they had to fully comprehend the location their artwork is going to be created on. Some artists placed stickers at the sidewalks, near crosswalks, as most people tend to look down in crosswalks.
Things marketers learned from street art
As graffiti artists slowly became more and more popular, they started getting involved in some serious industries. Slowly, but surely, street art became a part of our every-day lives through fashion, music, and eventually, mainstream marketing.
Probably the first things marketers learned from street artists, was the fact that the entire city can be your advertising space. With carefully planned marketing campaigns, you could hit all the focus groups you are looking for. If you’re witty, your reach can expand even further. Using public spaces for smart marketing campaigns helped numerous big brands become what they are today.
Another amazing thing is the fact that graffiti artists stay true to their style. This brand consistency helped the individual artist stand out and make a difference. Once marketers realized that this brand consistency, and the specified audience that we’ve mentioned earlier, could easily boost any marketing campaign in the best possible way, a new era has started. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment this happened, but it’s safe to say somewhere during the late 80s.
Modern-day applications
When we talk about modern-day applications of street art and its techniques, we simply have to mention a few of the biggest names in this world. You’ve probably heard about Banksy, the anonymous street artist from England who managed to force his way in the world of pop culture. He used incredible art to send out social messages and make a comment about the current state of the world. His art became so recognizable that you can now find it being used in numerous different marketing purposes. Some of it without any kind of consent. Simply put – his art became so big, that countless marketers use it to send out a message or even earn money.
Another thing marketers learned from street artists is that you can use almost anything as advertising space. Graffiti artists were known for doing art on broken and semi-destroyed buildings, which most people looked at as an eyesore. This idea slowly cooked in marketers’ heads, and nowadays, you can notice quite a lot of buildings covered in the advertisement. Even buildings that are under construction can become advertising space with printed banner mesh.
Using recognizable street art as a way to enhance your marketing campaign is another way to go. Some street artists have reached world fame, and having them complete a piece as a part of your business can really get you far. We can go as far as saying that it can even become a tourist attraction. Needless to say that in some cases, this is simply the best way to attract your target audience. There are countless other ways of using street art and graffiti as a powerful marketing tool, but this would easily turn into an essay if we tried to go into all of them.
Street art is more than just tags on the wall; it has become a part of our everyday life. It holds incredible value, and it can be used in various ways. There are loads of ways you can use street art techniques to step up your marketing game, but you need some planning, as well as time and effort. But keep in mind that using these techniques can really help your brand in the long run.
