I just read a great article on the very subject of mobile marketing units from the April 16, 2012 issue of Adweek entitled Road Warriors by Robert Klara. The article profiled six iconic brands that have incorporated the use of attention-getting mobile marketing units to promote their brands: Le Creuset, the French makers of high-end pots and pans; Peeps, the “adorable” bad-for-you Easter treat; and Oscar Mayer, the brand that has used the well known Wienermobile since 1936.

In his article, Mr. Klara indicated that the use of this concept “is not cheap,” stating that the production of a “ground-up concept” can run as much as $600,000. As a leading Challenger Brand agency that specializes in working with clients with smaller ad budgets than the “big guys”, we disagree. Most of our clients have to be much more strategic with their marketing budgets which calls for GKV to be more creative with less resources. And we have done it time and again.

For the past decade, GKV has been working with clients to successfully develop, implement and manage extremely cost effective and attention-getting mobile marketing vehicles which use grassroots campaigns to reach target audiences and deliver their messages in a non-traditional way when and where the audiences least expect it. At GKV there really is no one size fits all mentality when it comes to the type of vehicle used. Our fleet includes RVs, Sprinter vans, former bread trucks, etc. We are currently transforming a pickup truck and 28′ car hauler for a leading broadband cable company in Virginia. Stay tuned for photos upon completion.

The following is a sampling of mobile marketing units and associated grassroots campaigns we have developed in partnership with our clients - without consuming our client’s entire marketing budget.

If you’re ready to add an exciting interactive and experiential marketing component to your marketing mix but don’t think you can afford it or don’t know where to start, contact me at 410.234.2439 or kevin.kempske@gkv.com. I think you will be surprised with the positive impact we can have on your brand with a reasonable marketing investment.

OK, a fairly large company (Under Armour) requested permission to paint its logo on the side of Federal Hill to welcome athletes to Baltimore City during a recent sporting event. The Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Department considered the request and granted permission (which wasn’t the first time, but I won’t drag the Baltimore Ravens into this).

What’s the problem? Did any babies die? Was the water in that area polluted? Did the act of painting the logo cause anyone economic harm?

The answer is NO to all of the above. In fact on the last point, a locally home-grown success story that has a track record of being a good corporate sponsor for the City, the Parks and Recreation Department and the area’s Tree Baltimore Program, was trying to promote its brand in a unique and interesting way and to generate some good will for people visiting our city who actually spend money while in Baltimore and help sustain our economy.

The City of Baltimore and our state have far more serious issues to deal with like neighborhood crime, poverty, homelessness, unbalanced budgets and drug and alcohol abuse — just to name a few.

From what I can see from the outside, Under Armour has done everything right in this matter and has handled the backlash superbly. They quickly agreed to cover over the logo and re-seed the area at its expense. And as far as the Baltimore City Parks and Recreation Department is concerned, they may have overlooked an ordinance prohibiting such actions.

But again, did any babies die?

It’s time to put our Under Armour t-shirts back on and move on to more serious issues. Seriously, can any of the Federal Hill residents even see the logo facing the Inner Harbor from their homes?