Best. marketing. ever.

In terms of effectiveness, cost-benefit, and execute the exchange.
Here's the king of marketing in my books:

By far the best marketing I've seen is....

Driving lesson ads posted on bus shelters.
Albeit illegal (in the UK according to my research, unknown about Toronto, ON), but dang it's so effective.

What better way to target non-drivers en masse?







Wasn't expecting that eh?
I know this is a real underdog, but I'll explain why it's the best ever.

The effectiveness is even increased when waiting for late or cancelled buses in frustration.
The idea of freedom from the inefficient and often infuriating experience of taking public transit can a strong motivator to get driving lessons. Especially on those cold winter nights when the next bus is 20-40 minutes away.
It amazing how these ads show up cyclically because this business is highly seasonal.
Most ads show up prior to the summer months, the best weather to learn how to drive.
Lastly, these ads cost no more 50 cents to print. Add another hour or so of labour in cutting out the detachable slips and another hour or so to post them and you'll have maximum $25-30 cost racked up.
C'mon, 30 bucks for a highly effective, targeted local campaign? It's a total steal.
Next best thing is scoring free PR.

This is to really prove a point in that simplicity is often the best route to take.
Especially for small, local businesses. You can run a successful marketing campaign without much work or investment. These types of ads completely blow the million dollar ads and multi-million campaigns out of the water.

Last note: I'm not 100% certain about the legality issue here, I'm not a lawyer. But it is safer to say that it shouldn't be done because it's similar to vandalism. I do not encourage the posting of these sorts of ads. It is highly frowned upon by most transit users.

Cheers and stay busy.
Just don't be busy flyering the bus shelters.

Zee Bee