Tiffany Schrenk

One of the main objectives in local advertising is brand awareness and name recognition.  In order to accomplish this retailers need to find a way in which they can stand out from the crowd.  It is a constant challenge to understand your audience and what message is going to reach them. In most instances this requires serious creativity.
 
Burma Shave is one such retailer that thought outside the normal advertising boundaries employing a nontraditional campaign for their time and subsequently enjoyed great success.
Burma Shave was a brand of brush-less shaving cream introduced to the public in 1925.  The company's product touted ingredients, "from the Malay Peninsula and Burma".  
Unfortunately, after their release sales were sparse and demand was low for many months. This struggle spurred the launch of their famous advertising sign program that aided in massive sales growth and success for many years after.
These sign campaigns consisted of six consecutive small signs posted along highways all over the United States. The signs were spaced for sequential reading by passing motorists.  The last sign of course being the name of the product.  The clever rhymes drew a lot of attention, so popular in fact that some people drove just a little further to see what would be next.  (Like... A peach/ Looks good/ With lots of fuzz/ But man's no peach/ and never wuz/ Burma Shave or I've read/ These signs/ Since just a kid/ Now that I shave/ I'm glad I did/ Burma Shave). These signs were so impactful for their time that to this day if local advertisers request consecutive outdoor billboards or need smaller signs for placement around their location many production reps will refer to the signs themselves as Burma Shaves. Or for example a politician in Canada coined the term "Burma Shaving" when he stood at the end of six campaign signs waving at motorist during their morning drive. 

The best way to reach your audience may not be the most obvious.  Shaving cream has absolutely nothing to do with driving, highways, or the open road but Burma Shave made it work and to this day is one of the better examples of brand awareness.  Each local marketing strategy may change per region but the challenge of attracting customers remains the same. Thinking outside the traditional local marketing and media vehicles can really pay off... it did for Burma Shave!