But for many businesses, whose products or services don’t immediately evoke an “I want that” reaction, advertising is difficult. These are companies that deal in concepts, ideas, creativity, and problem-solving. Their business is built through relationships and referrals. Blasting strangers with shot messages just doesn’t work.

So how can these companies reach new prospects, aside from ongoing networking?

Give stuff away for free.

This goes against everything we’ve been taught as businesspeople and capitalists. But these days, I think the more you give, the more you are likely to get.

I’m not talking about donating products or full-service capabilities willy-nilly. I’m talking about offering help in the form of ideas or advice – related to your area of expertise – to people who are likely to benefit from it.

One place where you can do this is on a LinkedIn discussion group. In these groups people are looking for help and feedback all the time. If you see a request where you can add something of value, don’t hold back. Tell the person how you would address the issue they are dealing with, and be specific. What better way to “advertise” your capabilities?

Doing this will have one or more likely outcomes:

• The person making the request will appreciate your help and ask you to quote your services.
• The person making the request will appreciate your help, take your advice, and refer a colleague to you some time in the future.
• Someone else in the discussion group will see how smart you are, and contact you to make a proposal.

These outcomes won’t happen every time, but the more you do it, the more likely they are to happen. And it’s a far less expensive, far more effective way for you to “advertise” how smart you are to highly qualified audiences.

But on a recent visit to the Nashville airport, I learned they’re also very clever at what I’ve called Asymmetric Advertising: the practice of advertising in “media” where there is little to no competition for the viewer’s attention.

In this case, they seem to have “sponsored” the bins where you put your shoes, belt, laptop and other junk when you disassemble yourself prior to going through airport security. It’s a win-win all the way around – they get some nice exposure, and the TSA gets some money to offset the cost of those infernal bins.

They get bonus points, of course, for having the medium tie in so nicely with their product.

And there’s one more that anyone who watches TV will recognize.  No, not Christmas specials like The Grinch or Rudolph.  I’m talking about the Lexus “December to Remember” ads.  You know, the pretentious ads where yuppie couples with apparently way too much money surprise their spouses with a new Lexus with a giant bow?

These ads started to get annoying a few years ago, so they started to get clever.  This year’s ads are pretty well done, though given the state of the economy, perhaps a bit off the mark.

So it’s just another year, right?  Another holiday season, another round of Lexus “Giant Bow” ads.  Then I see the ads for Acura.

They’re nearly identical.  Sure, Acura doesn’t have the giant bow, but both ads are based on the concept of capturing the childhood joy of Christmas morning.  I find this to be most unfortunate for Acura and Lexus.  It’s likely to be a coincidence, but still unfortunate.  As nice as Japanese luxury cars like Lexus and Acura are, they are criticized by car enthusiasts for their homogeneity.

It doesn’t help that their ads are nearly indistinguishable.

Unless you advertise where there is no competition.  There may be a name for this already, but I call it asymmetric advertising.

When you advertise in areas where there are no competing messages, it’s much easier to be noticed and get your message across. Recently, Miller Brewing did it by advertising its new MGD 64 on dry-cleaning hangers.  It was smart because it hit their target market (women) in an innovative, asymmetric way, in a medium devoid of messages from competing brands.

What are some other ways to advertise asymmetrically?  Here are some Ideas to Chew On:

• Pizza boxes – Want to generate awareness in a market?  Try paying pizza joints to use boxes with your brand/logo/offer printed on top.
• Yard waste bags – You see them on curbs in American suburbs all the time, usually with a home center’s brand emblazoned on them.  That could be your brand.  Print some up and give them away in strategically chosen neighborhoods.
• Reusable grocery bags – People use them, but they don’t want to buy them.  And they get used for more than groceries.  Flood an area with bags sporting your Web site, and see if traffic goes up.

These are just ideas.  Anyone care to add any more?