Taking your mission to the streets can benefit your organization in many ways. For one thing, directly connecting with your target group can be much less expensive than a large-scale advertising purchase.

These street-smart marketing tactics can also be much more effective than traditional marketing.

Directly reaching out to groups and organizations allows you to:

• Connect on a personal level with your audience
• Communicate how edgy your organization is
• Save money 
• Utilize creativity by finding exciting new ways to get your message across 

Enjoy the Arts/START created an underground marketing campaign to promote their 20 Days and 20 Nights Festival. By promoting a completely separate website geared toward 18-24 year-olds in places like bars, clubs, skateparks and universities, the organization pulled in a demographic whose numbers had been lagging.

Publico, a small art gallery off Main Street — and out of the way of Final Friday Gallery Walk traffic — directed art enthusiasts to their gallery with street chalk art and arrows inviting passerby to continue down the side streets to the gallery.

The Know Theatre Tribe presented the Bedtime Ball, organized by volunteers and held at a trendy nightclub, raising money and bringing a whole new group of young partygoers into the Know's regular audience. And everyone wore pajamas. The event gave the theatre crowd a night away from the stage, and the club crowd a view into a completely different kind of nightlife.