This is what Gazza said in his post:
I see your point about marketing and advertising being separate, but I get confused (it's not difficult), so my post will probably mention both.
This is my views on your options:
Option 1 - bulk lister. This would be of benefit to new sellers who have a large inventory on other sites as they would be hesitant to list individually. If it brings in new sellers with different stock (we have a gap in the market for computer games CDs DVDs etc - I often find no results when looking for a fairly new release) that would be a benefit. I have used the excel spreadsheet and after a couple of mistakes, I find it OK to use. Improvements would be good, but not with our £2000 marketing challenge.
Option 2 - Radio ads - unless you are doing a big campaign with a recognisable jingle which will drum itself in to everyone, then probably not worth doing.
Option 3 - Newspapers - as above, plus we can make use of the PR company in thinking up 'interesting' stories, like the other side does and get news stories printed free. eg someone auctioning the diamond that they had made out of their grandmother's ashes
.
Option 4 - Flyers - I think these will be very effective for little cost as most sellers intend putting them in their ebay parcels etc and handing out at boot fairs.
Option 5 - RSS Feed - need I say more - WE'VE GOT TO HAVE IT NOW! (but can we also have our £2 challenge please
)
Option 6 - handing out merchandise eg cotton shopper bags, mugs etc. If I ever get given a freebie at the train station, I always look up the website to see what it is about. Haven't got enough budget to give away merchandise at the mainline stations, though.
A lot of charities hold Christmas Fayres. Could send out goody bags to put on their tombolas. Might be able to get a bit of publicity in the press for this giveaway (can I have some for my scholl Christmas Fayre?
)
This could also tie in nicely with the hospice idea. For each hospice who signs up, eBid could list some of its merchandise for auction.
Option 7 - Making an advert - too expensive for TV, but a viral ad series on Youtube wouldn't cost much, if anything. Anyone good at movie making out there? Could do spoofs of the popular ones like the bouncy ball advert (was it for Sony Bravia?), or a series, like the 'Gold Blend' ads with Gazza/Mark instead (Is there really a Gazza AND a Mark?
)
Option 8 - Sponsorship - cost a few hundred pounds to sponsor a kid's football team and you get the logo on their kit. Could get a few stories in the local press from it.
Sponsorhip in a lot of cases has a good 'community' feel if you are sponsoring good causes.
I haven't been able to put my ideas as clearly as Graham, but I hope there are a few useful thoughts there.
I hope that Gazza/Mark have offered up the challenge in a light-hearted way, rather than an 'at the end of their tether' of everyone moaning way - I'm quite excited about it (does that make me a saddo??), but you are right about - . I am pleased, though, that this thread has received only constructive ideas and has not been hijacked by moaners!