No marketing budget? How entrepreneurs find free publicity

Toronto artist Julie Kraulis wasn’t thinking about her small business when she hastily entered an elite poster contest run by ESPN and the All-England Club; the folks behind the venerable grass courts where the Wimbledon Championships are held.

An avid tennis fan, Kraulis, 30, was caught up in the excitement of the game and the epic chance to sit courtside at one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events should she be chosen the contest winner.

It was only when her poster – an elegant oil on wood panel -- was shortlisted for the grand prize did she fully realize the publicity potential for her career. Since learning the good news earlier this month, traffic to her professional website has swelled from a couple of dozen views per day well into the hundreds, and growing, with admirers from around the globe sharing her artwork over social media and tweeting her notes of support.

Not bad for someone who admittedly went into this with zero expectations beyond having a bit of fun.

“This thing has gotten way bigger than I could have ever anticipated,” Kraulis said.

That’s the thing about marketing in the modern world. The opportunities for entrepreneurs to make a big splash, even without a marketing budget, are as endless as cyberspace itself.

Sure, it’s great if Gwyneth Paltrow saunters down the red carpet with one of your products in her million-dollar hands. But that’s only one route to brand success. There are tons of contests to enter and profile opportunities to be had. You just have to be savvy enough to seize them when they come around.

Entrepreneurs in need of a little ‘how-to’ guidance can take a page from Matthew Corrin, CEO and founder of the Freshii food franchise. The 32-year-old Toronto native is a master at promoting his company, which he launched in 2005.

The business has now grown to more than 100 stores in nine countries, and counting, and he has yet to spend a dime on traditional advertizing. Mail-out flyers may be popular with other food vendors, but they simply don’t represent his customers, Corrin said.

What he has done is pose as part of a Harry Rosen “real person” campaign that saw his image splashed on billboards around the city. He’s been featured in commercials praising the benefits of Visa’s products for small business, and appeared with a fake beard and beer belly on the reality show Undercover Boss Canada.

Every time the episode airs in re-runs, in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, the company receives about 100 new franchise applications.

Corrin is a big believer in momentum. Unlike a public contest where the opportunity for publicity is straight-forward, Corrin and his team are careful not to miss any opportunity that may present itself, even if it seems unrelated or even insignificant.

The modelling gig with Harry Rosen, for example, came about from a casual conversation with a company executive who regularly lunched at the Freshii store on Bloor Street. During the photo session, Corrin met the CEO of Porter Airlines, who then featured the young entrepreneur in the company’s in-flight magazine. That, in turn, sprang into an offer from Visa to sign on as a spokesman.

Under that guiding principle, nothing the company does is unintentional.

In 2010, in one of his biggest gorilla marketing coups, Corrin goaded billionaire Richard Branson into throwing a glass of water in his face during a panel discussion in Toronto.

Branson obliged, landing Corrin, and his company, on the The Globe and Mail’s website the next day.

“It is all marketing. I always say, any opportunity to expose a brand – whether through the founder or team member or actual Freshii logo – is a good opportunity,” Corrin said.

Kraulis has yet to learn whether she’s the winner of the coveted Wimbledon poster contest. The chance to attend the big event live would be “a dream come true,” she said. The winner’s artwork will also become the official poster for the event and be displayed across London.

The ten finalists will be judged by a combination of attention they gain through social media, and the opinions of a panel of celebrity judges, including tennis greats Chris Evert and John McEnroe.

Kraukis is encouraged by the public response to date. An artist who makes a living as an illustrator and children’s book author, she said the design came unusually easy to her as though delivered by “the illustration fairies.”

“It was incredible. I saw the colours, the tennis balls, the people who have flocked to the stadium to watch the sport that they love,” she said.

It’s unclear whether the experience will directly translate into new business coming her way, but she’s sure it doesn’t hurt her chances, either.

And it won’t stop her from entering more contests like this in the future.

“Through this (the Wimbledon contest), I have reached people that I wouldn’t necessarily have been able to reach before,” Kraulis said. “I am hopeful that people are now aware of me as an illustrator.”