The Web Summit was a busy place. Over 10,000 tickets were sold and 500 press passes were given out. So getting the message out was a challenge.

Before attendees had even reached the venue, the marketers were at work. One guy was handing out fliers for hair cuts at a local barber.

Another guy in a gorilla costume was handing out Fyffes bananas. Guerilla marketing, I guess.

During lunch one day, there were two young teenagers outside playing traditional Irish music. That was a good move and well received by the passing entrepreneurs.

The room where start-ups were was busy and crowded, to say the least. The question for any company or start-up exhibiting there is: How do I stand out? Just as important is the question: Is my message clear?

How do you stand out in this?

As van Molkte famously said, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.”

So, here are some marketing messages that didn’t survive contact with the enemy public.

This was the first altered sign that grabbed my attention. The pre-printed blurb could have gone on any number of signs. It looks like the guys manning the booth got tired of answering, “Yes, but what do you do?” The short, hand-written sentence does a better job of explaining what they do.

I found this one mystifying. They just covered everything.

While we’re at it…

And by the way…

These guys just threw out the pre-printed blurb altogether.

But not all was doom and gloom. Here’s one that worked for me.

Related posts:

1. 10 Rules For Startups