I am a great believer in the power of advertising. Good advertising, that is. Innovative campaigns that stand out, get people to take notice and open their minds to new ideas or solutions. And most importantly, advertising that effectively builds a brand, sells products or raises awareness for a worthwhile cause.

Here are some good examples – print and online advertising campaigns promoting Kensington's family of ergonomic mice and trackballs, and their market-leading MicroSaver Security Cable for both consumers and businesses.

The last two ads shown here are part of a B2B campaign developed for the MicroSaver to reinforce Kensington's leadership position while generating leads for their sales force.

Research discovered that the highest demand for this product was at the corporate level where the majority of laptops are stolen each year – right from the office! So IT managers/directors were targeted in large organizations who are responsible for replacing these products – along with all the information lost as a result – and taking care of any possible security breaches that may occur due to acquired passwords from stolen notebooks. This becomes even more important with the threat of identity theft constantly on the rise and the need to keep customer information safe and secure.

Since it's much easier to take steps to prevent a computer from being stolen in the first place, the ad campaign focused on demonstrating that this $49.99 cable & lock device was a viable, inexpensive, first-line-of-defense against theft and possible security breaches. (If your notebook's unlocked, your network is too.) And in the process, it reminded the audience that the little slot located on the side of almost every laptop sold was designed by Kensington, specifically to fit this security cable.

To help generate leads, a monthly drawing promotion was added where prospects could win a free MicroSaver Security Cable. Respondents entered though an online landing page/form and were also given the opportunity to opt-in to receive periodic updates.

After the first four and a half months of the campaign, Kensington reported an overwhelming response, receiving over 20,000 hits from print ads across ten publications. Over 3,000 people registered to win free MicroSavers or asked for more information about the product. As a result, this campaign successfully achieved its goals of creating product awareness and generating qualified sales leads, and ranked as one of Kensington’s most effective advertising campaigns to date.