Ever wonder why ads placed in YouTube videos have the “Skip” button in them unless they’re only a few seconds short? It’s because people don’t like watching ads. Perhaps, seeing them once is okay, and a couple more times if your ad is an epic one. But repeatedly and placing them right in the middle of a video, suddenly disrupts people’s streaming for a few seconds. If they happen to be watching a tear-jerker video, then your ad just ruined their sentimental moment.

The ad breaks may be short most of the time, but still, people aren’t quite impressed. Many of them download ad-blocker tools just to dodge all ads for good measure.

So if you’re trying to promote your brand, you might think you’re in a tricky situation if you’re eliminating ads out of your promotional strategies. But don’t fret, because there are a number of effective ways to promote your brand without using ads. And you don’t have to spend loads, which is a great perk.

1. Join Events and Give Away Promotional Merchandise

You can sponsor an upcoming event in your city where a lot of your target market will attend. Your brand’s logo will be shown on all of the event’s promotional materials, and all over the venue on the day itself. Prepare some high-quality, branded promotional merchandise to give away to the attendees, preferably something functional and related to the event, such as water bottles, keyrings, or lanyards.

2. Catch Attention with Your Packaging

Your product’s packaging is highly important, because it has to catch attention and impress customers right off the bat. Observe your competitor’s packaging, their colors, styles, and all other characteristics. Make yours stand out and you can include a witty catchphrase to really make an impact.

3. Hold Contests

Big brands hold social media contests from time to time, so this strategy might be effective for your brand as well. Foster user-generated content by challenging your followers to post the best Instagram photo with the best caption about your product. Entice them with great prizes, and you might just see your hashtag on the trending page.

4. Forge Partnerships

If you’re a small business, partnering with bigger businesses will put you in an advantage over your competitors. Find a well-known brand that’s related to your products or services to partner with, because you can benefit from their client pool. For example, if you’re selling custom baked goods, you can reach out to wedding planners so they can refer your products to their clients.

5. Philanthropy

With devastating events in the news often, people find relief and hope in hearing heart-warming news. You can make an impact by donating to charitable organisations and by sponsoring their events. Announce on your social media pages that you’re sending a portion of your sales directly to a charity, and people, especially those who share your advocacy, will definitely be encouraged to buy from you and promote your brand.

These five ad-free promotional strategies should raise your brand to the top. People might not even notice that you’re not using ads, and once they realize this, they’ll surely look up to your company for being so tactical and creative. Always impress your customers by continuously improving your promotional methods, and in no time, you might just be the next #1 brand.