“Girl in the red scarf” billboards revealed: clever marketing technique

By Anna-Grae York

EDMONTON — The mysterious “girl with the red scarf” billboards that have been plaguing the minds of some Edmontonians have finally revealed their purpose.

To the disappointment of many romantics, it was revealed Feb. 7 that the billboards were Now! 102.3 Radio’s new advertising campaign. The billboard that revealed the true purpose of the messages read “Hey Red Scarf Girl! Prince Charming is looking for u. Can we help? Text us 56789,” and displayed Now Radio’s logo on the side.

One of the "girl in the red scarf" billboards that reveals that the boards were an ad campaign for Now 102.3 Radio spotted downtown Edmonton on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

The billboards, spotted all over the city for approximately a month, featured simple messages addressed to a girl wearing a red scarf. The messages appeared to be from someone who had seen her at Grandin LRT station, saying things like “Girl with the red scarf: Saw you at Grandin LRT… can we meet?” or “Girl with the red scarf: It’s been weeks. Sigh… :-( Should I move on?”

The billboards had Edmontonians talking for weeks, something that J.R. Shaw School of Business marketing professor Teresa Sturgess said is one of the most effective marketing techniques you can use.

“These ads generated intrigue and heightened awareness of the message by consumers as they drove by these boards,” she said. “It takes a lot in a very cluttered marketplace to get our attention as consumers.”

Sturgess, who prior to the unveiling believed the boards might have been for a new dating service in town, said that Now Radio’s campaign cut through all the noise of advertising by playing on natural human curiosity.

“It becomes something the regular passerby wants to resolve,” she said. “They start to pay more attention to the string of messages.  Human beings are naturally curious creatures. It’s our nature.  We want to solve this puzzle — who is behind this? We may start to ask people, chat about it or hunt out information online. We want to know where is this going.”

Signs of curiosity showed up online in the weeks following the boards debut, with a blog post, numerous tweets and Facebook posts, and even a short article on the Metro News website. Speculations as to what the boards were all about range from reasonable to zany. Here are some examples of what Edmontonians thought:

• A rich gentleman attempting to get the attention of a woman he saw wearing a red scarf
• Advertising campaign for Edmonton Transit
• Advertising campaign for a billboard company itself
• Manufacturer of red scarves
• A lead-up to an event

Of course, the most popular speculation was that it was a man trying to contact a woman he saw wearing a red scarf at the LRT station, but some people had a hunch that it was Now Radio all along.

Back in 2010, Now Radio had put out another series of “teaser” billboards that first simply read “When?” to get people talking. The next installment of the boards read “Soon” and then finally, when the station went on air Feb. 23, 2010, they read “Now!”

Before the unveiling, West Edmonton Local tried to contact Pattison Ads for comment on the boards, but they could not give any information due to a client confidentiality contract, giving a hint that the source of the boards was commercial rather than private.

The red scarf girl boards had been sighted in these spots, among others:

• 156 Street and 111 Avenue
• 50 Street and 68 Avenue
• 99 Street and 63 Avenue
• 82 Street and 112 Ave
• Near Grandin LRT Station
• Near Stadium LRT Station

wilsonyorka@mymail.macewan.ca