Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast Weird Marketing That Actually Works ($1M from Home Shows, Newspaper Leads, & Toilet Ads)
Apr 7, 2026
Sam Preston, CEO of Service Scalers and home services marketing practitioner, shares unconventional local marketing tactics. He covers stadium toilet ads, church bulletins, pizza-box placements, newspapers, and home shows. Multiple short examples show how overlooked channels drive brand recall and cheaper impressions. Expect surprising, offbeat ways small businesses can stand out.
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Bathroom Sponsorships Above 116 Toilets
- John Wilson sponsors stadium bathrooms and urinals as a brand play for Wilson Plumbing, paying about $20k per year for a three-year deal.
- He jokes the sign should read "when you pee, think of me," and says the package included material and other stadium placements.
Small Print Ads Deliver When No Competitors Show Up
- Local print channels like church bulletins and small newspapers still generate inbound leads when competitors ignore them.
- John gives an example: his dad spent ~$100 on a West Side Leader classified and received eight leads in a week because no HVAC advertisers were present.
Play Weird Placements For Cheap Brand Reach
- Treat weird local placements as brand plays focused on low cost per impression rather than direct attribution.
- Sam notes pizza box flyers can be ~$350 for 10,000, and large placements often beat digital CPMs in cost efficiency.