In case you haven’t heard, McDonalds launched an espresso ad campaign in Starbucks’ home turf that is taking on the coffee giant.

Billboards across western Washington State read “four bucks is dumb” then mention McDonalds is now serving espressos.

I think the ad camping is brilliant for three reasons.

First it drives home a message of getting the same or better product for less money – perfect for these challenging economic times we find ourselves in. McDonald’s isn’t saying do without, they’re simply saying pay less for it.

Second, it’s the perfect billboard message. When you have about three seconds to capture someone’s attention while they’re driving, McDonalds got their message across and leaves the reader a little bit more to chew on as the drive down the road.

Third, the ads are so good, they’re getting national publicity and driving home McDonald’s message beyond western Washington.

Give the person or persons who came up with that campaign a bonus. McDonald’s is certainly getting a lot of mileage out of it.

If you’re not seeing the quality or quantity of leads from your marketing efforts, you might want to reconsider how you’re generating them.

According to Forrester Research, the following are the top 10 methods of lead generation.

1. Email
2. PR
3. Tradeshows
4. Direct mail
5. Print ads
6. Search marketing (SEO, PPC, etc.)
7. Sponsorships
8. Executive seminars
9. Inside sales
10. Webinars

But are these methods the most effective ways to generate high quality leads?

Nope.

The top 10 effective methods of lead generation are as follows:

1. Executive Seminars
2. Inside sales
3. Search marketing (SEO, PPC, etc.)
4. Webinars
5. Tradeshows
6. TV advertising
7. Email
8. Radio
9. PR
10. Online video/podcasts/rich media

Of course not all of the above, like TV advertising, are within the budgets or means of every marketing department. However, find out what methods work within your budget and use them.

In the meantime, put the less effective approaches on the back burner and see what a chance in approach can do for your lead generation.