Innovation & Creativity Archives - Page 5 of 18

A creativity whack for your head…and your iPhone!

November 19, 2009

Roger von Oech is responsible for whacking me upside the head more times than I can count.

20+ years ago, he created a fantastic creativity tool called A Creative Whack Pack. It's an illustrated deck of 64 creative thinking strategies that will whack you out of habitual thought patterns and enable you to look at your life and actions in a fresh way.

It's an awesome way to think different, to see something fresh and to get yourself unstuck.

Well, it's 2009 and so of course Roger has created an iPhone/iTouch app for thiscreativity powerhouse. And…he's given me 5 promo codes, so you can download it for free!

Here's how you can win. Leave a comment below and tell us one way you get your creative juices flowing.

I'll do the drawing on Friday Saturday morning so get those comments coming!

Also, check out what David Armano had to say about the app here and here.

UPDATE: First, be sure you read through the comments — lots of very good ideas on how to get those creative juices flowing.

Second…Congrats to the five winners of the promo codes: Tara, Michael, Patrick, Kare and Jason. I've e-mailed the codes directly to you!

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You can put a dash of brand just about anywhere

November 15, 2009

There's nothing less interesting or more standard than a bar code, right? Not according to the people at Design Barcode, where the status quo is anything but!

Check out these jazzed up bar codes. (click on the images to see a full-size image in a pop up window)

Lest you think this is a new idea, apparently Rick Tharp was doing it (see his version) way back in 1986.

(Hat tips to Beverly Koehn and Beth Wampler for sharing this Fast Company article on the bar code designs)

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Calling all art directors, designers and logo creators – win $250

November 13, 2009

I will try to make this brief. Last spring, I was approached by a company in the UK called Logo Inn who creates logos and identity packages online. They wanted to do a contest, demonstrating their services.

So I did a series of posts on logo design and offered one organization a chance to win a free logo….as long as the entire process could unfold here on the blog, so we could all learn from it.

The series looked like this:.

That last post was where things spiraled out of control. The city of Colfax (and most of my commenting readers) weren't crazy about any of the logos. So I sent all the critiques back to the logo company and then heard nothing. I've attempted to e-mail my contact there for several months — but nothing.

But I promised the city of Colfax a new logo and dang it, they're going to get one!

This is where you come in. My company, MMG could do it. We design logos for clients all the time. But instead, we decided it would be more fun and more of a learning experience, to open it up. So here are the "rules" as it were:

~ We're putting up a $250 VISA gift card for the winning designer.

~ Use the creative brief post to read about what they want

~ Download a PPT of photos from the town by clicking here

~ Read Colfax's reaction to the Logo Inn logos by clicking here

~ Submit your new logos (jpg format please) in BLACK AND WHITE ONLY to me (drew@mclellanmarketing.com) by Friday, December 4th

~ We will publish all the choices here (with a link to the designer's website/blog)

~ Colfax chooses a winner and you get a gift card before the holidays!

What do you say? You ready to show the world your work and help out a great Iowa town?

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Confused stock boy…or brilliant product placement?

October 27, 2009

So simple…and yet so smart.

Check out where BBDO got grocery stores to stock Campbell Soup's Chicken Noodle soup.

Sometimes you don't have to spend millions on a campaign. You just have to ask a different question.

In this case:

"Would you be willing to stock some soup in your cold meds aisle?"

Smart, smart, smart.

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How do you get the creative juices flowing?

October 17, 2009

There are many ways to spark creativity. Most of them involve a shift in perspective and a willingness to be playful, even though the work is "serious." Here are some of the ways we go at it for our clients at MMG.

View the problem/product/desired result from a different seat on the bus.

In other words, how would a six-year old child view it? A librarian? Truck driver? College student? Someone who is wheelchair bound? By putting yourself in many different people’s shoes – you can begin to see the situation differently. A great technique is to literally speak their voice out loud. Like improv…see where it takes you.

Personify it.

If your product or service was a person, who would it be? A man? A young girl? How would they behave? What would their personality be like? What would be their favorite book? Movie? What are they afraid of? What would they be most proud of?

Get out.

Most people brainstorm and try to spark their creativity in the same work environment that they’re in every day. One of the best ways to inspire some new thinking is to be in a new place. Go to a park and take a walk. Go play at a toy store. Visit a museum. Play a kind of music you’d normally never listen to.

Stimulate your senses. I think this is why the shower is such a hot spot of creativity!

Ask why.

If you have children, you will remember their "why" stage. A simple question could take 30 minutes to answer by the time they asked why 12 times. Adopt that attitude. Make an assumption about what you’re working on. Then ask why. And answer it. Then ask why. And answer that. Then ask why. And so on. See where it takes you. Then, when you can’t go any further, make another assumption and do it all over again.

Play.

Have a paper airplane contest. Create a putt-putt course in the office. Play charades. Sometimes you have to give yourself permission to be creative and being playful is a great way to bring that part of you to the surface.

How about you? How do you get the creative juices flowing?

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com

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Recycle a blog post day: most brilliant outdoor campaign ever!

August 12, 2009

According to my friend Gavin, today is Recycle a Blog Post Day so I thought I'd share with you one of my all-time favorites. I promise you….you will be talking about this!

The rules for outdoor advertising are very simple.

Never use more than 7 words
Always use an attention getting visual
Include the company logo
Leave the boards up for a minimum of 30 days to achieve frequency goals
Buy several locations to increase reach

The most brilliant outdoor campaign broke every one of these rules. Every single one. I use this campaign as an example in many of my presentations and wanted to share it with you too.

Let me tell you the story.

This campaign broke in 1989 in Buffalo, New York. There was (~~and still is~~ – my mistake, I found it on the web's yellow pages and assumed it was current) an Irish Pub called Garcia's in downtown Buffalo that needed to drive not only name awareness but traffic. Their agency, Crowley Webb, devised this campaign, which not only won them a National Obie (Oscars for outdoor boards) but made Garcia's a household name in Buffalo. The campaign also showed up in the New York Times, USA Today and naturally, all of Buffalo's local media.

No ordinary billboard series, eh?

The agency bought a single board location (this I am recalling from memory so I may be wrong) and every Monday for 9 weeks….a new board went up. This is story-telling at it's best. Enjoy the campaign and be sure to catch my questions at the end.

Can't you see all of Buffalo being completely caught up in this story? Can you imagine how many people showed up at Garcia's on Fridays to see if Angel made an appearance. I don't know if the agency took it to that level (I wouldn't be surprised) but I would have hired actors to play William, Angel, Candi and Frankie and put on a floor show.

What do you think of this campaign? Notice the boards didn't push the daily soup special or promise us the same cliches that all restaurants promise. Instead, they invited us into a story. A story where we could play a part.

How could you use this kind of a technique? Or, where else have you seen this sort of creativity played out?

Update: Here's t he back story to this campaign. Now I'm even more impressed.

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Grasshopper case study shows you how to create a viral campaign

August 3, 2009

Remember when I told you about getting some chocolate covered grasshoppers in the mail and how effective the 3-D mailing was?

Well, now the Grasshopper team has gone one further. They have documented in a step by step, 8-page case study exactly how they created this brilliantly executed viral campaign.

The case study includes detailed budget numbers and short of their mailing list — pretty much every detail you might want to know.

This idea of freely sharing what you know/did is one of my favorite aspects of social media. Do yourself a favor and go download the case study. It is an excellent example you can use as the framework for your next effort.

Many thanks to Jonathan Kay (Ambassador of Buzz at Grasshopper) and his team for not only creating a smart and buzzworthy campaign but also sharing their secrets so we can all do the same!

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Did their wires connect or get tangled?

July 3, 2009

The Economist magazine just launched a new campaign in the UK.

Through research, they determined that because of the rise in the number of people going on to university, there are now over 3 million people in the UK whose interest in world affairs, travel, news and politics suggests an unconscious affinity with what The Economist reports on every week. The Economist describes these people as the “intellectually curious.”

So their new "Red Wires" campaign uses the image of a wire-jumper walking through a city on a series of red wires and the tagline “Let your mind wander” as a metaphor for the inherent pleasure in connecting different ideas, and how this is reflected in the wide-range news and analysis available in a copy of The Economist.

Watch the video below (e-mail subscribers click here) and then tell me….do you think they successfully delivered their message or did they get their wires crossed?

The ad began showing in movie theatres on July 1 and will also be used on broadcast TV.

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This is a brilliant idea

June 27, 2009

You know those cheesy air fresheners that people hang off their rear view mirror in the shape of a pine tree or a piece of fruit?

Why not let people personalize them with family photos like they do with credit cards? Maybe someone like Snapfish could work on this idea a bit?

Who wouldn't be happier with a picture of the grandbaby dangling from the mirror and smelling piney fresh?

That's it. Just that random idea. If you make a million, you owe me a cup of coffee or something.

I feel a little like Bill Blazejowski from the movie Night Shift. "This is Bill. Idea to eliminate garbage: edible paper. You see, you eat it, it's gone. Eat it, it's out of there!"

(If you haven't see it…rent it. Hysterical.)

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5 tips on getting them to open your direct mail

June 17, 2009

Let's assume that people would really benefit from using your product and the special offer you've got going is genuinely incredible.

Isn't it a shame that most of them will never even have a shot at discovering just how much they'd love both your price and your product — because they'll never open the envelope?

We have all sorted mail over the garbage can. Each piece has less than 2 seconds to either catch our attention or flutter down into the circular file cabinet. So what will make yours pass the 2 second test?

Try one of these five ideas on for size:

Size, color & shape matter

The most common USA envelope size is a #10. In much of the rest of the world it's just a hair bigger and called an A-4. You know exactly what this sized envelope looks like – you receive a handful of them every single day.

As you might imagine…they don't get you a lot of extra attention.

But…both smaller and larger envelopes can greatly affect response. Whatever size you use – every so often test other sizes to find the best performer.

Color can also make a huge difference in response. Test color.

Just as size matters, so does shape. If you have a product or service that makes sense, why not try an odd shape. A round or even square envelope will get immediate attention.

Teaser copy

Don't wait until they open the envelope to start talking to them. Let teaser copy catch their attention and pull the reader inside to take action.

If you are addressing your own customers, teaser copy may not be needed. They see your logo, they know you, they'll open your mail.

But for those prospects, why not start on the outside and give your reader a reason to go in.

Graphics

Our world is graphic. And three-dimensional. And bright!

Your audience expects graphics. So, give them what they expect. And begin on your envelope. Let your piece dictate the tone of the visual. Illustration versus photograph is a worthy discussion. A chart or graph can be effective on your envelope, too.

But catch their eye and you will catch their attention.

Do something different

Print your envelope upside down. Or front to back, with the flap on the front rather than the back.

Do something out of the ordinary for your business or for your industry. Look at what everyone else is doing and run in the opposite direction.

Be bold…be noticeable. And be something they can't resist opening.

Embrace your lumpiness

3-dimensional works.

People always open a box, a tube, a bubble pack, or any other lumpy package. Let's be honest — it feels and looks like a present. Who isn't going to open that?

And more to the point…when the boss gets a lumpy package, who is going to risk opening it? What if it is something he ordered from a catalog you don't want to know anything about?

How about we put them all together….imagine an over-sized, bright silver colored lumpy bubble pack envelope with some teaser copy on the address label? I guarantee that no matter what you put inside…it would get seen.

How do I know this? I've seen the beast itself. And at MMG, we're going to be using some. My friend Mitch Matthews scored 48,000 of the envelopes you see in the photo at the top of the post. He's selling them below wholesale cost and I bought a bunch. But he still has a bunch more. He's offered to let my readers in on the deal…so I am telling you about them. Check them out and see if you can benefit from getting these envelopes opened!

I don't make a dime…I just want your mail to get opened. If you can get a bargain to boot, who is going to argue with that?

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