Innovation & Creativity Archives - Page 8 of 18

Business Cards 2.0 (They’re Leo Approved!)

July 31, 2008

Haven’t you wondered what the archaeologists from 3008 will think when they unearth piles and piles of business cards? I suspect they’ll think we killed a lot of trees.

Leonardo DiCaprio spends a lot of his time trying to inspire people to save the earth through his eco site. He would heartily approve of this latest business card option.

Meet the mobile business card.

These cards can be e-mailed, sent via text message or posted on a website or blog. Thanks to www.211me.com you can create and use them for free.

Here’s how it works:

Go to www.211me.com
Create your free business card
Grab the code to post on a website or blog
Or…Get the code to embed it into your e-mail signature
Or…Send a text to: 555211 (their short code) and in the body of the message, enter any mobile number and they’ll receive a copy of your card*

It was not only easy to create, but it was easy to personalize. I wasn’t loving any of their backgrounds, so I uploaded a photo of my own and within a couple minutes, had created the above card.

The FAQs on the site say that you can also create fliers and use images, text and hyperlinked content to create a paperless way to promote concerts, bar specials, events, invite buddies to a party, or whatever else your mind can come up with.

What do you think? How (or would) you use this technology?

*For some reason, Verizon is the only phone company that isn’t playing nice. I could still send my card…I just got a false error message. When I sent myself my card, Verizon wouldn’t let me click on the link. Apparently, if I had a Treo or Blackberry, it would have.

How to sell a good idea

July 26, 2008

We’ve all seen it happen. You’ve got a great idea. Not creative for creative sake, but a strategy that will really spike sales in your company, attract the perfect employee or get a client’s business to a different level.

But the idea isn’t what people are expecting. In fact, it might make them downright uncomfortable. Or maybe it’s counter intuitive to your entire industry.

Having the idea isn’t enough. You have to sell it. Often times, the better the idea, the harder to sell.

Keep these things in mind when you’re teeing up an idea you really want to save from the trash bin.

They didn’t go on the journey with you. You can’t just show them the finish line. You have to go back to the starting point and walk the path with them. Show them all the different options you explored and why this one kept showing up as the winner.

No idea is perfect. Don’t sugarcoat or over protect your idea. You should know the dangers or weaknesses. Why not present them before anyone else does? Bring up the downsides and your solutions for mitigating them.

Know the difference between a single battle and the war. If your idea doesn’t get the support you wanted in the first presentation, that doesn’t mean it’s over. Sometimes people need to let an idea simmer for awhile before they can support it. Or, if may require another conversation to help them see the logic behind what you’re proposing.

Eric Karjaluoto at Ideas on Ideas recently wrote about how his agency presents ideas to a client or prospect and how they give them a fighting chance.

What other tips can you add to the mix?

P.S. Taking a detour here. Okay, admit it. Don’t you think this is what the back of Seth Godin’s head looks like?

Is hip hop a buzz kill?

July 17, 2008

Okay….how would you (or should you) blend these elements:

Hip hop viral video
ice cream
the Colony Collapse Disorder that is plaguing the Western Bee population

Haagen-Daz is doing a little cause marketing and they have mashed up those ingredients (think figuratively for those of you who went right for the blender visual) to try to create some buzz for the honey bees.

In my post at Marketing Profs Daily Fix, I wonder about the effectiveness of the tactics and the inconsistency within the campaign. I’d love to get your take on the video and overall effort.

Click here to take a look and jump into the conversation.

Be brave enough to trust your audience

June 18, 2008

Some marketers under estimate their audience. So they decide that they have to beat them over the head with their message. And in doing so, that actually waters down the message to the point of it not being anywhere near as effective.

This spot starts off so strong. Watch it to the end and see where it loses its edge for you.

The power of this spot was the close ups of the women. We could see and feel their emotions. The connection was real because they were very raw and the shot was very tight. But then, the editor decided we might not understand that many women have been sexually abused….so they had to do the old "and she told two friends, and so on and so on" screen split.

Which completely disconnected us from the women. The emotion is lost. And so is the power of the spot.

Don’t be afraid to let your audience connect the dots.

Come on marketers, what would you do with this?

May 15, 2008

This is really a "still on the drawing board" idea from South Korea and I know it’s meant to be a whole new generation of traffic lights, but come on….you’re a marketer. What would/could you do with it?

I want to speak like Steve Jobs

May 7, 2008

I am invited to speak/share a nugget or two at 15-20 national conferences and conventions a year. I get high marks and am invited back, so I must hold my own.

But I aspire to inspire like Steve Jobs. He can bring a crowd to tears and cheers as he holds up the hottest new iPod, laptop or gadget. I want to hold a crowd in my hand like that.

If you’re like me or you just want to improve your sales presentation skills, check out this video from BNET on how to present like Steve.

What do you think? How could you apply this to your day to day presenting opportunities?

Would we recognize your logo by its first letter alone?

May 5, 2008

How recognizable is your logo? Have you created it in a way that over time, your clients might be able to ID it simply by seeing the first letter?

Try this test, put together by InthePictureDesign on flickr. He grabbed some pretty well known logos and we only get to see the first letter. Can you identify them?

Need help? Answers are here.

So…how would your logo fare in a contest like this? I know you don’t have a Coke or Disney budget, but within your sphere of influence — how iconic is your mark/name?

Hat tip to Susan at BrandCurve for sharing this.

What are you overlooking?

April 28, 2008

Everyone is scrambling to find the next new thing in marketing. How do we break through the clutter? What high tech wonder can we harness to get our customer’s attention? How can I be one step ahead of the competition?

Recently, I was reminded that sometimes we just have to look at things a little differently to find the answer. No new medium, no new gadget — just seeing something that was in front of us all along.

I know it won’t surprise you to learn that I was getting on a plane recently. I had changed my flight so I was in the last group of people to be called to board the plane. The line was moving right along and for some reason I noticed that people were actually looking at the gate agent. They were having a brief exchange of some kind. People were smiling. "How weird is that," I thought.

As I got closer, I could hear the gate agent. As he scanned each person’s boarding pass, he was greeting them by name. He varied the greeting…"welcome aboard, how are you doing, good to see you, thanks for flying with us"….but he ended them all with the person’s name.

Here’s a guy who was creating instant customer impressions. No marketing budget. No memo. No meetings. He just realized that everyone’s name was printed on the boarding pass and he could use that fact to create a "talk about" moment.

Sure, he called me Andrew instead of Drew (I just assumed I was in trouble!) so it wasn’t a perfect execution. And I’m sure he knew that every once in awhile he was going to mispronounce a name. But he forged ahead anyway. And it was absolutely noteworthy.

Our names have been on boarding passes for years. This is the first time I have ever had a gate agent call me by name as I passed by. It doesn’t have to be a big thing to be a remarkable thing. Think of the thousands of gate agents who could have done the same thing, but it never occurred to them.

What have you overlooked?

How do you bend time?

April 12, 2008

Things have been a little busy lately. We just launched a huge campaign for a client (had to go from creative concept to on the air in 34 days), I’ve had this little thing called Blogger Social going on and then there’s Age of Conversation ’08.

Many of you have e-mailed or tweeted, wondering how I’ve been juggling it all. Truth is…like all of you, sometimes I think I can’t possibly shoehorn one more thought into the day. But somehow, we all do.

Time is the scarce commodity today. I think it goes beyond the new, leaner organizational structure. Much of the blame should be aimed at our pagers, phones, PDAs, and people "buzzing" into our day and not only taking up time but also continually breaking our ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

Even when things aren’t so crazy (when is that again?), sometimes we need to carve out some time to think, write, be creative or power through a project. Here are some thoughts for shutting down the buzz so you can concentrate:

Plane ride for one. One of the best things about flying is that no one can reach you. Peace and quiet. So turn off all electronic devices and close the "cabin" door and just work in solitude. If you explain what you’re doing in advance, no one will begrudge you a little alone time.

Play hide n’ seek. Why is it that when you are feeling absolutely under the gun, your co-worker has a weekend she just has to tell you about? If you have a colleague who’s out or a vacant conference room, these make for great hiding places. When you’re not where you belong, people assume you’re just not around.

Get out. It’s difficult to be strategic or creative when you are sitting in the same place, looking at the same wall, day after day. When you have big picture planning to do, grab your team and get out of the office. Find a coffee shop, park, or other haunt that you can just escape the daily grind and let your mind run free.

As marketers, we’re forced to be creative on demand. Sometimes you have to give yourself a little edge to get the job done.

How do you give yourself an edge? What’s your favorite time bending trick?

Are you making a marketing mistake that could cost your business thousands of dollars a month?

March 17, 2008

Pretty compelling, isn’t it?

Questions have a unique power. They open our minds. Even if we don’t really want them to be opened. Humans are naturally curious.

When someone asks us a question, even one that doesn’t really matter to us – we have to wonder. We can’t help ourselves.

If I ask you what was the name of the ad agency that employed Darrin on the TV show Bewitched, most of you aren’t going to remember. Everyone will wonder for a few seconds. (Some of the younger readers may wonder what the heck is Bewitched!) Some will dismiss it. Others will ask around. Some will even research it on the internet.

All for a trivia question about a 60’s TV show. Knowing the answer to that question won’t make you any money, save you time or impress your friends. Yet, you’ll wonder. At least a little.

That’s the secret of asking questions. You can use questions to create demand. To stimulate doubt. To intrigue. Or to inspire. Questions invite your audience into the conversation.

Sometime this week, ask yourself this. How could you use questions more effectively in your marketing efforts?

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