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Chocolate covered grasshoppers get people talking

By on May 14, 2009 in execution responsible, launch, message responsible, social media, social networking, strategically responsible, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

Yesterday, I received a lumpy mailer from a company I’d never heard of. Normally I give unsolicited mail about the same amount of consideration you probably do—a few seconds. But since it was, well, lumpy, and delivered via FedEx I opened it. Here’s what I found: On one side, it says “Yes, these are real [...]

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Finally, a real iPhone killer…or is it?

By on April 1, 2009 in creativity, viral marketing, word of mouth

Forget the Google G1 phone—the amazing Pomegranate phone is the first phone that, on the surface, looks like a real iPhone killer. If you think the features are over the top, you’ll be shocked when you click on the “release date” button in the upper right hand corner. So, what do you think? Subscribe to [...]

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Make it fun, get people talking—and sell more

By on March 31, 2009 in creativity, economy, fun, word of mouth

Not every business is struggling amid the economic downturn. Discounters, companies that help people save money, banko attorneys and the repo man aren’t the only businesses thriving. Cheerful products that provide a respite from the real world are selling. Products like the Oh Snap! Cheese Board and Cutter and The Bubble Calendar are selling well, [...]

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Word of mouth math: $2 bill + 1 sticker = awesome

By on March 25, 2009 in fun, word of mouth

On Monday, one of my colleagues handed me this: This particular colleague had lost a friendly bet the week before, so at first I thought I was receiving partial payment for said bet. Then I remembered that I’m still in negative territory—I owe her $88 (I bet $100 I’d have my book done by Halloween [...]

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Skittles Twitter homepage: Responsible or not?

By on March 3, 2009 in authenticity, branding, responsible or not?, social media, social networking, word of mouth

Skittles, the chewy, fruit-flavored candy from Mars, Inc. has jumped into social media in an innovative new way: They have coded their website so their navigation now floats over three of the most popular social media websites. Skittles.com is now nothing more than a navigation box floating over the Twitter search results for the term [...]

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Is your company ready for “Facebook Friday?”

By on February 27, 2009 in privacy, social media, social networking, word of mouth

Over the last year, I’ve fallen into the habit of talking with companies about their use of social media, and one of the most polarizing discussion topics is how open a company should be in allowing employees to use social media sites. While some companies lock down all social sites, others encourage their use. So [...]

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Make your marketing more shareable—pass it on

By on January 30, 2009 in promotion, word of mouth

At a lunch meeting at the Cheesecake Factory yesterday, I was beginning to tell a client we wanted to help them develop ways to make their company, products and services more “shareable.” I know, it’s not a real word, but I use it a lot because it telegraphs the idea immediately. But yesterday, I never [...]

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Burger King Flame: Body spray of seduction

By on December 19, 2008 in branding, creativity, viral marketing, word of mouth

Burger King—fresh from a beating in the blogosphere for their Whopper Virgins campaign—has snapped back. They’re back on brand with the King and Burger King Flame, the “body spray of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat.” Yes, it’s real, but it’s sold out. Of course, it’s not about the body spray, it’s about creating [...]

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No bull: Marketing lessons from the ER

By on December 15, 2008 in customer delight, word of mouth

We had to take my four year-old daughter to the emergency room yesterday. No, there wasn’t an accident—but a really bad cough turned for the worse and we needed medical advice, pronto. We took her to Swedish Hospital’s Issaquah ER and got exactly what we were looking for, and more. Though we’d never been to [...]

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There’s always room for creativity

By on October 1, 2008 in creativity, word of mouth

Here’s a great example that proves, no matter how small, no matter how mundane—everything is better when you sprinkle in a little creativity: Click on the image above to enlarge. D-Barcode of Japan gets it. Why settle for a standard barcode when you can entertain and engage your customer? And when you reward customers and [...]

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Let’s fight vanity scams together

By on August 21, 2008 in no trust, social media, social networking, word of mouth

I’ve been intrigued by the legs Awards for sale: Not a rewarding experience has had since I posted it on July 22nd, just under a month ago. The Ballard Agency received an award from the U.S. Local Business Association that was clearly a deceptive marketing tactic similar to the phony domain name and Yellow Pages [...]

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A word of mouth campaign worth talking about

By on August 5, 2008 in creativity, strategically responsible, videos, word of mouth

When you plan your marketing, you need to know where customers and prospects go for their information and how they make their buying decisions—so you ask them. If you learn word of mouth is the primary way your customers learn about you, the responsible response is to build word of mouth strategies into your marketing [...]

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Little changes can have big effects

By on July 24, 2008 in books, word of mouth

I’m not sure why, but for some reason, The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell has come up in four or five conversations I’ve had in the last few weeks. It’s hard to believe the book has been out since January of 2002. Given the fact it was on most best-seller lists for over two years [...]

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Creativity + social networking = Zappos everywhere

By on June 12, 2008 in creativity, customer delight, social networking, word of mouth

Zappos, the online shoe and clothing retailer is popping up everywhere I go. In the last month, I’ve had a number of contacts with the company, none of them planned, and none of them through traditional marketing approaches. Zappos is embracing social networking I’m a fan of Twitter, the micro-blogging/social networking service, and so is [...]

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A burrito the size of a baby! No? Then show me your tortilla machine.

By on May 12, 2008 in authenticity, customer delight, word of mouth

One of the best places for Mexican food in Seattle is Gorditos, on 85th in Greenwood. Their burritos are ridiculously huge, modestly priced and delicious. When I say huge, I mean a regular is big enough for two—a large would serve a small family. Here’s a photo and caption from a 2006 restaurant review in [...]

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Viral video: A little mystery goes a long way

By on May 8, 2008 in advertainment, creativity, execution responsible, love it or hate it?, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

In the last week, the above video has been viewed 444,117 times on YouTube. Question is, what is it? I did some sleuthing for you. Go to the video’s YouTube page, and you’ll find a link that takes you to a splash page: Click on the splash page and you’ll find another page with the [...]

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I’ll take “responsibility” for $14

By on May 6, 2008 in branding, fun, positioning, simplicity, viral marketing, word of mouth

Ask a room full of people to shout out the single word that comes to mind when you say “Volvo,” 90% will say “safety.” Owning a meaningful word or phrase in the mind of the consumer is the holy grail of marketing, I’d say. To own a word is expensive and time consuming, isn’t it? [...]

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Love it or hate it? Heineken’s “Share the Good”

By on April 24, 2008 in branding, love it or hate it?, videos, word of mouth

With the title “Share the Good,” Heineken’s new campaign sounds promising. But it’s not about Katrina relief, reducing the company’s carbon footprint or feeding hungry children. Nope. It’s all about the beer, and sharing your Heineken with a stranger. While the ad is visually interesting and the art direction is quite good, something isn’t quite [...]

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Marketing lessons from Dixie’s BBQ

By on April 14, 2008 in authenticity, creativity, fun, word of mouth

One of my favorite quotes of late is “Advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable,” credited to Robert Stephens, founder of Geek Squad at the Ad Age Idea Conference. I doubt Gene Porter from Dixie’s BBQ in Bellevue, WA has an advertising budget, nor does he need one. A few Outsource Marketing team [...]

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I bet you’ll fail this test

By on March 20, 2008 in creativity, information overload, PSA, simplicity, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

Before you read ahead, play the video below and take the test. You won’t need paper or pencil, just your full concentration. It will take you one minute. This awareness test is powerful in so many ways. It’s short and simple: One video. One minute long. 30 words. No fancy graphics. Just a single powerful [...]

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