Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman's Blog About Surprise

Burger...All Dressed

What a way to end a year of Surprise!

'Sposed to be on vacation, but after dinner last night, I've been spending a disproportionate amount of time researching the price of the world's most expensive burger.   

At  $125, the one at Boca Raton's Old Homestead beats out the $99 bun at New York's DB Bistro Moderne...but neither hold a candle to the hunka-hunka-burning beef at Vail's Chophouse Restaurant (an offshoot of the Beaver Creek eatery of the same name and obviously, where I ate last night). 

At a walloping $275, it more than doubles its nearest competitor...but there's a catch.  Check it out on their menu:

Yeah, yeah, I know that this is more a conversation piece than an epicurean delight, but trust me, as a conversation piece it sure 'nuff did its job.  Every table around us pointed to it, laughed at it and talked about it.

One even ordered it (albeit without the Dom) and loved it.

And is still talking about it.

Kudos to the Chophouse for not just adding some Pow! to the usually mundane medium of a menu, but for having a sense of humor (so rare for a high-end resto!).

-------------------------------

P.S.  Happy New Year, my faithful FOPs.

Tag. I'm It!

While I'm trying not to divert your attention from the expansive, exhaustive Year-End Vacation Compilation post, this feelgood travel story just couldn't wait until I'm back in the office.

Whenever we travel by plane together, my two sons laugh at me for anal-retentively tagging each of my bags.  Not only do I ensure that every bag has my permanent Aeroplan Elite tags and the airline-issued baggage tag, but I also add those hand-written paper ones at every leg of the flight.  My bags end up looking like a French chandelier, but better be safe than sorry I always say.

Especially these days, because just after clearing security before catching my recent flight to Vail, I got a strange, Surprising call on my cellphone.

"Mr. Nulman, this is Air Canada calling."

Oh no.  What nightmare awaits me now?  I held my breath.

"It seems that somehow, the flight tag has fallen off one of your bags," the voice continued.  "Where are you exactly?"

"I'm heading to the gate," I answered. 

"What flight are you on?" he continued.

"The 7:50 to Denver," I replied.

"Fine, we have plenty of time.  The bag will meet you there."

"One thing...how did you know it was mine?"

"Well, I saw your name and phone number on the tag, so I figured I'd take a chance and see if I could get you before you left."

"Hmmm...one more question.  If you didn't have my name and number, what would've happened?"

"Well, we could've kept the bag here, and waited to hear for a lost luggage claim.  But because of the holiday rush, who knows when you would've received it."

By the way, the waylaid bag contained two pairs of snowboard boots, a mountain jacket and a helmet...things that, if missing, would've put quite the damper on a snowboarding vacation.

Particularly since they all belonged to...guess who?

My two sons!

Positively Negative (or Vice Versa)

Here's something I don't get--why in conversation, when people concur with you, do they preface their concurrence with a contrary negative? 

In simpler terms, how many times have you heard people say:

"No, I agree..."

Must've heard it a dozen times since the Xmas break.  Now I'm no Noam Chomsky, but the more I hear it, the more I realize that the initial negative neutralizes the positive that follows, essentially null-and-voiding the agreement.

Think this is unimportant?  The power of simple negative/positive suggestion is astonishing. Try this next time you're trying to convince someone of something: nod your head yes if you want the person to agree (or no if that's the response you're seeking).  Works subliminally, works wonders and works often.

No, it does!

Vacation Rules...Again.

Vacation time is here again. (Well for me, at least.  YOU are still prowling the blogosphere, looking for ditties like this to read.)

And like I did last year, I have compiled two lists of posts designed to regale old FOPs (Friends of Pow!) and to give cherished newbies an idea of the philosophy, the headspace and the raison d'etre of this blog:

List #1 is what I'll call The 12 Posts of Christmas. What I did was pick out the one post each month over the past year that best exemplified the spirit that drives the theme of Surprise marketing.

List #2 is a simple collection of faves; rants, raves, theories and experiences of 2007 that were a blast to write and stand the test of time...even though they may stray off topic a bit.

So there we go.  And before I leave you for the season, I also make state the Vacation Pledge that "postings will be sporadic"...but I said the same thing over the summer and last year this time.

So until January 7--or more likely, until inspiration hits--thanks for being such an interesting, interactive and faithful audience, and for making my commitment to this blog a labor of love.

LIST #1: The 12 Posts

December        Infoverflow and SNAM
November        Here Today
October           The Worst Surprise is No Surprise
September       The Eel Effect
August              We NEVER Close!
July                  Reverse Shoplifting 
June                 Thirsty, But Non-Committal
May                  Theory Why
April                 The Day After
March               A Tale Of Two Ads...Part 2
February          The Why Behind The What
January            The Lubricant To Yes

 LIST #2: Rants, Raves & Faves 

Arrested by The Police
Taxing Cabs
Free Advice (Marketing's New Ps)
How To Sell Art (or Anything Else) Better
Tell Me What I'll Say
It's ALL User-Generated Content!
Designer Thievery

 

BEST. Xmas. Present. EVER!

From a very astute friend/client, this cashmere/wool scarf made by the legendary Lochcarron of Scotland.

Hmmm...gotta get into merchandising here at Surprise Central in 2008...

Book 'Em

You know how much I read, how much I love to read, and how much I love giving out reading material as gifts.  Well, with Xmas just a few days away, here are two very self-centered but worthwhile recommendations (in other words, books that actually stooped to the level of having me contribute to them).

The first is the oft-mentioned, idea-filled and charity-benefitting "Age of Conversation."  Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton's brainchild has now hit the big-time, being sold on Amazon.com, with all proceeds still being donated to Variety the Children's Charity.  Find out more, and buy the thing for crissakes, by clicking here.

The second is a unique Bruce Springsteen coffee table opus put together by my long-time friend Lawrence Kirsch. "Kirschie" and I shared many adventures and misadventures in the late '70s and early '80s when I was the Entertainment Editor of the Sunday Express newspaper.  But enough about stories I can't print due to fears of lawsuits from record companies, elderly waitresses and assorted rockstars...

A renowned rock music photographer (that's his shot on the book's cover at left), Lawrence channeled the Web 2.0 staples of user-generated content and community into hardcover form, where fans (including yours truly) contribute personal stories and photos of their passionate admiration for The Boss. 

Lawrence had told me about this one years ago when it was in its embryonic stages, and the result is way more than I could have ever imagined; a classy, elegant chronological chronicle of one of the great artist/fan relationships in showbiz history.  Getting great buzz, too.  And deservedly so.

Order yours here, but do so quickly, as the initial limited edition has less than 100 copies left to sell.

Breaking Bread

This took place about six weeks ago, but adds to my Monday point about the need to stand out, particularly when trying to get a social message out.

In an effort to raise both funds and awareness for Vancouver's increasingly dire homeless situation, a street team of volunteers and staffers of the First United Church Mission handed out slices of toast at the city's busiest intersection.

The bread was burned with words on both sides, using branding irons, blowtorches and the savvy of the Tribal DDB ad agency.  They read:

For some people, this is a meal.
Help us help the homeless.

Not only did the church take in a bunch of money, but the eye-opening, soul-searching stunt was picked up by newsfolks all over the world.

Think they'd have enjoyed the same result had they been handing out paper flyers instead?

Upper

Don't post personal, no-biz pix often (okay, there was that Police thing), but to counter-balance the downer of yesterday's post, here's a picture from Airborne's Christmas party last week.  At the annual talent show, our office band, brilliantly named The Matt Demons by drummer Brandon Reti, got together to play a few tunes, including Van Halen's "Jump!"...instructions I took quite literally as you can plainly see.

P.S.  No photoshop, trampolines or steroids were used in creating this leap. 

Christmas (Death) Wish

Just finished preparing my whopping Year-End Pow!-in-Review post (see last year's here), and one of the constant messages of '07--one imperative in the creation of Surprise--was the need to stand out.  Here's yet another example of what happens when you do:

At this time of year, we encounter (and, unfortunately, usually ignore) countless "Don't Drink and Drive" warnings.  Too bad more of 'em aren't written by Ken Rossignol, the editor of a Maryland newspaper called St. Mary's Today.  In a recent edition, the ballsy Mr. Rossignol, who's brother was killed by a drunk driver in 1975, published the following ad: Unconventional, indeed...but gets the point across with a gulp.

Sadly, someone will be taking him up on his offer, but I betcha the pool from which he chooses a winner is narrowed down by this Pow!erful approach.

Reminds me of the equally gut-wrenching, and way more graphic, ads put together by Canada's Workplace Safety & Insurance Board. 

Their message--that all accidents are preventable--is driven home by TV spots and print ads (like the one at right) that feature horrific visuals more at home in films like Hostel or Saw III.

Check 'more of 'em out here...if you dare.

And...uh, watch out for drunk drivers, slipping sous-chefs, heavy machinery and other dangers this holiday season.   

You've been warned.  And successfully so, it seems.

Air Raid

There are four certainties in life:

1. Death
2. Taxes
3. Every Greek song will eventually speed up
4. News reports from airports during winter storms will always feature someone exasperatingly complaining "We have no information.  The airline is telling us nothing!"

Yes FOPs, another flying beef. 

As I prepare for the roulette wheel that is Xmas-time vacation flying (yes, another Vail trip is in the offing), I watch the TV news in awe as the winter storm that is ripping through North American is yet again leaving a swath of frustrated, stranded travelers stuck at airports without a modicum of an idea of what the hell is going on.

You'd figure that after about 70 years, the airline/airport consortium would've figured out a process to deal with weather issues and the public it affects.  Yet every storm, the two react in tandem as if the arrival of more than an inch of snow was a once-in-a-lifetime freak of nature, kinda like the Comet Kohoutek or Paris Hilton.  Guys, despite my love of Surprise, this ain't one of 'em.

                  No Info--Traveling Worst Class

Here's what I don't get:  never mind a sophisticated, web-based system of alerts and re-bookings; why don't the airlines designate a live spokesperson to deal with this on the spot?  Set up a riser in the airport, pull out a mic and a pair of speakers, and alleviate frustration by giving a mini-press-conference of sorts; explaining the facts, and the options available, to the thundering herd.

If perhaps the airline/airport employees union is afraid that said representative would be torn to bits by merely appearing before the huddled masses, perhaps a system akin to the hockey player/referee relationship would be better.  Travelers would elect a representative, like the players who wear the C or A on their sweaters.  These reps--and ONLY these reps--would meet with the airline/airport folks somewhere quiet, private and safe, and THEY would disseminate the info back to their peers.

Either way, it would be a win-win; more info, less complaints.

The only loser would be the news organizations...who would have to find another clichéd story to bring us every storm.

If It Ain't Already Been Done, It Soon Will Be

In a post last week I tongue-in-cheekly suggested that the only space left for the weed-like coffee giant Starbucks to expand would be in "mini-kiosks throughout shopping mall parking lots."

Well, there's a lesson to be learned in our wonderful world of marketing:

Today's tongue-in-cheek
is tomorrow's carved-in-stone

Seems that as I was typin' up the post itself, the century-and-a-half-old Eight O'Clock Coffee company was, according to Brandweek, "setting up shop in malls' parking lots to create coffee klatches among customers eagerly awaiting the openings."

The promotion was one of a handful free coffee giveaways to mark this year's Black Friday, and while others provided samples in malls and even at tollbooths (hello Maxwell House!), only Eight O'Clock corralled shoppers as per my what-once-was-facetious-but-is-now-gospel vision (and did it with the name Black Coffee Friday).

Gotta be careful where I stick my tongue...

The Business In The Card

My old buddy Blair MacLean (alongside his late brother Gary in the infamous comedy duo MacLean and MacLean) used to perform a routine called "Gross," which defined some of the more disgusting adventures one may encounter in their day-to-day ("Kissing your grandmother and she slips you the tongue?  That's gross." or "Biting into a hotdog and finding a vein inside?  That's gross.").

In a corporate setting however, what sits atop the gross list (particularly in Japan) is taking someone's business card and using it to pick your teeth.  Especially just after it's given to you.

Unless, that is, you are a patient of Dr. Elliott Mechanic.

"Doc Rock," as he is known, is not only the leading worldwide authority on cosmetic dentistry, but is a shrewd marketer.  His current business card (see below) not only sports his logo and practice coordinates, but is filled with 12 yards (!!!) of very usable dental floss.

An admirable gimmick, impressive engineering, and of course, majestic Pow!

I thank God he's not a Proctologist.

Color My World...But Precisely

About a month ago in a similarly-named post about GoSmile White, I yammered about "Corporate-sponsored colors" (like Tiffany Blue, UPS Brown and Target Red) and suggested their rise is due to the fact that we are running out of inanimate objects (a la "peach" and "avacado") to name colors after.

Profound, no?

Well, methinks me worried too much, too soon.  Over in Paris (where else?) Jean-Gabriel Causse's uber-hip Bluebretzel has expanded the parameters of the rainbow by producing high-end cotton/cashmere t-shirts in unique hues such as "Mona Lisa's Eyes Brown," "Caviar Kaspia Beluga Caviar Black" or "Earth Blue as Seen by Apollo 17." 

This ain't no mere gimmick; the company painstakingly researches and matches the pigment of these iconic shades in a highly-complex, significantly scientific manner (check it out at left).

The end result is a t-shirt that sells for 60-75 Euros (depending on long or short sleeves), and is generating all sorts of buzz in the fashion world.

More importantly, a la Nudie Jeans, Causse (whose background is one of advertising, not fashion, go figure...) is breathing new life into a commodity product.  Not since Dov Charney's "Made in L.A./Sweatshop-Free" American Apparel has there been such a compelling "story" to tell about the lowly t-shirt.  When was the last time you bragged about yours?

Even more kudos to Causse--the Bluebretzel website not only explains the details of his color search, but is home to perhaps the friendliest, most intuitive and store-replicating shopping experience on the web.  Worth every minute of your time to check it out.

Better save up, though...

Delivering On My Promises

It's good to have friends, particularly if they're in the Tax department or in the media.

Rick Spence, a long-time member of the People I Dig list (see left), is a member of the latter, and was kind enough to give credence to the relatively nascent (well, to the general public at least) discipline of Surprise marketing in today's National Post.  You can check our Rick's column by clicking these blue letters.

Nicely written and well appreciated...but I DO have just one minor correction/addendum, if I may.  To close the story, Rick wrote:

Does he practice surprise marketing as Airborne's chief marketing officer? "We'll be doing it next year with some of our marketing and promotion incentives," Nulman promises.

Well...to be frank, Surprise marketing is what GOT Airborne to where it is.  Examples are many, including the oft-told tale of the Donald Trump Dollar Bill Toss and the Free Beer panel discussion, not to mention our infamous Maxim parties (no links folks, sorry!). 

Indeed there's more to come, but there was a lot that went, too.

Okay, so now that THAT's cleared up, why not pay Rick a visit at his entrepreneurial blog.  Tell his server I sent ya.

A TRUE Chanuka Miracle!

Okay, this is probably the work of someone with Photoshop and a playful imagination, but I do indeed wish this was just an example of good-natured cluelessness.

No matter what, it's great "Out Of Context" Pow!  Enjoy...but please, not with milk.

LAST-MINUTE UPDATE!  Apparently, this is a true story, and witnessed by a woman named Nancy Kay Shapiro in Balducci's in New York.  Read the full story here.

Infoverflow and SNAM

I was at one of those angel investor/new entrepreneur networking events last week, and while the evening was indeed a pleasant and interesting one, there was a disproportionate amount of "I wanna start a social network" chatter amongst those pitching ideas. 

I can understand why, given the buzz around Facebook, LinkedIn et al, but really...how many social networks does one really need in their "social graph"?  Last weekend (!!!) alone I was asked to join three new ones I had never heard of before, starting with the invitation-only Blue Chip Expert.

(Perhaps it's time to revive an old idea Garner and I had way back in February of 2000.  At the time, a company called ICraveTV.com was making all sorts of noise by controversially snapping up the signals of TV channels and re-broadcasting over the net for free. We came up with--tongue-in-cheekly--a site called "ICraveICraveTV.com," which threatened to RE-re-broadcast the TV channels by stealing the ICraveTV.com signal. "ICraveTV is the first generation of Internet parasites," our press release read.  "We're the next."  So maybe there's a Valley VC who is interested in funding a truly useful new social network, one whose raison d'etre is simply to manage all your OTHER  social networks.  Stranger concepts have been financed...)

So to entrepreneurs panning for gold in the social network swamps, I offer this advice:

Instead of trying to create yet another one of 'em, my advice would be to "swim where the fish are" and jump into the Facebook widget pool...but create one with a difference; one whose job it would be to manage the infoverflow (a term I just coined, thank you very much!)of the NewsFeed page. 

While NewsFeed does indeed provide an erstwhile view into the activities of one's group of friends (most notably, notifying you of the widgets they have chosen to use), the majority of the stuff listed falls into a category of, to be polite, "Well, good for you, but..." 

So if one wants to monetize Facebook real fast, forget the much-maligned Beacon.  What Facebook really needs is an "Anti-social Network" widget; an "I Don't Give A Damn" filter called Rat's Ass that would zap and forever eliminate those trite messages of:

"Vote for My Video!" or
"You Wanna Play Dinner Theatre Trivia?" or
"Hot Potato Request" or
"21 of Your Friends Has (sic) Received a New FunWall Post!" or

...I could go on forever.  But that would just exacerbate the point, wouldn't it?

So go get 'em.  You'll make a fortune eliminating SNAM (Social Network SPAM).

Just don't forget me when you go public or sell out to the hedgies...

Pow! To The Max

Bob Thacker is a smart guy.   And other Surprise Central hero.

As SVP Marketing and Advertising for OfficeMax, he's been responsible for, as Brandweek put it, adding "some levity and fun into the stodgy office supply category."  Recent tactics include Punk'd-styled pranks on kids and the creation of the world's largest rubber band ball.

His strategy for the company captures the Pow! spirit and distills it to two simple words:

"Unexpected events."

Couldn't have said it better myself...

What's For Lunch?

I've been saving this one for a while, but since things are so busy in and around Airborne this week, now's the perfect time to spring it on y'all.

I snapped this at Universal Studios in Florida, during a recent visit for an industry conference.  All I REALLY wanted to do was take a quick photo of the bandana-ed gentlemen in the sunglasses, as I was astonished that he would choose to wander around this most public place--amongst innocent children!--without the barrier of a shirt. 

I kinda forgot about the photo for a month, but when I finally downloaded it, my astonishment astonished itself even further given the placement of the two folks to the left...and the serendipitously-positioned banner above their heads.

If a picture is indeed worth 1,000 words...let this one tell a cautionary tale of what can happen if you over-indulge this holiday season.

A Real Christmas Pick-Me-Up

Despite the famous--and unfortunately only satiric--headline in The Onion announcing that Starbucks will open a new location in the washroom of a current Starbucks, I always believed that the next frontier for the pervasive coffee chain would be mini-kiosks throughout shopping mall parking lots.  Sometimes, particularly these post-Thanksgiving times, you need a pit stop on that Bataan-like march from your car to the gates of sell.

While this dream of mine still goes unrequited, the next best thing is being launched on Wednesday as communications giant Rogers Wireless is firing up a convoy of branded golf carts to provide lifts to shoppers stranded in the auto boonies of eight malls in the province of Ontario (an inspired brainstorm from Toronto's innovative Fuse Marketing).

Talk about a captive audience!  For the price of a lift in one of the "Rogers Share the Joy Shopping Shuttles" (now THAT's a branded golf cart!), consumers will be pitched new Rogers handsets from LG and Sony Ericsson, offered the use of said phones to make calls, and be entertained by Christmas Carol full-track downloads and ringtones.  Depending how far on the outskirts one parks, one may be able to enjoy the full catalog of Andy Williams and Burl Ives (the Frosty The Snowman warbler at right) before even hitting the front doors.

On one hand, this is a deal with the devil, and proves that there is no such thing as a free ride.  But if the Rogers team keeps the sell job to a minimum (less is indeed more here), and given the hardship of climbs during these winter climes, this can become a textbook example of Surprise marketing at it most appreciated best.