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

This Boss Works For YOU

Well, this is indeed a pleasant Surprise to close the week. 

The story I wrote for Lawrence Kirsch's collaborative Springsteen fan book "For You Bruce," highlighting our backstage meeting 27 years ago, was excerpted and appears on RollingStone.com.  Check it out below of by clicking here. 

Not only does this heighten my excitement for Sunday's show here (my 11th time seeing Bruce), but for the gathering of worldwide fans and contributors at La Brasserie Brunoise, a restaurant just outside the Bell Center, for a pre-show pre-party...because anyone who's ever seen The Boss can tell you, the show IS the party.

What's In-Store for the Music Biz

A band that was always close to its fans got even closer when Linkin Park played a secret show inside New York's SoHo Apple Store last Thursday night (you can read all about it here).  They called it a "warm-up for their Madison Square Garden show," but the buzz generated by the band's 200-person boutique concert outweighed and overshadowed anything they did in the arena. Concerts may be big and bombastic, but it's the Surprise of a secret show that grabs the attention.

While some may say the Linkin boys may be just a little past their prime, you can't get any hotter a venue than an Apple store these days (they've become the primary gathering zone of the hip; the "New Starbucks" if you will). Which got me to thinking...

You've got two industries on shaky ground (the music biz and the retail sector), and both shaken by the same hand--the digital revolution.  Yet, like two negatives multiplied make a positive in algebra, it seems that pairing bands and stores may be a tonic from which both can benefit. 

The bands will bring in traffic.  Every show will be packed.  They can sell music, merch and seed fan bases. 

Individual stores or retail chains (whose backing would spawn more "tours" than one-offs) will not just jam their locales at off-hours, but associate with the all-important image-generator of modern music. (And who says it has to be modern?  There are a lot of old-school artists who can use--and generate--some intimate, in-store lovin').   

Working together, this concept can break new bands, introduce new products and multiply audiences.  It would breathe new life into stalwarts looking to renew, like The Gap and Starbucks (who can go from selling CDs to selling live shows).  It would give label-less talent a chance to play live, not just on MySpace.

This ain't exactly a new concept.  Record stores did this for years, but except for a scant few, they don't exist anymore (and they're not where kids get their music anyway). And the use of malls to launch teen faves (like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson) was a fad during the '80s.

But it is a new world.  And as we've said over and over at Surprise Central, everything new is old again.

Today Hot Topic, tomorrow CBGB's!

Blank Check

Just finished (and when I say just, I mean JUST) reading Chris Anderson's fascinating cover story "Free" in the latest WIRED. Well-researched and developed, he argues that the future of business is--literally--priceless.

But here's what got me REALLY thinking:

Considering this is essentially a front cover, multi-page ad for his upcoming book in '09, for full cred marks, I sure 'nuff hope Chris DIDN'T get paid for this piece.

And by the way Chris, two quick questions:

1--How much will said book actually cost us?
2--Jeez, wasn't Abbie Hoffman decades ahead of his time with "Steal This Book"?

Second Chances

Best Pow! moment at this year's Oscars (okay...the ONLY Pow! moment) was when Jon Stewart took matters into his own hands and called singer/songwriter Marketa Irglova (below) back to the stage so that she could actually deliver a "Thank You" speech. 

As the Awards are wont to do whenever a second person's about to speak, the volume was cut off after her life and artistic partner Glen Hansard finished, leaving her awkwardly standing at the mic, speaking into silence. 

But for whatever reason-- Marketa's quaintness, the refreshing non-Hollywood attitude--Stewart broke with tradition, and unprecedentedly gave her the floor for a second chance...and a well-deserved ovation.

Once again comes this lesson from Surprise Central: small things can deliver big impact.  And in a night of "knew it all along" winners, this unexpected moment was one to treasure.  For the record, Marketa's speech:

Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much.

This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling.

This - the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this - it's just to prove, no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.

And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up.

And this song was written from a perspective of hope and hope, and the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are. 

Walking The Talk

Last week, I told you about a speech I gave at McGill University for its marketing students.  I wasn't gonna tell you about another McGill-related speech I gave the day before, but seeing the reaction it garnered--and how my ramblings fit the theme of this blog--I guess I should come clean.

The event was called "Are We American?", a look at Canadian Culture in North America.  Given my Just For Laughs heritage, I was conveniently placed in the Humour section with three others, and figured that this was one of those polite panel discussions where we would be asked questions and banter about happy things happily.

Well, less than a week from speak-day, I received an email with these instructions:

"For your formal remarks, however, please remember to speak into the microphone on the podium.  As this is not primarily an academic conference, your presentation need not be overly formal."

Uh, "Formal"?  "Presentation?"  Sorry folks, too busy, too late.  So, given the topic of the conference, instead of a dry, podium-delivered platitude, I decided to live up to the standards set by Surprise Central, channel my inner American, and rant. 

And rant I did.  About how "you get what you pay for," and since I wasn't getting remunerated, I wasn't putting out.  About how sick I am about being the polite Canadian, and being quiet all the time.  About how I wasn't just going to ignore the other speakers, but use my Blackberry during their presentations.  All this while sporting a "Proud Republican" t-shirt I had bought in Chicago on Super Tuesday.

Well, the room was indeed shocked.  And of course, being filled with Canadians, they politely applauded after being yelled at and insulted for five minutes.  The end result?  Perhaps it's best expressed by blogger Jenni Campbell, who said:

"Andy Nulman’s contribution to the panel was either profoundly subtle in its lampooning of Canadian’s perceptions of Americans, or in-your-face obnoxious. He got up when it was his turn to speak and announced that, because he wasn’t being paid to speak at the conference, he was going to shrug off the polite Canadian act and behave how an American would were he to be asked to give a talk and participate in a discussion without the appropriate remuneration...

"One reason why I found Nulman’s schtick to be so painfully funny upon reflection was because I spent most of it thinking what a jerk he was and how very uncivil and un-Canadian he was being."

Heh heh heh.  As George W. himself would've said, "Mission Accomplished."

Getting Ink Done

Is there sumpin' up in the once-staid printing industry?

Last week, I gave you the Eternal Order of Accessvia.

And this week, here's a little rant 'n' rave from my gym buddy Warren Werbitt of Pazazz Printing.

Who needs glue when, apparently, you get the same effect from sniffin' ink?

The Surprise Tool

Mucho buzz surrounding the impending--and much delayed--release of Will Wright's next computer game, Spore.

Like his previous magna-hit franchise The Sims, Spore allows players to create worlds and infrastructures of their own.  But according to a piece in Fortune, with Spore, Wright and Exec Producer Lucy Bradshaw have designed a modeling tool that gives players the power to take the things they create within the game outside its confines and into other digital realms, a la YouTube, Facebook, 3D printers, et al.

The beauty of this--and relevance to the nature of this blog--comes in a quote from Wright himself, who explains the relationship between mass input and the ensuing Surprise output:

"When you unleash a new level
of creative tools at a mass level,
it usually explodes into
something unpredicatable."

Here's to a year of unpredictable Spore outputs...and the blog posts they inspire here.

The Art Of...Surprise

And speaking about speaking (see yesterday's post), how's this for a cool, high-powered gig?

I've just been added to the bill of The Art Of Sales, a full-day event to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's  elegant John Bassett Theatre, on May 12.

The line-up is packed with some of my biz book idols, including:

• The world's Chief Executive Salesman, Jeffrey Gitomer (of Little Red Book of Selling fame)
• David Allen, who teaches the world how to Get Things Done and
• Herb Cohen, the long-time maestro of negotiation
• not to mention Sharon Drew Morgen and Dr. J.P. Pawliw-Fry (that's all of us below).

I've spoken at many such a large-scale, full-day session, but what makes The Art Of's take on them so unique is that the company highlights a specific theme, and niche-markets to those most interested in, and who will take home more from, the subject at hand.

For example, other events set to go include The Art of Golf (featuring coaches of the top PGA money-winners), The Art of Cooking and The Art of Management, with more to come (hey guys, how about "The Art of Surprise"?  I know a good closing speaker.  Uh, just asking...)

This is the spirit of Web 2.0 and the Long Tail brought to the brick-and-mortar (or shall I say "wood-paneling and soft-seat") conference game; a well-focused, no-fat approach.

One of the driving forces within The Art Of is a bright,  well-experienced entrepreneur named Scott Kavanagh, who promises not just to entertain his audience, but educate them.  Which brings me to a conversation I had over dinner in Chicago two weeks ago with my buddy Jim Fannin, one of the greats of the speaking world. Despite his success at empowering thousands all over the globe (including championship athletes like Alex Rodriguez and Grant Hill), Jim insists he is NOT a motivator, but an educator.  Or, as he put it:

"It's the difference between telling someone
'you can do it!',
and actually teaching someone
'HOW you can do it'."

So go get 'em, Scott and company.  Teach 'em how you guys do it.  And thanks for the honor of allowing me to share the stage with such a prestigious group.

(By the way, if you wanna go, call The Art of Sales at 1-866-992-7863.  Mention my name and get a discounted rate.  Mention Herb Cohen's name and negotiate an even BETTER one!)

True Love Weighs

Was just sent this as part of an Airborne email showing the success of our Family Guy product last week on AT&T mobile's MEdia Mall.  Just goes to show you that some people express love differently from the rest.

  

A supreme, real-life Pow! moment, one that teaches my oft-preached lesson on standing out from the crowd (or, to quote Airborne's Graphics Product Manager John Bowie, "Remember the old Sesame Street tune 'One of these things is not like the others'?").

Surprise Speech

Last Friday, I once again carried out my semi-regular gig of speaking to the marketing students at McGill University's Desautels School of Management, and what started out as the usual, free-flowing affair soon focused in on the topic of Surprise Marketing.

First of all, the students' interest in and challenging questions about the subject was profound (so chalk one up to the potential of Pow! becoming a College-level course). These young future leaders weren't just on the ball, they were hopping on it with one foot, doing backward flips and landing back on top with ease. An impressive bunch.

But two comments struck me hard during the 90-minute session.  The first was from a woman who, after about 45 minutes of "How To" examples, asked:

"Isn't Surprise Marketing just
customer relationship management?"

To which I responded: 

"Exactly.  But 'just'?"

I went on to explain that Surprise Marketing serves to delight its recipients,  which--if delightful enough--serves to solidify the bond between customer and marketer.  And I don't care WHAT business you are in, from a mom-and-pop corner store to a multinational, there is NOTHING more important than the bond between you and your customer.  Find a way to eternally concretize this bond and you'll never have another business worry.  Ever. 

But "eternal customer concretization" is easier said (even five times fast) than done.  And Surprise Marketing is a great start.

The other comment was from a regular at my McGill verbal barrages, and he said something that will forever change the way I see snowstorms.  As much as most of us whine and complain at their disruptive nature, this young man saw the Surprise element in them.

"It breaks us out of our routine," he said.
"You never know what's going to happen. 
You don't know how--if!--you're gonna get to school. 
You don't know who you'll help or who will help you. 
It's exciting to think of what lies ahead each time
your daily routine is thrown into disarray by a snowstorm."

Great reverse perspective thinking.  A candidate for the first Doctorate in Surprise Marketing, no doubt.

Anyway, the reaction to the talk has sparked me to put together a one-hour speech on the subject, a multi-media, show-and-tell, how-to, Pow!-sprinkled, thought-provoking, hyphen-laden extravaganza...

...which makes it debut (where else?)  closing out McGill's Management Graduate Business Conference on Friday, March 7.

Hope there's no snowstorm...

Currency Exchange

As per yesterday's mega-post about Accessvia and Voodoo Doughnuts, these words of wisdom from Made To Stick's Dan Heath, taken from his keynote speech last week:

"Lunatic ideas generate
word-of-mouth currency."

...and at the greatest exchange rate around.

Remember this as you choose your Valentine's Day Gift today.
 

Surprise Central Soulmates

You'd figure that after over 200 years of dealing with it, the city of Chicago would know how to deal with winter. 

Yet once again last week, in the space of three days, the quagmire named O'Hare airport was closed three times...which is the main reason why my trip to the RAC conference was a relative bust.  A vast amount of attendees were held up by the weather, and those who actually made it into Chicago were consumed with how the hell they'll be getting out of there. 

None-the-less...I managed to meet two companies that are true soulmates of Surprise central. 

The first is called Accessvia, who provide in-store signage and desktop publishing apps to the retail trade.  Snore, right?

Wrong.  These guys had:

• the best giveaways (including a coloring book that was the best sales-message-disguised-as-entertainment that I've seen in ages),
• the best in-booth promos (two in fact; a coloring contest and photo shoot) 
• the best logo (many, in fact; all featuring their black cat mascot) 
• the best slogan ("The Eternal Order of Accessvia") 
• the coolest CEO (the Richard Branson of printing, Dean A. Sleeper) 
• the best use-of-funds (sponsoring Made To Stick author Dan Heath's keynote and book-signing), and
• the best stunt (an Airborne-reminiscent dollar-bill blast to drive home their message that working with them and "money will fall from the sky").

Printers.  Incredible.

Despite this, they STILL weren't the most outrageous scions of shock at the conference.  That honor goes to a tiny Portland, Oregon company called Voodoo Doughnuts, who have generated a tidal wave of media buzz by doing to donuts what Cirque du Soleil did to the circus. 

This sure ain't your father's Dunkin' Donuts or Tim Horton's.  In addition to some X-rated competitions (check out The Annual Cockfest here), Voodoo Doughnuts also offers live concerts, legal Weddings and real Swahili lessons in their one and onlystore.  At the conference, stylish co-founders Kenneth "Cat Daddy" Pogson and Tres Shannon threw down their renowned "Tex-Ass Challenge," where contestants must wolf down a super-sized donut--the equivalent of a half-dozen regular treats--in less than 90 seconds.

The wildness carries onto their all-made-by-hand donut menu as well.  My faves include an actual Voodoo Doll donut (which "bleeds" raspberry jam when jabbed with pretzel-stick "pins") and a Bacon-Maple Bar complete with real bacon strips.  By the way, they taste good, too.

With offers of expansion and franchises flying fast and furious, one hopes that Cat Daddy and Tres can capitalize on their creative concept without watering down the spirit, originality and oversized gonads that has generated such well-deserved buzz.  And such majestic Pow!

American Express 2: A-mazed

Go figure.  Just as I ream out American Express and its Gateway Plus Buyer "Protection" (!?!) Program for making me act like a trained circus seal to claim 325 bucks, I get this unsolicited card from the company:

It comes from Denise Pickett, President of Amex Bank of Canada, and it celebrates our "long-term relationship," expressing "gratitude for your demonstrated confidence in your American Express Card" (the card, yeah; Gateway Plus, no...but I bitterly digress).

Anyway, like any really great greeting card, this one comes with an additional bump--a $25 gift voucher from Chapters/Indigo (so you see that they've been looking where I spend my money). Another great Pow! moment.

Too bad I still have the Gateway taste in my mouth (and now I'm down only $300), 'cuz this is supreme Surprise marketing; unexpected, small in stature but big in effect, something I'll talk about, and even more importantly, something I'll use. 

Just hope it doesn't get lost or stolen ;)

American Express 1: A-mess

Just before I left on Christmas vacation last year, I received a little bill-stuffer from American Express touting its "Gateway Plus" program, their buyer-protection-plus plan...so to speak.  One of the features, and I quote, is that the plan:

"...protects eligible retail purchases made with the Card automatically against accidental physical damage and most theft for 90 days from date of purchase."

Simple enough.  Or so I thought.

One of my holiday Amex splurges was a $325 Gucci hat, which I shared with my son Hayes who, to be honest, looked a whole lot better in it than I did.  Which is why, when he wanted to borrow it for a night on the town, I was happy to lend it to him.

Well, four hours later, a somewhat upset Hayes came home and told me that said hat had been stolen at a bar.  He had taken it off to fix his hair, and when he went to put it on again, it was gone.

"No problem!" I beamed with confidence.  "We are covered by American Express's 'Gateway Plus'!  We'll have a new one before we know it."

Or so I thought.

The process to recover the three hundred bucks or so proved more difficult than applying for political asylum refugee status.  Here's what I had to provide:

1. A copy of the police report of the stolen Item

2. The original receipt

3. The American Express statement with the purchase shown on it

4. A written statement from me explaining exactly what happened

5. A statement from my homeowners' insurance indicating the deductible (if it is higher than the purchase price of item) OR a copy of the claim to my homeowners' insurance if the deductible is lower than the $341.85...the price plus tax. (Either way, they needed proof of insurance.)

6. The purchase protection claim had to be submitted with all of the above within 30 days of the incident

7. A blood sample, DNA test and title to my first-born grandchild

Okay, so I'm kidding about #7...but barely.

So here's the point.  I've been an Amex "member" for close to a quarter-century.  Last year on my Amex card, between personal and business use, I charged--and paid!!!--the equivalent of the GNP of a small nation (unfortunately, here I am NOT kidding). 

I understand there may be abuses of the Gateway Plus system, but a quick check would show the Amex folks that I had never used this in the past (and if I were trying to screw them, it would be for more than $325...).

Considering the many tens-of-thousands they have made off me throughout the years, and the fact they could check my insane purchase patterns instantly, you'd figure they could say: "Hey, sorry about the loss. We appreciate your business throughout the years. Here's a new hat."

Instead, they get this blog post.

And I replace the damn hat.

But charge it to my Visa card.

(Tune in tomorrow for Part 2 of this saga, as Amex pulls a Surprise 360-degree turnaround.)

The Power of Labels

Two follow-ups from yesterday's post on flaunting wealth or thrift:

Alan Victor, President of Jack Victor (the internationally-renowned, 95-year-old, high-end men's fashion manufacturer) tells me that in China, men don't clip off the designer logo labels on the wrist-cuffs of their suits, but display them as a badge of prestige.

And speaking of China, and men's fashion, how's this for big balls?  The Beijing Silk Street Company, a clothing marketplace notorious for selling knock-offs and fake designer-labeled fashion and accessories, is starting its own line of brand-name products.

“For over 30 years we’ve always been selling other people’s clothes,” said George Wang, the market's GM. “We’ve never sold our own.”

As if that's not ballsy enough, Wang is cautioning counterfeiters to stay away from his Silk Street label, warning that rip-off artists will be dealt with "according to the law."

What law he did not elaborate, but you gotta give him major points for chutzpah.

Diss Loyal

These words of Pow! from Anne Bologna, Prez of the butt-kickin agency Toy, direct from the stage of the Retail Advertising Conference in Chicago:

"Forget 'Loyalty Programs';
Touch hearts instead."

In the end, most loyalty programs become ignored...or a prison. 

And you don't touch hearts by doing the same-ol' same-ol'...

Getting Off

As you read this, I am prepping for my speech at the RAC in Chicago, so retail has been on the mind for the past few days. 

In doing some last-minute research l, just before bed, I stumbled upon this obvious common-sense gem in Brandweek about shopping psychology:

"Simply put, Americans
either like to flaunt
their thrift or wealth."

Had to laugh, because at dinner last night, I was wearing my new Ralph Lauren RRL jacket, which I had just picked up in Florida.

What makes the jacket special is not just the intricate, obtuse patchworking, but the price; it had originally listed at $3000, was marked down to $600, and I picked it up for 75% off that (that's $150 for those of you mathematically-challenged).

And what's funniest about this is that the deal was SO great, I still haven't removed the price tag from inside the jacket.  It's become part of the story I tell each time someone comments on it.  Most times, I even show it.  Generates Pow! every time, too.

Crazy, but true.

Which gets me to thinking...perhaps retailers can think of a way to "reverse-psychologize" the flaunting system.  On the wealth side, we will show off our designer names and logos loudly, but on the thrift side, the killer bargains remain stealthily anonymous (unless you're a widemouth like yours truly).

Is "75%-off" the new Gucci?

Anti-Pow!

The ad below has been making the rounds of biz mags over the past month.  It's from the US Postal Service, and while I think its message is lame-o (so, they don't hit you with hidden shipping charges...yawn!), the image does personify anti-Pow!, the polar opposite of the wide-eyed look of we strive to create with this blog.

So take a note marketers everywhere: this guy's squash is what WE DON'T WANT to see.

Our friend says he doesn't like Surprises; he probably doesn't like a kick in the ass either, but I truly believe he would benefit from both.  In fact, this ad would be WAY more effective if flip-flopped; show a positive, upbeat, happy face SURPRISED that the USPS has no hidden shipping charges.

It succeeds at only one level--in the Post Office here at Surprise Central, this guy is atop our Most Wanted Fugitive List.
.

Badge of Courage

As I'm set to head to Chicago tomorrow to speak at RAC for another foray into the world of retail for Airborne, I harken back to the Surprise giveaway hit at last week's Shop.org conference in Orlando.

It comes courtesy of the folks at Bazaarvoice, a leading social shopping data generation company (consumer reviews, Q-and-As and the like).  No cheap ballpoints or chintzy contests at their booth; instead, this Austin-based company (obviously veterans of the showfloor circuit) produced a series of tongue-in-cheek tags to append and personalize those bland and clunky badges conf-goers are forced to wear.

They had a selection of about a dozen, and I managed to lift the following:
As I've said countless times in this space, big Pow! can be generated from the smallest source.  And as these tags solicited smiles from everyone who saw them, more importantly, they also solicited cries of "Where'd you get them?"

And drove traffic to...well, you know where!

Late Pass

After over 30 years of business travel, shame on me for not figuring this out earlier, but here's the foolproof way of avoiding all those interminable line-ups at airport security:    

Arrive late. VERY late!

What a buffoon I've been all my life, following the rules, hitting the airport 17 hours before my scheduled flight, standing in an endless snake of humanity, only to be breezed-by by some hyperventilating slob--surrounded by a phalanx of uniformed airline staff, no less--who has a matter of seconds to make it to his gate before the doors close.

I lived this on my way to Denver and on my way back from Orlando.

No more.

So for Chicago on Tuesday, I WILL NOT pack an extra alarm, but will spray myself with water and huff-and-puff like an obese marathoner as I arrive at 11:00 for my 11:10 and make the Nexus Pass look like molasses.

See ya on board!