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

The Big Ray Romano Surprise (No *Wonder* Everybody Loves Him)

Mid-July in Montreal ushers in the annual Just For Laughs Festival, an event at which I spent a very enjoyable and exciting decade-and-a-half of my life as its CEO, amongst other things. 

One of my great early Pow! stunts that has somehow got lost in the recesses of my memories was just unearthed during a bout of reminiscing with an old colleague, so what better time to share the story of Ray Romano and the golf balls (before I forget it once again)?

Ray was a young touring comic when he first did the festival, and unlike others who forgot we existed once they made it big, Ray stayed a friend of the fest, and agreed to host one of its prestigious Gala shows once he had hit the jackpot as the star of "Everyone Loves Raymond."

In addition to introducing ten comedians on the night's bill, Ray did some of his stand-up and a couple of sketches.  One that opened the second half (a trouble spot due to a tired audience coming back from intermission) involved his old golfing buddy Jimbo Skormowski (owner of the Comedyworks Club where ray headlined often).

Ray is an ardent golfer (as is CBS sitcom-mate Kevin James), so the sketch involved Ray and Jimbo, in golfwear, coming on stage with clubs, setting up balls on an astroturf mat, and trading dopey golf jokes and stories while launching the balls into the audience.

At first the audience was horrified (no, not by the stories), but quickly realized by the arc of the balls' flight that they were plastic, "Whiffle" golf balls.  The patter continued, about 20 balls were hit and caught, and the relatively pedestrian piece ended to polite applause.

But that's when the fun REALLY began!

Before introducing the next act, Ray dropped the Pow! bomb by saying:

"Oh, and by the way, whoever caught one of those balls, hold onto them. 
They're your ticket backstage.  Just meet at that door there
(he pointed to the heavily-secured stage-side door) after the show,
and you'll be taken to my dressing room for a meet-and-greet."

The place erupted.  Went nuts.

Everbody loved him even more, trust me.

Those who had balls (well, you know what I mean) realized that the cheap souvenir was actually a most golden ticket to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And as for the other 2,280 people who didn't, they were warmed by the gesture, and were pumped up beyond belief for the show's second half.

So, the moral of the story: Surprise comes in many forms.  Keep those hands as open as your eyes...as Cheap Trick once sang, "you never know what you'll catch."

Straighten Up And Fly, Right?

This from faithful FOP (that's "Friend of Pow!" for all you newbies) Tyler Wordsworth, who raves about the "next step" in the all-important Surprise Continuum from--pardon the pun--ballsy Air New Zealand:

"Andy - have you seen these? First came the commercial, now they've done their entire in-flight safety video - you know, the ones you and I normally tune out - in body paint! The best part is not only the POW factor but they've used actual pilots, flight attendants, and even the CEO as the actors."

Tyler has reason to be excited (aside from the obvious).  In a most moribund industry, this relatively tiny Kiwi airline has out-Virgined Virgin Air in (sorry!) cheekiness and has (sorry again) showed more staff spirit than Southwest.

The tease factor is incredible; you can almost hear yourself yell "Lower!" or "Zoom out!" to the obviously well-disciplined camera operator (who seems to have cut his or her chops shooting final scenes in Austin Powers flicks).  Perhaps travel writer Mike Barish put it best when he said:

"Seatbelt instructions? In body paint. Life jacket demonstration? In body paint. Water landing safety? Well, you get the picture. Actually, you don't get the whole picture. Some strategically placed luggage and seat backs ensure that.

"Lately, many airlines have replaced the flight attendant demos with clever videos, and Air New Zealand may have just raised the bar for the rest of the industry. And so long as that bar is covering the complimentary bag of nuts..."

Anyway, without any further ado:

Why So Impressed? Dark Knight Lights Up Surprise Marketing

This incredibly-comprehensive, perhaps exhaustive, campaign for "The Dark Knight" won the Cyber Grand Prix in the "viral" category at the Cannes ad competition last week, but over and above (perhaps that should be "beneath and permeating") the campaign was the ongoing use of Surprise as a driving force. 

Phones in cakes, hidden bags in bowling alley lockers; tactics like "Time Bombing" and "Looking in the Rear-View Mirror" outlined in the Pow! book were put to good use...much to the delight of not just everyone at Surprise Central, but obviously to hundreds of thousands around the globe.

Little things mean a lot in Surprise marketing, but see what happens at the other extreme when you decide to throw a lot of money, time and brilliant people at it:

Ski Season in June (Well, Here At Least...)

What better way to celebrate the beginning of summer than with perhaps the most inspiring ski promo since last year's Alberta subway "you are the ad" campaign?

This one's from Irish winter holiday operator DirectSki.com.  During the winter months, they placed these die-cut flyers on car windshields overnight, and if mother nature cooperated, the next morning's snowfall or frost converted the slanted glass into slopes, creating countless Pow! moments in parking lots and city streets.

Inspired, brilliant and effective.  Not expensive either.  Ah yes, little things indeed mean--and impact--a lot. (Much thanks, Slumlord Amin!)

Finders, Eaters: The Kogi Phenomenon

Twitter may be the tactical tool.

But other than the food itself, the success of Kogi is reliant on Surprise.

Don't think you'd get the same reaction if this were tucked into assorted strip malls...

Surprise--The Highest Common Denominator of Apple and Google

Tomorrow's the day. 

Pow! rocks the bay.

Brian Caulfield writes in Forbes about the anxiously-awaited Surprises from the always-Surprising Apple at its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco tomorrow.  Says he:

"Apple has nudged expectations for its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco Monday so low that anything would be a surprise--which is exactly where Apple wants us to be.

"That's because Apple isn't in the computer business, it's in show business. The only question: What act are we in?"

Brilliant. In more ways than one, Steve Jobs and co. are after my heart.  Delivering a consistent flow of Surprise. Constantly expanding the boundaries of delightful extremes. Generating the Battle Cry of Surprise, namely "What Will They Think of Next?" As Caulfield goes on to explain:

"As always, however, the question with Apple is always when, not what. An Apple tablet or an Apple television probably won't be ready by next week. Then again, if it is, that would be a surprise, even though everyone already knew it was coming. And that's exactly what Apple wants."

So let's see what transpires...

By the way, Apple ain't the only digital behemoth exploiting the power of Surprise.  Take a gander at the opening minutes of Google VP of Engineering Vic Gundotra's intro of Google Wave.  Man, if the word "Surprise" was the F-bomb, this would be like watching an episode of The Sopranos:

Tom Peters Kicks My Ass (Turning The Tables)

One of the landmark moments for any teacher is when he or she is "surpassed" and learns something from one of his or her students.

This is what makes Paul Williams' recent coup-de-grace so wonderful.  Turning the Surprise tables on yours truly, the head of the Idea Sandbox marketing consultancy (and the author of this stunning blog), Paul asked this somewhat hackneyed question as the grand finale of his email interview for my oft-mentioned (and hopefully incessantly-purchased) Pow! book:

7) Finally, what's the question you already have an answer to that hasn't been asked, and you wish it had?

Oh Christ!  That's how I used to end interviews with rockstars like Peter Frampton and Kiss and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ask your parents, kids) when I was a teenage journalist.  Their answers were usually wordless, communicated via a vacant look.  I had to do better.  So, I said:

Well, there's this one. (Meaning his question #7) 

And I always liked the answer: "To a standing ovation in Carnegie Hall, with a cast of 17, following a rambunctious night in a suite at the Plaza." 

I'll leave it up to you to formulate the appropriate question.

I left it at that, thinking it would be left there as is.  Imagine my Surprise then, when Paul deftly picked up the gauntlet I had tossed, and constructed the following: 

 

What more can I say than: "Touche."  And "Ouch." 

But I must admit...it hurst so good!

Half A Partridge Family

Saw this while in Boston last Saturday.  In town to pick up my son Hayes and catch a Red Sox game at Fenway, I stumbled across this trio playing in Faneuil Hall:

Mom and two sons in the well-branded and very aptly-named College Fund Band.  Throughout their lengthy set of pop classics, Mom maintained a steady presence on keyboards and the two boys bounced back between vocals, guitar and drums; think the Partridge Family in a recession. While CFB won't challenge Coldplay, AC/DC or Green Day for live tour receipts this summer, safe to say that this is a novel, heartwarming (and as the less-than-perfect video below shows, quite successful) way to accomplish a very positive and simply-stated goal.  Truth in advertising indeed!

More fun than spending weekends working in a fast-food joint or factory (not to say that either boy is old enough to do even that), not only do I think that this will raise the funds necessary, but will probably raise enough awareness for a scholarship at some business (or music) school...or at least for an appearance or two on a talk-show (seems perfect for a 10:00 p.m. Leno).

Update on June 22:  Ignore my beef below; "Mom," namely Debbie Gantt, reached out (see comment below) and assured that the site www.collegefundband.com is now up and running.  Read more about her, Jack and Dan by clicking the link above, or checking out this piece from the Boston Globe.

That said, my only beef is the emptiness--and I do mean that literally--of the trio's website.  Flashed full-frontal on the bass drum, www.collegefundband.com leads you only to a static silhouette logo, so I can't even tell you the names of these people. Nonetheless, I hope Mom has another kid at home--or at least a cousin, niece or nephew--with a modicum of web-savvy to improve their digital presence...and their potential to raise funds.

All that said, kudos to the kids for doing something so upbeat, and to Mom for knowing where her kids are on the weekend.  The family that plays together rasises together...

Growing Their Business

One t-shirt.

16 variations on a very basic design.

And one of the best web experiences in selling it.

Well, selling the agency that created it, that is

From Grow Interactive in Norfolk, Virgina comes this ingenious self-promotional tool; a show, a treasure hunt, a freebie, a showcase.

And once again to paraphrase the old Lay's Potato Chips slogan, betcha can't watch just one.

Post This Read Should You

In the oft-metioned Pow! book, Surprise-generating Tactic #5 is "Look in the Rear-View Mirror," explained as:

"By looking, and doing things, backwards,
you may stumble upon the idea
that can drive the future."

I love it when people take me verbatim. 

Check this out--an ad for the Eating Disorder Education Organization, a group that helps the sufferers--most who do so in silence--deal with, and find help, their illness. 

Nothing to make fun of, and this spot certainly doesn't.  What is DOES do though, is make a very powerful, and visual, statement, about the abnormality of eating disorders.

It's simply entitled "Cream Ice," and can be viewed, I suspect repetitively, below:

Using Cards to Get Ya Credit

One thing I love most in advances in digital technology is that it forces the analog world to step up its game.

Case in point are these business cards, sent along from most faithful FOP Cary Goldwax.  I may have these people in my Outlook (or or more notably and recently, in my Xobni, the best damn email plug-in ever), but their digital data could never pack as much punch, could never speak as loud, could never tell a story as well, as these:

Think these are anomalies?  Well, here's a link for 98 (!!!!) more over at WebDesignerDepot.com.

Enjoy.  But more importantly, get your atoms inspired.

Pow! The Complete Late Late Show Interview

Without Craig's enthusiasm and sense of fun, I would've been a stiff.  He made me comfortable, and made the interview a joy.  Was every bit as fun as it seemed.  (By the way, the jacket I walked on with was a hand-painted, one-of-a-kind work of art by artist and former Andy Warhol assistant Steve Kaufman.)

Hope you enjoy watching as much as I did yapping!

A Disturbing Story

As per Thursday’s post about Alan Webber’s “Rules of Thumb” book, one of my faves was Rule #16, which goes “Facts Are Facts; Stories Are How We Learn.”

And to that end, take a gander at this double-sided “Do Not Disturb” sign I, uh, "borrowed" (sorry!) from the Sandman Signature Hotel.  I was at the chain’s Toronto Airport location last weekend for a family affair (by the way, this was, by far, the BEST Airport hotel I’ve ever stayed at; a boutique feel in the middle of industrial-land) and was enamored with the hotel’s attention to detail, even with something like said sign, which most havens of hospitality sadly take for granted.

With it, the Sandman adheres to the adage "There are two sides to every story."  If you can’t read ‘em, here’s the text.  One side gives it to you in detail:

(The Long Story)

Hello.

We might be sleeping or not, could be working or relaxing, taking a shower, any number of things…

…OR maybe, just maybe, while looking for some ME time, I mean really, is that too much to ask.  Just a few minutes, it’s not like we’re asking for something crazy like our own island or anything, just a little bit of time to ourselves.  It’s not an unreasonable request.  We’re usually quite friendly and sociable, almost always polite and so, all we ask, this one tiny little thing…

…please do not disturb.  Thank you.

See, told you we were polite

On the other side, slightly more succinctly:

(To make a long story short)

…please do not disturb.

The End

Not the biggest thing in the world, but when was the last time you noticed a “Do Not Disturb” sign…let alone stole one?

So tell me, what stories are you burying under a blanket of boredom?

Pigging Out

The new millennia's version of "You stuck your chocolate in my peanut butter!" I suppose...

Given the panic around swine flu, perhaps not the best time to launch a cocoa and pork-product hybrid, but high-end chocolatier Vosges has come out with this--Mo's Bacon Bar, which is indeed what is says, a bacon-infused chocolate bar.  Check out the site's product description:

"Breathe…engage your five senses, close your eyes and inhale deeply. Be in the present moment, notice the color of the chocolate, the glossy shine.

Rub your thumb over the chocolate bar to release the aromas of smoked applewood bacon flirting with deep milk chocolate. Snap off just a tiny piece and place it in your mouth, let the lust of salt and sweet coat your tongue."

Makes it almost sound palatable.  And if you won't eat it, you can always use it as a lube. ..

Nonetheless, it follows one of the Pow! tactics of "Taking Things Out of Context," indeed Surprises...and somehow fits within the strange bacon obsession of this blog (like this post, this one and this one), which is weird since said blogger is a health-conscious, fat-phobic, calorie-counting Jew. 

Take Two

Ran this close to three years ago,  but given the subject matter of the past two Pow! posts, it deserves an encore. 
What better way to mark this blog's 700th post than with the return of The Speedbandidts:

Susan Boyle--The New Queen of Surprise

A month ago, Susan Boyle was an unemployed, middle-aged everywoman with a magnificent voice.

Today, she is a world-wide sensation. 

(If you're the last person on earth who doesn't know who I am talking about, click on the two superfluous links in the sentences above.)

Such is the power of the Internet, right?

Such is the power of word-of-mouth marketing, right? 

Such is the power of social networking, right?

Nope.

Such is the power of Surprise.

Without it, there is nothing to network. 

There is nothing to talk about. 

No words to spread, nowhere. 

Face it folks,there are tens of thousands of people equally as talented as--more talented than!--our dear Susan, all who can also be found singing on YouTube. 

But Susan Boyle's story is not one of talent.  It's one of Pow!

"Without a doubt that is the biggest surprise I have had in three years of the show," gasped Britain's Got Talent judge Piers Morgan to Susan's breakout performance on the show. "I'm reeling from shock."

The dichotomy between the expectation set by Susan's frumpy appearance and the angelic sounds that emanated from her lips is what set the world on fire.  It's a textbook case of one of the key Surprise-generating tactics--Play Against Stereotypes. 

I couldn't be happier for Susan Boyle.  Not only did she destroy all preconceived notions, but her success validates the raison d'etre for this blog. 

Two Fast Pow!s

1)  Wanted to see how long it would last, but Surprise seems to have found a place mainstream as Time Magazine incorporates a pseudo Surprise-meter with its weekly "Pop Chart," which tracks the week's news items on a scale that ranges from "Shocking" to "Shockingly Predictable."

2)  Embodying the spirit of risk-taking necessary to create bottom-line enhancing Surprises comes the slogan for the upcoming Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. flick "The Soloist":

"No One Changes Anything
By Playing It Safe"

Fun House Cinema

Was sent this by a number of FOPs (Friends of Pow!), most notably the prolific Adam Lawrence--the story of Austin, Texas's wildly Surprising Alamo Draft House, a movie theater that's as entertaining as (if not more than) the films they screen.  I quote directly from the source, Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell's Church of the Customer blog, one of the best in the business:

Many movie theaters say they're in the exhibition business, which is one reason why many movie theaters are not entertaining. But the Alamo Draft House movie theater in Austin, Texas continues to inspire with its innovations of fun, which it calls signature events (including Surprise Central's fave, "Air Sex"). Two examples within one week:

1. Renegade Karaoke.
The Alamo rented a bus to drive around Austin filled with customers who, with the assistance of a mobile sound system, sang karaoke amidst surprised onlookers at Starbucks, a police station, a fitness class, and a busy intersection. The theater brought along a video camera to record the fun and compile a 4-minute highlight reel which will, naturally, be shown as entertainment before movie showings.

2. A secret world premiere of the new Star Trek film.
It was billed as a big-screen showing of the 1982 Star Trek classic, "The Wrath of Khan," with an opportunity to see 10 minutes of the new "Star Trek" film. But 10 minutes into the showing of Khan, that film mysteriously "broke." Out walks Leonard "Mr. Spock" Nimoy. He suggests the theater show the entirety of the new Star Trek film. It was all a ruse to host an unexpected world premiere among hard-core fanatics of the franchise. How fun is that?

Compare this to the usual uninspired insipidness offered by your local multiplex...and tell me where YOU would rather see your next film.  When's the next flight to Austin?

Time-Bombing to Save Wildlife

An eye-popping, textbook example of the Surprise Marketing technique of Time-Bombing, for the World Wildlife Fund, from DDB in Brazil:

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree

Check out my elder son Aidan's musings about improving the middle-seat flying experience. 

Wonder where he gets crazy ideas like these?

Holy and Inspired

About a decade ago, I used to write a newspaper column called "The Short List." In my fifth one, about how to be truly effective in public protests, I mused:

"Anyone can vandalize an office or lob a Molotov at a cop.  Want people to really pay attention to your grievance?  The get your group to do something really outrageous--like a good deed.  Shovel a path for someone handicapped.  Volunteer at a hospital. Salt the walk outside an old-age home or elementary school.  THAT will get you attention!"

Cut to Louisville, Kentucky last week, and see that I wasn't crazy back then...and certainly am not now.  Check out the picture below, and the following excerpts from an article in Advertising Age:

"In an unusual cause-marketing push, KFC is tackling the pothole problem in Louisville, Ky. in exchange for stamping the fresh pavement with "Re-freshed by KFC," a chalky stencil likely to fade away in the next downpour.

"The company is likely to build a reservoir of goodwill among the general population -- particularly when they arrive at the pothole they've gotten used to swerving around.

"'This program is a perfect example of that rare and optimal occurrence when a company can creatively market itself and help local governments and everyday Americans across the country,' said Javier Benito, exec VP-marketing and food innovation at KFC. 

"The KFC program appears to be part of a growing body of consumer-service marketing that connects in a meaningful way. This past holiday season, Charmin provided a public restroom in Times Square for the third year running.  Samsung has installed electrical charging stations in many major airports to help travelers stay connected while in limbo."

This is simple, cost-effective but insanely effective Pow!  The blogosphere has exploded with chatter about this inspired tactic (here's just one example from Word-of-Mouth Marketing kingpin andy Sernovitz), bringing KFC a tidal wave of positive buzz...much needed after being tarred and feathered in so many ways over the past few years.

What does this have to do with selling chicken?  Directly, very little, but indirectly, the goodwill generated by this Surprise may fill coffers KFC faster than KFC fills holes.

Now, if I could only find a corporation willing to clean my eavestroughs... 

Ass-vertising--Getting Caught With Your Pants Down

Perhaps inspired by Wednesday's post, perhaps by divine intervention, Ryan Barton of Rhyno Marketing sends along another fine example of what happens when people inadvertently (and quite hilariously) interact with, and become, advertising.  This one, with the message "Get Up and Run," is a simple, chair-positioned sticker from a place called VIP Gym:

This is my fave, but actually one of many that Ryan collected and displayed on his blog.  Check out the rest of the series (particularly the heart-tugging shopping cart ad and the brilliant mudflap smoking one) by clicking here for Ryan's Blog, or here for WebUrbanist, the source of all this fun.

They're At It Again, Still!

As repeated here relentlessly, incessantly, ad nauseam, Surprise is not a one-off stunt; for it to truly pay dividends, it has to work as a continuum, an on-going process of "What Will They Think Of Next?"

Here's two people who get it, and give it, big-time:

--J&D's Foods follow-up to Bacon Salt:  Baconnaise (also certified Kosher!)

--Richard (Sir Surprise) Branson providing thongs to Business Class patrons and "Women's Only" toilets on Virgin Airline's new Australia-USA flights.  As he puts it: "I think those sorts of things will show a sense of humour ... and we're not like the other guys."

 

What will they think of next, indeed.

Scratch This--We Become The Ad

Two, two, two Surprise-marketing tactics in one--Wear Virgin Contact Lenses and Take Things Out of Context--come together in the brilliant, kinda creepy, but ultimately effective ad for Frontline Flea & Tick Spray from the Jakarta, Indonesia branch of Saatchi & Saatchi.

This massive floor sticker in a Jakarta mall makes us humans part of the ad itself, and while interesting from ground level, the perspective takes on a certain power and majesty when seen from levels above. (Major props to Contessa Trujillo for this one.)

This is more than an ad; it's an interactive "attraction" that sends tourists and locals alike scurrying up escalators and elevators to take pictures, and most importantly, share them. In other words, you scratch my back...

Popcorn Soup

The decor was sharp and simple.  The food was wonderful.  Wine list was adventurous.

But the review said: "The focus at Kitchenette is on playfulness."  (Kitchenette is a new restaurant I tried this past week.)

Here's what it meant, and here's what people talked about:

The fact that the Butternut Squash Soup was served with a flurry of popcorn on top, with a small retro-cinema refill box on the side.

It's one of the four key theories in creating Surprise--Little Things Mean a Lot.  It's also one of the Nine Tactics--Take Things Out of Context.

A little unexpected merging of two dichotomous items, soup and popcorn,can be the catalyst to a lot of talk, buzz and "I gotta try it"s.  Gotta go back there with a camera to show ya...

Meanwhile, what little things are YOU doing to Surprise, delight and inspire your customers?

Preaching Surprise: It Ain't Just Me

This from THE authority on word-of-mouth marketing, Andy Sernovitz:

Talk To Me: iPod Shuffle Demonstrates Difference Between Wow! and POW!

The launch of Apple's new iPod shuffle gives us a textbook example of the difference between Wow! and Pow!

Wow! is impressive, but expected.  It moves incrementally. It takes you past a standard already set.

Pow! is also impressive, but totally UN-expected.  It moves in leaps and bounds, sometimes in quantum leaps and bounds.  It smacks you about the head, since you never saw it coming. 

So in terms of the new shuffle, the Wow! is that it's now even smaller.  Here's the incremental, expected process: 

• The first one was small. 
  
• The second one was smaller. 
  
• The third one, well...it wasn't gonna get bigger, right?

The Pow! though, is that the teeny weeny thing TALKS. 

THAT's the Surprise.  That's the "Holy Jeez!"  That's what gets the blogosphere and the tweeters buzzing.

Next time around, the iPod Shuffle Wow! will be that it talks to you with celebrity voices, or in foreign accents, or something expected and incremental like that.

The Pow! may be that it'll be invisible.

The NEW Ball Game

Been doing a lot of interviews for the ol' Pow! book, and one question that's recurring on a regular basis is:

"How can Surprise tactics help in today's frightfully down economy?"

Here's the answer I gave all last week, courtesy of Jon Birger's article "Baseball Battles The Slump" in the most recent Fortune Magazine.  In the piece, Jon talks about the efforts of the small-market Arizona Diamondbacks, most notably its tirelessCEO Derrick Hall. 

In addition to outlining Hall's meticulous attention to detail and his obsessive response to the fans, Jon cites this "expanding the boundaries of delightful extremes" Pow! Moment:

"As focused as Hall is on keeping existing fans happy, he's even more obsessive about cultivating the next generation. If he's out to dinner and sees a youngster wearing a D-backs hat, he'll pick up the family's tab."

Thanks for the help, Derrick.  It's stories like this that don't merely fill blog posts, but fill seats.  It's this type of grass-roots, never-say-die action that may be the difference between survival and extinction as the abyss of the economy swallows up the bloated and the indifferent.

Next time I'm in Phoenix, I'll pick up a ticket or two for a sun-drenched afternoon game...

...and hang around local restaurants sporting a D-Backs cap.  Just in case. 

Available Now on iTunes--The First-Ever Business Book Soundtrack

Was kind holding onto this one, but since Beth Negus Viveiros spilled the beans in a very appreciated piece about the marketing of a marketing book in Chief Marketer, I guess I should tell you about the official soundtrack to the Pow! book, which I call:

Pow! Right Between The Ears!

The soundtrack, the first-ever for a business book I suspect confidently, is filled with music to read Pow! by; a selection of songs that inspired parts of the book and/or fit its theme (too bad Springsteen's latest effort came out after I had locked down song selection, as his "Surprise, Surprise," while not my fave Boss tune of all time, still would've been a welcome addition.  Nonetheless...)

Anyway, it's up and available for public consumption on iTunes, and can be downloaded by visiting my site and clicking the country-specific iTunes link button/flag.

So...as Ronnie Van Zant said to kick off "Sweet Home Alabama":

"TURN IT UP!"

Open Wide--Pow!'s Boston Week #5

Okay, one final Boston post for y'all. 

One thing I hate more than unimaginative brunches are stultifying “Open/Closed” signs (hard to please suckah, ain’t I?). 

I’ve ranted long and hard against the bad ones, but pump my fist in joy when I find a needle-in-the-haystack good one...like this from a clothing and accessory store called Motley (courtesy of one of its cooler brands, Sailor Jerry, and both worth a visit, particiularly the Sailor Jerry Blog):

Johnny Takes The Cake--Pow!'s Boston Week #4

Still in Boston, but now traipsing through the trendy boutiques of Newbury Street.  Still stuffed from the Tremont 647 brunch (see yesterday’s post), but this bakery made me an offer I couldn’t refuse:

By the way, pardon the pun, but the icing on the cake was the third window sign which read: Zero Sugar (never mind the heavenly fumes wafting from within the place).

So, I climbed the stairs, justifying the unnecessary snack with visions of additional sessions in the gym, and found this:

 

Can there be any more blatant Pow!?  Despite the bakery display cases, the bake sheets, mixing machines and wide-handled boxes, the only cupcakes for sale here were on the t-shirts and accessories created by their eponymous designer.

Even more impressive than this supreme Pow! Moment was the story behind it.  Full details can be found on the Johnny Cupcakes eye-cradling website, but here is a guy who eschewed mass merchandising and built a multi-million-dollar business selling clothes to a hip and exclusive few…which had led him to being labeled a “branding genius,” and a hot property on the college lecture circuit (no fool is Mr. Cupcakes; his lecture tour is akin to a band’s, where he rakes in bushels of bucks by selling merch directly to his audience).

So instead of a tasty but gratuitous two-or-three-buck nibble, I instead picked up a stylin’-but-superfluous $35 t-shirt.  You do the math.

And as a bonus, it added loads to my street cred account with the younger and hipper members of my staff back at the office as apparently, Johnny Cupcakes is quite the benefactor and supporter of the extreme edges of the indie music scene, providing merch and other help to bands like A Day To Remember.

Sweet...

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

And speaking of cupcakes, check this out.  Passed along to me by my son Aidan, from the blog of much-admired author and personal fave Daniel Pink, comes this story of ethereal, edible art.  The picture below is just the start; Dan's great blog will tell you the rest.

Wonder who's doing the t-shirts?

Sleepwear Where?--Pow!'s Boston Week #3

I hate brunch. 

Okay, that’s kinda strong as a sentiment, but as meals go, it’s perhaps one of the culinary world’s most predictable and boring—buffet tables of overpriced, pre-prepped eggs and bacon and juice and roast beef served to a line of ravenous plate-wielding multitudes in bulk. All that’s missing is the trough.

That’s why, during my recent Boston sojourn, I begged, cajoled—pleaded with!—Vinnie the concierge at the Copley Plaza Hotel to please find me something different, unique—may I even ask for Surprising!—for my Sunday late-morning meal.

Well, Vinnie delivered.  Despite its nondescript address-cum-name, the restaurant Tremont 647 (at 647 Tremont Street in the city's fashionable Back Bay district) delivered on all fronts.

The main differentiating factor was its famed “Pajama Brunch,” where all staff are outfitted in assorted sleepwear (see a few above I assembled for the perfunctory Pow! pic), and the menu (below) wags its finger at you with a loud “Why aren’t you in your PJs?” reprimand (while all people at Tremont 647 are treated equal, the resto’s manager did admit that those who actually come dressed down are treated WAY more equal than the others).

Most places would never, ever even get to this level, but the majority of those that would, would stop right here: cute gimmick, now shovel out those scrambled eggs and sausage.  Not so at this place.

Taking a lesson from its more elegant, evening-service brethren, Tremont 647 starts off each bruncher with a plate of “amuse-bouche” (we had some literal melt-in-your-mouth, mini cheese-danish-type things), and provide standards and specials that are far-from-standard and extra-special.  While I’m no food critic, suffice to say that we ate well in bubbly, friendly surroundings for a more-than-fair price.  Best of all, this was not a one-off “over the top,” where you would think to yourself that “Okay, I’ve done this once…and once is enough”; the restaurant bustled with spirit and happiness, the food was imaginative and plentiful, and I’d go back tomorrow.

Here's the story:

This was not a "meal"; this was a long-running, twice-weekly "happening."  This was a hit show where people stood in line with their lovers, kids, parents, whomever, to get in and

Like yesterday’s Barbershop Lounge story, Tremont 647 shows that any business can integrate Pow! into its DNA.  And when dealing with seemingly “its all been done” commodities like haircuts or weekend brunches or whatever your company does, one doesn’t have to throw in the towel and give up on finding a way to deliver a flow of delightful extremes to your customers.

Sleep on it.

A Commitment To Your Groom(ing)--Pow!'s Boston Week #2

Faithful FOPs know by now that I recently spent a weekend in Boston, and judging by the amount of Pow! I stumbled upon, this city should replace the rather unresponsive Surprise, Arizona as the spiritual home of this blog (now if we could only do something about those hated Bruins...).

That said, all this week we'll be featuring Boston's discoveries here at Surprise Central, continuing with the sign at right, from a men's salon called Barbershop Lounge.

This is the type of biz that has been the same for years; while hairstyles and services have changed, there's only so much a men's salon can do for its customers without breaking the boundaries of decency...or the law itself.

That's why I love what these people did.  Following two of the nine major Surprise-generating tactics in one fell swoop ("Wear Virgin Contact Lenses," which urges one to see things as if it were their first time and "A Piece of the Puzzle," which suggests breaking down a problem into pieces and focusing on the shiniest one), Barbershop Lounge decided not to focus on what they were offering, but on how they were charging for it instead...hence the sign and its subscription.

We all know that gyms charge annual memberships, but hairstylists?  Actually, the Lounge has multiple memberships, ranging from the one you see here to the Platinum, which includes massages, shoe shines, shaves, hand and foot treatments and even valet parking for a hair-raising $2275 per year.

Think of your biz.  Can you get your customers to commit to a year's worth of your products or services?  This is when it becomes less about money and more about a relationship. Are YOU worth the vow? 

200 Free Pow! Books UPDATE #5--Coming Soon To A Town Near You!

The hits just keep on coming for the 200 or so Bloggers who responded to the Free Pow! Book Giveaway Challenge.

Added to original Pow! book art from Tim Barnard and five special edition pairs of Pow! Jeans from Official Denim Outfitter Parasuco Denim Legend, the folks at 800 CEO-Read have yet another certificate to randomly insert into books as they mail them out around the world.

Depending on who you are, this could either be the best or the worst of them yet. 

So, I don't know who you are, but somewhere out there in Pow!'s 200 Blogger Universe, ONE of you is getting:

A certificate entitling the recipient

to a LIVE SPEECH and book signing

by none other than yours truly.

Yup.  The famed "Pow! Right Between The Eyes!" live show, that goes for countless thousands on the open market, will be yours, absolutely free.  I'll perform it for whomever you want me to (your office, class, church group, hockey team, extended family), wherever you want me to (bookstore, university, community center, theatre, stadium, dining room).

All costs--travel, accommodations, meals, Tylenol--will be covered by yours truly as well; all I ask of you is an attentive audience.

So...coming soon to a town REALLY near you: Me.

That's all.

For now...

200 Free Pow! Books UPDATE #4--Try This On For Size!

Well, something more for the 200 or so Bloggers who responded to the Free Pow! Book Giveaway Challenge.

Along with the certificates for original Pow! book art from Tim Barnard, the folks at 800 CEO-Read have five more certificates to randomly insert into books as they are mailed out around the world.

Pardon the pun, but today's booty comes from Pow!'s Official Denim Outfitter Parasuco Denim Legend, who are about to release the Official Pow! Jean into the marketplace (Malcolm Gladwell may sell more books, but blink as I may, I still haven't seen a "Tipping Point" jean at Barney's).

So, I don't know who you are, but somewhere out there in Pow!'s 200 Blogger Universe, five of you are getting:

A certificate entitling the recipient to a pair of Parasuco's limited-edition POW! jeans, signed by designer and company founder Sal Parasuco.

The answer to the question running through your minds?  Once you get the certificate, you email me your address and size (both kept confidential, of course), and we'll send you your signed jeans...part of the perfect outfit to read Pow! by.

So that's it!

...uh, for this week, at least ;)

200 Free Pow! Books UPDATE #3--Let The Dance Begin!

Well, the door is closed on the 200 Blogger Free Pow! Book Giveaway.

We've had responses from all over North America, from Germany, England, South Korea, Holland, even China.

The books, generously provided by John Wiley and Sons, have been shipped to the folks at 800 CEO-Read, who have graciously offered to send the books to their destinations around the world.

BUT NOW,
THE FUN
REALLY BEGINS!

You didn't REALLY think I would just leave it at sending out a bunch of books, did y'all? As the books are sent, two of them will contain a little extra, namely:

A certificate entitling the recipient to an original piece of artwork featured in the book, hand-drawn and hand-signed by renowned artist Tim Barnard. 

(Find out more about Tim and his eye-popping skateboard, snowboard, sneaker and other designs by clicking right here.)

So who gets 'em?  Don't know, as the certifs are randomly inserted.  I trust the winners will let back to me right here at Surprise Central.

Until then, enjoy one of my favorite Barnard pieces in Pow!, the one that leads off Chapter 5, below.

And keep checking this space.

Who knows what else may be coming?

 

Instant Wedding. Just Add Pow!

Promised you I'd follow up on this.

 

The Q92 Ambush Wedding Contest was pulled off successfully, and although the risk was mitigated somewhat (the couple had already been together 20 years), fireman groom Bertrand Savoie was indeed Surprised, and a feel-good time was had by all.  Nice piece about it in The Gazette, and you can follow the whole story by watching the video below.

That Darn Malcolm Gladwell!

Holy Jeez, this is kinda cool.  I SWEAR no Photoshop was used in the making of this image:

Cars: Remote Control and Free Parking

Two great car-related Pow! pieces:

Off to Boston to see the ageless Loretta LaRoche tape her new PBS special next week and in making my reservation at the venerable Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel, I was most pleasantly Surprised by the grand ol' palace's parking policy:

CARS, TRUCKS, SUVs: $42.00
HYBRIDS: FREE

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

And how cool is this?  Remote-control shock and ahh from Skoda, the Czech car company that's promoting it's new Octavia model by letting consumers turn on the wipers, honk the horn, flash the lights, bark out orders and generally confound people from the comforts of their home. 

The company has parked a car on a street in the Netherlands, given people the power to Surprise (yes, that's Kia's slogan, but much better used here) with a web-based remote control, and planted a few video cameras to stream the results, much to the delight of viewers all over the world. 

You can make some mischief by clicking here first and then clicking on the Octavia link, or watch what others hath wrought by heading over to YouTube.  Uh, it may help matters of you speak a little Dutch...

P.S. Can you imagine an American automakers' version of this?  Cars that plead "Help!" and beg for handouts ("Uh...can you slip a fiver under my windshield wiper?  Please!").

Four-Oh-Frickin'-Four!

Love this.  Faithful FOP Charlie Hoehn forwards this collection of "404 Error" pages from across the Internet. Getting there pisses us off, but when this is what greets you, what could've been information-highway road rage is transformed into a smile and shrug...about a magical a transition once can hope for these days.

This one's my fave...

.

...but you can see the rest by clicking here.

Reverse Status Symbols

Given the title "Retailers Are Trying to Stand Out With Lower Prices and Better Value" an article in USA Today caught my eye during a trip to New York last week. 

Later on within it, designer Eric Gustavsen said "How smart you shop has become the new status symbol," a reflection I concur with...so much so that it was a key part of the "Business Stupidity" tactic, one of the nine outlined and examined in my upcoming Pow! book.

The following is a direct quote from myself...so perhaps the folks at Wiley will tell me who to send the royalties to:

A good starting point in exploiting Business Stupidity is reversing common sense.  Take the following “tell me something I don’t know” gem I read in Brandweek:

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

It made me laugh, because I had just lived through the two extremes.  I was on a business trip that took me through Orlando, Florida and Aspen, Colorado.

In the Sunshine State, I picked up a Ralph Lauren RRL jacket. 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). 

This 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 lift my arm to show the tag itself. 

This got me to thinking that retailers should think of a way to “reverse-psychologize” the flaunting system.  On the wealth side, we are happy to 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 (Stupid Idea: Make Super-Sale Tags Highly-Visible and Indestructible).  Maybe “75%-off” is the new Gucci...

Shotgun Wedding: No Real Gun, But Lotsa Pow!

The element of Surprise.  I've often said it's like nitroglycerin. 

A little bit used well, it sparks Euphoric Shock and gets the heart pumping.

A little too much handled recklessly, and it can blow up in your face.

Which is why I admire Mark Dickey and his team down at Q92, a radio station in my hometown of Montreal.  To mark Valentine's Day, next Friday (which also happens to be Friday the 13th, a date which may be prove itself VERY relevant), the station is undertaking a promotion that is guaranteed to be memorable, no matter which way it ends up.

The promo is called Q92's Ambush Wedding where one of the station's female listeners has the chance to shock her reluctant partner with a surprise wedding at his place of work. As it says on the station's site :

"Q92, and our partners, will supply everything from the dress, to the rings, to the honeymoon.

"All the  winning woman has to do is sign-up for the contest and then show-up... and keep her man in the dark!"

As admirable as this is in the Surprise marketing realm, what's really astonishing is that more than 200 potential blushing brides (and their clueless soon-to-be-catatonic grooms) have signed up in the contest's first week.

Huge cojones, this station indeed has. Keep watching this space, as I've got to show you what happens to the winner (?) on Feb. 13.

Until then, a standing ovation from all of us here at Surprise Central.

Surprise as Humor...or Vice-Versa

A follow up to my post about "Mis-Managing Expectations," how the misdirecting DNA of Surprise is closely related to humor...and vice-versa.  This example captures both the spirits cleanly, concisely and cleverly.  An example I'll be using in my live Pow! speeches, but yours as an explanatory preview:

Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune.

One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.Her natural beauty took his breath away.

“I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said to her, “but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll inherit $65 million.”

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later…

...she became his stepmother.

Brain Storms, Eye Candy

Pow! in the worlds of packaging and furniture design.

First, this (literally) revolutionary table that brings together the worlds of high-end design and skatepunk, and kinda speaks for itself.

The world's most expensive Lazy Susan--only $1795 and available at The Future Perfect in the hotbeds of hip, L.A. and Brooklyn. 

Then there's this ingenious bottle design from Pratt Institute student Arianna Toft. Her assignment was:

"Choose a famous person. Research them and find out what they're known for, what they should've been known for, their personality, habits, quirks, likes, dislikes. Based on your research, design a product inspired by the person."

Her solution:

"Another Fine Mess, a line of cleaning and home repair liquid solutions inspired by the comic duo, Laurel and Hardy. Rather than looking at a mess as a problem, Another Fine Mess is for those who see the light-hearted and funny side in potentially disastrous situations."

Check out the brilliance of her solution.  First, the Oliver Hardy bottle:

Then, the Stan Laurel version:

To show you just how good this really is, check out a pic of the original inspiration:

Thanks Aidan for the tip on Adrianna's work.  To see more of this type of inspired and Surprising thinking, check out the student section at the uber-hip TheDieline.com design site.

No Better Way To Usher In Tomorrow Than This:

Pow! Selected by 800 CEO-Read's Jack Covert!

When I was a boy...okay maybe not that young, but as a voracious reader of business books, I would turn to the recommendations at 800 CEO-Read to help me cut through the clutter. 

Re-titled "Jack Covert Selects" (after the President and founder of the very specialized professional site/service), it's the place that turned me onto  everything from Seth Godin's Purple Cow back in 2003 (and where I purchased a copy in a milk carton, if memory serves correctly), and Mark Stevens' "Your Marketing Sucks" all the way to both "Unstuck" and "Made To Stick."  It's where I was introduced to Marcus Buckingham, Dan Pink, Alex Wipperwurth and Jeffrey Gitomer.

So here's the point--imagine how I felt when Pow! was honored this week as one of this month's "Jack Covert Selects."  Lemme tell you, it's like the kid who grew up watching his idols play ball or hockey...and then gets to play beside them in the same stadium. 

I can live with quotes like:

"Andy Nulman, the king of Surprise, has succeeded in writing a book full of ideas that every organization can find value in. 

"[He] has the tools, knowledge and experience to show business owners, marketers, and organizations how to create practical and effective communication."

Or:

"The first chapter of the book lays out why Surprise is crucial to creating good marketing, and then you're off on an eight-chapter ride spanning everything related to it. 

"Each chapter ends with a clever summary of the important takeaways, leaving readers eager to move onto the next lesson."

Whew!  You can read the whole review by clicking here.

Or you can have it read to you by calling my Dad.

The DNA of Surprise: MIS-managing Expectations (Theory 22)

I've cracked the code.

I've mentioned a number of times here in this blog, and in my upcoming Pow! book, how closely related Surprise is to humor.  Friday's post, the cognitive psyche experiment sent to me by Adam Lawrence, got me to thinking about it again, and I realized that the ol' "fork in the road" theory of joke-writing is at the core of the Surprise DNA.

To quote myself from the aforementioned book:

"In essence, it works like this.  Every joke begins as a journey.  The 'teller' takes their audience by the hand and leads them down a playful path.  They walk for a bit ('the set-up') until they reach a juncture, the proverbial 'fork in the road.' 

At that point, the teller subtly offers the audience a sneak peek at their ultimate destination; that place in the distance at the end of the right-hand turn. 

But the humor comes when the teller suddenly and abruptly hauls the audience the other way, taking the left-hand turn down the unexpected route, (also known as 'the punch line')."

So what does this mean?  It means that to create Surprise, what you have to do is go against the grain of conventional wisdom and "MIS-manage Expectations."

Let me put it another, more visual way.  Check out the rudimentary diagram below:

The black line is the path where people think they're going.  The red line is where you are actually taking them.  The inflection point of Pow!, the white P, is that proverbial fork, the point where Surprise actually happens.

Simple, ain't it? 

Takes but a few seconds to learn.

But, alas, a lifetime to master.

Best Gym Offer EVER!

Every January, it's the same thing. 

We make resolutions, and don't keep 'em.

Especially ones to "lose weight" and/or "get into shape."

Knowing this, gyms and fitness centers everywhere trawl for human fish who will sign up for a year's membership in January...and not show up again as of February (until they sign up again next January...well, you get the drift).

All this makes David Siscoe's proposal even more worthy of praise.

Pure Pow! at its best, the Montreal fitness expert (that's him above) is offering the out-of-shape and overweight a FREE membership to his gym--an INDEFINITE free membership, no less--with only one small catch:

You gotta show up
three times a week

Actually, to make it easier and accommodate travelers, David is averaging out the visits to 13 a month.  Keep showing up and keep shaping up on the house.  Drop below the bar and your membership becomes a paying one.

As David told the Montreal Gazette, "People say they want to work out, but they have no direction and no accountability."

And now, with an idea that's not just bold but benevolent, they have no excuse, either.

Well done, Mr. Siscoe!

This Post Sucks!

As per yesterday's post about novelty, here's a sign I passed by on New Year's Eve in Spokane, Washington (on my way home from two gloriously snowy weeks at Schweitzer Mountain in Northern Idaho, but I digress...). 

It's from a musical instrument store called Dutch's, and whether or not this is true, it sure 'nuff is a traffic stopper...and a brain-shaker:

A key example of both "Business Stupidity" and "Shock and Ahh..." two of the nine major Suprise Marketing tactics outlined in my upcoming Pow! book.  While the antithesis of the lame "Best Quality at the Lowest Prices" drivel that taints so many marketing messages (does anybody really believe that twaddle anymore?), Dutch's approach may not be everybody's cup o' tea, but it sure is more effective than the innocuous "Happy Holidays" or "Sale On Now!" seen in virtually every other store window on downtown streets.

Surprise: A Brain's Workout Regime

One of the hottest business books of last year was Martin Lindstrom's "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy," and because of it, Marty's been on a media tear, explaining his lengthy study of, and theories on, what he has coined "Neuro-marketing."

I really dug what he had to say to Holly Shaw in an interview in The Financial Post when asked about the effectiveness of anti-smoking warnings on cigarette packs:

"After some time people just see a piece of graphics and they don't read it.
They become kind of snow-blind;12 seconds later they light up.

"But governments can [change that] without a lot of pain.
If they randomize the placement of the health warnings more, and the colors and the look of them more, it can provide a surprise to consumers."

As said here ad infinitum, the power of Surprise is disproportionate.  Even a "little thing" like mixing up the placement of a health warning can have profound effects.  I spent much time before the holidays discussing this subject with stress expert Loretta LaRoche, who has studied the effects of "newness" on the brain.  As she puts it:

"The brain needs novelty in order to grow."

And it's Surprise that is a key provider of that novelty to our cranial area.

This Surprise stuff ain't frivolous, folks.  More of this being researched, with findings to come soon.