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

My Word...And Welcome To It

Way back when, when I was in college, I read one of the seminal marketing books of our time, Al Ries and Jack Trout's classic called Positioning.

Along with my prof Don Tobin and author Roger von Oech, this book was a key influencing factor in my decision to dump Liberal Arts and dive into Marketing.  And one of the things from Ries and Trout's treatise that has stuck with me was their explanation of "owning" a word in consumer minds.  For example, in the car biz, Volvo owns the word "safety"; you think of the brand, you think security...and vice versa.

So here's where I'm going with this.

Over the past two weeks, EIGHT smart marketing types (most recently Rick Spence) emailed me the Paul Potts video; that "from nowhere" opera singer that first took Britain, and now the world, by storm.   In their emails, they explained that, while immensely talented, the incredible Surprise of hearing that mellifluous voice emerge from such an obviously uncomfortable and unlikely source was what made it truly special.

And thus, made it perfect for me.

So that's when it hit me.

It took me nine months, but looky-looky...in the words of Ries and Trout, it appears that I have come to OWN "Surprise."

Fret not, I will continue to share it with y'all, but it is indeed satisfying to know that the concept is resonating.

Which, I must admit, is a most gratifying Surprise for yours truly.

Destroying Tradition

Smartest thing anyone in marketing has said all week, from Lisa Klauser, VP Brand Building at Unilever  U.S.:

“What we used to call
the nontraditional media—
online and instore—
is now becoming
the traditional”

It all changes.  Faster than ever.  Today's special is tomorrow's so what.

Wanna stay special?  As I've said so many times, keep looking for new extremes.

And new traditions.

Bark and Scratch

A few people who read Tuesday's post about Graham Smith called to ask: "Why would such a successful advertising guy go into dog training?" 

Well, there are two answers.  Firstly, Graham LOVES dogs.  We should all be so passionate about our work.

Secondly is this Surprising statistic, culled from Brandweek:

According to the American Pet Products
Manufacturers Association,
Americans spent $38.5 billion on their pets last year

To put this in perspective, that's about $18 billion more than the U.S. Government allocated for foreign aid.

So, if you believe in reincarnation...

Wild Thing, I Think They Love Ya

The Investment Bank world is abuzz about a sell-aide analyst from Lazard Capital Markets named Joel Sendek (any relation to Max, of Where The Wild Things Are fame?  Sure hope so...).  That's him below.

Joel's day job is researching biotech companies, making calls whether investors in this roller-coaster risky sector should buy, sell, or hold their positions.  And while his EPS Est. Accuracy record is an impressive Four Stars, that's not what has people talking.

What does is how he delivers the news.  His voicemails are legendary, first starting out using terminology more at home in creative writing class than in the staid banking world.  This led to rhyming phrases and full-fledged poems as research reports. 

And when that started to get old hat, Joel actually started to sing 'em, parodying Don McLean's American Pie, as well as tunes from Louis Armstrong, The Stones and Bruce Springsteen.

Unconventional and perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, particularly on Wall Street.  But as one client admitted:

"You get so many
voicemails, and they all say the same thing.
His are a nice, goofy ray of hope in a legion of doom."

If Fortune magazine can gush all over him, and if the Investment Banking world can accept Sendek's approach (Lazard approves of it, obviously), ask yourself why the hell yours can't the next time you wanna bring some Pow! to the table.

Fetched

Ran into Graham Smith, whose career as a ballsy and ahead-of-his-time marketer I've followed for years.  We were seated at the same table at a fundraiser...and well, I didn't even have a chance to put my butt to seat before Graham pulled me outside to talk Pow! and show me its influence on his latest venture. 

Always a compelling communicator, I think it's best to let Graham explain in his own words:

"I owned a very successful advertising agency for 22 years, never lost a client to a competing agency (did the advertising for Tommy Hilfiger, Budget Rent-A-Car, monsieur Felix & Mr. Norton, Laura etc.) I sold it in '02 and spent the next 5 years figuring out what I wanted to do when (and if) I grew up.

Short story long, I bought a franchise for Montreal for the largest dog training company in the world: 350,000 dogs trained - we come to your house and solve all your dogs' behavioral problems in one 3-hour session, leave you with a written lifetime guarantee... (Always Be Closing...)

So being a bit of an advertising expert - I set out to figure the most cost-effective advertising I could do (are you still following?).  In my travels I came to fall in love with your Blog; loved your approach to advertising, business, life and really have learned a ton from it... (sunshine upskirt).

I figured I'd drive about 1,000 kms a week and could cross about 100 eyeballs per km; did a quick calculation and realized my car was going to be most cost-effective form of advertising.  Being a disciple of POW I knew it had to be BIG, BOLD AND STAND OUT so I set out to design something that would make Andy Nulman - 'Over the top car graphic designer' proud.

The results have been nothing short of mind blowing...people stopping me to ask for info, cars swerving, (I have literally had people following me on their cell phone asking for information...).

All this for less than 3K....

Thank-you Andy; for teaching this 'old dog' new (advertising) tricks...

I guess this is what they mean when they say "Some days, this stuff writes itself."

Here's a picture of Graham and his BarkBusterMobile (as well as his dog Elvis).  You can find out more about Graham and his company by clicking here.

The 44th Thing

Holy Jeez!  Just as I'm about to turn in for the night, Airborne colleague Dennis "Dr. D" McFern sends over this ultra-addictive site:

www.43things.com

Fascinating to see what the collective wish list holds, and how much we all have in common. While some of the objectives are kinda commonplace, others are poignant and heartbreaking. Others still have exposed me to things I never even knew existed (like Demonoid, for example).

Well, now, it's past 1:00 a.m., I've got to be up in five hours, and I'm into 43 Things so deep, I can drown in its digits.

And I haven't even begun my OWN list yet... 

My 44th thing?  Quitting 43things.com!

 

Theory 12--Hillary Ignites The Surprise Campaign

Was watching CNN while working out at the gym, and was amazed to see that people are STILL talking about the Hillary Clinton Sopranos-parody video. (If you're one of the 17 people left who still haven't seen it, click the previous link.)

The all-news network called this "The start of the YouTube Campaign," but the way I see it, the medium is not the message here.

Frankly, this is the start of something even bigger.

This is the start
of the
SURPRISE
CAMPAIGN

Think about it.  YouTube and politicians is almost old hat.  John Edwards used it to announce his candidacy, and in the process, nearly anesthetized half the nation.  Politicians of all stripes all over the earth are not just using YouTube, they're MIS-USING YouTube by polluting it with the same ol' crapola they use on stump speeches in Kiwanis Clubs and community halls.  They are falling victim to what Marshall McLuhan bemoaned as imposing "Form of the old on content of the new."  Wow!  Another talking head saying things I don't believe!

So back to Hillary's video.  Love it, hate it, be embarrassed by it...who cares?  At least people are talking about what Hilary and Bill did.  It was a complete shock, Pow! to the second power by not just doing something unexpected,  but by linking it to one of the great pop culture moments of all time.

So, as FOPs know well, this COULD be the start of something big.  Everyone is mumbling the classic Battle Cries of Surprise, "Well, I Never" and "What Will They Think of Next?"  I guarantee the folks over at the Barack Obama  headquarters are running around like the proverbial headless chickens planning their next move; most likely "Let's do a funky YouTube video, too!" 

But pretty soon, parody YouTube videos from politicians will be old hat.  Been there, done that, linked to the URL.  And it'll be up to someone to shock the system once again.

The world is bored with the standard political process. They 're nonplussed by those tacky attack ads, don't believe the promises, and are bored by the speeches. No wonder voting levels are in a fast downward spiral. 

The only thing left to wake us up from this coma is a Surprise.  Or, more effectively, a continual flow of them.

What Hillary did was change the game.  You probably don't see this now, but this is as seismic a shift as the televising of the Nixon-Kennedy debates.

Mark my words.  And come see me in a few years.

Not So Loud

Well...it kinda worked.

Concerned FOPs, and a multitude of confused first-time visitors, will be pleased to learn that yesterday's operation was a half-success.

Half because what was supposed to be a permanent fix will improve my left-ear hearing marginally, and for an unspecified "while."  (Note to Nick and Frank--don't throw that hearing aid away just yet; put it in a place where we can easily find it someday.)

Half because Dr. Jamie Rappaport discovered that the all-important nerve that controls all my facial muscles was too effin' precariously close to his operating area.  Uhh, too risky, said he.

Good call, Dr. Jamie!

And while not being able to smile or blink anymore would've made me a perfect candidate to be a judge on American Idol or America's Got Talent (or serve in America's Senate), it would perhaps render me less effective doing things like running Airborne Entertainment, giving rousing motivational speeches, playing goalie, being a Dad, directing the Just For Laughs Gala Shows...you know, somewhat important stuff like that.

So, you may still need to shout at me once in a while.

But at least I will still be able to smile at your exasperation...and blink as I feign to not understand what the hell you're screaming about.

(We now return to this Blog to its regularly-scheduled subject matter...)

 

Can You Hear Me Now?

Well, my hearing aid adventure is finally coming to an end.  Right about now.   

Longtime FOPs (Friends of Pow!) have followed the trials and tribulations of my hearing problem, and the somewhat unconventional ways with which I’ve tried to deal with it. While I dug the designer hearing aid solution, Sonomax’s Nick Laperle assured me I was an ideal candidate for more immediate and permanent fix—an operation.

So as you read this, I am undergoing the knife—albeit a very tiny one—as Dr. Jamie Rappaport is operating on my left ear. If things go well, I’ll be able to hear properly for the first time in close to 20 years. 

And if they don’t…well, I could always make an artistic statement and pull a Van Gogh.

Seriously, my artistic statement will still be made, as the Frank Cipra designed-hearing aid I commissioned will be converted into Sonomax hearing protectors…which if I had, and I used, when I went to concerts as a kid, I wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place.

Helio's Real Fine Print

In the song "Step Right Up," Tom Waits crackles the words: "You got it, buddy--the large print giveth, and the small print taketh away."

Well, in a two page ad in the latest Business 2.0 for wireless carrier Helio and its dual-slider Ocean device (see it below and note: I did NOT call it a "phone"), the small print actually giveth.

Although printed in near-invisible, four-point, wispy gray type, Helio's small print giveth a lot of entertainment, it giveth a few smiles, and most importantly, it giveth a lot of insight into the company's image and spirit.

I've taken out a line about AOL, but here it is, otherwise verbatim, from the ad:

Available Spring 2007.
Don't blame us for third-party content or services.
Our super-advanced #G service is available in select locations in the red states, the blue states and even the green states.
Service is subject to Helio's Membership Terms. 
Some restrictions apply, but not too many.
See your Helio representative for the few that do.
Helio, the Helio logo, Ocean and "Don't Call It a Phone" are trademarks of Helio LLC. 
For more information, on Helio, visit www.helio.com.
And congrats, you're the only person who's made it this far.

Cheeky, revealing, and actually a whole lot more fun than most wireless carriers' actual in-ad copy.  We do a lot of work with Helio at Airborne, and now, I'm even happier we do.

So since they're a client, I hope Helio won't mind some free advice, Surprise Central-style:

Guys, make this special "small print" part of your advertising DNA. 

In classic Pow! formula, you have Surprised us once.  Now, we're gonna look for your fine print.  If it doesn't change, we'll be sadly disappointed.

BUT if you do shake it up, we're gonna keep looking.  Perhaps we'll even make it a point to seek out your ads, wondering what you'll do next. 

So what can you do next?  Tell us some stories.  Give us some coded messages to decipher.  Print the lyrics to Sky Dayton's favorite song.  Anything! 

But give us a reason to come back. And read your ads.  And become "members" (not subscribers) of your service.  And buy your...advanced communication devices.

Your "Fine Print" can become your "Find Print." 

Make sure we keep looking.

Knowing What Wii Wanted (Great Surprise Quotes Redux)

Back in November, I kinda predicted that Nintendo's Wii would take the world by storm. 

While this is far from a Nostradamus-like feat of prognostication (truly obvious to anyone who ever picked up the gyro-controller), it is heart-warming and gratifying to see that a seemingly down-and-out, also-ran can stick to its guns of Surprise and Pow! an entire industry.

The accolades have been fast and furious, and the most recent ish of Fortune Magazine gushes over Nintendo's success.  Within the piece, written by Jeffrey M. O'Brien, are several Surprise quotes that vindicate the type of strategies spewed within this blog for months.

Quoth O'Brien:

"More difficult to comprehend is how a company founded 118 years ago as a maker of playing cards came to be pummeling Microsoft and Sony. The answer has something to do with reinvention.

Nintendo has shown a knack for leapfrogging its industry. Sure, some initiatives failed but the company rarely fails to surprise.

This time, in changing perceptions of gaming, Nintendo has surprised even itself."

This from president and CEO Satoru Iwata:

"We are not competing against Sony or Microsoft.
We are battling the indifference of people who have no interest in videogames."

And the final word goes to Nintendo's legendary videogame designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the soul of the company for decades:

"What I want to do, is to make it
so people can actually feel
something unprecedented."

Mission accomplished.

Until the next time...

Major League Bummer

Pardon the pun (you’ll understand why soon), but…bummer!

For the first time in seven years, I won’t be in New York traipsing about the massive Licensing Show for Airborne Entertainment. What’s keeping me home is a minor medical operation I have to undergo (see this Thursday’s post), but that’s not the bummer.

The real drag is that I will miss Craig Yoe’s somewhat cracked, very cheeky stunt.

Craig, the owner and chief creative bonkbrain at YOE! Studios has been lamenting—and rightfully so—how traditional and dull the once wild ride of the Licensing Show has become.

This year, he’s decided to do something about it. Here’s an email I got from him last week:

Yo, Andy!

I love the Licensing Show and the great people who run it, but we've been talking about how to make it even more fun.

OK, here's my Big Idea:

1. First thing Tuesday morning (tomorrow!) come get your YOE! Studio Th0ng at our booth #1549 (see a pic of the th0ng above).

2. Scurry to the restroom and put it on--under your clothes.

3. At precisely 12 o'clock noon everyone is to stop what they are doing and drop trou and sing in unison (to the tune of "Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead") the following lyrics:

Ding dong, show your th0ng,
It feels so good, it can't be wrong.
Ding dong, show the world your th0-o-n-n-n-g-g-g...

4. Then at the conclusion of the song hug your neighbor and then un-drop your trou and continue on with the all-important task of being a licensee or a licensor (or a supplier to those folks like YOE! Studio). That's it! It's that simple.

This will be SO COOL! Imagine, people from many different countries, people of different color, people of different ages, people of different shapes and sizes all united together singing and celebrating our "th0ng-ness." Being open, being free, not only dropping our trou, but dropping our pretensions, dropping our inhibitions, dropping our darn pride that keeps us apart. I'm getting all choked up just thinking about how wonderful this is going to be as I am sure you are, Andy.

You're welcome.

Craig Yoe (~;O#))>

YOE! Studio

Will it work? Gee, I hope so. I’ll have the Airborne folks in attendance try to eye-witness and snap a photo or two.

But no matter what, it warms the heart of all of us at Surprise central that people like Craig still exist…and are willing to try and convert industry tight-asses into collective bare-asses.

A word of advice to Craig: Buddy, you’re playing with Supreme Pow! I know the folks who attend the Licensing Show. You’d better put the Paramedics—and your lawyers—on red alert.

Good luck!

Knowing When To Fold 'Em

Cliché Rule #17 states that "One Picture is Worth 1,000 Words."

If that is indeed the case, the one below is good for 1,000 notes.  Loud ones, I hope.

The gizmo you see here is called the Centrefold, a Surprising, full-sized folding guitar from Sweden's DeVillain Guitar Company, created by airplane pilot Fredrik Johansson. 

It seemed that the avid musician had problems bringing his own guitar onto his flights, so following Cliché Rule #183 ("Necessity Is The Mother of Invention"), Fredrik was inspired to create the type of instrument that traveled well, but played even better.

The genius of Fredrik's design is the aluminum tube at the guitar's base, around which the strings are wound.  This not only folds up or out in about 20 seconds, but allows the axe to be slid into a standard-sized knapsack...and thus into overhead carry-on storage. (Just think of the possibilities the next time you're stuck in a holding pattern, or on a runway!)

The pieces ain't cheap, retailing for over $3300, but remember Cliché Rule #98--"You Get What You Pay For."

Now if only there was a disgruntled drummer pilot out there somewhere...

 

Saving Bonds

Saul Colt is brilliant. 

In a majestic blog post this week, Saul (the guy at left) solved the dilemma facing Major League Baseball as Barry Bonds (the guy at right) prepares to pass Hank Aaron's all-time home run hitting record.

The way I see it, Bud Selig should bow down at Saul's feet for this easy way out. 

Hammerin' Hank should take him out for dinner for maintaining his dignity, and baseball fans the world over should thank him profusely every time they sing Take Me Out To The Ball Game.

Next stop Saul, the middle east!

If you haven't already clicked over to read it, do so now!

Theory 11--Social Retailing (or Stores 'R' Us)

Perhaps Time Magazine's Lev Grossman put it best when he said:

"When Amazon.com announced its plan to open a digital music store to sell MP3s, you had to really work to get excited about it. It's hard to think of a press release that would be less surprising. At this rate, my 3-year-old daughter will be opening a digital music store pretty soon."

I've seen the future of retailing, and it is us.  Or, put another way:

STORES 'R' US

Mix the reach of the Web with tools like PayPal and the social graphing spirit of Facebook and you've got the new paradigm--we are all shopkeepers. 

Never mind Social Networking, the big bucks are gonna be in Social Retailing.

Terry McBride, the visionary behind Nettwerk Music Group outlined the new world of music retailing last year at Vancouver's VidFest when he said:

"The key element
to music retailing
is crowdsourcing."

He went onto paint a picture where fans would not only submit and vote on poster design, but edit raw material into tracks and videos (the best of which would be selected by the artist for release).  The coup-de-grace though, was the way in which this new musical content would all be sold.  "Who's opinion are you going to trust more?" he asked.  "Some store, or one of your influential, cool friends?"

This guy was ahead of the game by months (which is eons in Web 2.0 time, which is moving so fast it's now being called Web 2.5 or 3.0 depending on your timezone), a span that has brought us innovations like Justin Timberlake's Burnlounge ("The World's First Fan-Driven Digital Download Community") and Seattle's MOD Systems, which offers a kiosk that lets people burn music and movies while they wait...anywhere.

"Entertainment content is a $35 billion business," says MOD's Chairman Anthony Bay, "and there isn't enough shelf space to support the breadth of catalog."

Unless, of course, it's virtual.  So now your basement, your kitchen, your carwash, your drycleaner can all be superstores like the late Tower Records, Sam Goodys or Sam The Record Man (ask your parents).

Ironically, the Time quote above came from an article entitled "The Battle Over Music Piracy."   And  perhaps, inadvertently, Lev Grossman's three-year-old daughter holds the solution to the battle in her teeny hands.

The best way to combat piracy, it seems, is to make entrepreneurs, not crooks, out of us all.

What You Want

So here's my Beef-o'-The-Week:

I speak at a lot of conferences, and inevitably, the day after (or often the same day), my inbox is filled with email from conference attendees trying to network and/or sell their services. 

One could look upon this as a minor inconvenience...or a major opportunity.  Being the open, optimistic type, I try to lean towards the opportunity, but the content of most emails I've been receiving lately makes it difficult to do so.

That said, here's a tip to all of us (I include myself in this group as I am frequently part of the askers):

If you're going to try to engage a busy person you just KNOW is being besieged by others, don't be coy.  Get to your point, and fast.  Do the ask, and do it clearly.  Don't play games and try to pique one's curiosity with oblique obscurities.

Here's what I mean.  Last week, I spoke for Visa at an Entrepreneur's conference.  Here's "the close" to an email I received a couple of days later:

"I would like to discuss various possibilities of business. 
We have several projects likely to interest you. 
I invite you to contact me for further information."

Huh?  I don't think so.  For to get me off my busy schedule, you had better let me know:

1. What ARE these various possibilities?  Give me a clue or two.
2. Why on earth WOULD they interest me?
3. Uh buddy, you emailed me.  You wanna sell, you do the contacting!

Compare that to a brief note I got after speaking to TV and film producers at the Playback Mobile Conference in Toronto a few weeks back:

"Hi there.  I loved your presentation and vibe at the Mobile Forum and wanted to get in touch and say Hello!  Do you ever need content or production?  Or do you do all of that in-house?"

Short, to-the-point and direct.(The compliment didn't hurt either, I must admit.)  The start of a conversation.  My quick answer was "Depends on what type content you have..." 

Today, the author of the second note is in discussion with Airborne Entertainment's video team, looking at potential collaboration.

The author of the first note had to be rescued from my Deleted Items to be part of today's post.

Unsolicited email can open up a world of discovery, and expand one's reach (I can't tell you the amazing number of relationships I've cultivated with previously-unknown souls who have reached out to me via this blog...and vice versa).  They can also be fast-tracked to oblivion.  It's a new world out there, but the basics of communication still rule as per whether or not yours if gonna get an answer.

Sweet Talk

New restaurant in trendy Old Montreal.

Hip name--Vauvert, which has something to do with the devil.

Located in the uber-hip Hotel St. Paul.

So...you EXPECT the food to be exquisite (which it was). 

You EXPECT supreme service (which I got).

You EXPECT crisp design and great music (which there was).

So how to you build Surprise onto this foundation of supreme expectations?

With a little sweetness.

No, not dessert.

Check out the sculpture below.  This is the way they do cream and sugar at the Vauvert.  I don't even take sugar in my coffee, but I had to pull one off the post and suck on it like a candy, like I used to do with sugarcubes in my grandmother's kitchen.

As I've said before, Pow! doesn't have to be big...just a spoonful of sugar (or a wafer-ful in this case) is enough to make the conversation go down.

We Do Things A Little Differently Around Here...

Airborne Entertainment in the news, albeit coming to me a bit late. 

This from the April the 23rd, 2007 post in the One Thousand Paintings blog (a great art experiment, by the way, from Sala, a young artist living in Zürich, Switzerland), spawned by an email from Airborne's Gabriel Jacob,  Says Sala:

"After the 750th painting sold a couple of days ago, I got this email from Gabriel (750):

Congrats on your 750th sold painting (as posted on your blog on April 12, 2007). I'd like to mention that we over at Airborne Entertainment have your 750th numbered painting prominently displayed outside our business office. The number 750 happens to be our suite number at 3575 St.Laurent in Montreal, Canada. Your can't tell in the picture I've attached with this email, but your 750 painting is protected under a thick sheet of Plexiglas. Your painting is in good company! The mural on the wall inside the company was done by the Heavyweight Production House, Inc. There is also another painting against the wall on the left but I'm not sure who painted that.

Note, we are not an art gallery but rather a mobile (cell phone) publisher! You can find more info on us at www.airborne-e.com.

Not a bad sight coming off the 7th floor elevator, dontcha think? 

Well, what did you expect from this art-loving, Pow!-evangelizing company President?  A white door with stick-on numerals?

Quotations of Chairman Pow!

If there was any doubt that business has entered a wild new era, it was sent to its eternal rest with this sentence, said in all seriousness and taken from a story in this month's Business 2.0:

"Unlike its rival Qoop,
Moo can put a different image
on each of the 100 MiniCards
in a $20 order."

Poor Qoop!  Once again upstaged by Moo.  Boo-effin'-hoo.

Pretty soon, we'll be running out of wacky corporate names, and we'll identify our corporate selves by noises.

On that note, for Airborne, I'm registering Whooooossshh!

And a big Mofo Booom! for this here blog.

The Mile-High Mini-Mart

As a follow-up to the previous post, here's the next sign of the impending apocalypse.

Commercial flying, a pain-in-the ass experience at the best of times, is now becoming chintzier as more and more airlines are charging for things that were once free.  Never mind having to reach into your pockets (correct change, please!) for food (or the reasonable facsimiles of), films, drinks and entertainment, Spirit Airlines is now charging for the right to check your bags ($10 for two online, $20 for two at the airport and a whopping $100 for a third bag). 

I know times are tough in the flight game, but jeez, to go about this and try to sell it as "liberating us from having to pay for services we don't use" is a tad insulting.

Coming soon, and I'm not joking, and not just from Spirit, will be charges for guaranteed overhead storage (to put the bags you didn't want to pay to check).  Can coin-operated toilets and emergency oxygen be far behind?

Maybe not, if you're named Ryanair.  According to Brandweek, the airline is:

"giving away one million free seats knowing that
it can still make money by upselling passengers
with food, duty-free goods and in-flight entertainment."

Commercial flying owes it future to King Gillette, who gave away razors to make money on the blades, or to the laserprinter folks, who almost donate their printers so that they can soak us on the ink cartridges.

Surreal.

That'll be $20 for the beers and $1,500 for the engine cover, please.

Cycle-pathic

It had to happen sooner or later.

Last night, on my way home from work, I was cut off by a cyclist...

...on a cellphone!

Another sign of the impending apocalypse, I guess.

Thirsty, But Non-Committal

Happy to learn, via the synapse-snappin' ideablog Springwise.com, that there exists sumptin' called "The Surprise Economy" (don't tell that to the folks at Surprise Central, though. They may want me to double their volunteer wages...).

Over the weekend, I read about a Singapore beverage company called Out of The Box who just released two new soft drinks called "Anything" and "Whatever," ostensibly non-committal responses to the query "What do you want to drink?"

Anything is carbonated and comes in a half-dozen flavors (Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon and Root Beer), as does the non-carbonated, tea-based Whatever (Ice Lemon, Peach, Jasmine, White Grape, Apple and Chrysanthemum).  Great website, too...despite the fact that I couldn't turn off that infernal sit-commy music.

So here's the Surprise--consumers have no idea what they're about to guzzle when they buy the stuff. It's like a blind date for your tongue. The cans are simply labeled Anything or Whatever, complete with a generic list of ingredients that gives nothing away.  Your tastebuds find out the flavor first hand.  Methinks this may give rise to a third variety of the drink, called What The Hell Is That?, but you've gotta give the Out of the Box folks a lot of credit to make the soft drink experience into an adventure and a game.

(Recommendation for phase 2:  add a couple of flavors like "Cayenne Pepper," "Onions and Mushrooms" and "Liquid Drano" and let the kids--who have been apparently going crazy over the stuff--play a newfangled version of Russian Roulette.)

I don't know how much legs this concept has, but it certainly has more than its fair share of balls.   Well done, Out of The Box-ers!

Three Questions, Many Answers

Weeks have started worse, I guess...

I've been included, amongst some very impressive marketing luminaries, in Andy Sernovitz's slick new Damn! I Wish I'd Thought Of That blog (Damn!  I Wish I'd Thought of That URL...). 

The Word-of-Mouth Marketing maven asked three questions, seeking our advice on how to

1. Make People Happy
2. Earn Respect
3. Get a W-O-M Marketing Recommendation

The responses were as diverse as the people giving them, and includes wisdom from:

Keith Hammonds, Executive Editor of Fast Company magazine
Peter Kim, Senior Analyst, Forrester Research
Scott "That Guy With The Nametag" Ginsberg
Geoff Ramsey, CEO, eMarketer
John Moore, Marketing Medic, Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice
Bob Garfield, Editor at Large, Advertising Age
Matt Blumberg, CEO, ReturnPath

Enjoy 'em by clicking here.  And while you're there, nudge Bob Garfield's turntable; the needle's stuck  ;)

Workouts Are The New Shoe Polish

Well, spent last weekend in NYC, and in a city rife with Surprises, the one that really Pow!ed me was tucked away inside a laundry bag at the London NYC Hotel (a magnificent find, I may add; all suites, killer location, ultra-efficient service and Gordon Ramsay's first American resto...but I digress).

Instead of the standard Put-Your-Shoes-In-The-Bag for a complimentary shoeshine, the hotel offers what they call a "Workout Wear Refresher."  To wit:

"For complimentary cleaning of your workout wear, place your clothing in the laundry bag with this card
and touch 62 for pickup before 10 am.  Clothing will be returned by 5 pm."

For a guy who obsessively trains, this is a godsend.  No more will my multiples of shorts, socks, t-shirts and bandanas overpower my luggage; one set is ready for the morning shvitz, everyday.  Speaks volumes about the hotel's hip target market as well, who may be wearing more canvas and runners than wingtips, as well as the cost of running a shoe-shine operation and/or the declining demand for it.

This may not be for everyone, but for those of us who choose their hotels by their workout facilities, this facilitates the choice. 

And I'm sure if I REALLY needed a shoeshine, the London NYC would get me one.

M-Peg 2788

You know me and my love for art (remember the posts about Patrick Hughes, Steve Kaufman or Chris Jordan?). 

Especially wild, concept-stretching, Pow!erful art.

Like the type painstakingly created by California artist Matt Bilfield.  Check out this piece--his take on Lichtenstein's M-maybe, but done in 2,788 handpainted dowels.

This guy's been getting a lot of heat, and deserves it big time. For a more comprehensive view, check out Matt's site at www.mattbilfield.com.