Category: Marketing Ideas

In Peru, an organization called UTEC created a billboard that turns atmospheric humidity into drinking water and made it available to the community. What a great use of advertising! Read more at reshareable.tv

This short documentary aired at SXSW a few months ago. I found there explanation of how fonts are put together to be very interesting. Check it out:

Font Men – SXSW 2014 Official Selection from dress code on Vimeo.

As a business owner or manager, sometimes you need to communicate information of a temporary nature to your customers: something breaks down, you’re running late, etc. hence the homemade sign. Although most of the time these signs are boring, I’ve noticed a few examples were people took the time to inject a little bit a personality and humor into a mundane message. Although this is a little thing, I think it makes a difference in how you are perceived by your customers. To some, it may come across as unprofessional but I think it gives a business personality, which makes it approachable.

I came across this sign at Wheeler Farms in Salt Lake City, Utah:

I saw this on a vending machine:

This sign comes from a Quality Inn, which I found online (Cheezburger):

and this sign from a Tattoo shop (Cheezburger):

Next time you need to make a sign, think about what you can do to make it not boring.

Wharton Business School marketing professor, Jonah Berger, recently put out this book on what makes certain ideas catch on. The book follows in the same vein as Chip and Dan Heath’s “Made To Stick” and Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” but with a greater emphasis in marketing. In fact, he even mentions both books as inspiration for his. He lays out 6 principles that make for contagious ideas and gives several illustrations in each area: Social Currency, Triggers, Emotion, Public, Practical Value, Stories (which makes the acronym STEPPS).

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It had some interesting point and examples. However, I didn’t feel the principles differed all the greatly from Made to Stick or the Tipping Point. Had I not recently read Made To Stick, I would have likely found the book more enlightening but instead it served to reinforced those same messages without adding a whole lot. But if you have not read Made To Stick, I would go ahead and dive in.

Check out this quick summary from the author:

Check out this cool video for Caterpillar. They used their machines to play a giant game of Jenga. I like it because it’s a fun and spreadable idea but also because it demonstrates their machine’s precision.

Sometimes, the placement of an ad can be more powerful than the ad itself. I stumble across these ads and other great ideas at 123 Inspiration.

Regardless of your political preference, these are very well done TV spots that break the norm for what a political ad can and should be. They are fresh, witty and on point.

I got thinking the other day about the convenience of having a smart phone and the number of things it replaces in my personal life over the course of about a year. Here’s a quick list that I came up with:

• Home phone line – $480 ($40/month)
• Alarm clock – $30
• Watch – $50
• Dictionary – $15
• Day Planner – $30
• CD Player – $60
• Camera – $200
• Road maps – $15
• Calculator – $20
• Compass – $20
• Game Device (ie gameboy) – $100
• Letters/stamps – $15
• Magazines – $50
• Newspapers – $180 ($15/month)
• Recipe books – $30
• Biblical scriptures – $10
• Photo Albums – $50
• Memo Recorder – $50
• Kids toys when we go out – $20
• Flashlight – $20
• Guitar Tuner – $20
• Encyclopedia – $200
• TOTAL – $1665

It’s a pretty incredible value considering that most new, top of the line phones are only a couple hundred dollars (with a wireless plan) or much less if you are willing to settle for an older model. No wonder people get so attached to these things.

)

For your amusement, here’s a ridiculous throwback to 1985, featuring a pre-Seinfield Jason Alexander. Enjoy.