Never a Lack of Ideas

A Closer Look The next time you’re out to eat at a restaurant and you pay with a credit card, take a look at the pen that you’re using to sign the receipt. Chances are that the pen does not have the restaurant’s logo on it. It’s probably emblazoned with the logo of a local business. And if you’re interested in the business that the pen is promoting, I think you should keep it. Just be sure to leave a replacement. Take a Pen, Leave a Pen I love the idea of a “pen swap.” Get some pens with your company’s logo on them and carry them around with you. Take a pen when its logo is something interesting to you or someone you know and leave one of your own in its place. This isn’t stealing. The person who left the pen would want you to have it if you’re interested in what its advertising. And likewise, you’d want someone to take your pen if he/she is interested in your business. What to Put on Your Pen To create the perfect pen for distribution, you need to include three things on the pen: You...

Good Idea Back in March, I proposed the idea that shoe maker Christian Louboutin should create a limited edition pink-soled shoe (instead of his traditional red-soled shoes) to raise money for cancer research. ( Read my original idea. ) Unfortunately, representatives from Christian Louboutin said that they weren’t interested in my idea. ( Read their response. ) Fast-Forward Four Months For a limited time during the month of July, shoe maker New Balance has partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to produce a pink running shoe to help raise money for breast cancer awareness. The shoes commemorate the 20 years that Komen has partnered with New Balance to fight breast cancer. For 20 days in July, New Balance will sell 20 pairs of personalized pink shoes for $149.99 per pair. A personal message can be embroidered onto the tongue of the shoe. New Balance has set up a special website in which you may purchase the limited edition shoes: http://www.newbalance.com/personalizethefight/ A no...

I Scream for Ice Cream To launch its new line of coffee-flavored ice cream, Starbucks is running a promotion through July 19th in which Facebook users can give a free pint of ice cream to one of their friends. At the top of every hour, Starbucks will give out 800 coupons for free ice cream via a Facebook application at http://apps.facebook.com/starbucksicecream . Facebook users cannot print a free ice cream coupon for themselves – they must send it to a friend. Since the free ice cream coupons are gone within seconds after the start of each hour, Starbucks offers a coupon for $1.00 off of a pint of their new ice cream to people who do not grab a free pint for their friends. This way, nobody is left out of the promotion. Learning From KFC’s Mistakes Starbucks made three notable improvements to the Kentucky Grilled Chicken debacle two months ago: Never underestimate the power of free food. The KGC promotion prompted millions of people to print off coupons for a free meal. Starbucks is...

Greens Fees Require a Lot of Green Golf is expensive. And so are golf outings – especially when they serve as fundraisers. I’ve never heard of a golf outing fundraiser costing less than $75 per person. That’s a lot of green. But mini-golf is not expensive. And it appeals to a much wider audience than golf. So we’re holding a mini-golf outing for a church fundraiser. The mini-golf course is charging us $4 per person for 18 holes as long as we get 50 players. If we charge at least $10 a person and get the required 50 golfers, we’ll raise $300. We’re going to have people attending the outing bring prizes for things like lowest score and making a hole-in-one on specific holes, so we won’t have to buy any prizes. And we’ll have some people bring some tubs of ice cream so we can complete the outing with a nice treat at the end. Add This to Your To-Do List Mini-golf appeals to the young and old, and to men and women. It takes much less time to play than a traditional round of golf, and no pre...

A Wizard Invasion Until September, the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is home to Harry Potter: The Exhibition. It features thousands of props, costumes, and sets from the first six Harry Potter movies. Die-hard fans will appreciate the gift shop at the end of the exhibit that offers many Harry Potter collectibles that I’ve never seen before. Some of the notable items available at the gift shop are: A custom-made wizard chessboard for $400. Replica Quiddich brooms starting at $300. A replica Marauder’s Map for $50. As you can see, there are some high-priced items available in the gift shop, but it lacks creative, personalized items. All that was Missing was Me (and You) The gift shop is missing a great opportunity to make a lot more money and to offer exhibition visitors the opportunity to go home with a truly unique souvenir. The gift shop should offer families the chance to dress up as characters from the Harry Potter movies and pose for a photograph. But not just any pho...

A Not-Too-Distant Memory Remember when airlines used to offer their coach passengers a free meal on a flight that lasted longer than a couple of hours? Well, I have a simple idea that will bring back free meals on airplanes, and it won’t cost passengers or the airlines a single penny. Don’t believe me? Keep reading. There Is Such a Thing as a Free Lunch Airlines should invite pre-packaged frozen food brands such as Healthy Choice to serve their passengers free meals. Healthy Choice could use the opportunity in three ways: Free samples. Healthy Choice could provide airline passengers with products that are currently being sold at grocery stores across the country. The goal for Healthy Choice would be to introduce customers to one of its current products with the hope that customers would later purchase the product. It’d be like free sample day at the grocery store, but everybody would get a full meal, and they’d be flying on a plane while eating it. New product launches. Healthy Choice...

An Independent’s Day According to its website, www.BillShrink.com is “an independent service providing unbiased and personalized recommendations to save you money.” From what I can tell, BillShrink is like Consumer Reports, but focuses exclusively on cell phone plans, credit cards, and gas prices. Recently, T-Mobile started running prime-time television ads that encourage viewers to visit BillShrink.com for a “mobile makeover” (see the ad above). The underlying message of the ad is simple: T-Mobile provides the best value for your cell phone dollars, and an independent website proves it. It’s Not Us, It’s Them This type of advertising is not new. The auto industry is filled with ads touting cars as winning awards from Motor Trend and JD Power & Associates. Restaurants tout their Zagat ratings, and movies advertise critics’ reviews. The reason we see this type of “don’t just take our word for it” advertising is because it has proven to be effective. And the reason that it’s effecti...