Never a Lack of Ideas

That's a Wrap   Wrap Media Group has begun wrapping rental cars with advertisements in Atlanta, Georgia. I love this idea because it's filled with wins: People who rent the cars pay a reduced rate to drive the cars with ads.   Advertisers gain great exposure in an exciting new way.   Advertisers are able to include free samples of their product in the glove compartment of wrapped cars if they choose to do so. The most appealing part of this initiative from an adverting point of view is the amount of data Wrap Media Group could potentially offer its advertisers about the people driving the wrapped cars, providing a great way for brands to place samples of their products in the hands of their target market. Rental car companies know the age and sex of every car renter, in addition to the frequency in which someone rents a car, which could indicate business travel or leisure travel. Rental car companies also know the size of the rental car, which could indicate t...

No Receipt, No Problem Stores should no longer offer $5 for failing to issue a receipt. Instead, they should offer $5 if customers have to stand in line for more than five minutes. When a store offers to pay me if I don't get a receipt, I secretly hope that they don't give me one. I don't mind asking for a receipt if I don't receive one, and I'd like to have the $5. However, I would never hope to wait in a line for more than five minutes. Even if the store offered to compensate me for waiting, I would rather move through the line quickly than have the $5. Add This to Your To-Do List If you're going to compensate customers when your business fails to do something, make sure you're compensating them for something they don't want to happen. There's never a lack of ideas.

Nowhere to Flaunt It Your new couch was just delivered and it looks great in your living room -- much better than it did online and in the showroom. You would love to take a picture of it and share it with potential buyers so they can see how great it is, but you head back to the furniture store's website and... nothing. You can't upload your photo. If you're lucky, you can write a review, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Bragging Encouraged Many businesses are missing out on the chance to engage with customers after their purchases because they don't provide the opportunity to share photos and stories on their website. Social media and third party review sites are dominating this arena and it's time for businesses to catch up. Imagine how much better your dresser-buying experience would be on Ikea's website if you could view hundreds of customer-submitted photos of each piece instead of just the six posted by Ikea. How much easier would it be to envisio...

Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot Looking for a good excuse to surprise your clients with a gift basket? Send them one to celebrate the New Year. But don't limit yourself to just the New Year that begins on January 1st. There are plenty of other fun New Year celebrations that would make great days to delight your customers with a gift: The client's new fiscal year Chinese New Year A new school year The first day of an annual project Add This to Your To-Do List New Year's celebrations aren't just for December 31st. Use any type of new year as an excuse to surprise and delight your customers. They'll be thankful and keep you at the top of their mind. There's never a lack of ideas. Thanks to Megan Danielson for inspiring this post.

Flying High The air traffic control tower in Cancun, Mexico is blanketed with an enormous Corona logo. That's such a great place for Corona to advertise — the brand has aligned itself with images of the beach for years. And Cancun is one of the most popular beach party cities in the world — especially for US college students on spring break. Corona's sponsorship got me thinking: what other brands should sponsor air traffic control towers around the world? In other words, what brands have aligned themselves with cities or destinations around the world? I came up with five ideas. Can you add more to this list? Rice a Roni — San Francisco, California Foster's Beer — Sydney, Australia Uno Pizzeria — Chicago, Illinois Coors Light — Denver, Colorado Pat's King of Steaks — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Add This to Your To-Do List Creating a brand with a powerful association with a specific city is difficult to do on a national and worldwide scale. However, when it's don...

106 Flavors Coca Cola has a new fountain that dispenses 106 different beverages out of just one spigot. After hearing about the machine, I was so excited that I dropped by Wendy's to check it out. While there, I whipped up a new drink — the Nick Scarpino. Check out the video to see how to make it. Add This to Your To-Do List If Coca Cola can innovate in a cool way after selling drinks for more than 100 years, then so can your business. How will you innovate your product or the way it is distributed? And what flavors would you combine in the Coca Cola drink named after you? There's never a lack of ideas. Thanks to Pastor Rob Douglas for inspiring this post.

Holey Postcards In the summer of 2003, I created a direct mail campaign that earned a whopping 15% response rate — and it was probably the least expensive direct mail campaign ever run. I was trying to pick up freelance graphic design work with local non-profits. So, I identified 20 prospective clients nearby and then designed the postcard on the right. The headline read, “are there holes in your advertising and design plans?” I actually punched two holes in the postcard, represented on the right by the circles filled with black. I did my research and knew the post office would still deliver the cards with holes in those strategic spots. A few days after mailing the cards, I received calls from three different non-profits. After a week, I was working for two of them. The Little Things Matter There are three reasons this campaign succeeded: I targeted an untapped market. Not many people want to work with small non-profit organizations because there’s not a lot of money to be made. But...