Celebrating excellence, creativity, inspiration, and leadership in business with an eye for compelling marketing and communications.

07/08/09-A Creative Business Challenge… especially when the date comes along once in a century

By Joanne Maly

July 8, 2009

In America, at 12:34:56 a.m. today, July 8, 2009, the full numerical sequence was… 12345678909.

That daggoned ‘0’ before the ’9′ messes things up a bit… but nevertheless…..

Being a historical moment and all, perhaps it would be good to make a list of new intentions for the rest of your life (a little like a New Year’s list, but on a full-life-scope.) After all, it won’t be 07/08/09 again for another 100 years.
Picture 5

Short of that same ‘ol take-stock-of-your-life activity though, why not seize the moment – or at least the 07/08/09 day – to reflect on other out-of-the-ordinary natural occurrences that happen regularly, and think, now, how you and your business can capitalize on the opportunities that such events bring along with them.

By the way, if you missed celebrating the 12:34:56 a.m. time on Wednesday, you can always shoot for 12:34:56 p.m. time, when the phenomenon occurs again just after noon. And, if you are in the eastern time zone at that moment, you could perhaps board a jet flying west and then celebrate this numerical experience twice in your life.

How could a business have creatively capitalized on the 07/08/09 occasion?

Here are just a few thoughts:

1. Local TV Station or Local Online News Site: Viewer or reader voting poll for the favorite charity out of a selected organization list, with a donation of $7,809 going to the top three winning charities. Prizes would be awarded at 7 p.m., at 8 p.m.; and again, at 9 p.m. on 07/08/09.

2. Gas Station: $.07 cents lower than the competition on regular-grade gas; $.08 lower on super-grade gas; $.09 lower on premium-grade gas on 07/08/09.

3. Clothing Retail Store: Brightly-printed t-shirts commemorating the day; only available with a purchase on that day; at a cost of only $.07 for a small; $08 for a medium; and $09 for a large. (e.g., “I bought my shirt on 07/08/09 at Macy’s.”)

4. Mega  Stores like Target, Meijer, Wal-Mart, K-mart: Specific and different, super customer specials at each of these times: 7 a.m., 8 a.m., and 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on 07/08/09.

5. Online Merchandise Sites like ebay.com and amazon.com: Special discounts on 07/08/09 only, on items won or purchased or that have a 7, 8 or 9 as the first number in the product’s SKU.

6. Online Shoe Sales Sites like zappos.com: Special discounts for customers who order shoes in size 7, 8 or 9 on 07/08/09.

Through quick, free-flowing, idea-charged brainstorming, the sky is the limit on inspiration. Whether the day is 07/08/09 or 10/15/09, encouraging good ideas, fertilizing those ideas, looking for opportunities, and seizing special moments…  are some of the surest ways to achieve extra company and product exposure, create higher customer awareness, and build consumer and community loyalty.

Is it too early then to post an entry in our Covey Planners and Outlook Calendars for six months before 10/10/10?

And hopefully, we won’t wait that long for some blockbuster brainstorming sessions.

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment box below.

If you liked this post, please share it on Twitter, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, or Facebook. And, I’d be honored if you would like to follow me on Twitter @JoanneMaly or visit the Lincoln Maly Marketing fan page.

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Road Runner Marketing and Communications – Stay a Step Ahead With Humor, Guile, Ingenuity, and Quick-wittedness

By Joanne Maly

July 6, 2009

This morning, I found myself working as fast as my brain could take me. At one point, I just stopped, took a breath, said ‘whew.’ It’s funny how that ‘whew’ sound, in fact, did remind me to stop ‘running’ and spend a few seconds instead stepping back, look at the project’s end-goals, and re-strategize.

Picture 8

This ‘whew’ moment reminded me of the old Warner Brothers Road Runner cartoons. Poor Wile E. Coyote tried every trick he could think of — and he fell for each quirky ad promise for a sure-fire end to his nemesis, the always-clever Road Runner.

In the 50’s cartoon version of the age-old David vs. Goliath story, despite the obvious odds and literal roadblocks, Road Runner wins the challenge in every episode. In spite of Wile E. Coyote’s never-ending pursuit of Road Runner, the sprightly, little bird outsmarts his ‘hungry’ competition through humorous antics time and time again. On a second-level though, Road Runner wins because of astute, crafty, clever ingenuity. He doesn’t just pursue or run, he strategizes and ‘tacticizes.’ (so, there’s a new word for you.)

roadrunner and wile e. coyote

Does this scenario remind you of business and marketing?

For the last few years, we business professionals are constantly being asked to do more; do ‘it’ with less, do ‘it’ faster; and then come back to the table with high-five-level ROI. Period.

In a world of ‘don’t-tell-me-how-just-tell-me-that-you-did-it’ mentality, there is an easy tendency to speed through the planning and strategic part of an initiative. Research is big. Operations – perhaps even bigger. But, without inspired and well-considered marketing and communications, we too can face our own roadblocks and the wrong results we had anticipated.

We could just speed faster like Wile E. Coyote, but it could ultimately take us to a dead-end. We could easily imitate leaders in our individual areas of business, duplicate what they are doing, or one-up their efforts.

Or…..

We could stop, take a breath, (say ‘whew’’) and ask what can I do differently? What idea hasn’t been tried yet? What is my instinct telling me – as well as – my experience and research?

I wrote myself a message on a Post-it-note today. It says simply: “Beep-Beep.” That Road Runner sound will be my own reminder message to ‘stop’ and creatively out-think the competition before I speed ahead.

To help you too think like a Road Runner — with ingenuity, guile, and quick-wittedness (and some humor), I encourage you to stop and say ‘whew’.

Perhaps, a visit to this fun link of some fun Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote cartoon clips from Warner Brothers will trigger some of your own creative ideas: Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comment box below.

If you liked this post, please share it on Twitter, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, or Facebook. And, I’d be honored if you would like to follow me on Twitter @JoanneMaly or visit the Lincoln Maly Marketing fan page.

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Stuck in a Pumpkin Seat? Dunkin’ Run Sets the Bar High

By Joanne Maly

June 25, 2009

“Be excellent at what you do” — one of those six-word parent mantras we hear from the time we are sitting in a pumpkin seat observing the world around us.  I truly think that when we are six-months old, we do want to be ‘good’, be ‘great’, be ‘excellent.’

But, that is before we find out that it is just plain ‘hard’ to go the extra mile and work to get an “A”, be first in line, win the blue ribbon, go for the cum laude.

Super marketing ideas, ad campaigns and business plans start out in the same place that non-super ideas, campaigns and plans begin… in a pumpkin seat, if-you-will.

But it takes something special to get raw, undeveloped ideas to a point where they stand out in the pack. Something (or someone) special has to take a ‘little’ idea, think it through, give it life and juice, develop a team, win management buy-in, and turn the little ‘it’ idea into a WOW campaign.

Picture 14

The new Dunkin’ Run promotion has given us just one of those ‘WOW-now-that-is-cool’ moments. http://www.dunkinrun.com/

The bottom line for the Dunkin’ Run concept itself is that we are asked to follow four simple steps to get some steaming hot Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee and chewy, icing-covered donuts for our office friends. Dunkin’ Donuts has come up with an out-of-the-box, fully-integrated marketing campaign encouraging us to Invite, Order, Run, and Enjoy. A fun, colorful, interactive, contemporary, user-friendly theme is pervasive throughout the program’s graphics, website and social media campaign. Dunkin’ Donuts deserves at least a blue ribbon for this marketing concept.

Ideas (and people) can get stuck in a pumpkin seat spot or they can take off and find their own ‘limitless’ future. With inspiration, freedom to be creative, and perhaps some magna cum laude execution, we can each reach one of our own WOW moments.

Please feel free to leave your comments in the space below. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

If you liked this post, please share it on Twitter, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, or Facebook. And, I’d be honored if you would like to follow me on Twitter @JoanneMaly or visit the Lincoln Maly Marketing fan page.

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Posted in #followfriday, B2B, B2C, Blogging, Blogs, Branding, Brands, Business, Business Communications, Business to Business, Business to Consumer, Business Writing, Cincinnati Blogs, Cincinnati Marketing, Cincinnati Marketing Consultant, Cincinnati Marketing Firm, Cincinnati Media Relations, Cincinnati New Media, Cincinnati PR, Cincinnati PR Firm, Cincinnati Social Media, Communications Plan, Corporate Communications, Corporate Newsletters, Creative Marketing Ideas, Creativity, Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurs, Excellence, Excellence in Business, Freelance, Freelancer, Ideas, Innovation, Innovative Ideas, Interactive Marketing, Leadership, Marketing, Marketing Communications, Marketing Consultant, Marketing Industry Trends, Media Relations, Motivating, Motivation, New Media, Performance, PR, PR Firms Cincinnati, PR Firms in Cincinnati, Public Relations, Small Business, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, Trends, Twitter, Viral Marketing, Writer | 6 Comments »

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