Your Shopping Bag is More Important Than Your Radio Spot

”Customer experience needs to be thought of as a strategic agenda item on par with and actually integrated with corporate strategy, managing the brand, and new product  development”

Michael Kanazawa & Dr. Robert H. Miles,  Big Ideas to Big Results

You’re no longer in the business of selling stuff.

You’re in the business of entertaining your audience and engaging them in meaningful behavior. If you do it well enough, they will not just buy your products and services repeatedly, but they will tell their friends about it. (Given your products and services are top notch.)
And we all know that a recommendation from a friend is worth so much more than any radio spot in the world, no matter how clever the spot is. It’s how brands become market leaders. Period.

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Heinz Musical Spoon Can Only Be Heard In-Mouth

Heinz teamed up with food architects [Who knew that this job exists…] Bompas and Parr to create a multi-sensory bean experience to promote an exclusive collection of canned beans. Not exactly the most exciting product to begin with, but Bompas and Parr came up with a rather unique approach. For each of the five new flavors the food architects designed a different bowl, taking inspiration from the origins of the flavor (Curry, Cheddar Cheese, Barbecue, Garlic & Herbs and Fiery Chili).

The limited edition beans come with it’s own bowl and a special spoon, embedded with an mp3 player that plays a different tune for every flavor. But instead of imitating those crappy birthday card melodies, the music is only heard once you bite on the spoon when the sound travels through the jawbone into your ear. Quite ingenious!!!

Canned beans are usually associated with students on tight budgets, not with a surprising multi-sensorial experience in a box. Heinz managed to introduce a new (albeit rather dull) product in a very unexpected way and created a lot of buzz around it. The product actually seems much more interesting, thanks to the design of the bowls and the musical spoon. I’m curious what the music sounds like. If you know of anybody who bought the limited edition box, let me know.

Musical Potties for Festival Visitors in Argentina

Argentina’s mobile phone company “Personal” organizes an annual music festival that attracts more then 50.000 visitors. That in itself is already remarkable enough as a powerful strategy to connect with a young crowd and immerse them in tons of fun (and associate the brand with the experiences and emotions surrounding the event).

The “Musical Potties” or “Rhythmical Potties” are a fun and slightly quirky addition to the event and offer another opportunity to create buzz around the whole festival. Yes. the subject in itself is less fun, but why not play with it. Though I’m wondering how much fun it is when the potties are constantly busy during “rush hour”. I guess the complete melody just plays on and on. Could be annoying if it plays for an extended period of time.

Instead of adding music to the potties they should have asked Charming to come with one of their “Porta-Potty” trucks, that travel the US, which is less gimmicky and offers clean and accessible washrooms for festivals of this nature. (I realize I’m starting to know a lot of poop related marketing strategies…)

I still like the idea because it’s playful yet incorporates an environment that is usually neglect or ignored, and turns it into a fun and new experience.

(via: Adverblog)

An art gallery at 35,000ft

Virgin Atlantic teamed up with British artists Ben Eine to offer its “Upper Class” members an new in-flight service: viewing and potential purchase of one of ten of his trademark typography works, ranging form £2.500 – £15.000. “The Gallery in the Air” also offer a “behind the scene” look of the art works creation and lets passengers buy the art work just like any regular duty free item – well kind of…

“We have created a completely original way of appreciating and buying art – a new frontier for the industry.” the artists said. The collaboration is only a first in a series to follow.

The initiative is a great example of how a brand creates a surprising and remarkable experience for a selected group of their customers, enhancing the overall brand experience while simultaneously promoting art in general and particularly Eine and the British art scene. The artists and his art works were well chosen and represent the values of the brand perfectly: British, young, playful, and fun. Another great example of a brand using non-product/service related art to enhance the brand expereince. It  stimulates positive associations for the brand and creates positive word of mouth and free editorials along the way.

(via PSFK)

Mojito: First Drink To Get Its Own Dedicated Embassy

An embassy for a drink? Really?!?!?

The Havana Club has created a pop up shop of a different kind to promote Mojitos in the best possible way: an environment that oozes fun, freshness and Cuban lifestyle in an experience that speaks to all five senses. The colors, aromas, tastes, sights and sounds seduce visitors of this Milan pop up store to take a brake and be taken away to Havana for a real, freshly made Mojito while strolling a small market, enjoying live Cuban music and entertainment.

Apart from the fact that summer has started here in Montreal and that I really love Mojitos and the smell of a freshly cut lime, I feel the interventions will be a huge success in communicating the the brands vision and values in a very engaging way. NO need to preach about the advantages of fresh, high quality ingredients over pre-prepared, ready made Mojito mixes, when an entire Mojito embassy is dedicated to spread the good word.

Instead of creating a message and sending it through conventional channels, Havana Club shares its passion for the best possible Mohito through this engaging live intervention that allows the audience to experience the message directly and through interaction with the real people, zipping away real good Mojitos.

I feel like going to the market to grab some limes myself now…

(via Trendland)

Free Extended Naps in Selected New York’s Furniture Stores

‘Try before you buy‘ is a well established approach to allow potential customers experience the product before the actual  purchase.

ECO furniture designer COCO MAT from Greece takes the concept a step further creating hotel like show rooms where people can take an extended nap of several hours. Taking a brake from the huzzle and buzzle of NYC’s busy street’s in such a comforting and inviting environment allows you to get a real sense of the quality of the product. Furthermore the founder, Paul Efmorfidis doesn’t mind if “nappers” don’t turn into buyers, but aims to increase top of mind awareness and positive word-of-mouth for COCO MAT with this intervention. The free orange juice, espresso and Greek foods complement the experience, speaking to all 5 senses and making it so much more inviting, without the need or pressure to close a deal.

An expereince that’s totally on brand while generating lot’s of earned media for the company.

(via Springwise)

Free WiFi for Dog Poo in Mexico

Need to send an email but have no WiFi? Take your pooch for a walk in the park and you’re on your way to free global Interweb,  at least in Mexico.

Well of course this is no daily challenge for most of us as we work in the park, but the Mexican internet portal Terra still managed to delight passers-by with this funny intervention and created a short clip to further explain the (not so serious) thinking behind it.

For every gram of dog poo that owners dispose in the allocated containers, a certain amount of free WiFi minutes are being offered generously for anybody in the park who is looking for internet access. Seems to me that everybody is happy because it works on three levels: we all enjoy a poo free park (which should be the case anyways with responsible dog owners, like myself), dog owners can contribute by “paying it forward” (lol) and those looking for free internet access benefit from the responsible dog owners. What a great idea, bounded to attract a lot of media attention!

With this intervention, Terra delights, entertains and solves two problems at the same time, while communicating their core service (internet access) in a hilarious way, making everybody smile. I wonder if there was a social media component to transport the event to others.

(via DesignTaxi)