June 10, 2008

Yahoo! Happy Hour in a Box

So, Apple isn't the only company around with a network of developers working on cool software and tools for their platform. Yahoo! has an open development platform they call SearchMonkey, and they also are smart enough to realize that the participants are one of their key audiences. In fact, they apparently deserve no less than this awesome "happy hour in a box" featuring a Heineken mini-keg and six promotional beer steins. Now that's a nice direct mail promotion! (via Search Engine Land)

Posted by mark at 7:16 AM. Permalink: Yahoo! Happy Hour in a Box | Comments (0)

June 5, 2008

WWF Pencil Extender - Saving Trees?

This creative promotion done for the World Wildlife Fund was designed to raise awareness of our waste and how that drives negative environmental impacts, such as deforestation. The giveaway was a pencil extender made from recycled paper. Insert a pencil stub, and you can continue to use a pencil all the way down to the nub.

Definitely adorable, and surely something that will raise awareness, it's also something that's not really going to have a significant impact on the environment. As someone who does want to protect what we have left of our planet, I'm sometimes conflicted about this type of promotion. While raising awareness is great, the little things alone aren't enough to change the path we're on. Saving pencil stubs is great, as long as we don't forget to change how we design communities, finance public transportation and pursue alternative energy sources.

Posted by mark at 5:07 PM. Permalink: WWF Pencil Extender - Saving Trees? | Comments (0)

May 23, 2008

Fresh Every Day

Okay, so here's a campaign I don't really fully understand. A large newspaper, the New Express Daily, was put into Glad sandwich bags featuring the tagline: "Glad, fresh everyday." Hmmmm. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 8:18 PM. Permalink: Fresh Every Day | Comments (0)

May 8, 2008

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Schwag

The title of this blog post made me chuckle: Throw Me the Schwag! No Time to Argue!, and yes, there is a whole mess of Indiana Jones promotion in our near future. Incidentally, the original whip used in the movie is apparently valued at around $30,000. But you can buy one not used in the movies for under a grand. According to the producer's site:

The 450 series bullwhips, our own production, were used in the Indiana Jones movies. This whip, as the No. 453 8 ft. length or the No. 455 10 ft. length, became an icon when it was so skillfully woven into the story by Glenn Randall, the stunt director for the first movie. It became a recognized part of the Indiana Jones character, and an ongoing factor in maintaining the suspense of the story. Equally as important the association of this whip with these outstanding movies led to a resurgence in interest in whips in movies, stage performances, and in sport whipcracking. There are now large numbers of Indiana Jones fans, many cracking whips.

Indeed.

Posted by mark at 9:28 AM. Permalink: Indiana Jones and the Crystal Schwag | Comments (0)

May 2, 2008

Thanks for the Memory!

As we learn more about our brains and how they work, we find that memory is not as good as we think it is, and it's hard to get into someone's memory in the first place. In a recent interview with developmental molecular biologist John Medina, he had a couple things to say about memory. One observation was that our memories aren't like a recording device. The actual process for 'fixing" things into our memory is complex and poorly understood. He also mentions "elaborative rehearsal" as one of the most effective way of producing memories. Basically, you can improve the chances of memory by reproducing the environment in which you first were exposed to the idea. For example, if you're sad when you learn something, being sad when you try to retrieve that memory will help you remember it better.

This concept does much to explain the effectiveness of promotional products. As a tangible item that connects people to experiences, a promotional product can reinforce a message by recreating some of the original experience. Also, because they are often items we use regularly the message is reinforced by our repeated exposure as well as the fact that we experience it in the same or similar context each time.

Below is a chart I saw in an Advertising Lab post about how to optimally space media messages. The idea is that the optimal time to remind someone of something is right before they start forgetting it. Of course, if you're paying for each exposure to the advertising message, this is a good way to minimize costs while maintaining effectiveness. For a promotional product, it may be less important because the initial purchase cost typically gets you many impressions as long as the item stays in use.

Using both principles a marketer could come up with the perfect promotional item, something that gets used in the same context repeatedly, at an interval shorter than the time they would be expected to forget the message. Bonus points for getting a product they use in the same physical or mental space they are in when making purchasing decisions.

Posted by mark at 11:24 AM. Permalink: Thanks for the Memory! | Comments (0)

April 30, 2008

The Broken Vase Revisited

Vases, it seems, were made to be broken. Typically, a broken vase is used to sell super glue, but they've also been used to promote Greek restaurants. This time around, the promotion is for the insurance company AIG, and the idea is not to fix the vase, but to replace it.

Posted by mark at 6:45 AM. Permalink: The Broken Vase Revisited | Comments (0)

April 27, 2008

Deadly Direct Mail

When it comes to direct mail, there's nothing cuter than tiny little coffins. Wait! I mean, there's nothing deathier than tiny little coffins. Anyhow, this striking direct mail promotion was done by a pest control company. Inside the coffins was the tagline: "We don't give them a decent burial. You may." For starters, this is a great piece of direct mail because it gets people's attention. Moreover, the surprise it uses to get attention is actually related to their product. Lastly, hey, free little coffin!

Posted by mark at 4:09 PM. Permalink: Deadly Direct Mail | Comments (0)

March 17, 2008

Car Thief Sun Shade Works for Insurance Company

Here's an interesting promotion done by a Dutch insurance company. They made customized car sun shades that featured a robber stealing a car stereo. Their tagline was "Just Call Us" to promote the ease with which they handle claims. Passersby had reason to take a moment to think about their vulnerability and choice in insurance companies. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 6:46 AM. Permalink: Car Thief Sun Shade Works for Insurance Company | Comments (0)

March 8, 2008

Doormat Flip-flops

Here's a really gorgeous execution of customized punch out flip-flops, which serves as a gorgeous welcome mat, and some very functional footware. Most importantly, if you use this doormat properly, YOU WILL NEVER BE WANDERING AROUND LOOKING FOR YOUR FLIP-FLOPS! Why? Because they'll be stuck back in the doormat when you're not using them. This is genius. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 10:59 AM. Permalink: Doormat Flip-flops | Comments (0)

March 7, 2008

Callaway Promotes Hot New Driver with Scorched Tees

Here's a beautiful promotion done by Callaway to promote their latest drivers. Sure, giving out customized golf tees is about the oldest move in the book. Giving out burnt golf tees to make a point about just how powerful your new clubs are? That's brand new and sure to get noticed.

Posted by mark at 12:20 PM. Permalink: Callaway Promotes Hot New Driver with Scorched Tees | Comments (0)

March 4, 2008

Fancy Can Showdown: Mountain Dew, but for Real This Time

Surprise! After kinda faking you out on that last post about the fancy Mountain Dew can that wasn't fancy and wasn't a can of Mountain Dew, I'm happy to offer these actually fancy Mountain Dew bottles. Yes, they are bottles, but they're made of aluminum, like a can. Much like the Pepsi cans, they're part of a fancy marketing campaign that includes an online label design workshop.

Posted by mark at 6:50 AM. Permalink: Fancy Can Showdown: Mountain Dew, but for Real This Time | Comments (0)

March 3, 2008

Pepsi Bearbrick Promotion

I'm not sure what bearbricks are exactly, but I know they're popular in Japan and probably other places, and that they're some kind of little toy figurines that look like bears. I also know that Pepsi is using them as a giveaway in Japan. And they're cute.

Posted by mark at 2:24 PM. Permalink: Pepsi Bearbrick Promotion | Comments (0)

March 1, 2008

Fancy Can Showdown: Pepsi

It's one thing when Evian wants to get fancy, but now it seems the cola folks are going for high-style, too. First up in our fancy can showdown is Pepsi, with their limited edition art cans, designed by Jesse Kazmarek. I think this may have been from an online contest Pepsi did as part of an ad campaign. But Pepsi, WHY DIDN'T YOU CHOOSE MY DESIGN? (via The Dieline)

Posted by mark at 11:36 AM. Permalink: Fancy Can Showdown: Pepsi | Comments (0)

February 27, 2008

Twisted Pair Gets Festive

Here's a really astounding promotion that dares to go way beyond everyday promotional products. Created by an up-and-coming South African telecom company, Neotel, it's a "festive seasonal gift" made from copper wire. While copper wire had a great hundred-year run as the primary method of transmitting telephone (and telegraph) signals, Neotel used this promo to promote their fiber optic network. The tagline was "Copper wire still has its uses." It's a not so subtle jab at Telkom, which previously had a monopoly on land-based telecommunications in the country, and a much older infrastructure.

This promotion also gets bonus points for utilizing a local resource: there is an established local cottage industry wire artists hand-crafted sculptures from discarded wire. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 9:01 AM. Permalink: Twisted Pair Gets Festive | Comments (0)

February 26, 2008

Tumblers for Peetniks

Here's a great way to increase the effectiveness of your email marketing, while building greater loyalty amongst your core buyers. First, make up a name for the people who really love your products: Peetniks works. Second, give them a chance to identify themselves as Peetniks while they enjoy your product: offering them an insulated travel tumbler is perhaps the perfect choice. Pete's clearly knows how to build a brand, and a community by reaching out to their customers in ways that matter to them. Check out a previous cause marketing email featuring a custom cycling jersey. Full disclosure: I love Pete's coffee!

Posted by mark at 9:37 AM. Permalink: Tumblers for Peetniks | Comments (0)

February 25, 2008

Alka-Seltzer Brings Back Speedy

Alka-Seltzer's new mascot is a 57 year-old character...who retired in 1964. But Speedy's back this year to promote the antacid, and perhaps reprise the "plop, plop, fizz, fizz" song he sang so many years ago. Amazingly, at the time of his retirement, Alka-Seltzer was investing $8.5 million in the mascot, which was the largest investment they were making in any campaign back then. An interesting side-note, the original Speedy statue was lost on a trip to the Philippines in 1971 and wasn't recovered until 5 years later. (via Advertising Age)

Posted by mark at 12:02 PM. Permalink: Alka-Seltzer Brings Back Speedy | Comments (0)

February 20, 2008

The Bigger the Better: Giant Swimmer

This sculpture of a giant swimmer, located beside - but not in - the Thames river in London, was created to publicize a television program. The show, a spin-off of Miami Ink called London Ink, stars tattoo artist Louis Molloy. He, of course, tattooed the giant sculptures as part of the promotion.

Posted by mark at 9:44 AM. Permalink: The Bigger the Better: Giant Swimmer | Comments (0)

February 19, 2008

The Bigger the Better: Escalighter

Love escalator advertising, but hate licorice? No problem, Stabilo Boss shows off their long lasting highlighters with this escalator-utilizing promotion. See, the escalator has a yellow line painted on it so it looks like the ginormous highlighter is highlighting it...infinitely!!!

Posted by mark at 7:38 AM. Permalink: The Bigger the Better: Escalighter | Comments (0)

February 11, 2008

Onion Swagology: Say Chowder Egg

The Onion breaks it down for us:

Item: "1 Order Of Herby Eggz," a.k.a. an egg in a fancy promotional fold-out cardboard box, with grow-it-yourself seedlings inside

Promoting: The Cartoon Network series Chowder.

Relevance to product promoted: Unclear. The promo episodes included with the egg don't mention anything about little plants growing out of eggs, though they do feature a lot of other entertainingly surreal things.

Item quality: Hard to say, because we haven't tried to grow a plant out of it yet. The elaborate painted-box container is adorable and appealing, the egg is perfect, and the whole idea is pretty neat. We want to give it a 5 just on innovation, presentation, and memorability, but we might someday be forced to drop it to a 4 if it breaks our hearts in the plant-growing department and turns out to be just a porcelain egg full of dirt.

Posted by mark at 3:35 PM. Permalink: Onion Swagology: Say Chowder Egg | Comments (0)

February 6, 2008

Onion Swagology: Disturbia Home Confinement Kit

The Onion gets an ancient Twinkie:

Item: Disturbia Home Confinement Kit

Promoting: The theatrical release of the teen Rear Window remake Disturbia

Relevance to product promoted: Creepy. In the film, surly Shia LaBoeuf is confined to his home for several months after punching an obnoxious teacher, and he whiles away the days with all-night voyeurism and weird projects like building an elaborate Twinkie tower. The kit includes a Twinkie, a can of Red Bull (for staying awake while spying on your neighbor to see if he's a serial killer), and a pair of cheap binoculars.

Item quality: 4. The binocs aren't too impressive, but the Twinkie and Red Bull are presumably the real thing. We'll have to wait until we get home-confined to find out. (Note: We will not be eating the Twinkie. It has an expiration date of March 2000. Who even knew that Twinkies were capable of expiring?)

Posted by mark at 11:04 AM. Permalink: Onion Swagology: Disturbia Home Confinement Kit | Comments (0)

February 2, 2008

Bagvertising Unlimited: What's Good for the Goose...

I could be grumpy because these folks are trying to put me off my foie gras, but fair is fair and I can respect the rights of waterfowl. At any rate, I give kudos to an awareness promotion that is attention getting without being too over the top.

Posted by mark at 12:17 PM. Permalink: Bagvertising Unlimited: What's Good for the Goose... | Comments (0)

January 30, 2008

Bagvertising Unlimited: Hair Carry

The execution on these haircare product bags is phenomenal. They take your normal shopping gift bag and turn it on its head with braided "hair" handles. Extra points for doing bags in different hair colors.

Posted by mark at 10:50 AM. Permalink: Bagvertising Unlimited: Hair Carry | Comments (0)

January 28, 2008

Bagvertising Unlimited: Food Drive

I really love this bag. Designed to raise hunger awareness and to actually show people they can do something about it. Food placed in the bag ends up being "held" in the arms of the woman printed on the bag by clever use of a clear bag printed differently on each side.

Posted by mark at 10:43 AM. Permalink: Bagvertising Unlimited: Food Drive | Comments (0)

January 26, 2008

Bagvertising Unlimited: Heavy Lifting

Bagvertising is something that we've featured a lot in the past, but there's so much bag-related creativity out there I can't help but do a quick series of posts on some great bagvertising we've haven't had a chance to feature yet. This example is a custom die-cut bag as a dumbell to promote a gym. Previous bagvertising favorites include: six-pack bag, blood donation bag, helping hand bag, headache bag and the jump rope bag.

Posted by mark at 10:26 AM. Permalink: Bagvertising Unlimited: Heavy Lifting | Comments (0)

January 23, 2008

Great Vacation Spot, Eh?

Well, perhaps Nine Inch Nails did do it first, but Canada is still gets points for being innovative with their USB flash drive tourism campaign. The red promotional flash drives were left in public places and contained an electronic brochure promoting Canada as a great tourist locale.

Posted by mark at 7:06 AM. Permalink: Great Vacation Spot, Eh? | Comments (1)

January 22, 2008

Direct Impact: Cat Scratching Pad Preps Homes for New Drapes

This clever direct mail promotion includes a cat scratching pad as part of an announcement about a new line of drapes. Its a great example of taking a seemingly unrelated promotional product to successfully promote a product offering. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 7:22 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Cat Scratching Pad Preps Homes for New Drapes | Comments (0)

January 20, 2008

Direct Impact: Rolls Royce Paintings

If you're selling a Rolls Royce, your target market is pretty small and pretty selective. For this unique direct mail promotion, Rolls Royce sent out abstract paintings meant to evoke the classic image of the Rolls Royce to select potential buyers. Although it seems a bit crazy, we actually offer a promotional oil portrait painting, and it does sell.

Posted by mark at 3:06 PM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Rolls Royce Paintings | Comments (0)

January 19, 2008

Direct Impact: Hyundai Paper Lamp

This great promotion is a superb use of direct mail and a great interactive promotion. Mailed flat, this kit can be constructed to create a rotating lamp that features a Hyundai. The design is actually a traditional Chinese lantern design, and the promotion, which targeted the Chinese market, promoted a particularly fuel-efficient car. A great example of a promotion that's fun and interactive, while also educating consumers about the benefits of your product. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 2:56 PM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Hyundai Paper Lamp | Comments (0)

January 18, 2008

Direct Impact: Viral Marketing for Placement Agency

This striking direct mail piece purports to contain vials of live viruses, but luckily it's more innocuous than that. The accompanying literature encourages the hiring manager to use the enclosed viruses to infect employees, since the placement agency sending the piece is so confident it can find temporary replacements. The actual copy from the piece is: Just test us. Infect your employees. And see how fast Vedior sends the perfect replacement." (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 2:44 PM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Viral Marketing for Placement Agency | Comments (0)

January 17, 2008

Direct Impact: Street Children Mobile

This promotional mobile was sent as a direct mail piece to raise awareness of the problem of homeless children in Sofia, Bulgaria. It was created for a non-profit that works to provide foster homes for these children. The mobile kit, which featured typical street items like broken bottles and syringes, was sent to German businesses who were already active in Bulgaria. Within 3 weeks of the mailing, 11% of the businesses contacted had made a donation to the charity, an astounding conversion rate! (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 11:00 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Street Children Mobile | Comments (0)

January 16, 2008

Direct Impact: Life-size Burglar Direct Mail

The fold-out direct mail piece is a popular way to get someone's attention, whether you're raising awareness about colon cancer or home improvement loans. In this case, a life-size burglar unfolds from a normal sized envelope with the message that it's easy for someone to get into your home. Creepy, but perhaps it is an effective way to promote security services.

Posted by mark at 10:36 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Life-size Burglar Direct Mail | Comments (0)

January 15, 2008

Direct Impact: Growing Home Mailer

This promotional direct mail piece is a house that starts small, but expands as you continue to unfold it. It promotes a banks home improvement loan services.

Posted by mark at 6:33 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Growing Home Mailer | Comments (0)

January 14, 2008

Direct Impact: Timing Is Everything for Birthday Razor

This is definitely the kind of classic direct mail promotion that should be taught in direct mail school. Gillette sends a free razor to young men as an 18th birthday gift, hopefully the perfect time to reach out to them as they are developing the brand loyalties they will carry throughout their lives.

Posted by mark at 10:30 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Timing Is Everything for Birthday Razor | Comments (0)

January 13, 2008

Direct Impact: Interactive Cable Mailer

This unique promotion involved a direct mail campaign as well as cable television commercials to help people choose paint colors. Done for Colorama, a large Swedish home improvement chain, the direct mail piece included a length of coaxial cable to promote its television commercials, which feature full screen samples of popular paint colors, allowing viewers to see what the colors would look like in their living rooms. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 12:16 PM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Interactive Cable Mailer | Comments (1)

January 11, 2008

Direct Impact: Secret Detergent Message

In a move similar to this clever annual report, this direct mail piece contains a sample of detergent and a black cloth that washes to reveal a message...about the cleaning power of that detergent!

Posted by mark at 9:07 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Secret Detergent Message | Comments (0)

January 10, 2008

Direct Impact: Seal Baseball

Hopefully recipients of this direct mail package would find it hard to bat this ball around. Using the cute little face of a baby seal on a customized baseball, Animal Public is trying to promote a ban on seal products in the European Union. Presumably even though baseball is an American sport, EU leaders will understand the message.

Posted by mark at 7:03 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Seal Baseball | Comments (0)

January 9, 2008

Direct Impact: Matryoshka Doll Envelopes

This clever promo was done by a Russian travel agency to promote tourism packages to St. Petersburg. The envelopes mimicked the famous Russian nesting dolls and, at the end, revealed a tiny price for a trip to St. Petersburg. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 6:56 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Matryoshka Doll Envelopes | Comments (0)

January 7, 2008

Direct Impact: Behind Bars Mailer

This awareness-raising direct mail piece puts bars on an envelope window to illustrate the plight of political prisoners. By opening the letter, the recipient "frees" the prisoner, and hopefully is encouraged to make a donation or participate in letter-writing or other campaigns to pressure governments to release political prisoners.

Posted by mark at 6:43 AM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Behind Bars Mailer | Comments (0)

January 6, 2008

Direct Impact: Anorexia Mailer

This impactful direct mail promotion makes a powerful statement about the dangers of anorexia and other eating disorders using a customized belt that featured notches for slim, slimmer and dead. The mailing was targeted towards fashion designers and models and included a booklet full of facts about the dangers of anorexia and an invitation to participate in an online forum. (via Direct Daily)

Posted by mark at 1:35 PM. Permalink: Direct Impact: Anorexia Ma