I suppose with all the beautiful newness and growth that Spring brings, I find myself more inspired and looking for ways to help my clients breakthrough  with innovative new ways of doing things.

Spring never fails me.

I truly work on being innovative and constantly look for inspiration inside and outside of my industry.

And, it’s always awe inspiring to me to see common things done in an uncommon way.

How about square watermelons?

As you know, a round watermelon can take up a lot of space in your refrigerator and the usually round fruit often sits awkwardly on refrigerator shelves.

Innovative Japanese farmers have forced their watermelons to grow into a square shape.

They do it by inserting the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit is still growing on the vine.

Here’s a picture of the packaging.

And, here’s one way Mr. Clean uses Crosswalk lines for advertising/product placement:

And, here’s another use by a local office supply store:

If you’re inspired to become more innovative – anyone can learn to be more innovative – try using Ideo’s method cards and/or reading: The Ten Faces of Innovation: Ideo’s Strategies for Beating the Devil’s Advocate & Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization. And, read a few of Roger Von Oech’s books too. Roger and I go back a long way – he’s been giving me whacks on the side of my head for many years..

There’s a great article in Fast Company about the, “The 10 Most Addictive Sounds in the World,” by Martin Lindstrom.

Lindstrom’s neuroscience based hypothesis contends that over 80% of today’s marketing messages are based on sight and a brand is not maximizing its communications when it forgoes appealing to a person’s other senses. And, sound is underutilized!

Take a quick quiz here.

I’ve certainly witnessed the appeal of sound in automotive, amusement park and restaurant marketing (e.g., background music, worker noise levels etc.,) and found it fascinating that when the sound was removed from slot machines in Las Vegas, revenue fell by 24%!

Be more aware of the power of sound because when your customers can hear your sizzling steaks, you’ll hear your cash register ring more loudly!

Twenty years or so ago, I had several conversations with marketing colleagues about how supermarket chains lacked creativity. The general experience was underwhelming and one that most people dreaded.

During those years, I would take Cadillac, Oldsmobile and McDonald’s clients into Wegman’s supermarkets throughout western, New York to show them how great they were and to learn merchandising, customer service and overall retailing lessons they could take back to their car dealerships and restaurants.

They were amazed that you entered the store through the produce department instead of the typical trip past the cash registers as was the general industry practice way back then. Their merchandising strategies had no peer.

Wegman’s then and now, is one of the most innovative and well-run supermarket chains in America. It’s no surprise to me that they’re ranked #3 on FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For.” They are consistently ranked as one of the top supermarket chains in the country and have received a ton of well deserved awards.

Stew Leonard’s – the world’s largest dairy store – was a hot case study of discussion too.

And way back then, I could not understand why the innovation I saw across the country was not occurring in my own backyard.

About 10 years ago, I got some some luncheon meat from the deli at my hometown Giant Eagle supermarket and was ecstatic to receive it in a plastic bag instead of paper! I mentioned my discovery to a colleague of mine whose spouse worked for the company and told me that the store received the bags as part of some deal and they were simply testing to get some use out of them. Amazing – it was a huge boost to my satisfaction.  This little simple new touch was so well received that it quickly spread throughout their stores and became a permanent part of their system.

Well, something must be a bit different in the water these days in Pittsburgh’s three rivers (especially the Allegheny River) because Giant Eagle has been on a tear of remarkably innovative new product launches such as its:

• GetGo Convenience Stores
• FuelPerks and FoodPerks – a billion dollar business conceived by CEO David Shapira – a great businessman and humanitarian
• Giant Eagle Market District

And now, Giant Eagle is testing in four concept stores it’s latest innovation for HBW (health/beauty/wellness) which could become a huge profit center by linking its supermarket pharmacies with its HBW departments. What a stroke of innovative genius.

I’m happy the new Giant Eagle has finally landed in “innovation land.” Their story should demonstrate to older established brands that it’s never too late to innovate.

To profitably increase your market share you need to establish an innovation plan and follow it. Don’t wait for competitors to come into your neighborhood to force you to do it. Self inflicted innovation is the preferred route to take.

P.S.: Not all innovations have to be big and expensive – think deli meat plastic bags.

I just love this lawsuit kicked off by The North Face – an premium preppy outdoor apparel and gear company – vs. The South Butt – a skunk works operation run by a college kid.

The North Face giant is suing the kid – Jimmy Winkelmann, a University of Missouri college student for trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition.

The logos and clothing are a bit similar. And, The North Face’s lofty slogan, “Never Stop Exploring” is positioned against the far less lofty and comfortable mission of The South Butt’s which is, “Never Stop Relaxing.”

For The North Face to win, they have to prove that the two brands are confusingly similar. They’ll lose…I’d bet on it. There’s no doubt that the two companies are different.  I think the average person knows the difference between a face and a butt. Don’t you?

In the meantime, The South Butt is smoking hot and taking advantage of being bullied – their Web site has earned nearly 20 million Google hits.  The South Butt smartly recognized that everyone loves the underdog so they’re making the case well known. And they’ve launched a cool The South Butt Challenge Facebook App to boot!

Jimmy’s going to ride this all the way to the bank and I’ll also bet that he graduates from Mizzou with no school loans!

What’s the marketing lesson? Well, it’s an old and simple one.

The North Face should have left sleeping dogs lie and left Jimmy alone.  They’re flaming his fire and contributing to his success by airing their grievance.

This is a classic case of market share leaders making the stupid mistake of identifying and attacking competitors no matter how big or small.  They have nothing to gain and more to lose.

Class dismissed.

Did you know that a three-year study of more than 40 Fortune 500 companies by the research firm Peer Insight found that companies focused on customer-experience design outperformed the S&P 500 by a 10-to-1 margin from 2000 to 2005?

Do you still think great design doesn’t matter in this ROI driven world we live in? Is “improving design” somewhere in your business plan?

Today, it’s not, “If you build it they will come.”

Rather it’s, “If you build something really cool and that’s an improvement of what was available before, lots of people will come!”

The Alphabet of Design Classics poster shown here highlights many top designers and their famous furniture pieces -  hope it inspires you. You can order the poster online here.

P.S.: Great design is certainly applicable to products, but it can be applied to services too. Work on improving the design of your customer and employee experiences and you’ll rock!

I’m looking forward to reading New Packaging Design by Janice Kirkpatrick (Laurence King, 192 pages, $35) after checking out its reference in Fast Company magazine today and the fact that German agency Jung von Matt’s shopping bag design for Stop n’ Grow (a German product that helps people to stop biting their nails and sucking their thumbs/fingers) made the cut in its list of 12 of the World’s Coolest Packaging Designs, I’m sure it’s a good one.

With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, how many of you are “brown bagging” it?

Even if you don’t compete in the retail sector, can you improve how you package your “Brand You” brand, your Web site, your presentations, proposals, invoices and general emails?

Packaging serves to preserve, protect, promote and it’s even expected to be kind to the environment – does yours?

These days packaging should WOW people too!

In your marketing planning process for 2010, look for inspiring design examples everywhere and work on ways to create WOW designs throughout your organization. I assure you that you’ll separate yourself from common brown baggers.

To get you started, here are several more creative shopping bag designs that are sure to inspire you!

P.S.: Here’s another great idea by JVM to communicate the need for dental insurance in bowling alleys…BRILLIANT! This example proves that a great idea can transcend language differences and still communicate a core message.

It’s all a matter of perspective.

One person’s garage sale is another person’s treasure trove.

This campaign for Shreddies is from last year, but I just came across it again.  I love it.

The ads feature comparisons between Post Shreddies and it’s new Diamond Shreddies.

Check out this Assembly Line Ad:

After my laughter died down, I realized that for my 2010 marketing plans for my client’s brands – as well as my own – I need to go back to the drawing board again to see how we can fully exploit all the features and services we provide to all of our audiences. And, can we simply twist and turn a few things to shed new light on a different angle on our products and services to drive more sales? Can we shake things up a bit more, twist them, flip them upside down, turn things around 180 degrees – or maybe just 45 degrees?  How about a little nip and tuck or maybe an entire facelift?

You should consider doing the same – we all should – because business as usual is not going to build your or my business – those days are long gone!

Check out this hilarious focus group commercial:

Here’s a link to Post’s Shreddies Web site:

I was proud that Pittsburgh my hometown agreed host the recent G-20 Summit. I dig the fact that we were courageous to take a shot to do something remarkable.

Time will tell if the city’s investment was worth it – my gut says it was a good one.  Sure, mistakes were made, but as a wise man (probably wise woman) once said, “You have to crack a few eggs to make an omelete!”

I was vacationing in Orange Beach, AL when the Summit was held (What Marketing Lessons I Learned from My Summer Vacation Blog posts coming soon – take  this signage tip as Lesson #1) and I couldn’t help but recognize the great work of sign art that Greenpeace created. Their sign hung from Pittsburgh’s West End Bridge. Check it out – and check out the cool Greenpeace Ninjas that are rappelling from the bridge to unfurl the sign – BRILLIANT!

The road sign color composition is an idea to consider when you’re crafting your own signage to stop traffic. eMarketer’s excellent charts do a similar great job.

P.S.: I thought the G-20 Logo was pretty cool too – which highlights Pittsburgh’s Bridge history as well as the Summit’s goal of bridging nations together.

 Life's a Pitch and Then You Buy!

I enjoyed reading this article in the LA Times about Billy Mays whose loud, enthusiastic, direct response pitches for brands such as OxiClean, Kaboom and more have made this Pittsburgh native a millionaire and "the most successful direct-response
salesman in TV history."

As a marketer, I've followed guys like Mays and Ron Popiel (even read his book) and I've admired how they can sell! Mays' deliver is always interesting to me, although his loud voice upsets my wife – I know what he does works because of the number of products he represents – net, he'd not be on the air if he wasn't moving products. And, now Mays' is starring in a realith show called "Pitchmen" which debuts April 15th on the Discovery Channel.

The lesson Mays, Popiel and others like them have mastered is something you can too.  It's something you learned way back in Kindergarten and that's the skill of "Show and Tell."

Successful pitchmen like Mays knows that if you can repeatedly demonstrate clearly and consistently (hears wears the same outfit in every pitch) why your product or service works better than others you will win more sales – simple as that.

The next time you go on a sales call, make sure you're prepared to Show and Tell Well!

I guarantee you'll close more business than if you simply "Telled Well!"

Caught this article in Ad Age, Sampling: the New Mass Medium. It’s a good article to read to inspire you to build a sampling program for your brand.

Sampling has been around a long time, but it has come a long way.  You see it in Supermarkets,  Costco and more brands seem to be baking it into their marketing plans.

Even huge mass media brands such as McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Coca-Cola are doing it big time and treating it as a media buy.

In tough economic times, freebies are apprecoated by consumers and its a less expensive way for Marketers to get their messages out, sample products and generate trial and word of mouth buzz.

Scott
Thurston, president of Street Sampling, says that a giveaway of 50,000 samples
would require 250 man hours translating to between $15,000 and $20,000
for labor. The company can then add on publicity stunts, promotional
vehicles and the like. Compare that with $335,000 to produce a
30-second spot, according to a 2006 study conducted by the American
Association of Advertising Agencies, and somewhere between $100,000 to
$250,000 to run that spot during most prime-time network TV shows.

Sampling provides brands with a quality impression and its accountable too.

McDonald’s is doing it big-time.  For example, it has sampled its Chicken strips a few years ago, Southern-Style chicken biscuit and Southern-Style chicken sandwich and McSkillet burrito.

Compared to discounting over the long term, sampling actually builds brand equity.

Try it, you’ll like it and so will your customers.