This is a brilliant promotion from TripAdvisor. Got it via email and it was the one promo email, out of the last 500, that I’ve clicked thru to see. How can you not? Its strength is its unexpectedness — most companies would be too chicken to try something like this.
From a review of the #1 hotel [...]
Archive for February, 2009
The Dirtiest Hotels in the World
Published by February 26th, 2009 in Concreteness, Emotion, General and Unexpectedness. ClosedVia the naming firm Eat My Words, the worst name of 2008 was a new “financial literacy” site for children called — wait for it — Shyrk. (I guess Pilfr wasn’t available.)
But then, before the trophy could even be engraved, there was an update:
We were tipped off that Shyrk renamed themselves with an even worse [...]
Hey, just a forewarning that after today, the blog will go quiet until mid-March. Which reminds me of something: You may have noticed by now that my posting tends to be a bit infrequent and erratic. (Sadly, this is also the pace of my good ideas.) So if you check the blog regularly, you may find [...]
You can now get a (RED) card from Starbucks. Here’s how it works: You can buy the card online, or in a store, and purchase credit on it, just like any other Starbucks card. But there’s a big difference: With every transaction you conduct, five cents is used to buy life-saving medicine for people in [...]
What else is there to say, really?
Talking strategy at Newsweek
Published by February 10th, 2009 in Concreteness, General and Unexpectedness. ClosedRichard Perez-Pena writes that Newsweek’s “ingrained role of obligatory coverage of the week’s big events will be abandoned once and for all,” according to execs.
Let’s leave aside whether this strategic shift makes sense or not. Notice how Newsweek editor Jon Meacham articulates the shift in a way that is concrete, specific, and full of uncommon [...]
The leaders of 800-CEO-READ, Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten, have just released their book called The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You. This book is a no-brainer for your bookshelf — it’s like having a literate Cliff’s Notes guide to all those books [...]
Bill Gates at TED
Published by February 5th, 2009 in Concreteness, Credibility, Emotion, General and Unexpectedness. ClosedIn his talk at TED, Bill Gates released a jar full of mosquitoes, sending them out to feast on some of the world’s best & brightest blood. “Malaria is spread by mosquitoes,” he said. “I brought some. Here, I’ll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected.” He then waited [...]
“We let polluted air speak for itself”
Published by February 5th, 2009 in Concreteness, Credibility, Emotion, General and Unexpectedness. ClosedHow do you convince people that air pollution is a problem? You let them see it for themselves. Check out this very smart outdoor campaign in Hong Kong. (Thanks to Choleena at Tantramar for the tip.)
On bathroom signage
Published by February 5th, 2009 in Concreteness, General and Unexpectedness. ClosedOne of my favorite coffee shops here in Raleigh is part of a strip mall, and the businesses all share a common bathroom. Recently, someone started locking the communal bathroom, and a sign was scotch-taped to the door. In that inimitable management-font-style, the sign read: “THE BATHROOMS HAVE BEEN LOCKED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE.”
Well, no. In [...]
