Sugar Free Ants

This is ingenious… they used real live ants to create their outdoor posters!

Full details here.

A Better Way

I think…

What we are looking for is not necessarily a NEW way to do things… but a BETTER way.

It’s about innovation, not novelty.

WWF’s Black Cloud

I really like this idea for World Wildlife Fund for their “20 Tips to Sustainable Development” campaign – this one, in particular, focusing on exhaust emissions.

Click here for full execution details

Art Without Frame

This is a fantastic article about a social experiment that reveals so much about context, branding and the state of our lives:

Pearls Before Breakfast (Washington Post)

Technorati Buzz TV covers the story:

My favourite parts:

Before he began, Bell hadn’t known what to expect. What he does know is that, for some reason, he was nervous.

“It wasn’t exactly stage fright, but there were butterflies,” he says. “I was stressing a little.”

Bell has played, literally, before crowned heads of Europe. Why the anxiety at the Washington Metro?

“When you play for ticket-holders,” Bell explains, “you are already validated. I have no sense that I need to be accepted. I’m already accepted. Here, there was this thought: What if they don’t like me? What if they resent my presence . . .”

He was, in short, art without a frame.

Another part:

“Let’s say I took one of our more abstract masterpieces, say an Ellsworth Kelly, and removed it from its frame, marched it down the 52 steps that people walk up to get to the National Gallery, past the giant columns, and brought it into a restaurant. It’s a $5 million painting. And it’s one of those restaurants where there are pieces of original art for sale, by some industrious kids from the Corcoran School, and I hang that Kelly on the wall with a price tag of $150. No one is going to notice it. An art curator might look up and say: ‘Hey, that looks a little like an Ellsworth Kelly. Please pass the salt.’”

Leithauser’s point is that we shouldn’t be too ready to label the Metro passersby unsophisticated boobs. Context matters.

So, the next time you think that your “great product” or “great brand” doesn’t need “the whole works” to have people truly appreciate it… I think you might just want to think again.

Other Commentaries:

• Too Busy To Stop And Hear The Music – Gene Weingarten (follow up to original story)
• Violin Monday – Guy Kawasaki
• I’d Ignore Him Too – Seth Godin

Friendship Factor In Consumer Engagement

You must continually engage your customers or consumers!

Many brands and organizations make the mistake of ceasing communications once they’ve managed to “hook” their audiences.

But to do so is like being that “friend” who calls you out for lunch only when they want something from you.

Agents = Out On A Ledge

Here’s what I’m realizing… those of us who do consulting and free agency are definitely out on a ledge compared to our counterparts within an organization. We’re the excuse providers.

After all, we get judged on our performance – or rather, on their performance based on our recommendations.

Meanwhile, our counterparts in corporate communication offices and marketing departments can get away with lackluster performance year after year. Their positions are “safe.” Just get the activities underway and stay within budget. Besides, it’s a lot cheaper to yell at them, then retain them; instead of firing them and getting new visionaries within the department.

So, if you’re a free agent or a consultant… here’s to providing services that lead to results our clients can leverage on.

And, if you’re on the client’s side… let’s see how smug you’d be if you were in our position.