Like us, did you get so busy putting the finishing touches on your Halloween getup that you weren’t watching the news as closely as you might otherwise? Maybe you were just so worn out by the hurricane of never-ending political ads that certain stories just passed you by. Have no fear. We’ve found a quintet of marketing, branding and social media goodies especially for you.
1.) Power to the Fans: Belle & Sebastian fans in Brazil weren’t going to get a chance to see their favorite band live. So in a stroke of crowd sourcing genius, they made it happen all themselves. Through social media and fundraisers, they raised the money to afford the band, pay for the concert hall and take home a little extra dough.
2.) Google Places: While the new, spiffed up Google Places features in-depth info on local businesses, it’s going to require some assistance from Google to help regular marketing folks understand how to make it work for them. Andy Beal’s blog sums up nicely the reality of Google’s latest pot of gold.
3.) Coffee Bean & Facebook: The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf created an innovative Facebook campaign which lets fans vote on the design for its new gift card design. The twist? The designs were submitted by Coffee Bean fans along with the story behind the designs. The brand always has been a tad more thoughtful and whimsical than that other coffee chain – and this Facebook campaign demonstrates this beautifully.
4.) Naughty Kaiser Baby: So we’re not usually fans of website banner ads as they tend to be a bit sterile and uninspired, but our friends at Ads of the World turned us on to this uber cute and uber clever Kaiser spot. In it, a diapered baby knocks over your web browsers and generally wreaks havoc. It’s entertaining and gives hope to a genre that could use a shot of creativity in the arm.
5.) We Pity The Fool: This last little gem is just pure silliness and retro-goodness for those of us who grew up in the ’80s. Casting Mr. T as the spokesman for a cash-for-gold company is the most obvious yet genius thing ever. Thankfully Gold Promise’s website has all of the Mohawked one’s commercials and a “making of” video.
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