How to Create Puzzling Interest & Buzz

Crossword Puzzle

Are you boring customers? Are you having trouble generating the interest that you used to? Has the Forrest Gump-like crowd that used to follow you around long decided to return home?

Part of it could be that you are filling in too many of the blanks.

There is often a tendency to feel as if we have to spell everything out about our products or brands. After all we wouldn’t want consumers to get any of the facts wrong. Somehow we feel that for each consumer there is that one benefit or selling point that will tip the scales in our favor. This mindset leads to one thing….boredom.

Here’s a tip: Let the consumer solve the puzzle.

There is definitely something to be said about keeping it simple. In fact, keeping it simple is the best way to create a puzzle for consumers. By not writing that lengthy block of text describing your product you will be leaving room for consumers to explore your product or brand and keep interest alive.

It’s not what you say. It’s what you don’t say that creates the puzzle.

People love puzzles.  That’s why you still find crosswords and seek and finds in newpapers and magazines—they are some of the most popular sections.

It just feels good to solve a puzzle. According to Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman in their book The Elements of Persuasion, solving puzzles gives your brain a shot of endorphins. Maxell and Dickman say,

“A side effect of endorphins is that they make you a little talkative, so you want to tell your friends what you just did.”

If you want to create buzz about your brand, product or promotion, turn it into a puzzle. Consumers will go out of their normal boundaries to figure out solution, and once they figure it out you can be sure that they will tell their friends about it. Who doesn’t like to look smart? Especially all of us ego driven bloggers.



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Thanks, Travel Safe

Thanksgiving Airport Security

Millions of people are traveling this year for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you are one of them be safe and remember to remove all metal objects before going through airport security.

Thank you for the conversation. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Illustration via Erik T Johnson

The Age of Conversation Bum Rush on Dec. 14th

The Age of Conversation Bum Rush

Lets Bum Rush the Social Media World!

Over 4 months ago The Age of Conversation, a collaboration of 103 authors from 10 different countries from around the globe was launched, with all of the proceeds going to Variety, The Children’s Charity. In a little over 90+ days, the goal of $10,000 in charity money was raised.

But now, as Drew points out, sales are slowing. It’s time to hit high with a serious spike in social media activity. I’m talking about bringing even more clout than we saw with the initial launch of the book. I know we can do it!

The idea is one that I am borrowing from Joseph Jaffe, who used this technique to send his book skyrocketing up the bestseller’s list at Amazon. I won’t feel bad about taking the idea from Jaffe though, because he borrowed the idea from the band Black Lab, which held an iTunes “bum rush” launching their single Mine Again up the charts. Both were very successful efforts.

So what exactly am I proposing?

I’m calling for a “bum rush” all of the social media you can get your hands on. Since The Age of Conversation isn’t listed on Amazon we will have to “bum rush” another outlet, and with most of the AoC authors (if not all) being bloggers, mini launch pads are sitting and waiting to give the book the push it needs.

With the infinite amount of social sites and connections on the web, this is a huge undertaking. That is why I came up with this plan of action list with the highest priority items at the top. The idea is to generate as many touch points around the web as possible so that it will be hard not to the Age of Conversation activity.

Just start at the top and work your way down the list as far as you can:

  1. If you have a blog write a post about AoC and/or this Bum Rush. Make sure you have a prominent link to http://stores.lulu.com/ageofconversation so that readers can easily purchase the book.
  2. Trackback or Comment on the post that I will leave here on Dec 13th at 6:00pm CST, so that everyone can follow the conversation and help promote exposure on social sites (Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, etc.)
  3. Digg your post & send emails and shouts to friends requesting Diggs on your post.
  4. Stumble your post & tell friends to do the same.
  5. Bookmark your post on Del.icio.us
  6. Join the Facebook AoC Contributors and Friends Group
  7. Become a Facebook Fan of AoC
  8. Add your post to other social media outlets ( Technorati, Ma.gnolia, Furl, BlinkList, Newsvine, Facebook, etc.)
  9. Send an Old Fashioned email to your friends about the Bum Rush for AoC.
  10. Create a podcast or video and upload to Youtube or other streaming video site (Maybe David Brazeal can do a special edition). Again be sure to share the link so everyone can give the video views and mark it with a high rating.

(I will re-post this plan of action again with the trackback/comment post on Dec. 13th.)

What Should We Expect?

It’s like a human pyramid. If we can get everyone carrying their weight then it should be easy to reach new heights!

Here’s what Greg Verdino had to say after Joseph Jaffe’s Amazon Bum Rush:

“there’s nothing to stop pretty much any marketer from applying these techniques to garner attention for their own new product launches and spur on-demand sales. Nothing, that is, if that marketer takes the time to build their own community, fosters meaningful relationships with the members and then makes a coordinated effort across a variety of conversational channels to connect with the community at just the right time to move the needle. None of these things happens overnight — they take quite a bit of effort and long term commitment.”

——-

Did I leave anything out? Second Life? You fill in the blank ________.

How Far Can a Brand Stretch?

Harley Davidson Cake Decorating Biker

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I’m sure all of the Weekend Road Warriors have a Harley Davidson Cake Decorating Kit lined up as the perfect addition to their Roughneck Thanksgiving feast. Well maybe not.

Can you really picture the a Harley owner firing up the HOG and riding to the local grocery store with ingredient list in hand, so that he/she can make the bake cake?

Harley’s not the only brand that thinks it possesses superhero strength to stretch infinitely. Here are a few noteworthy examples of brands being stretched too far:

  1. Bic Pantyhose - I guess there is some missing link between ballpoint pens and pantyhose that no one else knows about.
  2. Hooters Airline - I wonder if the writer of Soul Plane rode on the airline before it bit the dust in 2006.
  3. Heinz All-Natural Cleaning Vinegar - How many people poured this all over their fried fish before realizing their mistake?
  4. Diesel Jeans Wine - The fact that it’s produced by a jeans manufacturer overshadows the normal sophistication associated with a good wine.
  5. Virgin Brides - Virgin is one company that you might be able to use to make a case for brand extensions, but this one is ridiculous even for them.
  6. Maxim Hair Color for Men - Maybe GQ…
  7. Cheetos Lip Balm - I’m a big Chester Cheetah fan, but his is just gross.
  8. Anything Bayer Product Beyond Aspirin - the company has slapped the Bayer name on everything from bug spray to antibiotic for pets.

Are all brand extensions bad?

No. In fact some brand extensions happen quite naturally.

Mr. Clean Wiper BladesTake Mr. Clean’s Windshield Wash and Wiper Blades for example. The products are a very natural and logical extension. Everyone is familiar with how well Mr. Clean products work in cleaning their homes, so the products are an obvious choice when it comes time to pick the best product to clean their cars. Adding the wiper blades to the mix turns the task of changing your wiper blades into a routine maintenance item.

So how do you know if your brand extension will be a Harley disaster or a Mr. Clean success?

First decide if it feels natural? Does it make sense?

If it passes that test, be sure weigh the pros and cons that are associated with brand extensions. Even if the brand extension makes sense it may not be worth risking the dangers entailed.

Marty Neumeier, author of The Brand Gap and ZagMarty Neumeier, the author or The Brand Gap and Zag, has come up with, The 4 Dangers of Brand Extension. This is a great place to start before diving into a brand “leveraging” effort.

More Industry Nuts at Advertising for Peanuts

Advertising for Peanuts Bag 

I hope you aren’t allergic to peanuts because Advertising for Peanuts is ditching it’s old model of serving up samples of advertising from around the industry moving towards what they hope will be a more conversational platform for advertisers, marketers, designers, those analytics guys, and really anyone in the industry to come together. Littlejohn, the brainchild behind Advertising for Peanuts, hopes you will express your,

“…comments, insults and complaints. Whatever gets the conversation going. Whatever changes things up a bit. Whatever keeps you coming back.”

The exciting part of all this is that Littlejohn has recruited an eclectic group of individuals with a vast array of expertise to be a part of this new direction.

Here’s a rundown of the new team, each of which have been assigned a different day of the week as their day to blog:

  • Monday - Jim Morris, Copywriter/Creative Director
  • Wednesday – Littlejohn, Advertising for Peanuts Founder as well as Copywriter
  • Saturday - T. Willerer, works in strategic research, insights & analytics, consumer insights, etc.

Even though the copywriters weigh in heavy on this list, the opinions are sure to be far and wide. I’m predicting this will be a great resource for marketers wanting to become familiar with how the ad world thinks and for anyone trying to bridge the gap between strategy and design. I just wish they could have pushed the analytics guy up earlier in the week. I don’t know if I will have the brainpower to read anything too deep on Saturdays.

Gladwell’s Back

Molcolm GladwellMalcolm Gladwell has announced his return to the blogosphere after he left many of us thinking that he had left his last post on January 4th. So with 10 months to think about what to write, he is back in action (and some of you think that I am slow to post).

Gladwell’s is a big part of why I started blogging, so I’m excited that he didn’t give it up, even though at times I’m sure his blog has been a source of frustration to him.

If you want to read some deep thoughts on any and everything, in a language that you can still understand, he’s your man.

Anyways, I just thought I would give notice, since I’m sure that after 10 months he was removed from a lot of feed readers. 

 

Simple Idea: Preserving vs. Starting Over

Simple Idea: Preserve vs. TrashThere is a time to preserve and a time to just throw it away and start from scratch.

 

Map of Online Communities

Comic Map of Online Communities


I ran across this today and I thought it was funny to look at this comical representation of how social web has developed like a bunch islands and separate land masses.

It will be interesting to see how things progress over the next few months and years, considering the recent announcements about the Facebook/Microsoft deal and Google’s new OpenSocial project.

I think this could be a turning point for social media, but there are a lot of ifs. Here are a few of questions I have been asking myself:

  1. What does this recent news mean for users like us?
  2. What does it mean as marketers?
  3. Conversation is the key. Will these alliances ultimately aid or hinder conversation?

What do you think?


(Note: I don’t know who to credit for this comic. If you know who did it please let me know and I will rightfully credit their fabulous work.)

Update: Razboz informed me that the comic comes from XKCD