Category: Promotions

The experiment – Joseph Jaffe

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

JJ of Jaffe Juice is running an experiment to test the theory of his new book – Join the conversation. And it’s this:

Use new marketing to prove new marketing (or UNM2PNM for short)

The underlying thinking is that he use the approaches discussed in the book to promote it – hence providing a proof of concept.

So he’s given 150 books to bloggers and the like (me included) who’ll review it and ‘start the conversation’ – good bad or ugly. So when I get it, I’ll review it right here on start up blog.

  

It’ll be an interesting experiment to see how the book does in market.

Big Ideas

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

There is no such thing as a big idea.

All ideas are the same size.

Because ideas only exist metaphysically.

An idea that really works, becomes a big idea (after we proved it).To find a big idea, first we need lots of ideas (of which all are the same size). The ideas that worked didn’t have an advantage over the other ideas. They we’re all equal, but maybe other stuff happened to that idea.

Maybe we nurtured it,

maybe we believed in it,

maybe we developed it better,

maybe we tried a bit harder,

maybe kept pushing it,

maybe we modified it slightly,

maybe we resisted the temptation to modify it…

 

….maybe that idea had an advantage because of the way we treated it?

How to – Consumer promotion

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Occassionally a consumer promotion does what it’s intended to do.

This is one such promotion.

redbull-helisurf.png

Summary:

Surfers compete in a surfboard paddle race.  The first four to the Red Bull buoy in each race will be the only surfers winched from sea to sky by the Red Bull helicopter, and whisked away to spend a weekend surf trip in a top secret location hosted by Ross Clark Jones & current World Champion Surfer Mick Fanning at an awesome beach house retreat.  Winners will get to mingle with Mick, demo some awesome new boards and order their very own free custom surfboard!

  

Click the image above to check out the details.

 

Simple mechanics, enhances brand value, anyone can have a go, zero cost to enter, unobtainable prize which money can’t buy, worth talking about.

Sure, they’ve got the budget to do it, and I’m a self confused surf junky… but neither of these things are what makes it so impressive. It’s the idea, the execution and more so “The Experience” – even the losers will enjoy participating.

   

As life becomes more about experiences, rather than consumption smart startups will take notice.

  

What experience does your start up offer?

 

Kudos Redbull – again.

Presentation Props

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

Ever the showman, Steve Jobs showed us how it’s done – again.

     

He didin’t need large flat screens

He didn’t need to buy the rights to a Beatles or Rolling Stones song

He didn’t need a montage of extreme sports

      

With the launch of the new Macbook Air. Jobs did something so simple, yet so powerfull

     

His prop: the humble manila evenlope.

  

manila-envelope.jpg

At the Macworld conference in San Francisco jobs wondered on stage unwound the string on a standard manila envelope and slid from it the new ultra thin MacBook Air. The crowed oohed and aahed in disbelief, some even laughing incredulously.

steve-jobs-macbook-air.jpg

It could have been any of us. The prop probably cost less than $1.00. This is great news for start ups because we’re only limited to the effort we put into thinking about it.

So the next time we present something to a customer, VC or employee, let’s think like Jobs and make it memorable.

Simple permission marketing – in action

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

You may recall a blog entry I did on Simple permission marketing. The basic premise being, if we have a startup which is ‘interesting’, it’s not difficult to get some good media coverage which is ‘content’ – not advertising.

In the spirit on practicing what one preaches, here’s a little summary of how we’ve achieved this for rentoid.com

* You can see the article for each by click on each listed below:

–          The Leader Newspaper (metro ciculation)

–          The Herald Sun Newspaper (biggest circulation in Australia)

–          The Age Newspaper (most respected broadsheet in Australia)

–          The Age – Livewire (web weekly of above)

–          The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney’s broadsheet)

–          ABC radio – National Public radio – interview

–          The Australian Financial Review (Wall Street Journal of Aust)

–          The Pod Cast Network – G’day world interview

–          Multiple targeted magazines & blogs

Net cost of all this was zero. No PR firm, no dodgy deals. Just honest conversation with people about rentoid.com and what we are doing.

It works, but it takes 2 things: effort and a lot of follow up.

Try it for your start up, and let start up blog know how you go!

Top 10 viral marketing campaigns ever

Posted on by Steve Sammartino

The factors we’ve considered:

There needs to be an actual business or brand behind it

Not just something funny

The idea or product was primarily spread by others.

Not ‘driven’ by paid media.

Based on effectiveness only, (ignores insensitivities / political / religious views)

A little explanation is next to each

 In order. 

  1. The story of Jesus Christ (before digital technology or even the printing press, this ‘story’ crossed borders and oceans)
  2. 911 ‘Al Queda’ launch (3 weeks free media coverage on every media channel in every country)
  3. Polaroid Instamatic Cameras (product usage = product demonstration)
  4. Hotmail (the first viral product of the internet age)
  5. In Rainbows album by Radiohead. (true brand handover to passionate users, fan chooses price – even free, resulting in massive free media & blogosphere coverage, then goes to number 1 on US charts on physical album release)
  6. Google (usability & effectiveness which led to absolute domination)
  7. Youtube (was the ultimate user experience and so won the game. There were 240 other video sharing sites when it launched!)
  8. OK Go – Ok Here it goes film clip. (first to leverage youtube commercially. 27 million views and counting. No 2 on the charts to boot)
  9. Blair Witch Project (set a new paradigm for movie promotion & brand hijacking)
  10. Mini Cooper S Campaign (first ‘real’ personalized campaign message)

Add to, agree, disagree, complain and disdain in comments below!