There is an ‘X’ factor when it comes to product and marketing success.  There are those products and ideas that make unprecedented leaps to popularity.

They generate buzz and make people talk about them.  Think about things like the iPhone or the iPod.  How about the Nintendo Wii? 

Those products are Dramatically Different!

Note: this is 2nd in a series about supercharging your marketing message by leveraging some of the ideas in Jump Start Your Business Brain by Doug Hall.   This is an excellent book with some really practical strategies and ideas for enhancing your marketing message.  The other post:  Overt Benefits

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Wicked is the Broadway musical extravaganza that has been setting box office records throughout it’s 4 1/2 year run.

In fact, according to this article in the Kansas City Star, Wicked is set to break $1 Billion (with a B) in Box Office Gross Revenues sometime in the next couple of weeks!

Here are some other interesting facts from the Star’s article:

“According to the “Wicked” producers, more than 3.5 million people have seen the Broadway production, which rakes in more than $1.4 million a week.

A like number has seen the national tour, which set a record in January in St. Louis when it grossed more than $2.3 million in a single week — the highest weekly gross in North American touring history.

By the end of its run, more than 45,000 people will have seen the show in Kansas City.”

All in all, you’d have to say that the producers are onto something. Read More…

photo by Nicholas_T 

I had the chance to see the movie “21″ last night and one of the central themes of the movie really stood out to me.  The main character is a super-smart kid from humble roots in Boston and is in desperate need of a full ride scholarship to Harvard Medical school (Harvard Med apparently costs about $300K for tuition and living expenses…).

The full ride scholarship is highly contested and in the end goes to the candidate that can dazzle the judges with their life experience story.  The problem our protagonist has is that he doesn’t really have any life experiences that are particularly dazzling, despite near perfect test scores and 3 years at MIT with a 4.0 GPA.

You’ll have to check out the movie to find out what happens, but it’s definitely worth watching, it’s entertaining and based on a true story.

What’s this got to do with business?

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Picture by Darwin Bell

Have you ever been watching TV when you were really hungry?

The pizza ad with the impossibly good looking slices of gooey cheese and crispy crust, super piled high with great looking toppings.

The steak on the grill just that’s just about done, juices dripping down into the flames and the char marks in perfect stripes across the top.

The decadent chocolate dessert with ice cream and chocolate sauce drizzled on it.

I’ll admit, I have been swayed to try out certain restaurants and foods just because of the commercials (curse you Taco Bell…next time I’m saying no!!!).  Invariably they don’t live up to my expectations, but they do succeed in getting me to give them a try, which is really the point. Read More…

photo by  pshutterbug

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to target markets and how important they are to most small business owners.  Clearly the world is a big place and the more you can differentiate yourself and stand out, the more likely you’ll be the provider that gets the first shot at the business.

As an example, I was in St. Louis this past weekend and went to a store called Gringo Jones that’s in the Hill District.  If you like treasure hunting in a crowded, eclectic and interesting space, then Gringo Jones is the store for you.  Even from the street you could tell that this wasn’t a typical store, it’s in an old house and the front ‘porch’ area is packed to overflowing with all sorts of yard architecture making it a bit challenging to even get to the door!

I don’t know what their advertising or marketing was like, but just from experiencing it and word of mouth it was a different kind of store – and that made it memorable.

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