2.09.09:: Times are tough. Unemployment’s up, politicians are struggling for an economic IV and, worse still, consumer confidence continues to dip. So, how do you sell yourself to a group of fenced in, regretfully cautious people? Stay positive. Get people to revel in the innocence of fun, make them feel good about what they have or simply celebrate charity.

Take a look at this Carnival Cruise Lines spot:

This ‘all for fun’ message creates camaraderie and reminds people there are still fun things we can all enjoy (be it a beach ball OR a cruise).

Getting people to join a simple, common altruistic purpose also works. For example, Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital’s ‘do good.’ campaign. Using bright graphics and headlines like,”Do something good today.” along with compassionate support points, this hospital encouraged people to join the organization’s (and their community’s) cause: good health.

Even packaged goods can align themselves with a better purpose. A la Frosted Flakes:

What’s great about this is that Tony the Tiger not only supports building more sport fields but encourages consumers to nominate projects online (frostedflakes.com).

So, do positive commercial messages create a better economy and/or brand situation? I think positivity is a point of difference in a negative landscape. These messages get people to pay attention and act to a greater good. However, in order to really save the economy, we would need to have a  consumers buy into this feel good thoughts with actual dollars on a massive scale. (Take a look at Finland’s plan for this).

So, I would argue a brand is doing nothing bad by doing good right now. But, as for the economy, we all just might have to just limit how much MSNBC we watch.

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2.4.09 :: When was the last time a brand engaged all 5 of your senses (short of buying the product)? Probably not recently. Up until now, brands have been very adept at engaging people with interactive social media (Facebook) and entertainment (HBO’s voyeur project). These utilize sight and, sometimes, sound. However, some brands have added touch and smell to the experience. In 2006, Levi’s created an Intellifit computer that evaluates a customer’s body to find their perfect pair of jeans while also recommending additional clothing items– almost like an expert jeans tailor.

And, just this past holiday season, Stove Top Stuffing installed heat lamps into Chicago bus stops with ads to remind you of the warmth it brings during the holidays. The California Milk Board (read: got milk?) even went so far as to pipe in the smell of milk and cookies into bus stops. All of these examples use technology to create a memorable, physical and, I would argue, more active brand experience.

This can even be done without a marketing budget equal to the GDP of Monaco. In the below example, a design firm has physically engaged their audience using a business card that they simply put some thought into. While this does not engage more than 2 senses, the experience is definitely more physical and interactive. What’s even better is that it pays off their concept: get stretchy.

This is similar to a project we completed for a local printer. Using a direct mail, we asked print buyers to show their offices how important they were by sending them an unique office door hanger.

So, will we ever use more than 3 senses to communicate our messages? Well, as technology develops and allows people and brands to engage each other on a more personal level, I think touch and smell will meld with sight and hearing to tell us the full brand story. Just imagine a computer that can simulate the smell of an online recipe or honest to goodness electronic paper that feels like the shirt you are going to buy. I leave you with a preview of Apple’s touch screen MacBook that demonstrates how our physical senses might be combined with our more cerebral ones.

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