illusions-is that the world we live in?

Back in the day magicians and similar artists of trade blew their spectators away with great tricks of illusion - simply great entertainment!

Is this the world we live in today any different? Is it that we simply buy into a particular marketing message (illusion)? 

Or has it changed and we as a group is now hearing the word of mouth and adjusting our desires and needs of something dependent on what people that we trust tells us? Or do we act as individuals and do what we want and how we want it? Should the marketing message continue to be an illusion? If not, to whom should marketers communicate with and how? 

My observations tell me that the word of mouth effect surely applies to certain aspects of the modern person-other areas are true necessities and we buy into it anyhow whatever is being said about it! So what does one do to find the holy grail aka. the ones that start the word of mouth effect may it be in a small scale or larger scale?   

Rebel with a cause!

There are so many grand examples of companies and people that have changed they way we think about various stuff by making a point of being a rebel and what really made them different from so many other rebels is that they have a cause that was so so strong that they will not think twice and change their entire belief system just because. They have set their minds to something that is greater then what their peers understand at that given time. Here are some companies and people that comes to mind:

 

Today’s short list:

 

Nokia - from tire and rubber boot company to world’s nr. 1 cell phone company

Steve Jobs - don’t need to say more-wow! 

Zappos - nr 1 Culture Company.

Seth Godin - why? Exactly that- question why is so crucial! also he is a really good storyteller! 

Facebook - the way we keep track and keep up with people around us

Jimi Hendrix- one goal and that was to go from rumor to legend and change what music was    all about 

Skype - now a verb...that’s it!

Google - simple is their first name

Pandora - changed they way people listed to music (now just in the US) 

Amazon - data mining, who wouldn’t buy a book from them? 

Tom Peters - Keep It Simple Stupid 

ING Direct - it’s all about what the consumer wants and needs to be simple (different from    other banks

Twitter - less is more

IKEA - economics of scale on furniture (that buyer puts together)-brilliant!

Jan Stenbeck - where ever there is a monopoly there is an opportunity

If I were to...

Launch an music album that is more alternative, I would make sure to have a "hit", a mainstream song that would get that song to be played at clubs, at peoples parties, at dinners and out in summer parks get people to talk about it and get the full viral effect going strong. 

 

Before it must have been more difficult to get a good distribution going of an album, either you made it or you didn’t (you were as an artist more dependent on your record label for distribution). That was before smart inventions such as Itunes, Youtube and Spotify was around. Now people can explore and enjoy albums and artist they would never really listen to and thanks to that "hit" people or at least me would explore that particular album. My own experience has shown that this is the case. I don’t know if it’s just me or if this would be the case for more than just me. 

 

This "hit" wonder is applicable on more industries and it’s really interesting to observe the force it. 

Marketing or waste of money?

I just found out from a friend that a marketing campaign that I didn’t know whom the communicator was. It now appears that is a candy company. They has been doing below the line marketing campaign all over Sweden, targeting bikes in all major cities among them Malmo. The campaign looks like this and covered many bikes all over the kingdom of Sweden! 

 

You can check it out here!

 

Can you tell what company it is? Me neither. Is this not a good example of how to waste money on a mass massage trying in a native attempt to get some sort of reaction of busy people?

 

What a waste!

 

 

  

culture matters

It’s been a couple of interesting weeks with a lot of work and a lot of interesting reading. One company that has really caught my eyes is Zappos.

 

Why? Well they have been building a super strong culture/religion with the right people which all buys in to it and clearly builds and maintains it (and now culture got a life of its on). Amazing how people doing something like answering phone calls all day can feel so empowered and so free to go out of her way to satisfy a customer, and guess what the company culture supports just that. Amazing! I am really impressed and so should you! If you haven’t checked them out yet, do it!

Cape Town gearing up!

Been spending the last week in Cape Town, at Travelstart office, beautifully located just off Long Street with a great view over Lions head. It is always great to come back to the city I love so much and to the office with all the great people I have missed.


Been away for 4 months and so many things have happened in Cape Town, it is really sizzling for the World Cup that will take place in approximately 1 year. Hotel´s, new shopping malls, restaurants and little fashion and art galleries are popping up all over town. I have experienced many of these new ones one positive one is that I have for this week stayed at a great boutique hotel called Grand Daddy just 1 minute from the office, they have decorated really really nice, with some modern caravan´s on the roof in which you can stay in. I am staying in a suit that got everything you can dream of. The owner of the Daddy brand has really succeeded in capturing his desires for the brand in his hotels. Been a true pleasure to live his dream for 1 week.

Cape Town continue to be such a great and beautiful place! If you haven´t been here, you must go!

Twitter

Wow! Time flies by when you are having fun! Its this routine to write on my blog that hasn´t really been practiced in as much as it needs to be for me to do it just like that. Always finds something more “important” to do just in that second I think I got a moment to write. Anyhow, it has been quite a while since I wrote anything. Now have made this promised to myself that I should write at least once a week, since every day is filled with really kool stuff that I just want to share with the rest of the blogosphere. For example, I m currently sitting somewhere at about 11 000 meter altitude somewhere above Africa, imagining what is below the plane I m sitting in? On my way down to Cape Town for a week at our office there. Will be great to come back to a place I really missed since I left almost 6 months ago.

Been micro blogging on www.twitter.com/macuraa which has been so much fun-wow how the world is just going faster and faster. It´s interesting and fun with Twitter, since it challenge me to try to find a winning formula to stay true to my followers but also Travelstart´s followers in giving them what they more an what the expect… let the saga continue..