Friday Five – 12/16/11

This has been a hectic week…and I haven’t even bought any gifts. Here are the five articles I came across this week that made me stop to think.

You all know I love social media. I don’t know how it happened, but it’s become such an integral part of  my days, I can’t even imagine it not being that anymore. I still remember the day my friend Abby made me sign up for Facebook. Who knew I was missing so much? I guess she did. In the last year our company has expanded its social media presence. We try to be very careful in picking the folks who can use social on our behalf, as I’m sure many companies do. Still, I’m amazed at how many people use this channel without thinking (whether by accident or not). Read more…

I’m very lucky to be in a position that allows me to work with a great team to create some really exciting brands in the casino industry. This manual for building future brands is a great guidebook for anyone going down this path. Read it and keep it handy.

Because I’m an advertiser, I have a great interest in Super Bowl. I’m sorry to say that until the Saints made it into the Super Bowl, I was seldom inspired by most things in and around the game itself. Rolling Stones’ upcoming debut in the Super Bowl excitement is great placement. Read more about it.

Wow! As a neighbor of the Anheuser-Busch brewery, I keep hoping AB will find its way back to the heyday it once had. For now, I think they are a little lost. Read about their new reality show.

A Las Vegas judge had divided the Hilton baby between two creditors. Really? Read more…

Moments that WOW

I don’t know if it’s my years working in the hospitality business or just my nature, but I love when I do business with an organization and something they do makes me say “Wow!”. When that happens, I can’t help but tell people about it.

Shortly after I moved to St. Louis, I found myself in need of a dry cleaner. So, I did what any newbie does. I looked for the place close to work. Found it! It’s a small little place in a small little strip mall. Bal Couer Cleaners. They did a good enough job on my cleaning, and it’s convenient. Some time later, I went returned with another bundle of clothes. The very nice person there took inventory of my clothes and dutifully filled out my slip. When she went to write my name up, she didn’t ask. She filled it out herself. Wow! Now she might just be one of those people who has a memory like a steel trap, but even so, I love that she remembered me.

Last year, I had a problem booking rooms at Red Rock Casino, but their social media person jumped on it faster than I could type out my quandary. One of their execs personally took care of my problem in less than an hour. Then when I made my visit, they treated my parents like VIPs. I tell that story to everyone.

Just the start of her balloon bouquet

Just last week we took a co-worker, Elissa, out for her birthday lunch….to Hooters. I know. I know. Why would we go to Hooters for a celebration much less a female co-worker’s celebration? Well, you see, it’s Wing Wednesday or some such promotion and the guys in the group never miss it. We don’t mind it. So, why not? As most co-workers do, we look for any opportunity to make spectacles of each other, and birthdays are the perfect occasion. We let it slip that it was her birthday. OK. Maybe, it was me who let it “slip”. She looked at me with that wait-until-it’s-your-birthday look. At some point during our meal, the server brought over a single balloon with the words “Happy Birthday” written on it. Wow! It was actually a very sweet thing. Not too embarrassing, except for the fact that my co-worker now had this balloon tied to her wrist. Shortly after, another server brought another balloon to the table. Tied it to Elissa’s wrist. Now there were two balloons. Then another and another. It was at this point that Elissa asked just how many servers were working. All told she ended up with five balloons tied to her wrist. Wow! That literally cost them pennies and they created a unique and memorable experience.

It made me wonder what we could do for pennies to create Wow moments with our guests.

What are you doing?

Friday Five – 12/2/11

Wow! December already. Where has this year gone? Here is my Friday Five – five articles I came across this week that inspired me, made me think or just made me do a double-take.

There’s a Busch brewing again. I’m not a beer drinker, but I currently reside in St. Louis and know it’s a part of the fabric of this city. When InBev successfully attempted to takeover Anheuser-Busch, it was quite a blow to the city and its residents. I once took the tour of the brewery and learned so much about the history of this storied business. Recently, I read that a Busch has started brewing again. I wonder what he’ll build this into? Read about it here.

I mentioned American Eagle Outfitters in my recent post about building brand champions. I think they’re doing great things to engage their employees. It’s no surprise that they had such a great approach to Black Friday. Here are some lessons learned that day from Vovici.

I’ve been working on the new iteration of our online presence and how mobile plays a role. One of our directors recently sent me news of a competitor releasing a new shiny app. I’ve got more than one person coming to me on a weekly basis with a great idea for an app. No one has come to me with an idea as to what the goal of an app would be. Jason Gurwin hit it right on target when he said “Building a Mobile App Is Not a Mobile Strategy” in this Harvard Business Review blog post.

It’s the end of the year, and everyone has started making lists. How could I work in marketing and not have an opinion about Adweek‘s 10 best commercials of 2011 or the ones selected by Business Insider as the best of 2011?

By the way, if you’re wondering what the impact has been of InBev’s ownership of AB, one of them seems to be (sadly) that the Clydesdales will not be participating in the “Rose Parade”.

If you’re not a New Orleanian, you may not know of Arthur Davis, but if you’ve see a New Orleans Saints home game or watched the Hornets play at home, chances are you’ve seen his work. Davis left an indelible mark in the skyline of New Orleans. Along with his partner Nathaniel Curtis, he designed the (now Mercedes-Benz) Superdome, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans Public Library, Rivergate and countless other schools, churches and buildings in the city. He passed away at the age of 91. Take a moment to read about him here.