Mercedes loses money on every $15,000 Smart Car they build, and the new $375,000 LFA super car will be a money pit for Lexus.

Both examples break away from each company’s traditional mold, which causes:
- increased media coverage
- a viral factor and industry controversy
- entirely new segments of the population that hadn’t considered the brand (in this case, opposite ends of the income spectrum)

All of this leads to a BROADER REACH for each brand. More people coming in the door to check out the Smart Car drive away in a Mercedes C-Class, and people that considered Lexus too bland become impressed by its crazy exotic and buy an LS sedan.

This works in any company.  Use fringe products as marketing tools to broaden your reach and sell more bread & butter.

For 20 hours on the biggest shopping day of the year, Google, Verizon, Reuters and R/GA will reveal the most interactive marketing stunt ever at Times Square.

If you’re there, call 888-376-4336, do a voice search on Google, and watch your results come up on the massive building-sized screens.

High impact, viral, interactive, timely and story-worthy.  Whatever millions they’re paying, it’s totally worth it.

via MG @ TC

This huge slide exists at Google’s staff-sourced office in Zurich.

Imagine if your office had a slide in it, and you mandated that EVERYONE working there had to use it 3 times a week, and all visitors had to use it once.

Think what would happen to company morale, energy and creativity by JUST adding a slide.  It would turn those bland cubicle dwellers into little kids, and big new ideas would spring out of nowhere.

via psfk

The logo for Time’s new techland.com stretches across the page, which creates an entirely different experience upon entering the blog.

Look for others to follow suit with this big look.

via TechCrunch

The ad for this mobile home dealer is so awesomely funny.  If you can’t afford to make an ad, hire these guys for free.  You need to be willing to submit your ego big time.

MicroBilt, the company sponsoring this is genius. Companies that take risks to milk the online viral factor are the future.

ONE poster jumped out at me on Commercial Drive today.  It was the one that
1. Asked a question
2. Had the least amount of info on it

Why are you posting an ad?  Is it so people can make a decision on the spot or so you can drive them to a website?   Because those are two entirely different strategies.  Pick one, then make it the most simple on the block.

3 stories I’ve generated recently for customers.

FrogBox in The Globe and Mail

Studeo 55 on Fit Celeb

Maverick Business Adventures on an LA Times blog

Ya!  Lots goin on…

Relentless VANOC brand cops make sure companies big and small don’t use anything for promotional use with the word ‘Olympic’, the Olympic rings, or the creepy mascots.

This record breaking 160′ x 100′ Canadian flag shows everyone that The Residences at Georgia still has Olympic fever, but has cashed in on free public domain patriotism.

Yay to being full on in the spirit without paying for it.

You can’t just happily bash away and not expect a drove of new people challenging you with your same tactics.  It reminds me of high school in Maple Ridge – the more rockers we fought, the more other tougher rockers wanted to fight us.

I kinda hope Droid crushes em, just because.

via CNET

Random blog behemoth BoingBoing redesigned their layout and made an undaunted, valiant move with their new slogan.  They went from the tepid yet classic ‘A Directory Of Wonderful Things’ to ‘Media Culture Brainwash For Now People’.

The new slogan draws you in, makes you want to be apart of it in a proud, self-deprecating way.  BoingBoingers are mindful of their cult-like tendencies and this new descriptor sums them up sharply.

Brands that embolden their base with a strong identity only increase loyalty.