Compellent - TRASH THE SAME OLD SAN.

Here's a viral idea BD'M created for Compellent to allow IT managers to work out their angst over outdated data storage technologies.

Have some fun.  Trash the SAN!

Compellent - TRASH THE SAME OLD SAN.

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How Games Can Help Us Solve the World's Biggest Problems

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Thought provoking presentation by Jane McGonigal about how the skills acquired by gamers can be applied to solving the epic problems the world is facing.

Design Intersections: How Games Can Help Us Solve the World's Biggest Problems

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Finding a brand's emotional truth.

I had been scratching my head this past year wondering why Bud Light was touting "drinkability" as its new brand positioning.  It's an odd word for a beer, somehow very powerpointy.  This week the answer came into the light:  consultants.  According to Advertising Age, "drinkability" was the output of a consulting group hired by Anheuser-Busch.  

I fully embrace the clarifying power of one-word brand equities.  However, some strategic language should stay in the brand bullseye and not become the creative expression.   At least Coors Light bills itself as "refreshing", a word that makes me thirsty for a beer.

The consultant's explanation is that all brands need to be underpinned by an emotional and rational appeal, and that relying solely on an emotional message runs the risk of being replicated by competition.  That may be true in many categories, but I'm not sure this is true with beer.  And it is certainly not true if you take the time to peel back the layers of the brand to reveal its essential emotional truth – something that cannot be replicated.

Witness Dos Equis.  The campaign featuring "The most interesting man in the world" is purely emotional.  It taps into powerful archetypes and storytelling.  The campaign has contributed to double-digit sales growth.

So next time you're in a bar, you can order a beer that is drinkable, or a beer that makes you interesting.  Enough said.

ING Cafes - the Starbucks of banks.

I stumbled upon an ING Cafe in Philadelphia last week and was struck by the brilliance of the bank's decision to reach customers in such a unique way and give the bank a tangible personality.

I've since learned there are seven ING Cafes across the country, each a fully functioning coffee shop and retail bank.  In addition to a latte, customers can choose to speak with an ING representative about opening a checking account.  But if you simply want to kick back with a cup of coffee and tweet to your heart's content, the ING bankers will stay in Barista mode.

These Cafes are a savvy way to feed social media and boost the bank's Google results, which include restaurant reviews in Yelp and New Yorker Magazine – a media context in which a bank is seldom mentioned.  

The ING Cafes seem to be inspired by the successful Jyske Bank case study I've highlighted in previous posts.

While advertising is certainly a proven way to build a strong brand image, first-hand experiences are unparalleled in their ability to turn perceptions into deeply held beliefs.