From the monthly archives:

November 2009

Value is the New Black

November 30, 2009 value is the new black

DEAL is no longer a bad four letter word. It’s a badge. One of the things that struck me when recently listening to a podcast was the premise that ‘value was the new black’.  Today’s economy is forcing both brands and consumers towards a ‘value’ model. Consumers are expecting more value.  According to the 2009 Brand […]

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Doubletree Hotels – The 1st Purple Goldfish Project Hall of Famer

November 29, 2009 purple goldfish project

Doubletree Hotels receives the 1st Purple Goldfish Project Hall of Famer award.  Its signature cookie was listed 3 separate times in the first 50 entries for the project.  It embodies what a ‘purple goldfish’ or ‘marketing lagniappe’ is all about. For 20 years, Doubletree Hotels have built a reputation on a unique treat that keeps […]

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Backstory on the v4 principle and 90% of word of mouth

November 29, 2009 v4 principle

I first came across the concept of the v4 principle almost 10 years ago.  This is a hilarious post from 2000 on Sportsbike.net from a guy named Rob from Boston,  a.k.a Streetracer.  I can remember almost peeing in my pants when I originally read this.  Enjoy: Think about your entire history of relationships… Every person […]

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The v4 Principle – ‘All Impressions are not Created Equal’

November 29, 2009 v4 principle

The Power of WOM One of the frustrations I have with measurement of marketing is that it is fundamentally flawed.  It assumes that all impressions are created equal.  There is no weight given to context and / or the delivery mechanism. Let’s have a look at advertising, sponsorship, pr and word of mouth: Advertising is […]

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One Curly Fry and Caribou Coffee

November 28, 2009 purple goldfish project

My friend Rick Liebling recently shared some insight on lagniappe.  Here is a link to the full article on his blog at rickliebling.com.  His blog is a great read if you live in the world of marketing and pr. Here is a snippet from his latest post: . . . Lagniappe. It’s a fantastic concept […]

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The Myth of Meeting Expectations

November 28, 2009 what is lagniappe?

Why you need marketing lagniappe? This past summer I was in New York City with a colleague from Synergy.  Brad and I were at a rooftop bar waiting to meet a few people before heading over to a networking event.  I noticed a guy sitting on his own for over 15 minutes.  It was obvious […]

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Definition of Lagniappe n. (lan~yap)

November 27, 2009 what is lagniappe?

LAGNIAPPE (lan‘yəp, lăn-yăp‘) Chiefly Southern Louisiana & Mississippi (origin circa 1844) 1. A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer’s purchase. 2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called regionally boot. Etymology: Creole < Fr la, the + Sp ñapa, lagniappe < Quechuan yapa Interesting fact- Napa comes from yapa, which means […]

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Think of a Purple Goldfish . . . as a ‘Branded Act of Kindness’

November 26, 2009 purple goldfish project

What’s Your Purple Goldfish? Another way to think of a purple goldfish is as a ‘branded act of kindness’.  Most people refer to ‘acts of kindness’ as random as opposed to branded. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with random.  Providing free breakfast, paying for tolls and buying folks gas is admirable.  It’s […]

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PROJECT: Purple Goldfish Slideshare

November 25, 2009 purple goldfish project

Here is the Slideshare presentation for PROJECT: Purple Goldfish.  They have a new feature that allows you to embed a YouTube video.  Very cool. Click on the green arrow to have a look. My friend Jack Monson over at PR Workbench just sent over a Purple Goldfish.  He’s gets the Heinz award for being #57: […]

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50 examples of marketing lagniappe

November 24, 2009 purple goldfish project

Last Thursday I launched PROJECT: Purple Goldfish. The response has been fantastic. After 5 days I’ve had nearly 60 examples of purple goldfishes. I thought it would fun to compile my first Top Ten list from the initial list of 50.  Without further adieu . . . 10.  DoubleTree Hotels (a tri-fecta submitted by Matthew […]

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