A good old fashioned amazing idea!

I love ideas!

The bigger/bolder an idea is makes it more attractive to me and I consider myself an idea guy.

Perhaps even “The Greatest Idea Guy Ever” (since I call myself The Smartest Man in the World is it really a stretch to say I am the greatest Idea person ever?).

I see ideas and opportunities everywhere and like Spider-Man's powers this is both a gift and a curse....in fact I have mentioned a few times on this blog that I am happy to consult people and give out free ideas because they come to me so quick and clean.

Just last week I got an email taking me up on my challenge and all it said was that he was looking for a character to attach to a mortgage company idea. I responded (in minutes) with a character based on a house who loves the people inside of him, his family, and wants to see them pay off their mortgage quicker so they can own him and not the bank! I have no idea if this will get used but if you see it around soon just remember where it came from :)

I was going through some old computer files yesterday and came across a folder of ideas I put together about 5 years ago to help bring the Comic Book Industry into the mainstream spotlight and deliver new fans from non traditional sources...or to recapture the imagination of people who grew up with comics but are now professionals and think it is just "kids stuff". The folder had about 20 or so ideas and while for the most part they still hold up and could be implemented today with great success there was one that I love so much I am determined to do this somehow (even for another industry but it just “works” so perfectly for Comics) for someone!

Before I post this I should let you know that this idea is an awareness idea with ROI but this idea is not about generating money per se but deliver new readers and instill new passion in folks who over time will become loyal customers.....also I considered editing it and giving it a modern day polish but chose to present you the idea exactly as I had conceived it half a decade ago. Looking at it now with fresh eyes I see ways to make even better and develop it into a yearly franchise that would pay for itself!

ONE FINAL THING* You will see the name DC COMICS all over this idea. Please remember this is just a concept and DC COMICS is a great example of who could pull this off but this can be executed with Marvel Comics or even a large group of Independent Comic Publishers on a smaller scale.

OK enough build up........here it is..........and please let me know what you think!

Idea #1 – Awareness through Art


The following idea is not intended to make money per se (but is designed not to lose money either). This idea is more of a cultural event designed to stimulate interest in the characters and open up comics to people who would never consider entering a comic book shop.


The idea is to create art exhibits in local art galleries featuring local artists painting DC COMICS iconic art.


To make this a unique experience it needs to follow the following structure.


The artists have to be local and have to be relatively unknown (possibly never having a gallery show before) Artists will need to be screened well but can be found at local art schools or art shop recommendations/open “casting” call. By avoiding "famous" artists there will not be an issue of releasing copyright to the art. It is important for DC to have the rights as you will see at the end.


The gallery must be a "hot" gallery that will bring people in and help promote the event. I called a few places for research purposes (asking general questions and not claiming to work for DC etc) and how the Gallery system works is that they do not charge for the space but take a small percentage of the sale of the art. This works fine as the art will be for sale. This also creates a "benefit" to the artist to participate.


I see the show running from Thursday to Sunday with Thursday open for schools to visit. The rest of the weekend will be open to the public with a very small entrance fee (maybe $1.00 to 2.00) and this fee gets donated to a local literacy foundation. Each person will receive a DC Comics "goody" bag as they leave with books and information on ordering more books.


Saturday night of the showing will be a (insert appropriate price here….maybe $100 per ticket) charitable viewing with socialites and celebrities all invited. There are many celebrities interested in comics, like Sean Combs, Samuel L. Jackson and Shaq O'Neal . Saturday night should be covered by local and entertainment media giving even more exposure to DC Comics as well as the artists participating.

One must is that all the art and the Saturday Night party must be professionally photographed but I will get to more on that in a minute.

Sunday returns to the same format as Friday and Saturday (daytime) with the small entrance fee.

These events need to have a local feel to them and the "Celebrities" invited to the Saturday night should be local as well.

Here is why this works and is "win/win" for all parties concerned.

-The artists get major exposure for their work with the only stipulation that they draw DC Iconic Characters doing whatever they want (just no nudity or excessive violence)
-The Appeal to the artist would be they get to work to their strength. If they work in a POP ART style then their piece will be POP ART. If they work in Sculpture then their piece will be a statue etc.
-The artist have an opportunity to sell their work with the understanding that will donate a small percentage (maybe 3-5%) to the local literacy charity chosen for this even.
-The Gallery gets a high profile show that will bring a lot of people to the gallery to possibly buy works of art.
-The Charity receives a donation plus exposure.
-The whole event will cost very little (just the cost to promote it) and even that cost can be underwritten by a corporate sponsor. I.e.: Coke, Playstation etc or a DC Comics Parent company movie tie in.
-DC COMICS gets good press for the event and the donations as well as needed exposure for comics and extends the perception of them as a leader in the industry and community.
-DC COMICS hands out a goody bag to people therefore actually getting product into people’s hands.
-The first event would be held in New York with additional events held every 4-5 months in other cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Toronto) and can be planned to co-inside with existing comic conventions.
-Since DC COMICS will own the copyright on the art (and has photographed and documented the whole event) it can then publish a coffee table book and market it to comic fans as well art lovers. This book would also have a built in audience for anyone who attended and this is how DC Comics makes money on this idea.


Final Thoughts on Idea #1


I understand this is not the type of thing DC Comics does or gets involved with but that is the exact reason to do it. I did an informal market survey and concluded that the type of people that look down on comics did find this idea intriguing. As with all ideas and plans targeting to the mainstream and not just the direct market you need to remember who buys your books and not alienate them. This would open new worlds to all people attending and be welcoming to all parties.

I know I am repeating myself but I love this idea! Sure it lacks the boldness of my current thinking but this is a good old fashioned nugget of gold!

I gotta do this someday.

Happy Wednesday

-saul

First Impressions.

First Impressions are a funny thing because you can't change them. People make real world decisions (just ask any HR person) based on that first encounter or even just appearance. I have been thinking a lot about this recently because it is election time around these parts. I am not really into politics. I follow it causally so I can make informed decisions but I am far from a know it all but the two topics (Politics and First Impressions) seem to fit together....at least I am going to try to make them fit here.

Being a one car family (doing my part to save the world) I catch a lift with my wife to the subway every morning. For the last two weeks there has been one of the candidates standing on the same corner waving at people in their cars and chatting with folks on the street during the morning rush.

I am not going to say who it is because that part isn't really important but the thing that stands out to me every morning is that he looks tired....sure this is early in the morning but in the game of politics appearance is important and what I see as "tired" others may see as "beat down" or just plain "beaten".

Being out with the people is a great way to be seen and very "grassroots" but in this case it may work against this man. One solution would have been to have volunteers be the ones on the corner waving and handing out the flyers (and there are but the focus is still on the candidate) or do something to make people never forget the candidates name but not really look at him.

If I was consulted on this I would have suggested the following :

-Have the candidate get a good night sleep!
-show up every morning doing his waving and kissing babies routine while standing next to one of those gigantic inflatable signs that they use at car dealerships except this one will have his name on it or the snowman or Santa can be holding a sign for the candidate.



You may think this is silly (and in some ways it is) but I guarantee this image will not be forgotten.....people will tell friends......not one person will look at the candidate........and when it comes to time to vote you will see the name on the ballot and it will take you back to the image and invoke emotion and a warm feeling.

All from a first impression.

-saul

[still blogging form an iPhone] Things I learned from Magazines this month

Real quick since I am going to have to give this iPhone back soon but here is stuff I learned from Magazines this month.
From DETAILS Magazine

• 12 people have been killed in the USA by Sharks since 1990
• A study found that people would ask for $1000000 to give up TV for ever and $10000 to live the rest of their life as a black person
• Frank Black (as Black Francis) and the Foo Fighters have new cd's out soon
• Celebrity couples dress alike.
• There are gay people in the military
• Networking gets you promoted
• Brad Pitt is handsome

From FASTCOMPANY Magazine

• Rockport Shoes are now powered by Adidas
• Mahalo looks super cool
  

• Fast Food Medicine is here to stay
• Amp'd Mobile could've been a contender
• $300 socks are pretty

I also have GQ and Esquire but haven't read them yet.

Oh and BTW am I the only one who made a few long distance phone calls from an iPhone in an Apple Store?

type at you all soon

-saul

Public Transit punishes it's best customers

So in today's Toronto Star there is an article on how The TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) is raising the price to ride the buses and subways. Now if you are a reader from outside of Toronto (and there are hundreds of you) keep reading because there is going to be a point to this that applies to everyone.

I could write about this fare increase from a few different angles since the increase isn't a complete fare increase but rather they only increased the price of the monthly pass (Metropass) and the tickets and tokens. So to clear this up.....if you pay cash to get on the bus it will cost you $2.75 but if you buy a strip of tickets (or tokens) it will now cost you $2.25.

I don't agree with this but the selfish side of me doesn't care since this doesn't effect me. I am a Metropass holder and I pay $99.75 for unlimited rides. The price of the new passes have been raised to $109 a month and by my crude math this means it is actually cheaper to NOT buy a monthly pass and stick to tokens or tickets.

Stay with me here

According to my abbacus I have figured that at @ $5.50 a day (2.75 cash fare each way) x5 days a week x 4 weeks in each month I get the whopping total of $110.

So by purchasing a monthly pass and giving the TTC my money in advance I am saving $1.00 but if I just bought tokens I would save $20 off the price of a monthly pass and if for whatever reason I don't ride the subway a day or two I save even more money.

Got me thinking.......why is the TTC punishing it's best riders, Metropass holders who ride the most often and pay in advance, instead of the occasional rider who pays cash fares?

Sure they wouldn't make the most possible money and this way they can estimate with some accuracy to how much new money is coming in but the message it sends "Hey best riders......now you can save a whole $1.00" is NOT a way to treat your best customers. Could you imagine if a regular company (and not an essential service) said to it's best customers "Hey guys....we appreciate all your loyalty and stuff but we are now going to give the people who spend the least a better discount then you.......but hey we still love you and want you to keep spending all that beautiful money with us"

From where I am sitting (on my green couch) I don't think you would be in business very long.

So what have we learned........if you are starting a business and want to treat people poorly just make sure you are an essential service.

-saul


p.s. feel free to tell me I am wrong but I double checked my math :)

Ideas that scare people!

Seth Godin has an interesting post (from a few days ago) about big ideas and how he is happy to share them on his blog because the more you share them the better you get at coming up with more.

I agree whole heartedly with Mr. Godin and while I like to share ideas here I am in no way comparing myself to him (I can here it already......"I know Seth Godin and you sir are NO Seth Godin) but I also know that every time I mention his name here I get extra readers :)

OK OK lets bring this back to being all about me.

About a week ago I blogged about some ideas I had to make Department Stores fun again. One of my ideas was to convert the toy departments in most stores to licensed child care centers that parents could leave their kids in while they shopped and the kids would play with toy (That were also for sale) and that stated that in my not so humble opinion that more merchandise would be purchased because the parents could shop "stress free" and the kids would fall in love with whatever toys they played with and insist the parents buy them something from the toy department.

The whole thing is brilliant so I felt like sharing it other places as well. I went to LinkedIn and posted the idea in the "LinkedIn Answers" section asking people what they thought and the responses surprised me.

People were split 50/50 as to if they liked the idea but the people who were negative on it were not just negative they were angry and objected to this ideas with every ounce of their being and some even went as far as to call me a name or two.....and even more interesting was the fact that some folks (who were the angriest) qualified themselves with the statement that they are not department store shoppers.

This got me thinking about how ideas can be scary to people because the best ideas involve change and change makes some people uncomfortable.....and how change touches people who are not even interested in your product or service. I still stand by my ideas and think they are "gold" but this experience did bring me to an understanding of how people think and how to apply this to people when you are marketing to a mass audience.

-saul

Movie companies should hire me!

Hi Everyone,

This past Saturday the wife and I went to see The Borne Ultimatum. This may not seem like a big deal but with two kids (three and four years old) getting out to something as simple as a movie is a big deal.

Now I could easily post about how expensive a night at the movies are but that would be like a stand up comedian talking about airline food……so instead I want to talk about how bland the actual movie going experience has become.

OK so let me start by saying that I love movies……love em love em love em. When I was in high school I would go to the noon movie on a Saturday and usually see 2-3 movies in a day….and like a sucker I would pay for them all and not just sneak in. Like most kids I wanted to work in the movies but I never wanted to be an actor…I wanted to work in the marketing department of a film studio (and I still do…hint hint) so when I say the movie going experience isn’t what it used to be I say this from a point of expertise.

So we get to the theatre about 40 minutes before the start time, grab some snacks and head to our seats. For the entire 35 minutes before the movie started there was “trailers” playing on the screen and I thought this was cool until they played the same three trailers in a loop so I saw them 4 times each before the lights went down. Once the lights went down they showed the exact same three trailers in the “official” coming attractions section and this got me thinking…….why not make the “before the lights go down time” a fun interactive event that gets people excited about going to the movies again.

Theatres could be equipped with game show buzzers and people in the seats can play “movie trivia” for a chance to win movie swag or fee snacks. The “fun” element will create a cool experience that will get people talking about “going to the movies” and not just the movie they are seeing and since movie swag like t-shirts and sweat shirts will help promote the films there really is no loser in this situation!

…….and while we are on the topic of movie experience. Why don’t movie theatres sell DVD’s on site? I am not talking about releasing movies in theatres and dvd at the same time rather but they could sell a small selection of “new releases” and grab people when they are in a “movie mood”.

…..and if selling DVD’s is a no no then at the very least movie theatres should sell current film soundtracks. I read somewhere (can’t remember where so I might be making this up) that movie soundtracks are some of the biggest selling cd’s in any music store. If this is true then why not offer soundtracks as an impulse buy to people leaving the theatre. You could have a kid with a 50’s style cigarette girl harness full of cd’s and watch the money flow.

Ok so here is my final thought on this (I have plenty more but I need to keep some to myself just in case this post gets me a job offer) I think theatres and DVD subscription companies like Zip.ca (or Netflix for my American readers) would benefit a great deal from working together and not creating a one or the other mentality. Sure they are both trying to make money and develop loyal followings but if the home subscription companies sent people OUT to the movies every now and then and vice versa it would develop passion about movies in general and passionate customers spend more money…….at least that is what my Magic 8 Ball tells me.

-saul

I will soon be named Canada's sexiest and smartest blogger!

So I am participating in the "1% Army Canadian Blogging Tournament" where the content of my little blog will be held up to enormous scrutiny and judged against the nations most thoughtful people.

I am excited for the challenge and have plotted out the best content of my 202 post career. I have tricks in my bag that I have been saving for months and will wow the judges with my unique mix of marketing incites and humor that revolves around wee wee and kaka.

So stick around for the fun and when I win I promise to make this world a place where you will be proud to run naked in the streets!

I don't want to give the impression that I am over confident here. I know the competition is fierce but I have been visualizing my winning all weekend and have even told my parents that I already WON! (They don't have a computer but were very proud!)

-saul