Potato/Potato, Tomato/Tomato, Gelato/Gelato

Oh boy do I enjoy collecting punch cards from food establishments. I'm a sucker for buy-10-get-one-free. And I always make a point to proudly fork over my card, and enjoy life's simple pleasure of getting one step closer to filling up a business card, that one day will hold the key to free stuff.

So tonight here I go, bouncing on into my local gelato joint. Order one scoop hazelnut, one scoop coffee. Payment time comes, and I hand over my punch card. But it's not just any punch card, it's one from the other gelato shop on the street. Silly me.

Amidst giggles between my friend and I, the surly cashier gives a glare that instantly makes me think, if I didn't already have my food, he would've spit in it.

If he was a good marketer, he would've laughed it off, grabbed one of their punch cards and said something witty like, tell you what, I'll triple your punches on this purchase, if you continue to fill-up your card here instead of that other place.

I don't have a preference for one shop over the other. But why not give me a reason to (other than the fact that one is 50 feet closer to my apartment).

Real World Relationships

In my quest to heighten my interactive knowledge and explore how brands and companies connect with consumers, there's nothing I enjoy more than tangible examples. But let's set the example bar a notch higher. I had, what I like to call a full circle moment, when I was the example.

During my internet outage outrage, I twittered my frustration about Comcast (via cell). I received a lovely reply from @comcastcares. This means two things:

1. I'm a happier customer. And the next time (if there is a next time) that my service is being finicky, I'll try and think back to the good ole day when Comcast and I became friends on the web.
2. Anyone who has visibility to my tweets and blog will also get to learn all about how fantastic Comcast was (in my experience) at listening and enabling a dialog with a customer via the web.

Ring Ring: I'm Calling From My Bic Mobile

Bic - known for its lighters, razors and pens - is partnering with a European cell phone provider to launch a Bic branded mobile. When I read this, my stream of thought went something like: what, no, why, I wonder if there's a razor somewhere on there, poor cross marketing, does it come in pink?

While the maker of all things disposable is promoting its device as being easy to use, to me this just screams: just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

I hear they're already pre-ordering for the next release: a swiss army knife style device that melds all of Bic's product's functionalities into one. A handheld that can shave, ignite, write, text and talk.

Interactive Mood Mirror

Moodstream by Getty Images: Find inspiration. A site that identifies with just how you feel.

Might be a decent concept to apply to how brands listen to the mood of their customers. Mirror the consumer's slider with relevant and beneficial brand tidbits/products/solutions.

Spectra: Flash Cards Meet Reader

Spectra Visual Newsreader: The format isn't as scanable as my Google Reader. But it has some nice sharing call-outs, and a lovely Wired inspired color palette.