One would assume that being in the ad biz for as long as I have, that nothing can get us excited these days. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for anything clever and unexpected when it comes to brands interacting with people, on and offline. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture or blown-out marketing campaign. It's the little things that count. Do it in a delightful and unexpected way and you'll get people to look forward to "having a conversation" w/your brand. Sorry for this overused, social media cliche, but it's all I got right now. You can punch me in the face later. Brands should should be here to enable interaction, and not just a transaction. Damn, was that another cliche? Okay, I'll stop now. But before I do, check out this Twitter reply I received from the @OCGoodwill today after a Foursquare post mentioning them over the weekend. What I found really cool about this was that they didn't feel it was necessary to follow me just because I mentioned them in a tweet. How often have you experienced brands on twitter quick to auto-follow or spam you with links once you mention them in a tweet? Most of the time, it's taken out of context and the company starts to become really annoying. This small, unexpected, no-strings attached reply was genuine and unassuming. It had me feeling delightfully more positive about the brand than I ever would have, had they not reached out. Now, isn't that what it's all about?
