Commuter Marketing: Volkswagen BlueMotion: Piano Stairs

Using the subway on a regular basis gets old fast, which is why the people at VW found a way to brighten Stockholm commuters' morning routines with a fun take on an everyday activity. This installation illustrates how easily a metro station can become a playground with a well-executed idea like this interactive staircase piano. Way to go Sweden.

Event Marketing: Aroma Festival at The Rocks, Mona Lisa in Coffee

The universal scent of “wake-up”, shared by millions, is the arousing fragrance of coffee or tea in the morning. At the annual Aroma Festival at The Rocks in Sydney, Australia, coffee addicts across the world join to smell, sip and splurge on their favorite liquid indulgence. In order to add some spice to the already flavorful affair, event coordinators, Sydney Harbor Foreshore Authority, Grinders Coffee and Dairy Farmers collaborated to re-create the Mona Lisa Masterpiece with coffee. To achieve the different levels of color, multiple brews of pure coffee and espresso drinks were prepared in order to create the unique medium. Along with a caffeine buzz, festival attendees left with new insight into the possibilities of modern art.

Mall Marketing: Oreo Elevator

Personal preference aside, everyone loves to dunk an Oreo cookie in milk. Whether you fancy your cookie au naturel, double-stuffed or dowsed in a hard chocolate cover, it’s more fun when you dunk. The Oreo Elevator is a creative marketing technique that triggers the helpless sweet-tooth so many of us undeniably have. Innocent shoppers left the mall with more than just their recent purchase, they left with a craving for milks favorite cookie.

Product Placement: Colgate, Don't Forget to Brush!

Some ice-cream bars promise a creamy caramel filling, while others may pledge a chocolate fudge center. Colgate, however, offers an ice-cream bar filled with a little reminder; Don’t Forget to Brush! (and while you’re at it… use Colgate!). To take the brand off the shelf and in to customer minds, Colgate surpassed traditional means of communication and headed straight for our sweet tooth. Instead of preaching against cavity-prone consumption, Colgate encourages it, even provides it, as long as consumption is accompanied by a fun, simple reminder to always brush.

Consumer Activism: Carrotmob

How much fun is there to be had at a boycott? Aside from the pleasure brought by catchy one-liners chanted in unison from the chords of diligent, dissatisfied customers, not much. Enter Carrotmob, “a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices.” Carrotmob has re-written the Activist’s Guide to Effective Protest by changing the rules; instead of yelling at those who do wrong, they tip their hats to those who pledge to do right. How Carrotmob works: Companies compete by pledging a percentage of mob-day-sales to greening business operations. The winning company is then mobbed by the avid network of carrotmobsters who bolster sales by doing what they do best: consume. The company then uses the pledged money to lower energy usage, replace aged piping or use sustainable inputs. In addition to the short-run gain in sales revenue, the company is able to achieve long-term savings and favorable positioning as a socially-conscious business. Carrotmobs have succeeded domestically in several cities including San Francisco, Portland, Brooklyn, Seattle and Chicago, while expanding internationally to Finland, Germany, Australia and Canada. The philosophy behind Carrotmob is that it’s much more enjoyable and effective to lure companies in with a carrot (Carrotmob) than to poke them with a stick (boycott). Learn more about Carrotmob at http://carrotmob.org/.

Commuter Marketing: Joint Juice Hits S.F. (Cue Rocky Music)

San Francisco MUNI and BART riders face the same daily question: “Stairs or Escalator?” To help ease the pain of climbing the dreaded stairway, Joint Juice suggests commuters try their new glucosamine infused Fitness Water. The mobile marketing campaign was launched in MUNI and BART underground stop stations and on SF MUNI public transit buses (“Can you bend like this bus?”).

Street Marketing: McDonald's Have You Had Your Coffee Fix Today?

To promote their 2 week long free coffee promotion, McDonald's teamed up with Cossette Atlantic to transform light posts on the streets of Vancouver, Canada into "java" filled coffee pots and cups. Supporting bus shelters reminded consumers of the promotions' approaching end date, illustrated by a dwindling mass of coffee beans. Bottoms up!

Publicity Stunt: Havaianas

There comes a time each year when droves of people neatly fold their fleece lined coats, retire their two pairs of tightly knit wool socks, reluctantly let go of bad weather as a catch-all-excuse for being lazy, and embrace spring. For Havaianas, a Brazilian originated sandal company, they are just keeping up with the seasonal flow of fashion. From Rome to London, Havaianas invites locals and tourists alike to spring into the season with bright pink, orange, yellow and blue footwear. Brand ambassadors simultaneously rose across Europe’s major cities to decorate world famous lawns with sprouting flowers. Only this time, by flowers, we mean shoes.

Street Marketing: Calgary Farmers' Market

The saying goes, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. When it comes to fresh produce, a group of Calgary Farmers in Alberta, Canada want to remind you that their apples never fall in the freezer. In the snow ridden streets, lined with embarrassingly naked trees, Calgary invites us to get in the holiday spirit and enjoy a delicious, always fresh, juicy, red ornament donned with a simple freshness guarantee, “Fresh All Winter”. An unknown number of passer-bys actually ate the fruit, while everyone else visually digested the idea that fresh fruit should be expected, whether the occasion coincides with a fertile spring day in April or a bitter, frosty night in December.

Promotional Campaign: Eichborn

Is this a red flag for PETA or a unique promotional campaign? Curious crowds at the Frankfurt Book Fair suggest the latter. Equipped with red promotional banners attached by wax strings, flies were set free in the convention to create buzz for the German publishing house Eichborn. Unsuspecting book goers were greeted by these little creatures along with a brand message; a message that would have gone nearly unnoticed had it been in the form of a traditional, oversized banner flying above the booth. Whether or not the significance of insect rights lingered in the back of apprehensive consumer minds, traffic was driven to Eichborn and its products. At the end of the day one thing may have been missing; a strategic partnership with an electric fly swatter company.