Permanently Cool

FRESH IDEAS:  I’m all Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fritts for you, sharing interesting ideas, experiences, and promotions I’m reading about around this year’s event.  Now…let me be upfront with you and say that I am a big fan of Sharpie.  As a consumer, and also as a marketer.  They have fully embraced their brand’s usage — creativity, self-expression — and have done really cool things with it.  So of course, I had to read about and share their “Sharpie Bar” and events they’re delivering to Fashion Week.

To drive awareness for their customizable markers (see the Crunchy Mkt Nuggets customized image), Sharpie has created personalized markers for many of the designers participating in Fashion Week.  The pens will be exclusive for the designer’s usage, and feature the designer’s logo imprinted.  Beyond NYC, anyone — whether you’re a fashionista or not — can do this at mysharpie.com.

At the event itself on September 14-16, Sharpie will have set-up a “Sharpie Bar.”  Attendees can use Sharpies to create their own designs and expressions on plain white tees, bags, sunglasses, and…not to overlook the gentlemen in the crowd…skinny ties (Note:  Who even knew skinny ties were back, right?!).  Erica Domesek, designer and Sharpie spokesperson, will be on-hand to help.  The Sharpie Bar goings-on culminate with a visit from celeb designer and Sharpie advocate, Betsey Johnson.  She will not only create a tee shirt design in front of a crowd, but she will also create a sketch in honor of breast cancer awareness.  Betsey Johnson is a survivor, and her sketch will be auctioned off to benefit The City of Hope (a Sharpie cause).

Now, all of this is pretty cool.  But what if you’re not exactly free to attend Fashion Week?!  Hey, turn that frown upside down and draw yourself a smile.  Yes!  Those smarty Sharpie marketers have addressed this and have created the means for extending reach.  Consumers can see some of the creations made at the tent, watch behind the scenes footage, hear from Betsey Johnson, and submit their own fashionable creations starting on September 15th at sharpieuncapped.com.  All will be covered, also through their FB, YouTube, and Twitter accounts.  Wow!

Thank you, Sharpie, for giving a marketer so many reasons to love and admire you.  And, perhaps, borrow an inspirational idea or two.  TASTY TRENDS:  Customized Creations; Socially Acceptable; Emotional Experiential; Feeling Good About Doing Good

Tee For You

FRESH IDEAS:  As promised, my good readers, I want to share an interesting program that has a cool, fresh element to it.  Since August, Pop Tarts — who fancies themselves as a fun brand — has been encouraging families to get creative.  Go online to poptarts.com/popart and create your own “pop art,” using available assets — choose your background, your logo, your design elements (hearts, stars, etc.), and, of course, your favorite pop tart flavor.  And create a unique tee shirt.  Designs can be submitted for voting by other consumers.  And the top design each week that gets the most votes, receives a print from participating “pop artist” Burtin Morris.  From among the weekly winners (eight, total), Mr. Morris will select one, grand prize winner.  That lucky Pop Tarter will get to spend a morning with Burtin Morris (makes sense, it’s a breakfast food), and then get to paint with him, as well. The contest ends this Sunday the 6th.  If you’re not feeling the creative pastry juices, you can simply buy one of Morris’ Pop Tarts tee shirt designs, if you wish, for $6.

Now…My half empty readers are saying:  “Art contest.  Kids.  Families.  Famous artist.  Voting.  Seen it.  Brainstormed it.”  But alas!  There IS something fresh and new in this, like a just opened box of Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts (my personal fave flav).  Tee shirts, tee shirts, tee shirts!   This program delivers TONS of opportunities for consumers to love and buy a Pop Tarts branded tee shirt.  Create your own design — buy it.  Create as many as you can think of — buy them all.  Love someone else’s design — buy it.  Love a winning design — buy it.  Love Burtin Morris’ three tees — buy them.  And all done on their website, like a tagless tee shirt:  seamless(ly).  That means lots of Pop Tart tee toting consumers walking around with their $6 shirts, expressing a love of a brand.  It’s the WIFM satisfier to a contest (WIFM=what’s in it for me).  Very nice!  And it pays off the objective of demonstrating creativity and fun.

See, I told you I had something interesting to share that was snack-able.  Again, the program ends this Sunday, so scoot!  Go check it out now!  TASTY TREND:  Custom-Made