Clever Doesn't Have to Be Costly

Strategic Pattern:

Recognizing and making decisions at the speed of opportunity

The $32 Toilet Bowl

The Situation: Vegas alcohol trade show. We're a 3-person agency with a 6-foot table and monitor in a sea of $50K+ corporate booths.

Plan: Buy booth materials to avoid shipping costs and union load-in fees.

Strategic Decision: Vegas Home Depot for supplies and an impulse Toilet Bowl buy.

The Execution:

Set toilet on the ground at our booth (not elevated - on the ground at a food and alcohol show)
Sign on the lid with downward arrow: "Your Old Marketing Ideas Go Here"
Mounted screen inside showing our work
Total investment: $32 plus display materials

The Result:

You see their eyes catch the sign, watch a smile appear and a laugh. Instant engagement and conversation starter.
ConAgra executive: "I spent $50,000 on my booth and all everyone is talking about is your booth and your toilet."
My deadpan reply: "$32 at Home Depot." Priceless.
New Business Development Creativity.

Lasting Image: Efficient and simple cleverness

The Nick.com Macy's Parade Story

The Situation: Nickelodeon wants 6,000 oversized branded balloons in the hands of the parade crowd. They take up massive space. We temporarily (illegally) parked them tied to Central Park fence while figuring out logistics at 6 AM.

Of course this is going to draw police attention.

The Moment: Police Officer: "Who's in charge?"

Without hesitation: "Do you have kids?" as I placed Rugrat stickers in his hand.

"That buys you an hour."

The Strategic Decision (accelerating in real-time):

Original plan: Get client's balloons in crowd, hope to be seen on TV broadcast
Reality: Sidewalks too crowded and balloons too big to move through crowds
Decision point: We're walking the ENTIRE parade route WITH the balloons

The Execution:

Team in branded orange jumpsuits, goggles and swim caps
Nick.com banner leading
6,000 oversized balloons creating spectacle throughout route
Final shot: Snoopy balloon above us at parade end

The Result: Instead of hope balloons on TV, millions experiencing Nick.com live, kids and parents chanting "nick.com." We even appeared on broadcast AND had street-level brand engagement.

Memorable: One of the 60 in jumpsuits was a terrified and excited client. It wasn't just expanding the experience; it was lifting the level of fan engagement for Nickelodeon. BTW...we made it the whole parade route and even doubled back ½ way and jumped back on the parade route. Police: "I should arrest you, but my kids would kill me."

The $15 SxSW Sandwich Board

The Situation: First time at SxSW. Morning run after 2-week cross-country trade show grind. Saw someone in a branded shirt. Realized: who will know who I am?

Goal: Find sponsors for music channel client.

The Strategic Decision: I need branding...now.

The Execution:

Found cardboard outside liquor store
Gave a random hotel valet $10 for marker and scissors
Bought string from local store, Investment $15
Made sandwich board: "CLEVER DOESN'T HAVE TO BE COSTLY"
Never went home. Wore it sweaty all day.

The Result: Made SxSW publicity reel. Generated qualified sponsorship inquiries for client and never worried about my appearance. Low tech at high tech event.

The Uber Tent Moment

The Situation: Went to an NYC concert knowing we had teams working there. While stopping by my team's promotional activations I noticed someone nearby struggling to put up one of those extra sturdy pop-up tents.

It wasn't a strategic decision to help, it is just my nature.

The Execution:

Be kind, help those you can
Friendly conversation follows
Turned out to be Uber, just beginning their branding push in NY

The Result:

Within a week: in their office
Teams deployed on the street to educate on services
Introduced New York to the launch of Uber Pool and later Uber Eats
Tens of thousands of new users for ride share app

Why this matters: Kindness is an easy strategy for relationship building. Help first without an ask, be a mentor, introduce friends, be a friend. Connections can follow and they remember the moments of kindness. Experiential Networking.

The Payphone Moment

The Situation: 1998, the beginning. Ahead of the PACE all 3 of us at Promo Expo in Chicago. At a payphone checking the company answering machine, yes answering machine and payphone.

The Strategic Decision: Di-Ann Eisnor next to me on her phone having a problem: "How are we going to do this?"

I wrote on a piece of paper: "We can do that" and kept showing it to her while she was on the call.

Truth? We had never done this work before.

The Result:

She hung up, we sat down, she was talking a million miles an hour
That conversation led to $1 million plus in business
Program on New York Times front page and was a growth accelerator for Eisnor
We became the exclusive partner for Eisnor Interactive for their activations and strategic planning fueling their agency growth
Di-Ann recently confirmed on LinkedIn: "epic story and what a blast from the past"

Why this matters: This wasn't just a lucky break. It set a pattern for my career. Recognizing the moment and making decisions at the speed of opportunity.

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The Strategic Pattern

The use of data analytics is a powerful tool and recognizing the space that sits between this resource and human behavior creates unique brand opportunities. Strategic decisions made at the moment of opportunity take off when applied to large scope campaigns. Sometimes that moment of opportunity is a conversation, other times it is a strategic moment for a brand.

Operating in the space between analytics and human behavior and at the speed of opportunity is a strategy.