Novartis HQ

Novartis tore down their 19th Century plant to build a knowledge campus, devoted to knowledge transfer. Everybody having a separate office went, Italian coffee houses came in.

Source: 'Storytelling in Organizations' book, John Seely Brown et al, 2005

Promo idea: Green Tomato Cars leaflet

Green Tomato Cars dropped a leaflet at house no 1 on every street. It said 'we are a green company and so are only handing out 1 leaflet per street. Please cross off your house number and then drop it through your neighbour's door'.

Mentioned by founder Jonny Goldstone in a talk mid-2008. Idea was from an ad agency who approached them.

Promo idea: Dr Pepper bets when Guns 'n Roses will release album

Dr Pepper said that if Gun 'n Roses release Chinese Democracy, which was 17 years in the making, before the end of 2008 they would give everyone in the US a free can. It was released on 23 November, the only day on which the free drinks were available.

http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/SalesPromotion/News/856528/Dr-Pepper-offer-Americans-free-fizzy-pop/

Promo idea: Lands' End Gift Card in a Mini-Bag

Lands' End in the US sent out a gift charge card before Xmas, in a mini-bag, mini-catalogue and gift box. The point: call up, fill the card with a gift amount, send it on in the bag and gift box.

Learnt from here: http://www.catalogsuccess.com/article/have-lands-end-sears-finally-gotten-right-almost-84035_2.html

Sadly no photos seem findable on the web.

Promo idea: Orange Rockcorp

Give 4 hours of your time to charity, get concert tickets.
And an Orange SIM-card with £20 credit to try to convert you into a customer.
http://projects.orangerockcorps.co.uk/theCollective.asp

See Your Car Being Repaired Online

Nationwide insurance in the US let you see you car while it's being repaired.
http://www.nationwide.com/autowatch-online-auto-repair.jsp

Promo idea: Burger King Lost Wallet Promotion

Burger King ran a fun US promotion centred on a finding a 'lost wallet'.
http://www.ted.me/free-wallet-from-burger-king/

IBM & Wal-Mart - Iconic Actions

Lou Gerstner, IBM
At a first Divisional meeting, where managers were accustomed to presenting great reams of overhead projections, Gerstner turned off the projector and insisted they all just talk. Very quickly, having the best slides stopped being among the criteria for success at the company.

Sam Walton, Wal-Mart
In one instance, he heard a customer complain to a clerk that the fishing rod he had bought at Wal-Mart Stores had broken. "Mr. Sam" walked over to the fishing rod section, got an identical rod, gave it to the customer and deeply apologized.

Source: John Kotter article, http://www.forbes.com/2006/04/12/power-of-stories-oped-cx_jk_0412kotter.html?partner=daily_newsletter

Einstein and Reframing

A nice reframing story:
"We were all warned that algebra was going to be really difficult, whereas Einstein was told that it was a hunt for a creature known as 'X' and that when you caught it, it had to tell you it's name."
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1034792581.html