So what makes something talkable?

Photo by McAzadi/BUSY via Flickr

We share things that make us pause. We share things that stop us in our shoes. We remember things that make our brains jump off the track of mundane, routine and expected. For anyone who recalls what records are, it’s like when the needle skips in the middle of a song we’ve heard a million times.

Photo by NationYell via Flickr

We sit up. We take notice. We talk.

So when was the last time you had a needle skipping moment? What did you talk about?

This year, it was all about, well, striking out. We spent a fairly raucous evening at Pinz Bowling Alley. Brett skillfully defended his title as bowling ace. Others (who shall remain nameless) did well not to injure themselves or others with the very heavy bowling balls. We all glowed a bit in the black light. We had a blast.

We also took time to sit back and reflect on 2009 – an amazing year of accolades, making history and wowing consumers on behalf of all the dynamic brands with which we work.

We are filled with gratitude, and look forward to what 2010 has in store. Some of us will be practicing our bowling skills.

Happy Holidays!

As cold spells swept various corners of the nation last week, teams from A Squared Group landed in four spots to warm away the winter chills. On behalf of Old Navy, we visited San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, and Philadelphia to serve surprised, grateful and shivering consumers delicious, free hot chocolate.

Our crew was more intrepid than the postal service. Neither rain, wind nor cold could stop them from putting smiles on holiday shoppers’ faces. Consumers were thrilled by the surprise of being handed a cup of steaming goodness as they battled the elements over the weekend.

“What a thoughtful thing to do,” exclaimed one grateful mom in Chicago. “I can’t believe Old Navy is doing this. Just great.”

We had a blast, serving everyone from Carolers straight out of a Dickens’ tale, to a platoon of bicycling Santas, to families looking for the perfect something for their loved ones. They each had an unexpected and joyful brand experience. Many considered it a delightful little break in an otherwise harried day. We love it when that happens.

How does it work?

Simple, really – except the technology behind it, that’s more complicated and best explained by a tech guru. Anyone who has purchased the December issue can go to the Esquire website, download some software and then hold various pages of the magazine – including the cover – up to their webcam. What happens next is better seen than explained…

Obviously, this kind of interaction with one’s magazine won’t work for every periodical or even every issue. But it’s such an exciting way to engage readers and guarantee their undivided attention, that it’s got people talking.

So check it out, and let me know which page is your favorite. Personally, I like controlling the weather – something I wish I could do off the pages of Esquire as well.

Full Disclosure: A Squared Group has no affiliation with Esquire Magazine. We just think it’s cool.

Waiting in line for Grand Opening Event

What would make jaded New Yorkers do a double take, tourist buses screech to an unscheduled halt and busy shoppers feel like the holidays came early? An unexpected encounter. A phenomenal experience. A change from the ordinary to the extraordinary. That is exactly what happened a few weeks ago at Old Navy’s flagship store in Manhattan. In concert with nineteen other Grand Opening events that A Squared Group developed and orchestrated throughout the United States and Canada, including a carnival complete with Ferris wheel in Manhattan Beach, California, we created a jaw-dropping brand experience in SoHo, New York.

wow

Our goal? To ensure that every Old Navy customer and passerby, from infant to octogenarian, felt part of the Old Navy celebration and the Old Navy community.

Lots of smiles

The excitement level was at a fever pitch all day long. Vintage sodas, popcorn and freshly spun cotton candy were given out. Face-painters and balloon artists delighted children (and adults) with their creations. Branded games were created specifically for the event. And members of Cirque du Soleil wowed the crowds with feats of daring and delight.

Teamwork

Customers called, texted and tweeted their friends and family. Pedestrians made unplanned detours into the store. More than one sight-seeing tour added Old Navy to their agenda. The experience reaffirmed consumers’ conviction that Old Navy is a fun and friendly place for the whole family. And we loved being part of it!

ROI

Drums and cheering could be heard throughout Manhattan this past weekend as the Gap Cheer Squad and Drumline rocked their way from Harlem to the South Street Seaport to Battery Park and beyond. New York was the first stop on a tour that aims to encourage people to have fun and make this year’s festivities extra special and memorable. The A Squared Group team embraced this project as a great opportunity for the Cheer Factory idea, made famous in numerous Gap ads this holiday season, to hit the streets and reach consumers in a personalized, spontaneous and incredibly exciting way.

Traveling via a dramatically branded bus from point to point, the Cheer Squad and Drumline surprised crowds of lucky pedestrians along their route.

The show they put on – complete with fun and clever cheers, boundless energy and death-defying tricks – entranced everyone within sight and hearing. Surprise gifts were given to unsuspecting pedestrians lucky enough to catch the show.

The A Squared Group team loved watching people’s reactions as Cheer Squad members fearlessly flew into the air.

The festive, communal spirit was tangible.

If you are in Chicago, Los Angeles or San Francisco in the coming weeks, keep your eyes and ears open. The Gap Cheer Squad and Drumline are coming your way.

As most Americans prepare to sit down with friends and family for a day of eating, everyone’s focus tends to be more on what goes in the mouth than what comes out of it. Talk, however, is a huge part of what makes holidays great – an unexpected conversation topic, a shared observation between two “orphaned” friends, a serendipitous story recounted by a visiting relative, or crucial advice imparted by one generation to another. Acknowledging this, I am left wondering what folks will be talking about tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day.

How many people will decide to pursue a new endeavor, check out a new store, product, website, or experience, or shift their perception about a brand based on a discussion had around the dinner table or during the commercial break of a football game? When over 80% of us still make our purchase decisions based on recommendations from family and friends, the words that get passed around may just be more filling than the turkey and stuffing.

So take a moment to listen to what’s being said at your holiday gathering. And don’t worry, there will still be plenty of left-overs to go around.

Happy Thanksgiving from A Squared Group!

Last week, a team from A Squared Group was in the Big Apple to spend some time with robots. Well, the Droid, actually. We produced another event for Motorola. This time, Manhattan taste-makers were able to check out the covetable new Droid smart phone.

The product has already made huge waves in technology and social media circles. Now, everyone else is talking about it too.

Don’t be surprised if it takes over the world.

Recently, I was introduced to Bompas & Parr via KCRW’s Good Food program, and once again reminded of how limitless the possibilities are for creating a memorable experience – whether in service to a brand or not. Bompas & Parr up-ended the idea of what it means to have a drink. They vaporized Hendrick’s Gin and Fever Tree tonic in a building. Guests walked through a cloud of mist, “drinking” their gin and tonic with each inhalation of air.

Anyone who imbibed from this Alcoholic Architecture will never think of gin and tonic the same way again, and will associate this amazing experience with the brands involved.

All of which just goes to show that nurturing the relationship between brand and consumer has never been more fun.

As always, the White Space provided us a perfect blank canvas with which to play.

The Merci boutique may be unfamiliar to those who haven’t ventured to France within the past six months and au courante on all international fashion and design trends. That makes it even more exciting for us to be able to help introduce Merci in the United States. It is an eclectic mix of haute discoveries, vintage pieces and a melange of items in between. It is a vibrant, unpretentious shop with an artistic vibe – a great match with Gap’s aesthetic.

We captured that spirit, with all its whimsy and great attention to detail, to produce a memorable experience for visitors to the Gap Concept Store.

Consumers who enter the Merci Gap shop would never guess that only days before Anna Wintour and the denizens of New York’s Fashion Week celebrated its opening, a denim-themed story highlighting Gap’s Born to Fit campaign lived in the space. Or that, just weeks earlier, we had built a yoga studio environment and brought in yoga gurus to teach classes. As with those that came before, the Merci experience was fleeting. We are already at work to transform the Gap Concept Store into a new incarnation. Stop by 54th and 5th when next you’re in the city, to see the latest developments.