Several years ago I wrote a post on how I thought there should be an iPhone EZ pass application – http://wp.me/pJX7l-9L – and BTW I didn’t and still don’t have an iPhone. I would now add that it should be a smartphone application for all platforms (Android, Blackberry if they last). Good idea but I’ve lately been trying to find a way to make it happen and have been stymied every step of the way when it comes to contacting people at EZ Pass – which has been nearly impossible. If it was easy it already would have been done right?

So my conclusion is that the answer to ‘why didn’t I think of that’ can sometimes be answered in realizing that the idea is only part of the process and successfully implementing an idea is most often more difficult than thinking it up in the first place.

If I have learned anything from creating http://www.yourcover.com is that good ideas don’t always translate into good businesses – at least not right away – and even if they do it will take time as it has with YourCover which I am happy to say is now a very successful business. And even if they do translate into good businesses the road to success is will be long and filled with potholes that we do our best to avoid. However I find myself on the side of the road from time to time fixing the damage done when the pothole cannot be avoided.

But I strongly encourage people to not answer the question ‘why hasn’t it been done already? Before they’ve tried actually doing it. Even if other people thought of it, putting an idea into action and making it happen requires more than ingenuity. The idea is only the beginning and the hard work then follows. What happens to me is that I think – someone has undoubtedly already thought of this and there’s a reason it has not been done. I realize that is a pretty poor excuse for not at least exploring an idea to a greater degree.

Some time ago I had an idea for a smartphone mirror application – something that would look like a compact-type mirror. Sure enough when I looked I found one on the Android system (but not for Blackberry as far as I have been able to determine) http://bit.ly/wrPbwp. The question I should ask myself (and you should think about asking yourself) is – ‘Why didn’t I think of making it happen?’

Thanks to Wikipedia the definition of guerilla marketing is: ‘an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive; and consumers are targeted in unexpected places. The objective of guerrilla marketing is to create a unique, engaging and thought-provoking concept to generate buzz, and consequently turn viral. The term was coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in his book Guerrilla Marketing. I don’t know why he spells it with two ‘r’s.

That sounds all fine and good, but too many people equate guerilla marketing with – you don’t have to spend any money. I don’t believe Jay Conrad Levinson had that thought in mind. Then there’s also the notion that somehow when guerilla marketing strategies and tactics are employed we agency types will be smarter and more cost-conscious. My point is that ALL marketers should always be trying to do things smarter and more cost-consciously on every project.

For example, building a Facebook ‘website’ type page within Facebook is something different that might fall into the guerilla marketing category – it’s unconventional (at least for now), has a potential reach of 500 million Facebook users and is decidedly a less expensive proposition than a conventional website. But even with that less expensive approach than that of a conventional website, it’s far from free or even a nominal expenditure. Strategy, concept, and execution on the part of the agency are what we get paid to do.

We like and ascribe to the idea of unconventional approaches but there also are times when we know a big fat branding and marketing campaign will be the best way for a client to achieve their marketing objectives. We feel that way about YourCover all the time but lack the resources to blow out a big time brand message so we continue to grow the company using a myriad of what we consider to be affordable tactics and channels. So yes we are employing guerilla marketing when we know we’d be better off if we could employ gorilla marketing!

I’d love to hear about some of the unconventional approaches you’ve encountered out there. Please share your stories and we can all learn a little more.

Our agency helps craft email messages for our clients.   The method of distribution comes up frequently.  The leading commercial email provider is Constant Contact (CC).  There are others like Strongmail, Goodmail, Silverpop and many more.  CC is a solid platform that is relatively inexpensive with somewhat limited functionality.   But it’s cheap.  Did I mention that?   When we recommend email distribution (and we have our own proprietary platform) we sometimes recommend NOT using our own solution.  This has mostly to do with individual client budget limitations. 

If you are sending 500 emails, or even 2,500 a platform like Constant Contact offers a simple interface, a few templates and a decent reporting system.   Once you step up to higher quantities it makes more sense to consider a platform that has more features, better reporting and unlimited graphical opportunities.  

Most of the commercial email platforms like CC have their own ‘advertisement’ at the bottom of the email.  If you are a corporation connecting with your clients and prospects that’s not necessarily the most professional look and feel.  And once you are sending out thousands of email at a time the expense factor levels out and a proprietary system can actually be less expensive as the numbers get larger. 

And what about substantially expanded creative capability?    Our www.YourCover.com product had used CC for years and we were frustrated by the limitations set forth by the platform itself.  We simply could not maintain our brand image using the CC interface.  And as our email list has grown the cost savings has become less evident.   So we are moving over to our own platform (finally) since our list is both large enough and we cannot put up with the graphic limitations of CC. 

Why a proprietary system over one out of the can? It’s all about integration.   The ability to send emails, surveys, Purls, direct to landing pages and even print on demand off of one engine makes our lives (and our client’s lives) so much easier AND so much better in terms of reporting and metrics.  And last time I checked making things easier and better was still important.

Or at least I think so.