THINK INSIDE THE BOX

NOT ONCE IN MY 20 YEARS IN COMMUNICATIONS has a client ever asked me to come up with a small idea. I can count on every briefing or brainstorm to exhort me to deliver a “big idea.” It can be exasperating, partly because it’s such a cliché, and partly because it often forces the agency to play to the client’s desire for flash and spectacle when nuance and subtlety might be more effective in achieving the objective.

A SURPRISING SMILE

I was thinking of the power of the small idea recently when I interrupted a healthy walk home from work with an unhealthy stop at a Johnny Rockets burger joint. The experience was the same as a thousand fast-food visits before it while I ordered. (Burger, fries, diet coke). The waitress delivered my food, but then to my amazement, put a shallow cardboard bowl on the table, grabbed the ketchup bottle and poured a smiley face for me. I couldn’t help smiling back at her and the bowl. They both seemed so pleased.

Now really, this is not a “big” idea. But even though it feels a little silly, it’s also just kind of nice. I tend to parse things so here’s what I arrived at as I munched a fry and gazed into those ketchupy eyes:

First, a surprise — just about any surprise — that positively disrupts an experience typified by routine can create a pleasant moment for your customer.

Second, the ketchup bottle at most diners can be one of the dirtiest things around you, and it can be one of the greatest sources of what I call “accepted annoyance.” Who hasn’t hassled to get it to pour? I absolutely never would have dreamed that someone else might do the chore for me, but wow … thanks!

Third, Rockets wait staff evidently have been trained on the secret to pouring ketchup. (Though I can say with pride, I learned the same technique from a stranger at a Kansas City burger institution known as Winstead’s.) Here it is:

1. Make a fist of one hand, with your curled index finger and thumb on top, palm perpendicular to the floor.
2. With the other hand, grasp the ketchup bottle near its base.
3. Gently tap the middle of the bottle, where it starts to narrow, on your fist, with the bottle pointing down toward your plate.
4. Watch with wonderment as the red river flows.

I have absolutely no idea why it works, but it does — every time. Now, had I not learned this over a better burger in KC (Calvin Trillin called it “the best hamburger in the world” and I’m not arguing), I would have been pleased to learn it at Rockets.

So there you have it. In a single swift act, I get a surprise, I get a little more attention than normal from my waitress, I get an “accepted annoyance” eliminated from my dining experience, and I learn a new trick that will keep me happily pouring ketchup for the rest of my life. And all that adds up to giving me a little extra reason to choose Rockets over an alternative when I get a burger urge.

The hard part about small ideas like this one is institutionalizing them without making it look like a chore the wait staff is doing only because they’ll get fired if they don’t. Rockets lets their people bring their own creativity to it, as a quick look at these photos shows.

Not bad for a small idea.

AN UNEXPECTED FAVOR

A few years ago I experienced a small idea that I’m pretty sure was just one person’s way of doing things, but ought to go company wide. It was the first time I’d flown Midwest Airlines (then Midwest Express). Not knowing better, I approached the gate agent and asked if there was a meal on my flight. She looked at me with the eyes of an experienced woman and said “This is your first time, isn’t it?” I shuffled uncomfortably and looked away as I acknowledged, yes, I was a Midwest virgin. “Well, let me tell you. You’re going to have your choice of two hot entrees served with linen and china, as well as your choice of red or white wine. And when you’re done, we’re going to bring two warm chocolate chip cookies to you, hot from the oven. How does that sound?”

Sounds pretty damn good to me, I thought as I mentally flung every other airline into my brand-loyalty basement. But here came the clincher: “I think you’re going to like flying with us. In fact, you really should be a member of our frequent flier program, because I’m sure you’ll be back,” my new best friend said. So I reached for the application brochure sitting on the counter. “Oh, now, don’t you worry about it,” she said. “Just give me your business card and I’ll fill it out for you.”

I silently obeyed, completely under her spell. The in-flight experience was exactly as she promised and I became a convert. To this day, my administrative assistant and travel agent know my first choice is Midwest.

Sure, the gate agent was an inherently helpful person with a pleasant disposition and you can’t necessarily train that into everyone. But the little touch of filling out the application for me was brilliant. Again, a little surprise, a little extra attention, a chore dismissed. What a great, great small idea.

A COUNTERINTUITIVE APPROACH

The Iams Company (a former client in the pet food business) has long embraced a small idea that is remarkable primarily because it goes completely against conventional wisdom. Iams has a Customer Care call center, as do countless other packaged goods companies. The prevailing operating philosophy of such call centers is to handle the customer’s complaint or issue as quickly as possible. Goals are set for maximum call limits. People are evaluated by how many calls they can process in an hour or a shift.

Not Iams. People with pets like to talk about their pets, and Iams knows that. So their operating philosophy is “do whatever it takes … take as long as it takes … to make the customer happy and to know Iams really cares about them.” Where it’s unheard of in other call centers to spend, say seven minutes on a call, it’s not unusual for an Iams operator to spend twice that, if that’s what it takes. As a result they instill an extraordinary affinity for their brand in their customers’ minds.

Big idea? Probably wouldn’t sound like it at the pitch, but it’s a small idea that creates huge value.

THE SIMPLICITY OF IT ALL

One of the things that characterizes all good ideas, but especially “small” ideas is their simplicity. It takes practically no further explanation once you’ve said:

“Pour them a ketchup smiley face to make them feel welcome.”

“Fill out the form for them, so they experience from the get-go that we take extra care of our customers.”

“Stay on the phone as long as it takes to make a friend for life.”

The beauty of small ideas is that they tend to be easier to execute, less cost-intensive, and are generally more differentiating than so-called “big ideas.” Nuances are great ways to communicate how your brand is unique, but especially how it is relevant to the interests of your customer. The way to “cut through the clutter” isn’t with more clutter; it’s with relevance.

Given the amount of communication pelting us every second of the day, maybe THAT’S the big idea.

© 2008 John Armato
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