Don't Tell the Boss About This....

I used to work with a guy who had this great way of getting out of meetings. At exactly 25 minutes after the meeting began, his secretary would come in and whisper something in his ear. He would then leave the meeting room. Ten minutes after that, his secretary would reenter the room, pick up his belongings and leave. This guy never attended a meeting for longer than 30 minutes!


Now there's a free service called Phone My Phone (http://www.phonemyphone.com/) that cuts out the middleman. If you go to Phonemyphone.com, you can have the service contact you at a pre-determined time so, if you're in a boring meeting, you can discretely excuse yourself and leave. It's also great as a Plan B for that excruciatingly terrible blind date. I've also heard it used to find your cell phone when there's not another phone around.


Now, I doubt phonemyphone.com will become the next LinkedIn for the business world.

But it teaches us as marketers that if you tap into pains in the marketplace ("please get me out of this meeting!!") you can create awareness for your company. Then you can then add additional services that are more serious and business focused.


It will be interesting to see how PMP gains subscribers and how their business model evolves.

Has anyone used Phone my Phone?

A New Spin on an Old Idea

Every heard of “flogos?” A flogo is a floating logo, made of soap, water, helium and compressed gas. Snowmasters, Inc., maker of Flogos, is a Lexington, Alabama (http://www.flogos.net/) based special effects firm who counts Disney, the Atlanta Braves, and Auburn University as clients. Flogos are made from a machine that looks much like the Play-Do clay press we had as kids – the cloud is generated in the machine and forced through a stencil of the desired logo, then it’s cut as it passes through the stencil. The cloud then floats up and, if there’s a wind, out over the countryside. Flogos have been known to travel 30 miles and reach a maximum altitude of 20,000 feet.

Flogos are environmentally friendly and, so far, airplane friendly. The FAA has said the floating logos fall under the same rules that govern balloons.

What’s cool about this from a marketer’s point of view is that it takes an old concept –flying an old biplane with a banner over a stadium – and completely updates it. This is a concept that should have some staying power because of its uniqueness. Until, of course, someone has an accident while watching one of these and then hires a personal injury lawyer. But for now, let’s enjoy a new product from a creative company.

Has anyone seen a Flogo?