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Interactive Holiday Cards

Happy holidays, good people! I was thinking a bit of caroling might be in order this season.

Join me (to the tune of We Three Kings)

We ad-ver-tis-ers are
Slinging products near and far
Brand name leading
Price proceeding
Peer reviewers please give us 5 stars...

Oooh, oooh...

Ok, I'll stop. Instead, check out this great holiday card from my home agency. There's plenty of caroling to be had by all. See if you can spot me on jinglemangle.com-

And, while you're in the mood, do a good thing for the online magicians at Resource Interactive.  They're donating one computer to One Laptop Per Child for every 150 'what's inside the package' guesses on their site. Go give the present a shake at guessthegift.com -

Still want more? A few favorite agency e-cards from years past:

2008 Holiday Gift Cards

First, the gift card version of the 'How Many Jelly Beans' jar:

How many different gift cards does Giant Eagle currently carry?

(Answer at the end of the post)

Even those of us not in the Big-Bird-Gift-Cards-for-Gas program have likely noticed the gift card gauntlet retailers are up against this year. The challenge: Personalize the ultimate impersonal gift. And, get the card-buying masses to wrap up yours.

Category leaders like Starbucks have enabled full personalization and design of their cards online - to the delight of caffeine-addled art directors the world over.

Borders, Circuit City and others are offering a simplified approach to personal design with a single photo upload. Home Depot's cards double as a CD of How-to tips for the DIYer on your list. And, the Big Boxes are going after the little box with entire catalogs of just-right-for-you card decor, from Barbie to the nearly-old-fashioned spotted dog.

If the personalization isn't enough to woo you, there's always old-fashioned bribery. LL Bean will give you a free tote for giving a card, Circuit City will reward buyers with an instant-win card to try your luck at a big holiday surprise for yourself, and most of the restaurants are trading 'cash back' cards for gift card sales.

But, all that said, there are two programs that I think are stand-outs this year.

First up, the Sears card. I was already doting over the nostalgia of the Wish Book when I saw these two winning cards: A water-paint gift card that lets the giver or getter paint the scene (just don't drop it in the snow) and a sticker-book kit that lets buyers deck out their cards. Great extensions of the childlike fun of the season and the nostalgia of family holidays.

Second, the Bob Evans gift card tin. Your choice of several snowy Bob Evans cards fit neatly in this cute brand tin. Considering that 88% of us (according to NRF) will buy at least two gift cards this year, the tin seems like a great add-on for the gift-giver - a place to store all their plastic cash without stretching out their wallets or pockets with the temporary cards.

Answer: Giant Eagle carries 275 different gift cards.

Four Rules for Career Success

I'm of that age. I'm a boss. A friend of other bosses.

I hear both sides now. The employees (like me) who are struggling for direction, recognition, growth. And, the bosses (also like me) wanting to feel confident in their staff, hoping for always-improving performance.

But, somehow, the two sides rarely seem to clearly communicate. To define, mentor, move forward.

So, for all you fellow white-collar employees out there, I share with you four lessons - learned on both sides of the fence - that represent the traits of an indispensable employee:

• Never be silent in a meeting. You're there for a reason. Participate. Add value. Take notes.
• Always build trust. Demonstrate that you understand the business - the entire business, not just your department - and your boss's painpoints. Take actions that show you're a responsive steward of the business, the brand and your boss's sanity.
• Keep generating ideas. New ideas. Fresh perspectives. Not just words/pictures/projects/research or whatever the details of your job description mandate.
• Learn to read a room. Nothing will get you farther in business than empathy. Stop talking when eyes glaze. Offer solutions when brows crease. Pay attention to all the nonverbal feedback coming your way and act on it.

Decision time again for multi-channel retailers: Where do you want shoppers to go?

Lots of news for multi-channel retailers out this quarter. JCP.com launched a 'know before you go' campaign that directly speaks to online pre-shoppers. Brookstone launched a true virtual store online - one with all of the sense of discovery and maddening inconvenience of a real-live shopping trip.

Barnes and Noble launched a site intended to bring the local store experience online, while Whole Foods finally got in the Web experience game with a holiday planning site aimed at sending you in-store, list in-hand.

And, new research out claims that one in three Americans will shop more online this holiday season (over last) even as they indite online retailers for shoddy customer experiences. Cyber Monday sales alone were up 21% off the same day last year.

It seems that we're reaching another key critical decision time for retailers.

What do you want your brand experience to be tied to? Your flawed local store or your impersonal national warehouse? What does ideal convenience really look like for today's shopper?

The options are much broader than the current big three:

• Buy online
• Pre-order online, buy in-store
• Browse online, buy in-store

One of my favorite options re-invigorates high-touch service and another turns shopping on its head...

• Neighborhood store: One of my most-despised words in the press right now is 'the new urbanism.' Essentially, walkable amenities moved to the traditionally housing-rich suburbs. The ethic behind it is one of neighborhood-ism. Of being part of something 'smaller' with access to all the conveniences of 'bigger.' That same ethic could create a resurgence of personal deliveries. Customers check product availability online. If the product is at their local store, they can choose to an open time for a same-day local delivery to their home or office. Trust me, if the Mentos intern can do it, so can Best Buy.
• Virtual-real store: I'm sure you've seen this concept store created by IconNicholson. It's this incredible 'social retailing' concept that's a combination physical dressing room with online social tools that enable idea sharing, remote recommendations and more.
• Remote personal shopper: 66 percent of shoppers said they would be more willing to buy online if every purchase was guaranteed. So thinking about the concept of guaranteed, what if we brought the trusted recommendation of a favorite sales associate online. Higher-end brands, like Nordstrom, could offer a free (likely even a paid) consultation with a sales associate. The associate would profile the customer, understand their preferences, shop the store with them. Then, via IM or phone, that associate could make Web-purchasing recommendations to the customer over time - becoming a virtual private shopper and an essential guarantee of satisfaction.

There are hundreds or permutations ... but the core question is: Do you want your customers to interact with your brand in a vacuum? Or will you leverage the local store for all it's worth...

Your brand personality

Ok, yonder readers, time to prove out just who are the marketing geekiest among us.

Have you ever thought about what your personal brand personality might be? That one thing that unites all your disparate - work, family, friends - selves by a common thread? A subtle elevation of the common to a unifying spirit. That thing that sets you apart.

Last month, I met this amazing woman who said her's was 'scrappy.'

Do you love that? At once competitive and practical. Bootstraps and game-changing ideas all in one.

Sadly, I believe mine is 'resourceful.' Not much romance in that. All practical, little passion. But, I'd like it to be 'curious.'

And, that my friends, is why I win this geek off. Not only do I have a personal brand, I also have personal brand envy.

Leave yours in the comments...

Whole Foods gets in the Web game - FINALLY!

I recently came across this online holiday planning guide from Whole Foods. When I same 'came across,' I mean either unearthed from their disastrously-designed email newsletter or mined from their messy Web site.

This is a brand that delivers 'high-end' in the stores, but seems as granola and devil-may-care as their sometimes-rival Traders Joes online.

So, I'm thrilled to see them dip their toes into the water of experience design with this accessible landing page full of very actionable advice for real holiday questions ... and, of course, list-building recipes, wine lists and other must-have-to-impress-your-jaded-friends-who-also-shop-here luxuries.

I also genuinely appreciate the sponsorship of the site: Real Simple magazine. The publication of practical advice for impractical people. It's practically a match made in heaven.

Could they do better? Absolutely. Next time around, it would be great to see more featured items, editorial design deeper in the content and maybe an opportunity to ask questions or otherwise interact. But, it's a great start for a brand that's just testing an investment online.

Another site to check out in the convenience meals category is Boston Market. For such a practical buffet-style brand, their Web site really elevates the menu and delivers a great online experience