This is a great idea. The people at Pearson Publishing Group PLC, a large British publishing company, are publishing a business book about consumer-generated media, word-of-mouth marketing, social networks and online communities that will be authored by smart folks from MIT, Wharton and thousands of other business thinkers from around the world. Here’s the twist: The publisher is using a wiki, the same online multi-author system we all know best from Wikipedia, to create the book. Take a look at www.wearesmarter.org. You can join the crowd and be a co-author of this groundbreaking book by adding your thoughts and expertise to the wiki; but don’t start spending any future royalty checks. Web 2.0 doesn’t work that way.

This is a perfect demonstration of the idea that groups of people are smarter than even the smartest individuals. An idea brilliantly argued in James Surowiecki’s book “The Wisdom of Crowds.” (This is a really great book even though it was written by only one guy.)

Expect to see a lot more of this kind of thing. The web can aggregate a lot of individual contributions that are, by themselves, not particularly valuable and package them into things that are very valuable -- $1.5 billion Youtube also comes to mind. That was a good idea too.

-Jeff

Susan received a letter after the November mid-terms from Peter Hutchinson, independent candidate for Minnesota governor. The election is long over and Peter lost the governor’s race by a very large margin. (I think he got about 7 percent of the vote.)

I’m surprised his campaign, or the Independence Party, has any postage money left at this point. But what really surprised me was that Susan opened the letter, read it and made a point to show it to me. The first sentence read: We want to take a few minutes to personally thank you for your remarkable commitment to Minnesota and to our campaign. The words personally thank you for were underlined with the same pen that signed the letter: Peter. The letter reminded Susan of the letters her grandfather used to send her. Typed on undersized stationary, casually folded into a little envelope and signed with a pen.

It’s hard to know why this letter got opened and read. Maybe it’s because it created an emotional reaction linked with the warm memories Susan has for her grandfather. Maybe it’s because it came after the election, when it wasn’t expected, or perhaps it’s the mark of a human hand that made the connection. To get noticed and to communicate effectively you don’t need slick graphics or over-the-top creativity. You need to make a sincere connection.

-Jeff

The Toyota Scion is hot. So hot, in fact, that demand is greater than supply. (Personally I think the car is boxy and ugly, but I’m not among the hip trendsetters making the Scion the “it” cool car.) When most American businesses are faced with the enviable problem of having demand for their products exceed supply, the solution is obvious: increase production. Run with a winner. Milk the trend.

But according to the Wall Street Journal, Toyota is doing the reverse. They are cutting production and reducing their already meager ad spend. Toyota knows that it’s hard to stay cool if you get too hot. Too many Scions tooling around in the un-cool parts of town, driven by wannabees won’t help Scion in the long run. At least that’s what the marketing folks at Toyota believe. But they may be wrong. What made the Scion hip and trendy? Was it well crafted and strategically placed marketing? Was it the funky, unconventional (call it ugly) design? Or was it an accident?

It could be that the Scion’s coolness was just a fluke, an automotive genetic mutation, in which case the fad will fade with or without an increase in production. Or maybe it is possible for something to be embraced by a lot of square moms and dorky dweebs and still be cool. Ikea is cool. Target is cool. The ipod? Still cool… for now… I think.

-Jeff

Why not sell your products for more money than the competition and spend less on marketing? That’s what Molson Coors’ has been able to do with their Blue Moon brand. According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, The giant Canadian beer brewer created Blue Moon and markets it as a Belgian craft beer. But it’s not Belgian, and it’s not really a craft beer. (Craft beers are made in small batches in small breweries.) But it’s a hit.

Through good distribution and word-of-mouth amplified by bartenders and cocktail waitresses, Blue Moon is one of the fastest growing beer brands. But the buzz isn’t generated by slick TV spots or marquee sponsorships. And it’s not the beer – it’s the presentation that gets people talking. Go to a bar and order a Blue Moon and there is a good chance they’ll garnish the rim of your glass with an orange slice. (Hey, citrus worked for Corona.) I don’t know if it tastes any better with an orange, but it’s certainly more remarkable.

Do you have an orange slice on your product or service? If you find one, it could cut your marketing budget, increase your sales and your margins.

-Jeff