Steal My Idea

I stayed at a hotel that had an the iron attached to a heat-resistant mount at the base of the ironing board. And then they had a hanger for the ironing board in the closet and a retractable cord. This is way more advanced than the ironing set-up of olden times where you have to find the iron and unwrap the chord and find a place for the iron and keep it upright when not in use. Everything is in one place.

One thing would make this better ... if the ironing board's holder was a charging station for an iron, and that linked up with the hook. The hook would need to be plugged in, so you would probably have to put a 110 plug in your closet or cupboard or wherever you keep your ironing board. That way you can have a cordless iron that was always put back in it's place and always ready to rip it up.

Steal My Idea

Exclusive ads on TV to increase effectiveness.

NPR doesn't really advertise. They take in sponsors and spit out their message in a typical NPR tone. The print world has made a fortune off of magazine-specific advertising, most notably GQ's advetorials and The Fader's CPG ads. And even Wal-Mart and Target ask for customized POS. Why hasn't TV done the same?

What if NBC asked Audi to come up with an ad, but that ad could not be on any other channel? The incremental ad production may be cheap while media will be the same price.

I suspect viewership may boom on a network offering unique ad content. The ads will be paid attention to in a more active way by some viewers. The consumers won't feel as bombarded with crap they've seen before. Agencies and production companies will have more business.
And the network will begin to create more of a brand in all 24 hours.

Now I know it is not possible to mandate for all advertisers, and local affiliates and political ads will present some challenges. But if you received a discount for following the network's culture, that may incentivize enough. Who knows; maybe you can even get the network to produce network-specific ads for you.

Steal My Idea

So Chrysler is going down in smokes. Big automaker can't seem to sell enough cars to keep doors open. Daimler's unhappy. What's a girl to do?

Saving Chrysler by bringing back the ornate brand:

Sure efficiency is a nice thing, fuel consumption and aerodynamics are the talk of the town. But Chrysler can't compete anymore with the big fish at the big fish games.

It should sell the plants it has in prime real estate to boost cash flow, put that cash into existing plant renovations and R&D, and come out with 50 unique products in small batch runs available for a limited time (maybe reissued after 4 years when significant improvements have been made).

In the US, brands like Maserrati, Lotus, Maybach, Bentley, and Ferrari are thriving, and the Fords and Caddys and Dodges of this world are making imitations for affordable options that are inconsistent with their brands. Caddy these days is more of an upscale GM than it's own brand.

Chrysler is in the right spot to design American Luxury Cars. Make cars that stand out and hold up but you have to act fast to get one. It can dominate with cars like the Prowler and PT Cruiser. The US auto market is craving a modern-day collectible car. An American car that harks back to the 50s when portholes and fins were all the rage.

Steal My Idea

Not everyone can afford to buy a DaVinci or a Rembrandt. You don't see too many Caravaggios in your friend's living room, but you really love his work. Lithographs and posters are sooo dorm room, don't you wish there was some way to show off your interest in art while still portraying an air of contemporary sophistication?

Step 1: Take 3-10 of your favorite pieces and find images on the internet (do a google image search for large files). Maybe mix and match new with old artists, but definitely put in some pieces that are 300+ years old.

Step 2: Size them all so that they are the size of post cards.

Step 3: Print them on your photo-printer.

Step 4: Put them in identical frames that has a diagonal of at least 28", 1 picture centered per frame. Try a white/cream canvas background, glass cover, black wood frame. Something like this. For the more adventurous, try an even more contemporary frame.

Step 5: Show off at your next party. Maybe line a hallway or stagger in a room.

Steal My Idea

Fueling stations have pretty much been focused on price and branding. It's a commodity. Service is actually scorned upon, as evidenced by the decline of full-service stations. As gas prices go up, gas stations really need to differentiate themselves. And I'm not talking about adding techron to their fuel, but that's a start.

Super-Premium Gas Stations

- One aisle for "on-the-go," where you fill up your mid-grade gas and pay with credit card while filling.
- One aisle for shoppers, where you stop and can either go into the store or order via kiosk if you don't want to get out of the car.
- One aisle for full service which does oil change and car wash within 10 minutes.
- Special fuels: European Sports Car , Drifter, Stop & Go Commuter, Hydrogen, Ethanol, CNG, ...

Steal My Idea

LA is a car town, for sure. Angelinos live in their cars. They customize them for comfort and style, since they probably spend as much time driving as they do sleeping. Traffic is as prolific as the entertainment biz. I just flew through LAX and the traffic isn't pretty. Parking tends to be a problem. It's one of the most screwed up airport. The idea of a U-shaped system works in theory but somehow failed for auto and passenger flow.

This idea is not going to solve many problems in traffic, I know, but it will generate funds to get the airport to solve some of their problems.

Valet parking at the terminal - Drive up to the front of the terminal, drop of your car, and go. The attendant will take care of your car and you'll get charged $25-50 per day. Much better than waiting for shuttles to take you to the airport. When you are late for a flight, sometimes you just want to ditch your car in the red zone and rush to screening with your pre-printed boarding pass. Roll this out first at brief flight airlines like Southwest. Or better yet, get a sponsor to offer this for a month or two.

If they can generate enough cash, maybe the airport could finally do underground parking and use the centerspace for centralized check-in.

steal my idea

Someone steal my idea. Please.

The Beer Book

Hopefully a high end or low brow brewer will pick up on this. Create a beer book of people and their favorite drink. May or may not be alcoholic, but just portraits and how it colors the individual.

steal my idea

A few weeks ago I saw a film at the Byrd Theater in Richmond, VA (www.byrdtheatre.com). Before the movie ran the usual spots reminding people that there's no smoking, to be quiet, etc. Then i realized something funny. The whole crowd was singing along. This little spot has been running for 10+ years. I wonder how many other spots there are like this. Where they all customized per theater? Did a company make a bunch to be backaged? How can I get my hands on the dancing concessions urging you to go back to the lobby, or the no smoking label superimposed over a star trek style warp speed skyline.

My idea: Have an exhibit featuring these clips. Sell the DVDs to indie film nuts and to hipsters looking for their next party backdrop.