Volkswagen is, as usual, doing things differently and getting some some positive attention for it. 

This morning a composer friend of mine posted a video on Facebook of "piano key" stairs.  His post had nothing to do with VW advertising and less to do with marketing in general.  He just found the video interesting because of his relationship with music (I'm sure of this because he posted the Swedish version of the video and he definitely doens't speak their language).  After finishing watching the video, I clicked on the link, expecting to be directed to some sort of music school related experiment site, and was (momentarily) suprised to be directed to a lightly branded VW website proclaiming (once I ticked the UK flag for English):

"This site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun
is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it
for yourself, for the environment, or something entirely different, the
only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better."

This mini guerrilla campaign/behavioral experiment is doing exactly that:

The piano installation was created to encourage people to make the healthier choice to take the stairs instead of using an escalator.  The before and after shots of the staircase vs. the escalator prove the trick works.

The next video depicting "The World's Deepest [Trash] Bin," an outdoor public garbage can that makes a cartoonish sound of something falling very very far, had the effect of getting park-goers to not only throw away their own trash, but also to clean up the rest of the park just to hear the falling sound again. 

Next, they promise to come up with a fun way to recycle. 

I say, GO TEAM VOLKSWAGEN (BDB Stockholm)!  This bare bones project of theirs sure is a great example of a lot of good things advertising: marketing as service, combining online and offline, and making a good idea viral by keeping it open-ended and by not shoving a ton of branding down the throats of those who couldn't care less about cars (i.e. my buddy the composer).

Going A.D.D. at a Renegade status meeting last week, my mind wandered to foursquare, and how I could use it to enhance my busy social media/party-and-bar-hopping regime.

In case you don’t know what foursquare is (most of my friends don’t), here’s a quick breakdown:

Foursquare is a mobile location-reporting sms service with apps designed for iPhones and smart phones.   Users check in from places they hang out in via text, and if they have the web on their phones, can view their friends’ locations plotted on a map.   Further, foursquare gives users points when they check in to places, as well as badges for late night frequency or for when they do something kooky. This service is local and is offered in 12 US cities so far.

Since I don’t have an iPhone, I hadn’t signed up, figuring that without the GPS mapping enjoyed by foursquare’s iPhone users, playing on a regular mobile would be like trying out a new hairdo on a rainy day.  (It turns out that I'm right about that, but I think I'll stick with it because I'm bound to get a smart phone soon).

But still…I consider foursquare’s iPhone app such a  curious concept that I wanted to write about it.  So, I called up Martina Fugazzotto, my go-to girl for html questions, updates on all things cute and trendy, spontaneous dance/karaoke parties, social media pep-talks, and, more recently, iPhone app demos.  Martina has been involved in the social web since long before most of us merged onto the Information Super Highway, beginning with her early infatuation with gurl.com and subsequent creation of her own website at the age of 15 (around 10 years ago).  She was happy to discuss my new hot topic.

First, I asked Martina (MF) about Google’s similar, but now defunct sms app, Dodgeball.  Indeed, she had played it in college to find her friends at parties.  However, she quickly grew tired of typing code and threw it out in favor of mass texting.

Second, I brought up Twitter.

 “The whole point of foursquare is that it’s only about being social.  Twitter is more about sharing info and links. Foursquare is straight up letting everyone know what you're doing and who you're with. No one is being coy or pretending that they are responsible or well versed.  It’s just about competing in going out.”

I thought I’d brought up a good topic since my first impression of Twitter was that it was a meet-up tool.  I guess that aspect of its functionality is long gone.  Needless to say, this past weekend I stopped using Twitter to publish my whereabouts.

A few weeks ago, Martina was number one on the foursquare leader board, but got nothing special for it.  There was no badge, nor any mention on the foursquare homepage. 

“Even just a little badge that says, I won for the week of—– would be really cool, but it was still satisfying to know that I really won.  It made me feel cool.”

On foursquare ethics, MF quips, “I don’t cheat.  I never cheat.  I have integrity when it comes to my foursquare, but I think sometimes my ex might pad it a little bit–yeah, he adds a little padding to his check-ins.” 

Clearly her ex is her biggest competitor.

“It’s really a very petty competition.  The reason I first used Dodgeball in college was because I wanted to find out where everyone was at any given time.  What is really cool, though, is that sometimes when you get somewhere and check in, you get recommendations from other people who have checked in there before and left tips on what special to order, or…anything!”

I think this is a great idea.  Imagine the possibilities!  Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai already have.  In fact, they are comparing Foursquare to The Legend of Zelda video game, but are also trying to overcome the zealotry of the highly competitive users (see second interview below) in favor of a more collaborative and experiential application.  The tips should help that, I think.  But foursquare needs more users first! 

So sign up, my friends!  Let’s share even more about where we’ve been and what we’ve done, and leave  tips, so it’s even more exciting to go out! 

>>>MF’s second interview, where her competitive side (and her self-publicized breakup) show. <<<

This morning I noticed Logan, Martina’s ex, had taken over her mayor-hood at Le Gamin in Brooklyn.

Here’s the chat I just had with her about that:

MF: Being a "mayor" of a place is awesome. it means you are IN with that place.  And when someone takes away your mayor-hood, you're like "who is that dude? We should be friends since we both spend a lot of time here.”

KG: except when it’s your ex.

MF: yes. Logan stole a mayor-hood from me this morning, from Le Gamin, a coffee shop in our hood where we used to spend a lot of time. I was pissed. I was like "who is he going there with??"

KG: awwww.  himself, of course!  better be.

MF: Yeah, well. When I saw he took my mayor-hood, I showed up there this morning so I could check in, and he was there.  So we had coffee together basically just because we both wanted to be mayors.  I endured coffee with my ex so that I could be the mayor of Le Gamin.

KG: NO WAY!!  Can I publish that?

MF: You can publish the entire story.
And when I got there, he said "SHIT. Now you're going to check in after me and possibly steal back the mayor-hood."
We are very competitive.

Because this competitiveness is common amongst foursquare users, Dennis Crowley said in the Post that, "If you keep doing the same things over and over again, if you go to the same place several times a week, your points get taken away."

I’d better warn Martina!  But first I think I should get some more friends to play with — preferably some who haven’t dated each other.