Design

If statisticians could fashion an on-base percentage for business gurus, Seth Godin would be Ted Williams. Nobody has a better rate of success in getting smart ideas in play.

One of my favorite bits of Godin guidance is to “remarkablize” even the most mundane aspects of your business — a great example of which arrived in the mail yesterday.

I subscribe to “publication” called THE THING, which describes itself “a quarterly periodical in the form of an object.” Four times a year, its creators send an unexpected, sometimes odd, always intriguing . . . . thing. It’s cool. (For photos of previous “things,” look here.)

My subscription is about to expire. And like all periodicals, THE THING wants me to renew. But instead of pelting me with mailing after mailing after mailing full of tricks, they decided to remarkablize their renewal by sending me this:

As you see, I received an envelope in the mail. Inside was nothing expect the pink balloon you see above. One side of the balloon reads, “THE THING. Renew before July 18 (Price increases on July 19).” The other side lists who the contributors will be for Issues 5 through 8. Below is what the balloon looks like inflated and held by the male heir to the Pink empire.

Not bad. In fact, it’s way better than “not bad” or “pretty good” or “just fine.” It is, as Godin says, remarkable.

And yes, Dear Reader, I renewed.