The study of marketing can introduce you to many different, seemingly unrelated stories and ideas. Here are a few hand-picked news stories bearing unexpected marketing tips.
1. Fresh-Brewed Space Espresso is Now a Thing
Astronauts can now sip on freshly brewed space espresso and other hot beverages or even stocks using a new espresso maker aptly named the ISSpresso. The picture above from Twitter shows Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti orbiting the Earth in the International Space Station, drinking hot espresso from innovative cups brewed from the all new ISSpresso sent up by a SpaceX Dragon Cargo Capsule. Chrostoforetti is also wearing a Star Trek uniform top, just to add to the impressive scene and luxury of the moment.
The real story here is the cup holding the espresso. Yes, the cups are very special. These cups are highly engineered vessels promoting capillary fluidics. Use of the containers will provide important data for the study of the “passive movement of complex fluids as part of the Capillary Beverage investigation,” according to NASA’s blog post on the implementation of the new system and containers. These Zero-G cups direct fluid into the consumer’s mouth using geometry and physics. The user’s lips depress the “spout” of the cup allowing fluid to flow at the consumer’s discretion – slowly or in one big gulp.
Marketing tip: The cup is the quiet hero here, and without that caffeinated brew it wouldn’t be able to get the press it needs. Partnering up with a popular cultural trope can boost awareness for your product. Consider this in your next marketing campaign – pair your product with something meaningful and relevant and see where it takes you.
2. Foursquare’s CEO is Now Satisfied
The location-based check-in app is finally where Dennis Crowley, CEO of Foursquare, envisioned it. Crowley explained to a correspondent at TechCrunch Disrupt that the app now teaches users about new places to discover around them. The Foursquare Apple Watch app even notifies users on the go of places they have saved to try out nearby them in real-time. The CEO states that
So Crowley states that his original vision for the app has been achieved – suggestion algorithms, ad units, data-licensing and the company in general. Yet, as a Mashable article about the interview points out, Crowley doesn’t bring up any future features or goals for Foursquare. He avoids acquisition questions as well. The thought is that a highly publicized interview and the whole premise of TechCrunch Disrupt is to discover and discuss upcoming technology and ideas.
Marketing tip: Always leave a little something for your fans to get excited about. If you just announce things they already know about what will they be interested in coming back to you for? Give them a future feature, product or service to chew on and build anticipation around your brand.
3. Actor Ryan Gosling Finally Ate His Cereal
So, a celebrity ate some cereal, eh? It would seem like a ridiculous thing to post about let alone becoming viral. There’s some deeper meaning here, though.
Vine user Ryan McHenry has been trying for years to get Ryan Gosling to eat his cereal, albeit through the TV screen while running Gosling’s movies and TV appearances. These videos quickly went viral and got McHenry a large following. McHenry had been suffering from bone cancer and passed away on May 1st. Gosling responded with a touching tweet sending condolences to McHenry’s family and then posted the above Vine video, which quickly became viral.
Marketing tip: Fans of your product, service, persona, etc. may get a little weird with how they “honor” you but there is much value in honoring them back. Sending shout-outs to your fans is always advisable and feel free to have fun with it just as Gosling did.
Learn more about this touching story with some extra glorious Vine and YouTube videos here.
-Sarah Le
