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Dear Reader,
"Morning edition METRO, morning edition METRO."
When my husband and I were in New York City last week we met Kevin, the man who hands out the METRO newspaper every morning on the corner of 49th and 3rd Avenue. I had a lunch nearby, it was a beautiful sunny day and since it was still early my husband and I were doing some bench sitting, and people watching--watching Kevin.
Kevin's a very friendly looking guy and Morning edition METRO, is his pitch when he offers someone a free paper. It gets the job done. He hands out 1100 newspapers between 9 a.m. and noon. But by 11:00, when we were watching him, the newspaper business had slowed way down.
My husband and I love to brainstorm about marketing ideas, and we'd been discussing a book about "framing," how small things in the environment could influence people's buying decisions. Curiosity got the best of us. "What if the guy (we hadn't met Kevin yet) handing out newspapers on the corner was holding a big, red Gerber Daisy in one hand, and the METRO in the other? Would more people be inclined to take a paper?"
An interesting question, but by then it was almost time for my lunch date so we headed out. We were halfway down the street when Kevin, the newspaperman caught up with us, "Hey, you forgot your bag!" I'd brought along some chocolate chip cookies for my lunch appointment, and I'd tucked them under the bench to keep them out of the sun. Apparently out of sight, means out of Suzanne's mind (I've been a bit forgetful lately). Cookies in hand, I hurried to my lunch appointment and my husband took the opportunity to discuss our flower power marketing experiment with Kevin.
Kevin was game to try. So the next morning, a METRO paper in one hand, the big red Gerber daisy in the other, (my husband had bought the flower earlier) Kevin was well into the experiment when we stopped by at 10:30 a.m. to check up on him. So did Kevin think the flower made a difference? Were more people enticed to take a free paper?
The verdict was still out because the first hour was usually his busiest time. But Kevin's boss was certainly impressed when he stopped by and he saw him holding the flower and heard all about the marketing experiment. Kevin did report that more women were taking papers than they usually did. But personally, I think the best result of the experiment was that Kevin said more people smiled at him, he smiled back and so he was enjoying his job more.
*To see a photo, go to: http://tinyurl.com/mtv85x
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Warmest regards,
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.DearReader.com
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* This month's Penguin Classics book is The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley. To comment on the book and enter the Penguin Classics Drawing, go to: http://tinyurl.com/SeptClassics
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