<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-6208" title="museums" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/museums.jpg" alt="" width="430" height="320" />During a visit to Alexander McQueen's exhibit ‘<a href="http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/" target="_blank">Savage Beauty</a>' this past summer at <a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/" target="_blank">The Metropolitan Museum of Art</a>, I was shocked by the massive amounts of people waiting in line for the exhibit. Yet after doing more research, I surprisingly learned that several museums, such as the Met, Museum of Modern Art, and Guggenheim, had <a href="http://bickersteth.blogspot.com/2011/04/visitor-numbers-as-chart-of-success.html" target="_blank">increased visitation rates</a> last year. Additional research from Simmons shows the amount of adults in the NY area that have visited museums has increased from 2008 to 2010, with an increase of 11% for this demographic. In addition, the McQueen exhibit had higher attendance rates than any other exhibit at the Met, with over 5,500 people coming on the opening day alone. <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/farfetchcom-alexander-mcqueen-exhibit-breaks-viewing-records-122709223.html" target="_blank">Farfetch.com</a>, a website devoted to giving consumers access to the best independent fashion boutiques, believes that these high attendance rates show that consumers <a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=4845">[...]</a>

I’m a sucker for a good street team. I love when marketers pull “stunts” and often find myself zoned out while observing brands at work among the people. Luckily for me, Luminosity’s NYC neighborhood is a magnet for this kind of stuff; in the past few months, I’ve seen brands from Triscuit to Jamba Juice to Delta Airlines’ “Delta Dugout” (for the MLB Subway Series) intercept consumers in the throes of daily life.

USA Network recently deployed a particularly smart street marketing effort. While strolling by my favorite building (the Flatiron—isn’t it majestic?), I noticed a large, bright blue freight container branded with the network’s “Characters Welcome” tagline. At first I wrote this off as glorified outdoor advertising collateral…until I was invited to watch a short film. In a shipping container. In the middle of the city[...]

<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4113" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/extreme-couponing-tlc.png" alt="" width="180" height="134" />My name is Kimberly, and I’m a couponer. And I’m not just referring to the occasional offer I request via email, or the ever so geo-targeted promotions that hit my mobile via foursquare. Nope, I’m referring to the good ol’ fashioned kind of couponing, where you buy the Sunday paper, clip up a storm, organize with care, and head to the store with a bevy of money-saving artillery—and of course, tell anyone and everyone who will listen about how much I saved and what kind of goodies I scored. If I sound passionate about couponing, you have correctly deduced my tone. Guilty as charged<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=4112">[...]</a>

<img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3741" src="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Top100DailybyType-300×213.png" alt="" width="300" height="213" />There's definitely a science to building buzzy, viral video ads. General steps to successful YouTube viewing explosions include:

<strong>#1. Content!:</strong> Content is really where it begins. It is what gets people to sit and watch and more importantly, have a funny, memorable, enjoyable, entertaining reason to want to pass along the fun. There's no point in hiding the fact that your video is advertising something. Discriminating viewers will know and most likely respond negatively. Recent studies show that 4 in 10 videos on YouTube are video ads and that number is growing by 0.83% per month. But again, if the content isn't creative and catchy, it definitely won't hit viral status<a href="http://luminositymarketing.com/blog/?p=3738">[...]</a>

Valentine’s Day is coming up… next week to be exact. Over the last week or so I’ve started seeing a lot of advertisements for “romantic” gifts specifically referring to the day and reminding all the husbands, significant others, boyfriends and men in general that they should probably buy their sweetheart a token of their affection.

According to the National Retail Federation, 2011 Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach $15.7 billion. That means the average person will spend $116.21 on traditional Valentine’s Day merchandise. This is an 11% increase over last year and nearly back to pre-Great Recession levels[...]

You’ve seen them scurrying around town in a wrapped car advertising energy drinks or people dressed up as a banana or chicken to market a nearby fast food restaurant. Brand Ambassadors are present nationwide, in tail-gating parties, conventions, Times Square — wherever there’s a slab of sidewalk and heavy traffic pitching to you the next greatest thing to sliced bread.

Let’s talk about extreme brand ambassadors. Would you be an extremist and consider tattooing onto your sacred vessel the logo of your favorite grilled cheese restaurant? Well to date, 160 people have for Cleveland-based grilled-cheese restaurant Melt Bar and Grilled. A permanent ink job all for just 25% discount for life (nothing’s for free – not even 1 free grilled cheese sandwich!). Here are some of the tattoos of the avid patrons of Melt: Melt Tattoos[...]

Have you ever asked the question, “Why would anyone pay full price for that?” I know I do all the time. I’m a self-admitted deal-seeker. Being a deal-seeker doesn’t mean you have to give up having a fun night out, forgo pampering yourself or not exploring the town you live in[...]

If I never see another movie poster with the two leads holding guns and the title plastered across the top it will be too soon. I know the phrase, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” makes sense logically, but just because the wheel has already been invented doesn’t mean the general public wants to see it everywhere, all the time, on everything. It seems that the original purpose of the movie poster is long gone and replaced by the draw of big name actors[...]

If you are at all like me, you’re not sure what to get Dad this Father’s Day either. It certainly isn’t my style to get a kitsch #1 Dad mug or some other product that my father is sure to laugh at the minute he opens the package. So, I took it upon myself to see what everyone else is doing[...]

A few of us spent March 22 – 24 at the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) re:think 2010 conference here in NYC.  It was great to see all the amazing innovations and creativity that is going on in our industry.  From mobile research to neuroscience, re:think had it all.  Here’s my Top Ten facts, insights and quotes from the [...]