Blu Dot launches curb-mining social experiment in NY
- 14 Comment
Curb-mining, a popular activity for creative types in New York, is the act of finding furniture and art on the street. As a celebration of their upcoming one-year anniversary for their SoHo store, Blu Dot, a furniture and design store, decided to launch a curb-mining experiment.
On November 4-5, they are leaving 20+ Real Good chairs, equipped with GPS tracking devices in to-be-disclosed locations throughout New York. The chairs are free for the taking and are first come, first “mined.”
Michael Hart, co-founder and creative director of mono, the firm who developed the experiment says, “We have seen consumers gravitate to brands who do innovative things and we hope this is one of those things. Blu Dot gets credit for speaking to its audience in a different way.” The company made a conscious choice to stay away from traditional media outreach. Their target is an online audience, who they hope will spread the word. All locations of the chairs will be shared via a Twitter account (@realgoodchair) and a Web site. The other marketing tactic? Xeroxed copies of a “Have you seen this chair?” (a la missing dog) signs posted around the city.
It’s more than giving away chairs, they’re looking for the stories behind the chairs’ new homes.
When people pick up their Real Good chair (that’s the actual name of the chair) they will be linked up to a tracking device.
Kelly Munson, design director at mono, says, “We are not experts at technology, so we enlisted the tech experts, Tellart. We weren’t sure exactly how to track the chairs without being too invasive. We decided to use a simple cell phone attachment with GPS software. Typically you get about 8 hours of battery life from a cell phone, which was a concern. Tellart created an electrical switch to trigger the battery when the chair is picked up.”
Once the chairs find their new homes (which will be determined by the last known location of the GPS), Blu Dot and mono will follow up with the new owners. They’ll invite the owners to participate in a classic-style documentary along the lines of “Where did great design go in the city?” The video will premier at Blu Dot’s anniversary celebration in December before being shared via the Web site.
In the words of Blu Dot, “What would happen if we left a bunch of Real Good Chairs all over New York, free for the take? Who will grab them? Where will they go? How will they get there? What will their new homes look like?” The experiment hopes to answers these questions and engage current and potential customers in a new way.
14 Comments on this post
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Laptop Briefcases said:
What a great marketing idea. I really like this kind of innovation and outside-the-box thinking. This will definitely succeed in getting people to talk about them.
November 3rd, 2009 at 2:04 pm -
ATV said:
If I had the money I would hire their marketing person. That is a really cool idea for a promotion. Simply giving away chairs wouldn’t have been very exciting, but leaving them curbside randomly is buzzworthy.
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:30 pm -
used tires said:
Humm I actually had to look up what curb-mining was, ooops, lol, so for anyone else that needs to know what curb-mining is, apparently it is the act of finding furniture and art on the street =D But yeah that is a pretty cool experiment they are doing =D
Till then,
Jean
November 12th, 2009 at 9:21 pm -
PSP Go said:
Interesting, this kind of stuff really tickles my fancy. I love the thing where people leave books in random locations for strangers to pick up and read
November 20th, 2009 at 2:56 pm -
Aluminum Laptop Cases said:
I’d be really interested to see what kind of effect this promotion has on sales. It seems like a very good idea to me.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:08 pm -
cash back with credit said:
I’ve gotten furniture and other household items in what you would call curb-mining. It is an interesting promotion as a lot of people who find the chair wouldn’t know about the contest. They would think they had just scored a sweet find. It would be a little weird to find out that your free chair had a tracking device to help the company find you.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:39 am -
iyi resimler said:
Its really a great marketing idea. Thank you for sharing.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:03 pm -
printing said:
looking for a social experiment where a dating couple trades places. the guy would be the girlfriend and the girl would be the boy the boyfriend. I’m interested in the results.
December 10th, 2009 at 9:24 am -
iyi resimler said:
Great marketing idea.Thank you for sharing
December 11th, 2009 at 7:13 am -
sarki ara said:
Thank you for sharing.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:14 am -
kolbasti dinle said:
I’d be really interested to see what the effect of this promotion on sales.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:15 am -
Teknoloji haberleri said:
If I had the money I would hire their marketing person.
December 11th, 2009 at 5:21 pm -
Catering said:
Marketing step seems may quite effective for short term result. if any have enough money sure need to hire marketing person or marketing firm to gain more effect of profit.
December 15th, 2009 at 3:23 am
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