I know this because Foursquare told me so.

If you’re not already familiar with Foursquare, it’s a location-based mobile service that is this year’s Twitter (a social utility so hot, everyone in business is talking about it, but so new that no one knows if it’s a good idea to spend money on it).

[If you're a restaurant, bar or other local attraction, it's probably a good fit.  If you're not... maybe not so much.]

While I’ve been watching blog posts, news articles and client questions fly through my inbox about Foursquare lately (as well as Gowalla and other similar services), I haven’t seen too many marketing or advertising applications of the service that really caught my attention.  However, the campaign that the Chicago Tourism Board recently launched is the exception.

What the Chicago Foursquare campaign has going for it is that it goes beyond couponing and discounts, or even the gaming mechanism of “badges,” “stickers” or “mayorship” to create a memorable, personally-significant experience of the brand.

I don’t know about you, but Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was one of my favorite movies as a teen.  Invite me to Chicago to recreate some of the scenes from that movie, and you’ve effectively captured my curiosity.

Give me a (digital) memento of the trip, and you’ve created a connection between your brand and one of my fondest youthful memories.

Make outstandingly clever use of a social utility I’m already using, and you’ve inspired my confidence, as a traveler and consumer, that you’re going to make solid recommendations the next time I visit your destination.

Offer a free trip to people who can make the best case for why they should win a trip to recreate a scene from the movie, and see if that doesn’t spur conversation.  (90 likes and 463 comments on a single Facebook status update.)

Eventually, efforts like this will help to build a community of enthusiasts who share the story of their exceptional experience with others in the form of word of mouth advertising.

While Chicago Blackhawk fans are celebrating their big win this week, I think the Explore Chicago should be celebrating this campaign as a big win as well.  When it comes to building brand enthusion through the 5 Cs, this one really hit the goal.

Recognize that passion unchanneled drives a category choice. But it does not, however, channel a brand choice. To make the brand relevant to the passion, you have to meet a set of physical and emotional requirements.

- Does the product improve the users experience, recognizing that no two users are identical in their physical and psychographic make-up? When we market passion brands, we understand that a buyer will not settle for good enough, they will invest in what suits them the best.

- Do people like me use the same brand? It’s not the label that defines the brand. It’s the community of users that represent the label.

- Are your values reflective of your customer’s values? It’s not simply a feature or a benefit that drives purchase consideration. Culture, attitude, corporate goodwill and community involvement all enter into the buyer’s decision making process.

- Are your distribution points my purchase points? Brand credibility is at stake each time the product is placed in a new location. Distribution points impact brand imagery and identity as much as marketing messaging.

We are fervent believers that every brand can be a passion brand, whether the product is laundry detergent or scuba gear. To quote my old friend Joel Carter, “Marketing is not an after-the-fact tactic. Marketing is the core activity that informs the development of needed products and services.”

Summary:
Identify Consumer need > Develop Defining Product features > Connect with Cultural Relevance > Identify Like-Minded Audience Members >Establish A Right-Minded Retail Network > Position the Brand Consistent with all the Above > Deliver message at Points of Discovery, Purchase, Use and Discussion > Rethink. Refine. Repeat . That’s how to connect with prospective customer’s passion to power purchase.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As you can see, those “Interactivillians” are a hard-workin’, fun-lovin’ group that really embrace the whole “web 2.0″ thing.

And now the goods:

• Senior Flash/Interface Developer
• Web/Interface Developer
• Application Developer
• Social Media Manager

To apply for any of the above positions, please send your cover letter and resume to the Doe-Anderson HR Department at hrdoeanderson@doeanderson.com.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Really a good time last night. Lots of different people just chillaxing. Good vibe. The VilleVoice showed up as well, but needed more booze. I’ll never argue that one. Louisville Photography Collective was out in force. They have lots of great pics. Check those out.

Nice article by the way from the Courier Journal. “Mighty oaks from little acorns grow,” indeed!

3:35pm….And in the words of President Dubya, “Mission accomplished!”

This blog comes from Ireland and near the end of the Ray-Ray world tour.
Notes scribbled on various bar napkins.

1. Still possible to find the Ireland I fell in love with 30 yrs hence you’ve just got to drive a bit futher out of the ‘big’ cities to do it. Warm engaging people who want to meet you and chat it up over a pint.

2. Pubs are better since u can’t smoke in them.

3. Speaking of smoke, its still possible to catch a whiff of a peat fire in the morning air if u get up early.

4. You know you’re in the true Ireland when you ask the desk clerk what time the news agent opens, and she says, “Oh they open sharply @ 8 but I’d give them til 8:15.”

5. You gotta love folks who proudly serve a porridge for b’fast with ‘whisky, cream and honey’ all mixed in. Bringing back the recipe if I can.

Think there’s a market for it?

Doe-Anderson’s work for the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) has resulted in a significant drop in auto thefts in the city, according to Assistant Chief of Police Troy Riggs.

The auto crime prevention program was announced by Mayor Abramson in March. Doe creatives envisoned fake parking tickets to be placed on unlocked cars (the most common reason for car theft) to deter criminals and remind owners to lock their doors. The ticket quickly explains that this isn’t a real ticket which is a welcome surprise and intrigues them to read on for the ticket’s actual purpose. On the reverse side, the ticket provides tips for preventing auto thefts. Initially 10,000 tickets were printed for distribution. The program has been so successful that LMPD has asked for an additional 50,000 tickets.

Earlier this month, Doe-Anderson was recognized at the annual police awards banquet and received the Community Service Award for campaign work for 574-LMPD, the police information and anonymous tips line. The campaign includes the fake parking tickets, bus shelter posters, and life-size criminal stand-up displays with the message, “If criminals were this easy to spot, we wouldn’t need you. 574-LMPD.”

574-LMPD has been an incredibly successful program for the Louisville Police. Doe-Anderson was enlisted to help spread the word even further.

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[Editor's note: Doe's own Ray Radford is traveling through Japan (cue "Wassaaaabi" commercial) and Singapore over the next couple of weeks spreading the word about Maker's Mark - hopefully improving America's international relations and providing his thoughts. He is writing from his Blackberry.]

Radford

Finally have sat down long enough to both reset my time zone clock and collect a few thoughts.

We have no, zero, nada, zip, understanding of the influence we have. The American subprime mess is having a ripple effect across the globe of monstrous proportions. It is damn near the lead story no matter where you look. Major story in the Asian Times talks about how the mess has caused millions of small investors in the China exchanges to be wiped out. I think the metaphor used to be “when we cough the world catches the flu”. Today the metaphor might better read, “when we flush, the rest of the world gets dirty”. My fear is that we might be on our way from respect and aspiration to being scorned and reviled. Yes I understand that it has to do with massive global greed and stupidity but it gets played out as a failure of America, not complicated financial instruments.

America brands are writ large. This morning over breakfast in a Tokyo restaurant (in the smoking section-it was great) I sat between a couple with an eastern-European accent and an South African gentleman. After breakfast all four of us lit up Marlboros – different health warning languages though. Taking my constitutional later I walked to the nearby Starbucks where I found the same three people. Apparently “Grande cappuccino mocha, latte, half-soy non-GMO foam” is now part of the global vocabulary.

Singapore is clean and very orderly. Well duh!

Watching the Masters and listening to Japanese commentators is weird beyond description. The one word I could understand was Tiger (no last name).

There is a Denny’s right across the street from me. It’s funny though (after our experience across the river that day we picked up Todd); I haven’t even the slightest desire to cross. Here I am, damn near half way around the world, in search of a little bit of Americana, and won’t go there because of what happened in one location in southern Indiana. A brand experience is still a brand experience no matter where you are

The BBC is boring and pedantic and smug.

No news about Brittany Spears, Kevin Federline, Paris Hilton, Barry Bonds, Nicole Ritchie, American Idol, Pacman Jones, (insert other names here) is REALLY REALLY good news.

That’s all for now.