Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: Marketing

The Future of Mattress Shopping... at Hotels.

Monday, July 24, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Baby, Baby, let me sleep on it. I'll give you an answer in the morning.

Buying a mattress is a real pain in the neck. You walk into a big store full of mattresses and somehow come to a decision based on just a few minutes of laying on each of the beds. That's not easy, especially since you're going to be stuck with your decision for a very long time.

It's a bit like a taste test, where you're given a quick sip from a few different drinks. You like the taste at first, but when you get a larger portion, your tastes may change. That's exactly what can happen with testing a mattress for a minute or two in the store. You order the mattress you like best in the store, but when you finally sleep on it at home you realize it's a bit too hard or soft. Now, you've got to either s... [More]

Continue...The Future of Mattress Shopping... at Hotels....

Honest Talk Show Product Placement

Monday, July 17, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

It's hard to take news shows seriously, when the hosts shamelessly promote handbags.

There's a fine line between news, information, and commercial endorsements, and morning talk shows cross it every single day. How are we supposed to take hosts like Matt Lauer seriously when he just spent 7 minutes talking about makeup and handbag "Steals and Deals"?

Look, I realize TV is a business, and they need to make money, but I don't think a news and information show should be endorsing products without fully disclosing that they're being paid to make the endorsement. Current FCC regulations require them to make some sort of disclosure, but most people never see them because they zoom by in the credits at the end.

I think the FCC should require them to either make an announcement j... [More]

Continue...Honest Talk Show Product Placement...

Cracker Jack is MISSING Something!

Thursday, June 22, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Candy with prizes inside are a worldwide sensation, but the people who make Cracker Jack don't realize it.

Every day, millions of people watch videos of people opening up "Surprise Eggs", which are chocolate eggs with a prize inside. Apparently kids today love the thrill of watching people open them up and seeing what's inside. I'm not sure how the craze started, but they're extremely hot these days.

Finding a prize inside is nothing new to the makers of Cracker Jack; they've been doing it for over 100 years, in fact when you say the name Cracker Jack, the first thing that comes to your mind is the prize inside. It's as iconic as the sailor on the front of the package, but the prizes inside today's Cracker Jack packages are pretty lame. Instead of the variety of trinkets t... [More]

Continue...Cracker Jack is MISSING Something!...

Search Engines Need This...

Tuesday, January 24, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Why is it so hard to find local information online?

The Internet revolutionized just about everything, but for some reason it's harder today to find local information online than it was before the Internet.

Before the Internet, if you were looking for a business, or phone number, all you did was pull out the local phone book, and within seconds you could find just about everything you were looking for.

Obviously Google, Bing, and Yahoo have listings for local businesses, but it's all blended together with all sorts of other stuff, making it hard to pinpoint what you're looking for.

Why doesn't one of the major search engines simply offer a dedicated service for finding accurate up-to-date local information?

Since a large percent of search is local, doesn't it m... [More]

Continue...Search Engines Need This......

Don't Name Your Company Until...

Sunday, January 22, 2017 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Coming up with a good name is one of the most important steps in starting a business, but many people overlook one thing...

One of the biggest mistakes I've seen people make when starting a new business is forgetting to search the web to see if somebody else already owns their new company name as a domain. This is a critical mistake that will hurt the startup down the road.

There's nothing worse for a new company than to go through all the effort starting a new business, and finding out that all your effort to try to build a brand name is wasted because another company has the same online identity.

If you want to call yourself True Blue Curtains, and somebody else owns TrueBlueCurtains.Com, then don't even bother forming the company. It's simply not worth the effort becau... [More]

Continue...Don't Name Your Company Until......

The Big Data Crystal Ball

Monday, December 19, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Companies spend millions of dollars trying to figure out what you like. Why not just ask?

Big Data is everywhere, and it's watching everything you do. Retail stores track your purchases whenever you use a credit or loyalty card. Search engines like Google or Bing keep a history of every search you've ever done, and social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn track every post, like, share, and comment. While they may use different techniques to track your activity, they all have one goal in mind, which is to try to guess what kinds of products and services you like so they can target ads to you.

The trouble with Big Data is that even the best system is still just a GUESS.

It doesn't matter how sophisticated their algorithms are, they can never truly know your all... [More]

Continue...The Big Data Crystal Ball...

Having A Social Media Page Doesn't Make You Hip

Thursday, March 17, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Hey Everyone... I'm on Social Media!

I've got news for you, Sparky. So is everyone else.

Everywhere you look, you see Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram logos. Why? I've talked about this before in another post, but here's another video with a slightly different spin. Somehow companies think they've got to put social media logos on everything, just to show everyone that they're hip.

It makes you wonder if they're actually expecting you to look for their social media pages, or they're just afraid that they'll look out of touch if they don't flaunt the fact that they're on social media.

How NOT to Use Social Media

Sunday, March 6, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Some companies have no idea how social media works.

The other day I went to Staples to buy a ream of paper. As I grabbed the package, I couldn't help but notice they put social media icons for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on the front. Why bother? Do they think that people in the store are going to run right home and search for them so they can follow them? It's pointless.

I see this sort of behavior is all over the place. There are Facebook logos on menus, store windows, packages, print ads and even billboards. What the heck is that for? Why bother showing social media logos without even using a caption telling people their official social media account names?

Are they doing this because they want everyone to know how cool they are?

It's as if they're sayin

... [More]

Continue...How NOT to Use Social Media...

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Emergency Contact Info Needs to Bypass Locked Phone

Autocorrect Should Translate Text Slang into English... Because Kids Actually Think It's Correct Grammar

Lookalike Finder Site

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How Camera Makers Can Simplify On-Camera White Balance

Darth Vader is Retuning to Star Wars

A Bedside Book Projector - Read Books on the Ceiling!

Reinvent The Wheel? YES. There's Always Room For Improvement.

Amazon Echo as an Intercom. Room to Room Communication, Even Across the World.

TV Needs More Shows Like Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood... The Seinfeld of Children's TV

Stop using default Security Questions... here's why.

A Car Periscope? Why Not?

Digital String on Your Finger... To Remind You You Left Something Behind...

Use Social Media to Listen To Your Customers, or They'll find Somebody Who Does.

Why Doesn't Apple Offer a FULL SIZED Wireless Keyboard?

How Banks Can Make Checking Accounts More Secure

4 Cell Phone Parental Control Ideas Your Kids are Guaranteed to Hate.

.Podcast Domain TLDs. A Direct Domain For Podcasters.

* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.