1. Add a free bonus item. For businesses, the offer might be a free White Paper or some useful industry research when your prospect sets an appointment, or how about a gift card to a local restaurant with a new home equity loan or a free lift ticket when you buy new skis. It could be free gift wrap or tickets to an event your company is associated with.
2. Extend the term of service at no extra cost. If your service normally lasts one year per annual fee, try offering an extra 2 months free.
3. Get personal. Offer one or two hours of personalized consultation and advice from one of your experts. We once offered a free personalized "Mortgage Check-up" for a financial client and got great results.
4. Offer a lower-priced option to your regular product line. That way, consumers have the perception of getting a great deal from a brand they like without you having to discount your cost. For example, Tiffany & Co. offers a line of sterling silver jewelry that includes rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, keyrings, and charms at a much lower price point than its other lines. This makes the famous egg-shell blue brand available to everyone, while building repeat customers and advocates for your brand. Plus, those customers may be able to step up to the higher-priced items later when the economy is in better shape.

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You've heard of smellivision, surround sound, and 3-d ads. Now there's "warm-vertising" courtesy of Kraft Foods. In an effort to break through the clutter and avoid having their messages zapped out of existence by Tivo or DVRs, Kraft is using bus shelters to pipe in warm cozy air next to a large poster for their stuffing. The 10 heated shelters, primarily in chilly downtown Chicago locations like Michigan Avenue and State Street, will have posters that read: “Cold, provided by winter. Warmth, provided by Stove Top.” The goal, they say, is to recreate that warm feeling you get when you eat stuffing. See an example of the bus shelter and poster here.

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Mood Swings: What if you're in New York City and you're feeling particularly energetic? A boring old trip up to the top of the Chrysler Building won't do. You need action! Leave it to the online world to develop a solution for just such situations. Mood-based maps are now out for NY, London and Toronto.

There's a map for each one of nine moods, covering such feelings as naughty, hungover, girly, sophisticated or broke.

www.ifeelnyc.com

www.ifeellondon.com

www.ifeeltoronto.com

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"Sybil Green" is a fun font, not suited for your boring old corporate brochure, but perfect for a party or celebration. Its ziggy lines, curly shapes and filled-in letter blocks are their own artwork so you don't have to have photography or illustration.

Congratulations to the Denver Film Society on the successful completion of the 31st annual Starz Denver Film Festival. AOR is pleased to have been their official advertising and marketing partner for the third year running. From TV and radio to newspaper, billboards, rave cards, newsletters and online ads, they kept us busy, but we're so proud of the world-class, highly respected festival that they have built. Bravo!

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