I had to share this amazing post from 3 Minds. The idea in a nutshell: you can get a T-shirt of a CNN headline on CNN.com. It's not T-shirts made to order, it's a choice among pre-determined options. But the options are pretty cool. These are just the first 3, and I'd happily sport any of them in Boston's uber-trendy South End:
- Pelosi says 'no' to combined ticket
- Sinkhole gulps entire lane of highway
- Church steeple is cell tower goldmine
I was particularly interested in the potential brand story behind this idea. What I think is happening here is CNN is giving readers a "souvenir" of their CNN news-engagement experience. A free gift with purchase, if you will (actually it's without purchase, since CNN.com is free, also, I think you have to buy the shirts; but you know what I mean).
What other souvenirs of experience can we give an online user, I wonder - you can print out a story, email it to a friend (like a postcard from a tourist destination), digg it, rate or comment on it, download a photo from it. The T-shirt thing is nice because it's different from these other "souvenirs" plus it's very tangible (even though you have to purchase it), maybe even a tad old-fashioned and human. Everyone can use a T-shirt (and smile at a funny one), even if they're not literate with the worldwide interwebs.
The brand is also (perhaps unconsciously?) interjecting a little humor (hello, those lines are funny, right?) into its brand, having fun with itself, being a little relaxed, encouraging readers to have fun with CNN. I think of CNN as being kind of "strong" in personality - so fast-moving, so intense, so sexy, etc.. But I don't think of it as funny - all of its aspects are quite serious. Nice to see a brand not taking itself so seriously for once.
I would like a widget for my Facebook page that constantly updates the "headline T-shirts" that are available and enables 1-click ordering, virtual gifting, etc.. Hello, CNN, are you listening?
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