In his Consumed column in the New York Times magazine, Rob Walker describes Plinky, a web site designed to prompt bloggers who are having trouble thinking of what to say. As he puts it:
“You have the technology. The only thing the technology cannot do is solve this problem: What if you don’t really have anything to express?”
Retail marketers face a similar dilemma, particularly marketers who have the ability to engage customers using touch-screens, kiosks, Microsoft Surface tables or other interactive devices. What kind of content engages customers (who most certainly don’t come in with any intention of being engaged)? Indeed, with great capabilities come great responsibilities.
Below are some interesting prompts from Plinky that might serve as good starting points for in-store interactive content (click through to see users’ responses).:
- What’s your hidden talent?
- What’s the most important thing you’ve learned recently?
- You have to give away a million dollars. How?
- What are you doing to help the environment?
- What gadget is at the top of your wish list?
- List five things to do before you die.
- Describe how you’d spend $1,000.
- Share where you’d fly for the weekend if your best friend had a helicopter.
- Recommend a place to get a good cheap bite to eat.
- What’s your dream ride?
- What’s your favorite place to enjoy the great outdoors?
- What would you do with an extra 3 hours today?
Plinky is designed to prompt long-form responses, so not all the prompts would lend themselves to interactive responses in a retail space. And not all of the subjects are appropriate. But overall, the side does a good job of getting at subjects that get people thinking.
Some of the prompts above are simply entertaining, which is an important quality for any digital multimedia content. Others prompts might lend themselves to some fun multimedia content within the store (e.g.,”55% of customers in this store like X”). And yet other prompts could be used to help marketers learn more about their customers.
In the spirit of Plinky, below are some additional prompts worth considering:
- How did you get here? (bus, bike car, walked)
- How far did you travel to get here?
- What errands are you running today?
- What would you do with an extra 15 minutes today?
- What are you saving for?
- How will you pay for college?
- How do you balance the family budget? (spend less, work more, borrow)
Photo credit: Samuel Mann
