Here is a Monday morning challenge for you.
What do blotches and out-of-the-box advertising have in common?
You and I may think of a blotch as as a large, irregular spot or blot. Kind of like a sun spot on our skin, a reminder of the lazy hazy days of summers long, long ago … the kind of summer that performers like the Beach Boys and Jan & Dean crooned about.
A Blotch In The Park
But to a naturalist and guide at the world famous Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica, a blotch is something that does not totally disappear into its immediate environment. 
It's kind of like an animal in a tree, or a bird song among the sound of chirping insects.
As the guide explained, when you are looking for interesting things to see or photograph, scan the trees for 'blotches' that don't belong there. Blotches of color, shape or sound that stand out from their immediate surroundings. He went on to explain that if you focus carefully on the 'blotches', you can probably find something interesting.
A Credit Worth 3 Times What You Paid
Over the past week or so, I have been hearing an out-of-the-box radio advertisement which definitely stands out out from its immediate environment.
For the most part advertising of any kind doesn't make it past my built-in 'don't bug me' filter.
But there is one advertiser that consistently finds its way through this filter. The advertiser is Omni Jewel Crafters. (Check out its website it's in black & white!!!)
I am not even a jewelery consumer … why should this company's advertising make it through my filter?
Its current ad definitely is...to use the park guide's terminology...a 'blotch'.
The gist of the promotion is that on this coming Wednesday, if you call the company and allow them to charge your credit card with whatever amount you select, they will give you a credit for three times that amount.
Think about that for a minute.
By allowing the company to charge your credit card for X dollars, it will give you a credit for 3X dollars.
Weirdness
How weird is that?!?
But then it hit me. The advertisement is so weird that it is a blotch … something that stands out from its immediate surroundings.
If this ad made it through my 'don't bug me' filter, how many other 'don't bug me' filters did it make its way through?
And if I am making reference to this ad, how many other people are doing the same thing?
What a great advertisement … to have people like me talking about it.
And what is even more amazing, is that even though I am unlikely to take advantage of the offer, simply by referring to the offer, I am helping promote it.
Hmmm.
Makes me wonder … what must we as service providers do in order to not only pass through 'don't bug me' filters but also have people talking about our offers?
In other words, how can we make our advertising stand out like blotches in Manuel Antonio National Park?
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