Ford and Their Lapel Pins

While surfing the net one day, I stumbled across a wonderful story about a promise and a lapel pin.  It’s an excellent example of the power of marketing with lapel pins. 

But it’s more than that.  It’s about having a face for your brand, about delivering what you promise, and about staying true to old-fashioned grassroots efforts like word of mouth marketing (everything old is new again!) to grow your business. 

The story involves an exchange between two people: Robbin Phillips, president of Brains on Fire and author of the original blog post; and Scott Monty, the head of social media at Ford, celebrated for his work in word-of-mouth marketing.  When Robin met Scott Monty for the first time, they had a brief conversation where she asked for a Ford pin that Scott was wearing on his lapel. He took her card and took a minute to discuss cars with her.

When the pin arrived in the mail (with a note from Scott), Robin was so impressed she talked about it and she wrote a blog post about it.  Perhaps one day, she’ll even buy a Ford!   All because of a lapel pin….

NASCAR Lapel Pins

If you live in the South, you’ve always known NASCAR.  But over the past ten years, NASCAR  has become a household brand across the country. Nowadays, almost anybody can identify NASCAR as those guys racing at 200+MPH around an oval track. 

It’s a pretty extreme sport, and the drivers are usually great sportsmen and celebrities in their own right. As with any popular sport, memorabilia and collectibles are important to the fans. NASCAR is no exception.  NASCAR fans aren’t shy about showing their lovel of racing.  You can find shirts, hats, posters, and of course, lapel pins that feature favorite drivers for this beloved sport.

NASCAR collectible lapel pins (like the one shown here) are gaining in popularity and are a great idea for any lapel pin collector. You can focus on collecting a pin for each driver, and even past drivers, which could make for some more valuable collectibles.

In fact, lapel pins have been the linchpin of the NASCAR Foundation’s fundraising activities.  Each year, the foundation creates a new pin, making the pins a great collectible item.  The foundation offers official NASCAR Day pins (NASCAR Day is May 15th)  in exchange for a $5 donation.  The pins are sold at events and online as well as at select retail locations.

The NASCAR Foundation, is a non-profit organization that seeks to raise funds and increase volunteerism to support nonprofit charities and charitable causes throughout the nation.  Their emphasis is placed on initiatives that affect the ability of children to live, learn and play. 

Celebrities likw Will Ferrell, Kelly Clarkson, and Kevin Costner have all contributed their star power as spokespeople for the NASCAR Foundation.  The NASCAR Foundation began in 2004, and has already raised more than $6.5 million for the Children’s Miracle Network and other children’s charities. 

Looks like it’s not just NASCAR race cars that have lots of power; so do lapel pins!

The Ramen Noodle Lapel Pin

There are lapel pins to promote everything, so why not ramen noodles?
If you’ve ever lived in a college dorm or gone sofa-diving for quarters, you’re probably familiar with ramen. Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish that consists of broth, noodles, shredded vegetables and meat. You can find fresh ramen noodle stands all over Japan, where every town and city has its own regional variation on the dish.
In 1958, instant ramen noodles were introduced to the marketplace by Nissin Foods. Named the greatest Japanese invention of the 20th century in a Japanese poll, instant ramen allowed anyone to make this popular noodle dish simply by adding boiling water. Ramen in its dried, packaged form is very inexpensive. This explains why ramen is associated with poverty and struggling students–it provides basic nutrition on a limited budget.
Ramen is now a Japanese cultural icon. In fact, in 1994, a Ramen museum opened in Yokohama, Japan. In the museum, there is a Nissin Cup Noodles factory where visitors can make their own instant ramen to take home. Visitors get to design the packaging, choose the ramen flavor, and pick up to four ingredients. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? Of course, the ramen may be inexpensive, but the trip to Japan may set you back a few yen.
As for the ramen lapel pin, it costs $5 (including shipping), about the equivalent of a week’s worth of ramen noodle meals.

Pinning It Forward

I love lapel pins because they are great conversation starters. Like unobtrusive, little miniature walking billboards, they share messages about who you are: your professional affiliations, military service, favorite sports teams, events you’ve attended, or causes that you believe in. Wear a lapel pin and you open yourself up to meeting people who are interested in your causes. Ask someone else about their pin and you’re bound to finish that conversation more enriched, more enlightened.

It’s a subtle way of ‘paying it forward’. The ‘pay it forward’ concept really hit the mainstream when the movie, Pay it Forward  (based on the book of the same name) came out in 2000. In the film, a social studies teacher challenges his students to think up a practical way to make the world a better place and put it into action. His 11-year-old student comes up with the notion of Pay it Forward. The idea is to do a needed favor for three different people without being asked, and then ask them to do the same for others. It was a new twist on performing random acts of kindness.

I was thrilled when I discovered this New York Times article , Letting His Lapel Spread the Word About His Cause, where Mark Roithmayer introduces the idea of ‘pinning it forward’.  The article, (which is definitely worth reading) profiles Roithmayer, in his role as president of the national nonprofit advocacy organization Autism Speaks. Mark travels frequently for Autism Speaks and always wears a puzzle-shaped lapel pin on his suit. The article sites several different instances when Mark’s lapel pin has started incredible conversations about autism and opened the door for introductions to people directly connected to or deeply interested in this cause.

Mark (pictured above right) says:
“I always take off my pin and give it to someone who shares his or her story. I think of it as ‘pinning forward.’ In fact, I have learned to take a small bag of pins with me whenever I travel because passengers and airline workers — even the security guys — regularly ask me for them.  And I gladly give them away.  It kind of reminds me of when pilots used to give young passengers wing pins to commemorate their flight, and maybe build a little brand loyalty in the process.”

So what are you waiting for? Isn’t it time that you started your own ‘pin it forward’ campaign?

20 Reasons for Lapel Pins

I love lapel pins because they an unobtrusive and tasteful way to make a statement about your beliefs, affiliations, and values.

These hard-working little metal billboards are one of the most low-cost, yet effective ways to deliver a message. They’re also excellent conversation starters, instant builders of camaraderie, and strong visual messages.  Looking for a reason to wear a lapel pin? I’ve got plenty for you.

You can wear a lapel pin to:

20. Dress Up or Decorate Your Lapel
19. Brag About Receiving Special Employee Recognition or a Prestigious Award
18. Identify Your Membership in a Fraternity or a Sorority
17. Demonstrate Your Affiliation with a Professional Organization
16. Support a Charity or a Cause
15. Cheer for a Sports Team
14. Show Your Holiday Spirit
13. Commemorate an Anniversary
12. Celebrate Your First Parachute Jump, Kayaking Adventure, or Yoga Retreat
11. Show That You’ve Joined a Club
10. Break the Ice at a Networking Event
9. Promote Your Business
8. Create Awareness About Breast Cancer, AIDS, Autism, etc.
7. Prove That You’ve Been to a Museum, the Hard Rock Café, Disneyworld, etc.
6. Encourage Pin Collectors and Traders to Trade with You
5. Promote a Sale, a Special Promotion, or an Upcoming Event
4. Identify Yourself as a Conference or Trade Show Attendee
3. Show Your Loyalty to a Branch of the Military or a Civic Organization
2 Advertise Your Interests, Hobbies, and Beliefs
1. Show Your Patriotism

So what are you waiting for? Give me a call and we’ll help you design your own personal lapel pin billboard today!

Did You Earn Your Wings?

Click for the link to this cute pilot costume!

 Aah, the good ol’ days….I travel extensively and these days we’re lucky if the airline gives us a bag of pretzels and something to drink.  But do you remember the days when the airlines used to serve food on real china with real silverware?  Or the era when you could still get pillows and blankets and slippers without flying first class?

The airlines used to treat children well too.  As a kid it was so exciting to fly the friendly skies knowing that your reward would be a set of plastic wings “just like” the ones the pilots wore on their uniforms.  Didn’t every child dream of becoming a pilot or a flight attendant after receiving a junior wings lapel pin?

Those airline lapel wings are now pieces of nostalgia sought after by collectors.  Manufacturers started issuing lapel pins in the 1930’s.  Today there are over 900 known types of junior wings.  They have been made from cast metal, stamped tin, plastic, cloth, paper and vinyl.  Small plastic wings sell for about $1 each on the collectibles market whereas metal wings command about $25 a pair.  As for those childhood memories?  Well, they’re priceless.