As I was reading a short article by Ethan Boldt the other day, I really got inspired to think about this idea of “freshness” in marketing…

And really, this same idea of “freshness” is bigger than marketing – it’s just human interest.

People don’t ask, “what’s old?” or “what’s the same?” when they see you on the street. No, they ask, “what’s new?” because they want to hear some novelty, they want to get in on something they don’t already know or haven’t already seen.

People like variety, they like novelty… something brand new, whether it’s a product, a special offer, a new layout to your storefront, anything new and novel…

It’s why eateries change their menus so often, or offer different specials on different days of the week. It’s way bars and restaurants bring in live entertainment…

When you’re incorporating something new into your business, you have something to talk about – and more importantly, you give other people something to talk about.

But how can retail and ecommerce businesses introduce this kind of freshness? What about service-based companies?

In that article by Ethan Boldt, he talks about t-shirt maker CustomInk’s campaign making a holiday out of the “birthday of the t-shirt,” celebrating 100 years since the invention of the their product.

And this is precisely the kind of “freshness” that makes good marketing. What can you say about your product or service that hasn’t been said before?

What can you do that no one else in your industry is doing? 

Your customers and prospects will take note when you introduce something new to the mix…

You could take a cue from CustomInk and look into the history of your product or service for ideas, look into joint ventures for interesting ways to combine products or services, revamp your website or storefront’s look to coincide with a limited-time promotion… anything that’s going to bring that feeling of “freshness” to your business.

Even Google’s homepage logos, subject to change at any time, are a great example of this approach…

Sometimes it’s a reason to research a historical figure, sometimes it’s a mini-game, sometimes it’s just a cool bit of graphic art – whatever it is, it’s unique to that day, and that makes people interested.

Because Google is now known for its changing homepage logo, people actually seek out the changes…

They are ready and waiting for something new.

Imagine if you could introduce this kind of variation into your branding…

People get excited about variety, about things that are shiny and brand new. And if you can introduce some freshness into your business, you’ll have people coming back to ask, “what’s new?” a lot more often…

In your corner,

Charlie