Well, wouldn’t you know it.  Days after I posted my grinch-like “Christmas Card Clutter” blog, I got one last holiday card.  And this one made my heart “grow three sizes”.

It was from Andy Sernovitz, author of Word of Mouth Marketing (in which he mentions one of our Altar Boyz e-marketing tactics).

I met Andy at the Word of Mouth Marketing Association conference back in October when I spoke on a “brands” panel.  And today I got his holiday card.  And, as you would expect, it was a masterfully remarkable card.

First of all, it wasn’t a holiday card.  It didn’t talk about Christmas.  Second, it came after Xmas.  Third, he put something in it.  And here’s where Andy is brilliant.

It was a luggage tag . . . and it already had my address in it.  How?  Well, Andy, took my business card when we met.  And like a magician asking for a handkerchief, he did something with that business card that I wasn’t expecting at all.  He laminated it and sent it to me weeks later.  So simple, yet personal, sticky and surprising.

Did it work?  You bet.  It got him this blog post to say the least.

Surprise your customers.  Surprise your audience members, your business partners, your boyfriends, your wanna-be business partners, your mom, etc.  You’ll put a smile on their face.

And smiles are the stickiest advertising of all.