Dallas Trip: 2 Brand Shout-outs

Here's to practicing what we preach: good brand experiences are worth talking about. Story-telling is the heart of word-of-mouth marketing.

I'm in Dallas right now, at the tail end of a biz trip. We stayed at the new W hotel in downtown Dallas. The place has been open for only 2 weeks, and I guess there are a few kinks to work out. I didn't do any organizing (thank heavens), but evidently, those who did found a few...umm...service gaps.

Well, they fix whatever went wrong, plus: we were all out to dinner with our client. The staff knew we were there (somehow). They called up the place and bought us a round of drinks.

Nice touch.

The other shout out is Samsung. They've set up a lounge here at the airport with WiFi, comfy chairs and lots of outlets. It's free and open to enter. The WiFi is T-Mobile, so you have to pay for it. But the fact that there's a nice, clean, quiet spot here at the airport is massively appreciated. You know, I've been in at least 4 brainstorm sessions where an idea like this has come up, but it never came to fruition.

Samsung did it--and they found a nice way to showcase their products: there's a steel case hanging on one wall with a selection of their cell phones. Nicely done. The idea of having a product showcase in a relevant spot is a good idea. The decision to make that spot into a little oasis for your target is great.