Inspiration brought to you by the TM Planning Department

I found this fascinating article about social stenography given our increasingly open and public lives.

There are always things that people are going to want to share with some people but not others, like inside jokes.  Think of those cryptic messages (song lyrics, a random movie scene, an ominous status message update) that people are always sending out into these public places.

Who is the intended audience?  Who are meant to be led off track by these messages?  What is the hidden meaning?

I think savvy marketers are always trying to find more compelling ways to talk to their audience, giving them the benefit of the doubt that they will decode these messages.  No decoder ring necessary, just an affinity for the brand and the brand’s efforts to speak directly to you.

And as we dig deeper into this idea, more nuances can emerge.  A little bit of mystery in the mix and we’ve got a real eye-grabber.  How about the “mistake” made recently on Chipotle’s bags:

Looks like someone forgot to replace the filler text with actual content, but no – this was done on purpose:

Designers will get the joke right away. 95% of people who see the bags won’t. That takes balls. It also takes brilliance. One, because even people who don’t get it will realize that Chipotle isn’t making everything insultingly easy to understand like Taco Bell. I think people like a little mystery. It intrigues them, makes them feel respected and it’s just plain fun.

Even though “95% of people” aren’t supposed to get it, it grabbed their attention.  And then people started talking.  And then if they were really interested, they went online to figure out what was going on….cookie crumbs to the context.  Interested in more about this story?  Here.

Let’s hide more things in plain sight, let’s layer it on, get people involved with our communications, stir up a little debate and discussion, and ultimately communicate things about our brands in the way that we communicate to our customers.