Out of the Box

What do Berets, Bolt-Cutters, and Books have in Common?

By Menachem Lubinsky on April 05 2011

The internet has revolutionized our shopping experience, but some things just look better in person. Indeed, no matter how free shipping is, nothing will ever beat the in-person dressing room experience. How do you know if that perfect cashmere sweater doesn’t have a small red dot unless you see it in person? How else could you find out if that sweater you like fits your neck properly? Because we all know what happens when you stretch out a sweater… (I apologize to all non-Seinfeld fans).
Similarly, stores like the Home Depot and Lowes, places where people buy tools, paints, carpeting and other large, bulky, and very non-digital accouterments, tend to attract a high level of walk-in customers. Clearly, people like to see these items with their five senses and not just on a screen, regardless of how high-def the resolution may be. As with clothing, and perhaps to an even greater extent, hardware retailers have an edge when it comes to drawing the in-person traffic.
So you say, berets and bolt-cutters have something in common, (although you probably won’t ever find a person sporting both at the same time) but what about books? Well, as it turns out, books are a popular accessory to both.
With the recent bankruptcy of Borders and the declining sales at Barnes and Noble, in store book sales are looking grim. Publishers, especially those proffering more obscure authors and subjects that are unlikely to be featured on major online book retailer sites, are rapidly searching for outlets to advertise and sell their literary wares in stores that still attract live human traffic. By teaming up with both small and large clothing retailers and hardware stores, publishers have found a new venue to attract customers. With cookbooks near the kitchen appliances section and thriller novels alongside the soft knitted socks, printed media has found an unlikely partner in retail.
In this case, out-of-the-box thinking was able to save a small segment of the publishing industry, for how long though, is anyone’s guess.
Sometimes the best ideas come from thinking not in the box or out of it, but rather about the box itself. Take for example Idea Paint, a paint that turns your office walls into a whiteboard. Cheaper, more efficient, and longer lasting than a traditional whiteboard, Idea Paint is versatile in its usage, as it can help in the classroom, office, and even at home. Ideas like Idea Paint turn the notion of thinking outside the box on its head; it’s not so much about getting out of the cubical of life as it’s about being able to make that cubicle a more efficient and fun place to be. Good ideas spur interest and thought, but great ideas expand the imagination beyond where we would have ever thought it could go.

Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Lubicom has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.

The name, "Out of the Box" is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.