In social media, 'likes' are the currency

The more their follower’s number in the millions, the more an influencer can charge for a single brand mention.

More than a mass medium could ever hope to for a solo release. Even in prime positions or prime time

But this power is limited to an emotional connect and the ability to persuade

There are music, film and cricket stars at the top of the pecking order who have carefully curated and cultivated their social media profiles.

A single mention from them gets entire lines of clothing or mobile phones selling out.

The ones in the middle, the up-and-coming influencers are the ones stuck in a midway situation. Their fans like what they do but they may not vote with their purses.

That gets to be a critical call for brands. Which are the ones to select and go with - will fans make purchases or pass?

Tough call.

There's an older set of influencers who operate away from the spotlight

They wield unseen power

In everything from political deals to appointments to plum posts, they work behind the scenes. That's also influence.

Same word, different worlds. And that's the key.

Lollipops outside nightclubs

Drunken revelers were kicking up a storm.

And getting into brawls.

Arguments would escalate into fist fights and rash driving creating law and order issues.

The solution that seemed to work was ridiculously simple.

Hand them lollipops.

It the kind of thing you would do to keep kindergarten kids happy, but age apparently does not come in the way of enjoying sugary treats.

The idea of giving out lollipops was first suggested in a book written in 2008.

Kathryn Graham wrote Raising The Bar: Preventing Aggression In and Around Bars, Pubs and Clubs.

It was from her personal experience of working in bars as a student in the 80s. She went on to become a Psychology professor and this was one of the ideas suggested to control aggressive behavior.

The problem was sustaining it - and deciding who pays for the lollipops.

The night clubs don't want to be the ones doing it. Or buying and stocking it.

And policemen can't spend time doling it out across cities. Apart from how ridiculous it looks.

It's strange that leading lollipop brands haven't figured out a way to build a business model around it.

And advertise the social good they're doing.

A packaging riddle

Comment on social media - "We should cut down on packaging - make it sustainable"

Great idea. So where do you begin?

Recently bought an ink tank printer - estimated to have the lowest per page printing costs.

Now, the product cannot be shipped in one piece. The black, blue, red and green inks have to be in separate bottles. And wrapped in vacuumed plastic, so that they do not break and flood inside in a multicolored mess.

The two printer heads for black and colour printing have to be packed separately.

To align all of these, the corresponding channels in the printer have to be secured against rough treatment in the supply chain.

Simply sticking a 'FRAGILE' sticker does not work.

One sensible change. The old instruction manual has changed to a "Start Here' booklet. Illustrations instead of long text. All  broken up into steps, so you know how to proceed from one to the next.

All the packing gaps have to be stuffed with cardboard, so that they don't move around.

And a printer is just one of the millions of products being shipped everyday.

Each with its own unique packaging challenges.

Now, where would an 'optimisation' solution idea begin?

Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Subscribe at ideascape.substack.com

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