waitless.org

I think it is only right for my very first post to be about a cellular network/ telecommunications company, since I spend every day immersed in the telco marketing blitz that is the Philippines.

I love this campaign. It shows ease and relevance without spelling it out. It appeals to young people, as all tech brands should. It's funny. It's simple. It gets the point across.

A site by Sprint offers time-saving ideas in the form of "Sprintcuts", quick video tutorials that show you how to "turn tedious tasks into fleeting moments".

On the bottom right, a link reads "start calling at 7 p.m." When you click on it, a new image comes out that reads "Wait-haters unite". The site promotes unlimited calling that starts at 7 p.m. instead of 9 p.m, "saving you two hours of waiting a day", which adds up to four years over a lifetime.

There's a time calculator that lets you figure out how much of your lifetime you're wasting on any task. Or you can submit your own Sprintcuts through video or text. You can even ask to be alerted (by mobile or e-mail) of new videos.

That last feature is what really caught my attention. The videos were so funny that it seemed natural to want more videos sent right to me. Since I live outside the US, my only option was to be alerted over e-mail, but I would have been happy to opt-in for mobile updates. Even better, Sprint promises up front not to send me spam and asks specifically for the products I want alerts on.

A few days later, I got an e-mail that showed how to quick-pop a bottle cap. It was funny.

This is a great campaign. The name alone already appeals to the low-EQ generation Y that we are: waitless.org. The site is simple and easy to navigate and it answers a relevant need or consumer desire. The opt in was almost automatic.

This is so "un-telco" that it's almost sneaky! You gotta love it.