Three Free Prizes

I've run across three interesting marketing ideas recently. They may not be Purple Cows or B2B oriented, but they are Free Prizes worth pondering.

1. A columnist in the local paper recently commented on how his vet and the animal hospital called him to check on his dog after it was accidentally poisoned. Why don't our doctors do the same thing? He actually made a good operating plan, suggesting that employees of the doctor's office have a rotation to call patients who've had a serious ailment or were referred to a specialist. A great CRM lesson.
2. At church yesterday, the pastor told about the White Dog restaurant that has created affiliations with restaurants in other countries in which the USA has a poor dialog. The idea is that food conquers all. They sponsor trips to these sister restaurants to help their customers learn about the country and create dialog over food. Some people like to try new, foreign foods (and cultures), and this is a great way to attract them.
3. General Mills will be changing all their cereal to whole grain. As someone trying to eat healthier (and trying to influence my kids), this is great. A great example from my previous post about what a company being #2 in a market should do--be different.