The primal force at the heart of iSi's Information-Marketing™ strategy is the "good deed at the point of need" or HELPING consumers (the good deed) at precisely the point when they need the help (the point of need). And while it may seem obvious, the underlying power of a "good deed at the point of need" as a marketing strategy cannot be overemphasized.

HELPING CONSUMERS with their information needs in today's information overloaded society is the MOST relevant assistance any company can provide to consumers, and providing that HELP at exactly the moment that the consumer needs it - the consumer's "point of need" is POWERFUL. And just how powerful is a "good deed at the point of need"?

Here is a true story about one of the marketing executives in iSi:

His wife was hospitalized undergoing cancer treatments including operations and chemotherapy, when one day she expressed the desire for a "hot roast beef sandwich." Ecstatic that she was finally showing signs of an appetite, he rushed to the supermarket deli across the street and asked the counterperson if he could have a "hot roast beef sandwich to go" for his wife who was in the hospital. The counterperson responded that they didn't make "hot roast beef sandwiches, only cold ones." To this the man replied, "but you have the roast beef and you have a grill, can't you make an exception and grill the roast beef for a few seconds?" The counterperson replied, "No, I'm not supposed to do that." 

The store manager was standing nearby and happened to overhear some of the conversation, so he came over to ask what was going on and the counterperson explained that they didn't sell "hot" roast beef sandwiches, only "cold" ones. The manager apologized and meticulously grilled a piping hot roast beef sandwich himself - giving it to the man for free and wishing the best to his wife.(She recovered and is in remission today.)

To this day, even though this grocery store is miles from his neighborhood, our marketing executive goes out of his way to shop at that grocery store because of that single "good deed at the point of need."

While our marketing executive may eventually stop going to this supermarket, the point is that there was no advertising or marketing in the world that could have possibly affected him to this extent. So powerful and fundamental is this effect that there are movies, Grand Canyon, children's fables, Aesop's, The Lion and the Mouse, and religious parables, the Good Samaritan, that all express the power of the "good deed at the point of need."

Marketers today need EXACTLY this kind of authentic, fundamental, and powerful connection to consumers in today's cynical and hyper-competitive marketplace. And while some companies have embraced this approach - Procter & Gamble's Tide Loads of Hope and Samsung's Mobile Charging Stations are but two examples, it is clear that engaging the consumer must be the primary goal of marketing and advertising today and nothing creates this "engagement" more effectively than a "good deed at the point of need."

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