Categories: Articles

Easter Eggs

What does a real fan love? A real fan loves it when they can find (and share) an Easter Egg.

An Easter Egg is a hidden message or inside joke usually found in movies, books, CDs, video games, websites, etc… created by the producer of the content. The consumer either knows where it is, how to uncover it or the precise time where you can spot it. Yes, the entirety of the program can be enjoyed without it, but for those who are really into it, it’s the secret handshake and that little extra something to surprise and delight.

From Wikipedia…

"The term draws a parallel with the custom of the Easter egg hunt observed in many Western nations, but actually is derived by the practice of the last Russian imperial family’s tradition of giving elaborately jeweled egg-shaped creations by FabergÃ© which usually contained hidden gifts themselves… This practice is similar in some respects to hidden signature motifs such as Diego Rivera including himself in his murals, Alfred Hitchcock‘s legendary cameo appearances, and various ‘Hidden Mickeys‘ that can be found throughout Disneyland."

Have you ever watched kids during an Easter Egg hunt? Have you ever been with someone who said something like, "yeah, I know this movie is cool, but did you ever notice THIS!"

The craziest part is just how easy it is to add that little extra something into everything you do. It doesn’t have to be something costly or extravagant. In fact, those who have developed some of the best Easter Eggs would probably argue that it’s the simple and little things that really got the most attention and appreciation. If you have no idea how to develop that kind of culture within your business or marketing department, you should check out these two books:

Nulman will walk you through the importance of putting the element of surprise into all of your business and marketing initiatives, while the Heath brothers have brilliantly constructed a book about how to tell stories, how to make them spread and – most importantly – why great stories grow a business.

Why don’t Marketers spend more time putting Easter Eggs into everything they do? What is the real extra effort or cost in doing this?

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.