Andy Nulman is considered by many the father of Surprise Marketing; a genre he outlines and evangelizes in his new book “Pow! Right Between The Eyes.” Formerly, Andy was the President and CMO of Airborne Mobile, which he co-founded in 1999 with Garner Bornstein. Airborne Mobile strengthened brands through the creation of innovative mobile content and applications. To Andy, surprise is a powerful secret weapon of modern marketing. Throughout his career, he has used surprise to open eyes and make sales.
In establishing Just For Laughs, the world’s largest humor event, Andy established policies that “guaranteed laughs or your money back,” set up guerrilla entertainment for people waiting in long ticket lines, and conceived a series of epic press conferences where he attracted attention by launching a new religion, engaging journalists in Olympic-styled competitions, and being reeled onto a cruise ship like a giant deep-sea fish. At Airborne Mobile, he brought life to staid industry conferences with storms of branded dollar bills, used stealthily-placed wirecutters to attract and intrigue future clients like Disney and HBO, and planted dozens of time-bombed golfballs, most still waiting to explode.
An acclaimed and thought-provoking public speaker/showman known for motivating and challenging Fortune 500 companies, Andy has also written two best-selling books, “How To Do The Impossible” and “I Almost Killed George Burns.” He is the recipient of many awards, including being voted one of the Top 100 Montrealers of the 20th Century by the Montreal Gazette in 2000.
In this episode, Andy and Bryan discuss:
- Saying “yes” as much as possible
- Making sacrifices without selling out
- The power of charisma and communication skills