From morse code to wonky radios, the opportunities to make a difference are everywhere

The opportunities to surprise, delight, and make a real difference are everywhere. From hiding critical secret messages in pop songs to radios playing only out of the right speaker in order to raise awareness of a specific health issue opportunities are everywhere.

Case in point 1: A critical secret message hidden in a pop song

“In 2010, the Colombian army was preparing a rescue mission for 16 soldiers being held by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). In sieging the compound, commandos might just as easily get the captives killed as rescued. In order for the mission to succeed the army needed to find a way to warn the prisoners that a raid was imminent, that they should be alert and ready to fight back or flee into the jungle. But how could they get this message to the hostages without tipping off the FARC guerillas?”Source.

What they did was nothing short of genius.  Knowing that the soldiers were trained in morse code, a pop song was written and shared country-wide that to your and my ears would sound ‘normal.’  To the soldiers trained in morse code, however, a secret code was embedded in the song, tapped out, by you guessed it, morse code.

“Hidden within the song’s melody was a message, a Morse Code signal, the dots, and dashes timed to the song’s rhythm, camouflaged as just another instrument.”  You can hear the song here.

How cool is that!  Moreover, it worked.  The soldiers were safely rescued.

Case in point 2:

How can you use popular radio stations to raise awareness of what it’s like to lose a breast to breast cancer?  This intriguing challenge was met by, at a synchronized time, all throughout Israel, radio stations playing music only out of the right speaker.

Imagine the surprise that followed.  And then the resonance and impact once the campaign’s purpose was revealed.

These are just two examples of Easter eggs. Easter eggs are a concept taken from online gaming, where surprises are hidden in the content. The ‘eggs’ are waiting for you to find them. Easter eggs are a terrific way to engage people and raise curiosity.  They are also a way-cool way to surprise and delight (and in the morse code example, even save lives).

Speaking of Easter eggs, I’m beginning to design online courses you can take any time you wish and each one has an Easter egg hidden in them.

Want to win free access to my first course on how to make online meetings engaging and fun?

It’s called “Ban boring online meetings; a quick-start, step-by-step approach to making your online meetings engaging, appealing, and actually effective.”

Simply leave a comment below and I’ll pick 10 random winners. Good luck!

Cheers. Stay well & safe. Stay creative.

Now go on and learn, laugh and lead

Learn

• Find out more about Easter eggs here.

Laugh

• Inhale the opportunities that Easter eggs have to offer, like this bunny inhaling her greens.

Lead

• Remember, simply leave a comment on this post and I’ll pick 10 random winners who will gain free access to my online course – Ban boring meetings. Good luck!