We at BeHeron love good marketing campaigns and Entrepreneur magazine has just put out their Best Marketing Campaigns Ever list. While some are obvious , "Got Milk" and Las Vegas' "What Happens Here, Stays Here" ; some are not so obvious, yet are recognized by everyone. One such example is NBC's three note jingle.

Why do we focus on NBC's three note jingle? Well, it is because most people focus on taglines and logos when it comes to branding, but not necessarily on the sounds. But building a brand is more than just that, it is everything you put into your product, from reputation to the background sounds. It is important that all businesses ensure that their product is consistently conveyed to the public. Sometimes consistency can be reassuring to customers and bring in more business than you might expect.

As inventors, we all seek to find better ways of doing things. However, we often look to "new ideas" or "new discoveries" when we think of new products. Sometimes we should simply look to nature for solutions. After all, nature is one of the best forms of finding a "solution" simply because life's survival depends on it. A great example of this is a Navy funded project called GhostSwimmer. This project came about out of research from the Franklin W. Olin Colledge of Engineering and Boston Engineering Corp. It involves taking a Tuna design to improve underwater propulsion. An article by Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology describes the Navy's goals best.

"The U.S. Navy wants to incorporate the technology into a super efficient, tuna-mimicking submarine of the future... In the near term, the military wants to use the robots for intelligence gathering. A tuna-based robot would be able to go on longer missions and would be able to hold different payloads, such as cameras and radioactivity sensors, in its modular payload bay."

So the next time you design a device, take a few moments to think if nature already has the solution!

We at BeHeron are going to be offline for the holiday. We will be back and ready for an exciting new year on December 29th! May all of you have a merry Christmas.

We at BeHeron have seen and written about many young inventors, but young inventors that focus on the homeless? We have to say, not too much. Today, we want to introduce to you Max Wallack, a ninth-grader who won first place in the National Trash to Treasure Contest. His invention, the Home Dome, is not only environmentally friendly, but is aimed to improve the living conditions of homeless people. According to Max, it has taken him six years to make this work, but it is all worth it. In his own words, "I don't really care about the money. I care about helping people."

In addition, Max Wallack is also the recipient of Raytheon's $1,000 MathMovesU Scholarship, and is the founder of Puzzles to Remember, a charitable organization he started in memory of his great grandmother.

We at BeHeron are definitely intrigued. We are looking forward to hear more about this multi-talented kid. Who knows, with his drive and smarts, he might just be the person who will change the world, if he hasn't already with his Home Dome.

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, we would like to turn you attention to the bottom of the pyramid. Most companies and business plans focus on the affluent clientèle and high margin products because that seems like the easiest path to wealth as an entrepreneur. However, we would like you to turn your attention towards another market segment commonly ignored.

In an article published by C.K. Prahalad (Wharton School Publishing), we are shown how fortune can be found even "At The Bottom of the Pyramid". He shows that while billions of people live in poverty, these people also represent the worlds largest market segment. Huge customer needs mean huge potential to provide product value and huge profits, if you are willing to make it in small increments. It also shows that entrepreneurs can be part of the poverty solution.

There are several examples of companies that already focus on the bottom of the pyramid. These products range from water purification products, to miniature power systems. For example, a company called Envirofit makes indoor stoves for those who burn fuels like wood for cooking. Day in and day out, families breathe in lethal fumes from cooking fires resulting in approximately 1.5 million preventable deaths each year. Envirofit's stoves help solve exactly this problem. It, along side of its partners, "will design, develop, market and distribute clean cookstoves that are engineered to emit significnatly less emissions and use less fuel".

So the next time you are trying to think of a marketable product, spend some time thinking about those in need. Not only may you help save those less fortunate, you may also find a great way to make some good money .

Remember how days ago we at BeHeron told you about companies that specialize in licensing inventions to pre-existing companies (see Dec 2nd 2008 article of Lambert & Lambert)? Well, today, we want to introduce to you InventHelp, yet another company that leverages their business on the inventor's success.

Unlike Lambert & Lambert, which is primarily a licensing company, InventHelp does much more than that. InventHelp is a full service inventor service company. Not only wil they market your invention (and take a huge profit, mind you), but they will help you find a patent professional if you need one. Now, we don't know how much InventHelp charges to refer you to a patent professional and/or license your idea, but we bet you, it's not chump change. Goes to show you, there are individuals and/or companies out there that can help you reach your goal, but assess your needs first. And always evaluate whether the value add is something that you can't easily do yourself. After all, sweat equity is often what pays off most!.

Once a upon a time, there were electric cars. They loved to drive around. They were happy because they no longer needed to lug around heavy oil. Their friends the airplanes were jealous. They, too, wanted to travel around without the heavy fuel. Then, one day, a man named Taysir Nayfeh and his friends at Cleveland State University said you too shall be free, and set forth their idea in an application with WIPO. All is well again in the world.

First pond scum, now a sewage contraption? Say what? No, we at BeHeron have not gone mad. We are simply at awe of the new invention made by University of Utah, "PooGloos". Yes, you read it right, "PooGloos". Oh my.

According to this news article, "If it works, it could have worldwide significance and will save people here lots of money on their sewer bills." We are no way crazed environmentalists, but saving both money and the environment just seem like a no brainer. Besides, how do you turn down an invention with an ingenious name called "PooGloos".

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

In life, opportunity knocks. In business, opportunity is there for everyone to see if you look hard enough. Over the Thanksgiving break, we at BeHeron got to see one subtle sign of an opportunity first hand. We were shopping at our favorite retailer, Costco, and saw something that we had not seen before. It was a parking spot with an electric car charging station.

Now we aren’t sure if it was for a company vehicle or not (the parking stall had little info other than how to use the charger), but it doesn't really matter. The story is obvious. Any disruptive technology will start out in piecemeal fashion. But the truth is that as soon as these stations become common, the new technology will abruptly take over. So take note! Costco was not the first and will most definitely not be the last. Time is short until the market changes forever. Will you take advantage?

Aqua-globe? Pedi-paws? Green bags? You've seen them on TV, haven't you? It seems that every day a new invention pops up and is materialized in the form of an infomercial. The catch phrase? "order now, and we'll reduce one payment" or was it "order now, and we'll double your offer". Wow, what a deal! But who are these inventors that are offering these incredible solutions to every day problems?

Introduce Lambert & Lambert, a specialized licensing agent that successfully licenses inventions to pre-existing companies. They state, "Manufacturing your own product is usually entirely unfeasible for the independent inventor due to the high costs and the learning curve required. At Lambert & Lambert, our goal is to provide professional representation to pair a great invention with a company well positioned to commercialize and sell it in large volume".

So the next time you see an infomercial, don't forget, behind every successful product, not only is there a inventor, but their also is a manufacturer and a licensing agent.