What if you walked into work, looked out the window, and saw Marge Simpson looking at you from the office across the street?
Here at the office, Melissa and I have been day-dreaming about attaching a #FreeHugs sign to the window by our desk, so that the building next to us can have a laugh.
Apparently, we aren’t the only ones with the idea of cross-building window messaging. Recently on Canal Street, in New York City, a full on Post-It War has erupted. It started with one creative soul, who used Post-Its to write “HI” in his office window. It didn’t take long for other offices to catch on and send a message back. Before you know it, whole buildings looked like something out of a Pixar movie.
The Lorax joins the #postit party. #postitwars #postitwar #canalnotes pic.twitter.com/UsBxk4FOOc
— Erika (@E_Leigh23) May 13, 2016
Talk about blender events! I can imagine a million situations where this light-hearted phenomenon has created a better community on Canal Street. For example:
Elevator conversations with strangers: I bet every day, two people going to work in the same building would look up and see a ridiculous window display, and then proceed to take the elevator together while commenting on the newest addition. “Oh wait, you’re the office with the Pac Man? We have Marge Simpson!” “Did you see what that company did??”
Better team work: Co-workers that may never talk to each other except at big meetings might find themselves bonding over the joint effort of the next big Post-It idea. I bet lunch breaks are a lot more interesting these days.
Higher creativity: A fun, silly activity like this is bound to open up some great ideas in the professional sense too. If you’re feeling happier at work, and stretching your mind to something so new and colorful, that connects you with others, work quality can definitely skyrocket.
Awareness: From a marketing standpoint, these companies all got a huge boost in awareness of their brand, as passersby look up the #CanalNotes hashtag to see what’s going on, and as news spreads by word of mouth.
The moral of the story is this: Don’t be afraid to act on your random, even silly, ideas. Your small action can start something epic that will bring everyone together. It’s ideas like this that get people from meh to hmmmm.
