Second50Years Marketing Blog

Some years ago I purchased a tape of a song personalized with my granddaughter’s name throughout. It was lovely…all about animals…and my granddaughter, Amanda (3-4 yrs old), loved it. She played it over and over and memorized the lyrics.

Now Flattenme has developed a line of storybooks  that can be personalized with the photo and name of a child.  The text and illustrations actually feature the child. Customers, such as grandparents, upload the child’s photo, provide their name and gender, and select a book. The book is delivered in about two weeks. Sample titles are Here There Be Pirates, The Potty Dance, and My Little Monster. The books are hardcover, full-color and sell for about $33.

The “FlattenMe” books have been featured on Good Morning America, Daily Candy, the Today Show, and in the Grandkid Gift Guide.

We found this idea at TrendWatching.com. TrendWatching calls products, such as these personalized books, examples of “status stories” since they make great conversation starters for consumers who want to tell  “stories” about their unique belongings or experiences.

Status stories are sort of like “status symbols,” but different in that they don’t just speak of the consumer’s wealth but rather to their uniqueness and creativity as consumers. Products that enable status stories are often consumed in private, but then shared as stories so that they mimic the public presentation that “status symbols” demand in order to be counted as status symbols.

An example of a “status symbol” would be a fur coat worn in public. A “status story” might be about one’s great new hot tub even though few people see you in it; or your latest travel adventure to see the gorillas in Uganda even though only you experienced it. One can imagine a grandparent in the case of the “flattenme” books telling their friends about the great book they got for their grandchild, and basking in the glow of admiration as a fabulously creative grandparent.

The question for marketers to baby boomers and seniors is:

• Does your product provide a “story” that your mature consumers can tell to their friends and family that enhances their “status” through their buying behavior?

Can you think of other examples of “status stories?”