With this client, it’s not an option financially to bring everyone in for a conference or a regional meeting series. So we brought in some of our technology friends and got thinking. What emerged, and what we are proposing, builds upon what geeks know as gaming and us marketeers know as just plain cool.

While our version is still in development, I discovered that Virtual Worst Case Scenarios are being used to great success already. They are gameware-like programmes increasingly used to train emergency medical staff in the US. In one worst case, a freight train derails near a heavily populated train station and releases cyanide into the air. Victims pour from the station and the player – as medical commander – must set up a triage area and sort through the patients as quickly as possible, making sure proper treatment is administered. It’s been very successful at making participants develop real time decision-making skills, under realistic and pressured conditions. It forces the participant to act on their feet, make snappy value judgements and succeed in the chaos that ensues.

Can you imagine how far this kind of thing could go in our industry? And all without ketchup and actors…

From the excellent holiday read Wikinomics comes a great case study for field personnel living the brand. Geek Squad is the answer to the layperson’s techno-phobic prayers, devoted to keeping technology running smoothly in the home and office. It is also among the best branded services out there.

What I read, gave rise to many questions about our as role as marketeers in enabling our most important resource to thrive.

Geek Squad is a rich source of learning for those of us who consider the healthcare field force an underused tool. The geeks on patrol are not only unified by the company’s branding theme – they are the brand. Each is dubbed with a title like “Special Agent”/”Covert Operator” (depending on duties) and is dressed to fit the part. Q: How successful are we in healthcare at engendering unity amongst our field-based colleagues?

Geek Squad’s mission is to “alleviate the world’s computer problems, educate people to fearlessly embrace technology and practice the art of human interaction.” And although their core business is PC troubleshooting, a little over 10% of their calls involve helping those who are having problems with other technicalities – such as setting up an iPod or putting the clock on your DVD recorder right. Q: What additional services could our reps perform that would contribute directly or indirectly to our bottom line?

Team members are encouraged to share their day’s tribulations with anyone, air issues and ask for help from peers, quickly and efficiently. Have a problem with a reboot or difficult customer? Up to 10,000 other agents are available to review your issue, comment and offer support, advice and fixes. Q: What do we have in place to facilitate best practice – or even best communication – between team members? How successfully do we facilitate dialogue across all corporate levels?

Answers on an e-postcard to the usual address…