tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2332623991045962212024-03-21T06:46:40.297-07:00open fridge doorYou never know exactly what you'll find or what condition it will be in. Always a surprise and says a lot about the owner, much like its culinary cousin.gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.comBlogger204125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-51098891348197469532017-03-24T16:23:00.001-07:002017-03-24T16:23:42.815-07:00Virgin America Ends. When Brand Love Isn't Enough.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">Fly Virgin America as much as you can and revel in an experience that is memorable. Soon you won’t be able to make new ones. The Virgin America brand will be phased out over the next two years and disappear for good. Hopes it would survive the merger with Alaska Airlines were raised by its own marketing: <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgltA76qUxo&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Different Works</a></i> was launched as the spirit uniting both brands for their shared journey ahead.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">As such a storied and successful brand it seems odd that Virgin America should end. It is a classic example of a challenger brand, required study in many college marketing courses today. Virgin American is a brand that is </span><span class="s3"><i>loved</i></span><span class="s1">. It inspires ardent fans and admirers. It got 5.8 million people to watch a <a href="https://youtu.be/DtyfiPIHsIg"><span class="s4">safety video</span></a> without stepping on a plane. Unthinkable before this brand did it. <span class="s4"><a href="https://digitalsynopsis.com/advertising/virgin-america-safety-dance-video/">(Digital Synopsis)</a></span></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Why did this happen? There is a lesson in every failure; what we understand we can avoid. A few thoughts on why love wasn’t enough:</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Brand love is in vogue but it can be a trap</b>. For marketers brand love suggests its customers have passion, preference, advocacy and loyalty. It may be true. But brand love can be a trap when it masks a deeper issue and encourages complacency with the status quo. Brand love measures are misleading when they don’t connect to consumption.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>People's standards for love have changed, too. </b>Social media has profoundly changed people’s relationship to many things including brands. Though different from the 1960’s era of ‘free love’, declarations of brand love today have become easy for people to make when they live only in social media and do not come with commitment. These expression of love are genuine acts but when they remain inside the social media bubble their value is unreliable.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>How brand love is valued needs to be rethought. </b>Love expressed in social media needs to be understood separately from ‘transactional love’ - the decision to buy that is driven by brand love over other elements (price, convenience, etc). And of course marketers should be exploring the relationship and dynamics between the two. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>True brand leadership means taking on business responsibility. </b>While working to inspire a strong bond with its customers, brand strategists need to take into account the operational realities of the business they are supporting. Though flying Virgin America was awesome something was clearly misaligned if the cost to deliver the experience couldn’t be supported by the price the market would bear. While classic brand stewardship focuses on defining the core idea, shared values, character/tone and collective expression through experience, stewardship needs to have business accountability by being connected to value. One way to assess brand value is from the premium that customers are prepared to pay over alternatives. The bigger the margin, the greater the love. Price threshold research can be useful here. Understanding the levels of switching that different price points trigger can give a financially grounded sense of how much people <i>really </i></span><span class="s1">love a brand.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Though sad, the demise of this widely admired and once pioneering brand is a timely reminder. Just because a brand is loved doesn’t mean it is enough: it has to translate into an active commitment and be scaled sufficiently to support the margin needed to remain financially viable. Without it, a brand will disappear from view however much it might be loved. <a href="https://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/dear-virgin-america"><span class="s4">Richard Branson’s euology.</span></a></span></div>
gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-48355556226146486802017-02-26T21:34:00.000-08:002017-03-24T16:25:14.382-07:00Brand FOMO: the risks and remedies that come from the fear of missing out.<br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The fear of missing out - 'FOMO' - is one we all had as teenagers, wondering if a great experience was happening that we were not a part of. </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Today those most suffering from FOMO are brands. Brands and those that care for them fear not being a part of the right cultural moments. The speed with which cultural moments evolve today heightens this fear of missing out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, there are serious consequences for brands that react because of a FOMO when they act the wrong way. Saying or doing the wrong thing in the vast social sphere does more than fragment a brand or squander a budget. The downside of FOMO and knee-jerk reaction has the potential to alienate fans and even create a backlash.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Drum published 6 principles I've identified that give marketers a way to approach cultural moments and choose the ones best for the brand, while steering clear of the risks. <a href="http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2017/02/23/brand-fomo-the-risks-and-remedies-come-along-with-fear-missing-out" target="_blank">Full article here. </a> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>1. Don't believe the brand radicalization hype</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>2. Begin with an assessment of brand fit</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>3. Money doesn’t buy authenticity</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>4. Use culture for strategic as well as short-term goals</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>5. When it’s cause related, actions speak louder than words</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><b>6. Lead, fast-follow or don’t bother</b></span></span></div>
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gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-90138442149834720442017-01-02T00:23:00.000-08:002017-02-21T00:29:31.488-08:00What An Era of Post-Truth Portends For Strategy<br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are in the midst of a maelstrom whose end is nowhere in sight. The term ‘post truth era' was recently coined to describe a cultural shift that became particularly topical during the 2016 US Presidential campaign, in which the integrity of 'facts' were rivaled by opinions unsupported by the rigor of proof. This cultural shift exceeds far beyond the political economy origins and mass media popularization from which it began. The impact of this shift on strategy is as yet unknown but its implications are worthy of being explored given the considerable effect it could have on the quality of strategic activities and outcomes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The roles of intuition vs analysis in shaping and making decisions is a long-fermenting debate in leadership fields and <a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/whats-the-best-way-to-make-careful-decisions" rel="nofollow noopener" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">strategy in particular</em>,</a> one that is likely to be shaped by the post-truth shift. Intuition and analysis are not alternatives: any tenure in a senior position inevitably requires the right blend of both. The issue is the balance of the two and the degree of trust in each. As with complex topics there are pros and cons to each side. Proponents of analysis typically have the consistency (and comfort therein) of an observable, repeatable process but its form can seriously limit the scope and richness of findings and therefore its value. Proponents of intuition assert its value when informed by deep experience. Its lack of observable origin - the result of ‘system 1’ type activity in Kahneman terms - is a limitation that leaves some audiences unable to trust it. At the very least they struggle to reliably differentiate between real insight and biased opinion.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The impact of a post-truth culture will sharpen the burden of proof required of seasoned strategy professionals as a reaction against the ambiguous trustworthiness of opinion and feeling-based claims in pop culture and mass media. Clients will demand more tangible proof and origin for the strategy work they buy. This is not a bad thing. Strategy is not an improv sport but it's become somewhat fashionable of late for it to behave this way. Under unmanaged conditions, opinions and even conjecture become easily merged and adopted as fact. In a work setting anecdotes of personal experience assume a currency whose perceived value rivals independent sources. The ripples from a post-truth culture will challenge intuition as a legitimate source of strategic activity as well as the easy confidence that often accompanies it (intuition after all is often presumed to be right). Overall, the lower standard of truth 'proof' in wider culture won't lower the standard in the strategy world. On the contrary, it will raise it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Post-truth culture will raise another bar for the business world, for marketers rather than strategists. Brands and their marketing claims will be more scrutinized as the result of swirling ambiguity people increasingly come to expect everywhere else. A crisis of trust is itself not new (see <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/sapient/sxsw-2011-the-crisis-of-trust-in-a-social-age-issues-and-opportunities" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Crisis of Trust in A Social Age</em></a>, 2011) but the nature and magnitude of its impact is. Where there is challenge there is opportunity. Brands that provide useful transparency and deliver consistency in terms and claims across their service and product ecosystems stand to do much better than those who do not.</span></div>
gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-89392064621135167712016-05-30T00:19:00.000-07:002017-02-21T00:27:14.385-08:00Breaking Bad: How Freeing Us From Bias Will Spark A Revolution<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We've all experienced it. Exploring hotel rooms or airline prices online a pop-up will tell us of how many people are looking at the same options right now. Or the number of people who've been looking in the past 24 or fewer hours. </span><strong style="border: 0px; color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Heightening scarcity preys on an unconscious mechanism in the mind</strong><span style="color: white; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, a primitive force that triggers us to act out of fear. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fear is the loss of a outcome we want - a hotel we like, an airline price we like. Unfortunately for homo sapiens <strong style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">our attachment to the option to buy something is as strong as the desire for the thing itself.</strong> It might seem odd but the logic is simple: if you lose the opportunity to buy something then what is being sought is lost too. It's a vulnerability called <strong style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">loss aversion</strong> - and accomplished behavioral economists like Dan Ariely have been researching it (<a href="http://www.chicagocdr.org/bdrm/sessions/papers/doors.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">Keeping Doors Open</a>) and writing about it (<a href="http://www.e-reading.club/bookreader.php/138702/Ariely_-_Predictably_Irrational__The_Hidden_Forces_That_Shape_Our_Decisions.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank"><em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Predictably Irrational</em></a>) for some time. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like confirmation bias, loss aversion is an easy target for marketers to zero in on as a basis to exploit. <strong style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's refreshing to find a company rejecting this marketing ethos and giving its customers a freedom from fear rather than fueling it.</strong> It's what <em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Options Away</em> is introducing <a href="http://time.com/4346118/options-away/" rel="nofollow noopener" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">to revolutionize the airline and travel space</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Airline and hotel pricing are governed by the algorithm: prices are subject to fluctuate wildly based on a host of factors invisible to average buyer. Airlines and travel aggregators typically force prospects to buy at the price prevailing at that moment and be unable to change it - unless shoppers pay a significant premium for a fully refundable booking. Taking a page out of the financial services book, <em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Options Away</em> is introducing the equivalent of a derivative for shopping for airfares and hotels. <em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Options Away</em> sells customers the option to buy at a certain price for 48 hours (or longer depending on the option). It offers freedom rather than lock-in. So while buyers might feel a scarcity pressure to buy when inventory is limited or when other people at the same time are reviewing a hotel or airfare <strong style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Options Away</em> sells an antidote to loss aversion through its option-to-buy product. </strong></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's smart marketing because <strong style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">freeing people from acting out of fear makes them far more likely act.</strong> A much bigger market exists for people wanting to reserve the right for a future outcome rather than being forced to commit with an irreversible risk. Forty airlines have signed up with <em style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Options Away</em> as well as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hipmunk and Kayak. This is a change in the travel industry you are going to notice.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hats off to the behavioral science community for continuing to shed light on unconscious mechanisms of the mind that govern our waking hours from which we are better freed.</span></div>
gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-26320579457692084432016-03-27T21:56:00.001-07:002016-03-27T21:56:40.040-07:00Listen To The Data. Literally, Advice to Heed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwnazQQgSUHywm2N5px3r7BT7tyjxG_b7aMk3L8m-RsuiHcN_X4BS7OL0aLnTe-tQtLjtexZRYHji0_je_AIWyUBDF5NHw8UNQPB73cOa-PL2ZBhA-TYXbkMxrB4Jmr7Tw5Xymtt84DE/s1600/Listen+to+the+Data.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZwnazQQgSUHywm2N5px3r7BT7tyjxG_b7aMk3L8m-RsuiHcN_X4BS7OL0aLnTe-tQtLjtexZRYHji0_je_AIWyUBDF5NHw8UNQPB73cOa-PL2ZBhA-TYXbkMxrB4Jmr7Tw5Xymtt84DE/s400/Listen+to+the+Data.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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One part of ‘Big’ in Big Data refers to the size of the
opportunity: it represents a new frontier for accelerated progress that will
leave few areas of human endeavor untouched. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The other part of ‘Big’ is the challenge. Beyond the digital
dexterity required to conquer unprecedented data complexity through modeling
and algorithms there’s a harder, human hurdle that must be surmounted for the
promise of Big Data to be realized: the physiological limits of a human’s
visual system to process input, whether data or information. Visual analysis of
data still dominates the business and scientific fields but we can’t handle the
visual complexity from Big Data.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
emergence of infographics and performance dashboards do little to overcome the
challenge. <o:p></o:p></div>
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‘Listen to the data’ may be a familiar refrain in business –
an appeal to be guided by numbers not subjective whim – but an emerging field
of scientific inquiry suggests taking this advice literally can generate breakthroughs
not possible through a sight-based approach. Sonification is the field of
turning data into sound. Multidimensional in nature, hearing presents a
different set of strengths from that of vision: the fidelity of time
sensitivity is 100 times greater for hearing than for sight. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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This creates huge potential for marketing whose transformative
impact has yet to be explored.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Imagine
the application of sonification to cross-channel customer journey assessment.
The ability to convert into sound and review customer-set level interaction
data across touchpoints and time can help identify meaningful moments along
with their contextual influencers, from changes in auditory patters.</div>
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Sounds promising.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21694992-scientific-data-might-be-filled-important-things-waiting-be-discovered" target="_blank"><i>The Economist:</i> Now Hear This</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-24610342075068740792016-03-15T18:46:00.001-07:002016-03-15T18:48:50.636-07:00Don't Hack Life - Hack Yourself<br />
As a cultural trend, hacking has evolved dramatically since it's inception. The latest exciting developments, however, exploit an approach that is centuries old.<br />
<br />
The term hacking took off in the digital realm, the result of much publicized efforts by programmers trying to break into systems to steal their contents (a sabotage that continues to grab headlines today). Now hacking has expanded to include any activity that adapts existing methods, resources and tools, fusing them with new thinking that invents or reinvents. It's become as much a physical world phenomenon as a digital one, and far more versatile and advanced than <i>The</i> <i>A Team</i> exploits that introduced a generation hungry for resourceful improvisation three decades ago.<br />
<br />
Today hacking is a mindset, a way of looking at and adapting the world around us (whether analog or digital) so that it works better for us. It's a mainstream orientation for Gen Y (Millennials) who have the ambition for life to work better and smarter to serve what they want. It's a noble aspiration indeed.<br />
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The latest frontier in hacking may not be to adapt the world around us, but rather to hack ourselves. It could be far simpler (and cheaper) to adapt our sensory response to external elements than adapt those objects or conditions that surround us.<br />
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Here's a fascinating perspective on how this might play out in the food category: <a href="https://munchies.vice.com/en/videos/food-hacking-electric-fork" target="_blank">Food Hacking: Electric Fork</a> It might revolutionize dieting. Imagine if a healthy but bland tasting food could be experienced as enticing and flavorful? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbR3D6RcJunjm6IR9pvWsEomwbmGjVetdJvGbUDHOpD6jFZ7uMifLmJGC-JZ_oPserFK6ebZyAJxbRZhB9UDq2pr6-PeCtNoWsFMr_v6PuXIBYvE0F7QTi1szIxY1z6utXDZZICoi1m6U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-15+at+5.41.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbR3D6RcJunjm6IR9pvWsEomwbmGjVetdJvGbUDHOpD6jFZ7uMifLmJGC-JZ_oPserFK6ebZyAJxbRZhB9UDq2pr6-PeCtNoWsFMr_v6PuXIBYvE0F7QTi1szIxY1z6utXDZZICoi1m6U/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-03-15+at+5.41.51+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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As with much technology what is considered an innovation is not itself new; rather it is treading an existing path, leveraging an 'old' idea but applying it in a new medium or a new way. The forerunner to hacking one's self for food is with medicine. Philosophically, that is what the science of pharmacology does: it adapts the body's physical, emotional or mental state not just to an inner condition but to respond to outside, exogenous ones. We've been benefiting from it for centuries. It will be fascinating to see where hacking our response to food leads us.<br />
<br />gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-3295562342024190092016-03-09T23:56:00.000-08:002016-03-09T23:56:13.577-08:00More Than Salutation, Brands Must Change How They See People To Stay In-Sync <div class="MsoNormal">
On many levels identity is undergoing significant
transformation in our culture, reflected in the zeitgeist of increased empowerment, personalized choice and self-expression. Lately there’s been renewed media attention upon the revolution
in gender identity. The binary, male vs female way to
identify ourselves has given way to a multiplicity of new concepts reflected in
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/fashion/pronoun-confusion-sexual-fluidity.html" target="_blank">the emergence of a whole new language</a> of pronouns and prefixes. <i> </i>The development and popularity of the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2016/feb/04/furry-fandom-subculture-animal-costumes?INTCMP=sfl" target="_blank">Furries subculture</a> reflects not just identity fluidity but expansion, anthropomorphically.</div>
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Arguable there are few things more fundamental to how we define
ourselves than our gender. For brands who want to demonstrate they understand
us and respect us, how they approach us is key to getting that right. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The challenge for marketers is that culture is in flux. It’ll be a while
before the dizzying gender alternatives in circulation will thin out and
stabilize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one can predict where it
will land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Facebook can get away with it
because as the social platform for the planet a huge part of its concept is
rooted in connection across people’s individually created profiles so there’s implicitly
a greater understanding of and receptiveness to the organic nature of how we
define ourselves through culture. For other brands moving early risks a
misstep, which could temporarily make the brand look foolish or worse evoke a
backlash.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The opportunity for a brand in embracing an emerging
cultural theme is that gives it a modern, progressive character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The brand is not just of the ‘now’ it is
leading the times as a social innovator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s incredibly hard for brands to stand out and apart from their
competition today so making this kind of move can deliver distinctiveness that
is meaningful – because there are few things more personal than identity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Trip Advisor</i> conveys its modern recognition for gender
choice by offering “Another gender identity.’ rather than only the male or female option.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It enables people to express what they don’t
identify with without having to convey what they do associate with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It avoids a rush to categorize alternatives
that might leave some options unrepresented which might invoke a backlash.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Caremark,</i> a medication fulfillment company for BCBS, have
also stepped up. Inquiring about the primary insured, they asked whether it was
me, my spouse, my wife or husband.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
choices do not presuppose any specific kind of orientation and signals not just
a recognition but an embrace of a more open, less assumptive approach to a
circumstance.</div>
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A move by a brand towards gender sensitivity might seem
small but there are few things as great as gender in how we see ourselves. Brands that show they
understand us by how they greet us will inspire empathy and will stand apart
from those who don’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-8518057655549125782016-01-15T01:25:00.002-08:002016-01-15T01:25:49.447-08:00Elevating Value Through Values<div>
<span style="color: #454545; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"></span><div style="color: #454545; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;">
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><div>
<span style="color: white;">The
opportunity might have easily been overlooked. The no-charge for bag
check or ticket change could have been merchandised as just that:
individual product features. It would have still delivered value to
consumers. But by uniting it with values the brand holds -
transparency, predictability, doing right by the customer - they enjoy
greater value. The no-charge feature now embodies principles the
customer believes in (or at the very least feels good about) and
triggers a human connection shared with the company they are about to
entrust their life to (it is air travel after all).</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: white;">This
is smart marketing. Giving what could otherwise have been only a
rational benefit some emotional appeal makes it not only more
compelling, it elevates the value consumers get by aligning with their
personal values - at no cost to the company. </span></div>
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gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-8648789800368536292015-09-04T23:40:00.001-07:002015-09-05T13:37:36.476-07:00The ultimate hotel UX fail.<span style="font-size: large;">Traveling is stressful and unpredictable, disruptive to our home life and circadian rhythms at the best of times. Helping to minimize these effects is a key part of any hotel's value in its service of its guests. Sleep in particular is the primary purpose of any stay s</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">o anything that </span>disrupts it is very bad for business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Designing a hotel door hanger separately from the handle it goes on has just this kind of unintended consequence. Nothing wrong with having <i>'Do Not Disturb' </i>printed on the reverse side of <i>'Clean</i>' - as long as there is no ambiguity in which message is the guest's intention. It's why a holistic approach to UX is so crucial to serving up choices and interactions that achieve the desired outcome. </span><br />
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<br />gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-34463826487724778352015-09-04T23:13:00.001-07:002015-09-05T13:41:13.573-07:00Snickers hits the sweet spot, serendipitously.<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Playful product messaging is a relatively new marketing development. In these evermore casual times, brands have learned that not taking themselves too seriously and having some fun can resonate better in today's culture. Brands that are playful demonstrate that they have the confidence to do so. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Coca Cola</b> </i>has recently departed from years of stringent protectionism for its classic </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">packaging </span>design and begun to use it as a canvas for sentiment that could be expressed by someone sharing happiness.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbUYBWcFOUhE-abJqTy04CCnfBm5v3pN7Gm8eIFDvGoVYSZogkdnY_p4KGVHJnL43YUARbXoiR5JAYwj0okHE-7JPPGADyePTQfJxq8lwd3mVFo7xAeIHV-wwS8TUb-uZm_PlUhHxA6U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-09-04+at+10.47.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbUYBWcFOUhE-abJqTy04CCnfBm5v3pN7Gm8eIFDvGoVYSZogkdnY_p4KGVHJnL43YUARbXoiR5JAYwj0okHE-7JPPGADyePTQfJxq8lwd3mVFo7xAeIHV-wwS8TUb-uZm_PlUhHxA6U/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-09-04+at+10.47.20+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other brands have followed. The relaunch of<b> <i>Old Spice</i></b> has included a similar technique. Its deodorant stick humor gives a wink to how long the brand has been around, yet gives is an edgy, modern sensibility. </span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Snickers</b></i> playful approach is a relatively new direction for the brand, complementing the tv campaign '<i>Who are you when you're hungry?'</i> that dramatized how different a person's character is when blood sugar is low. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most likely the brand didn't intentionally seek to exploit the massive <i><b>Netflix</b></i> hit <i>House of Cards. </i>Nonetheless 'Spacey' conjures up the Presidential character of that series, whose mood is so perpetually angry it is relate-able as an altered-state mood of someone incredibly hungry. It raises the question of an interesting twist in playful packaging: referencing characters in entertainment culture. Who's next perhaps? </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Bates</i> the psycho character in Misery? <i>Trump</i> the Real Estate mogul-turned-angry-populist-political-campaigner? Or <i>Oscar</i> the trashcan grouch from Sesame street?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Tapping into cultural themes or memes gives brands a very valuable wavelength to resonate with people, whether deliberate or not. </span>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-27229940581029417032015-08-25T01:28:00.000-07:002015-08-25T01:28:06.771-07:00<h3>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: white;">Wise words for Planners.</span></span></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Planners have to be artful storytellers. We need to help creatives develop stories for brands and to sell our own ideas to challenging audiences (the internal clients are often harder than the ones outside). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">In telling a compelling tale our words must be human in their connection yet precise in its expression. What we say comes from how we say it. To connect with meaning words matter far more than most people realize. In makes all the difference to how people feel and to how they act. And as this charming story shows it's not just words that matter, it's the insight behind them that give them power.</span><br />
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<br />gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-28287015610528085732015-08-10T22:16:00.000-07:002015-08-10T22:23:09.196-07:00The Simple Drama of a Product Truth<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It's rare these days that a single feature is enough to drive brand preference. Especially with technology like mobile phones which come armed with a supply of apps that stretches utility to an almost inexhaustible limits.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But the appetite for video consumption generally and TV everywhere (TVE) in particular is so prolific among the Gen Y and Z cohorts that download speeds can be a very big deal and disruptor. So universal is the pain of seeing action frozen seemingly for an eternity that it's enough to cause most of us to abort the attempt. (The bounce time from a stalled internet search is on average about 6 seconds - no wonder major retailers like Walmart and Target watch response time performance like a hawk.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">BGH takes this familiar experience and use it to differentiate the brand, hitting us where we know it hurts the most (second perhaps to being unable to make a call when we want).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The beauty is in the suspense and of ultimately making the audience feel the situation. After all, if we feel then we understand, and do so more convincingly than any rational attempt to persuade might achieve. This has long been the war between client and agency, certain as each party is to the most effective mechanism for unlocking belief. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Thankfully on this occasion, the right path was taken by both. Judge for yourself. Would a factual approach have had more impact, and been more memorable?</span><br />
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<br />gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-22539065484258559572015-01-01T19:56:00.003-08:002015-01-03T00:28:36.022-08:00Science Discovers the Place For Space in the Human Brain<div style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="color: white;">Many congratulations to neuroscientists May-Britt and Edvard Moser and John O’Keefe for their seminal work defining the brain's GPS system. They've found the place that gives us our sense of place. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Winners of the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physiology their discoveries represent the physiological basis for the mental mapping and spatial wayfaring ideas that were at the heart of my 2012 SXSW presentation </span><strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: red;">'<a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Guy_Gould_Davies/how-digital-maps-navigate-the-human-condition-11999140" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">How digital maps navigate the human condition.</span></a>’</span><span style="color: white;"> </span></em></strong><span style="color: white;">It’s arguably one of the most important areas of human cognitive activity. Their work is an exciting starting point for so much further progress in this field.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Check out the pioneering work that won them the</span><span style="color: red;"> <a href="http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2014/press.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">2014 Nobel Prize. </span></a></span></div>
gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-52249930015764290712013-11-23T15:43:00.003-08:002013-11-23T15:43:54.987-08:00Color distracts when products have little to add. <br />
You'd expect two of the world's powerhouse brands to be more imaginative when it comes to product extensions. But within a month of each other Nike's Fuelband SE and Apple's iPhone 5C depended on the same cosmetic element to try to fan the flames of consumer demand: color.<br />
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Both companies have fallen flat. Partly they're victims of their own success. We expect so much from these brands because they've trained us to expect greatness. Separately Nike and Apple have an enviable repeated history for innovating in their respective categories. They even have achieved it in partnership, through Nike +. Which is why their recent introductions are disappointing. The accompanying functionality tweaks were exactly that: incremental and more focused on correcting earlier issues than deepening experience value.<br />
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<a href="http://gizmodo.com/nike-fuelband-se-review-more-style-than-smarts-1467571986" target="_blank">Gizmodo review: Nike Fuel SE</a><br />
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In the case of the iPhone 5C, the tightly controlled approach to product design that Apple is known for is extended to color. A narrow range of options seems positively out-of-step with the times. Contrast it with the vitality from Motorola moto phone whose customization options for both handset and earphones are a celebration of expression and individuality.<br />
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Beyond the tactic of using color to jazz up a product with no more news the marketing too falls flat. The device of a colored phone on a colored background is shockingly lacking in imagination. Compare this with the bold iconic silhouettes of iPhone advertising that launched the product. This is a pale and far poorer attempt.<br />
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<br />gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-49519271322836346652012-03-04T22:42:00.001-08:002012-03-04T22:43:51.793-08:00Online Dating Invokes the Lord's Blessing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Really, it's a bit cheeky but certainly on brand.<br />
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If you're a Christian, then you want nothing more than to believe your romantic partner has been ordained by none other than the holiness himself/herself.<br />
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So it a wry move on the part of Christian Mingle to invoke the Lord's endorsement...or at least the imply that matches at its site are nothing short of just that.<br />
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Why look anywhere else? You'd just be searching for something that's against the Lord's wishes. And that could have Old Testament consequences. (Better play it safe.)<br />
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<br />gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-72078751186645902312010-03-16T23:00:00.001-07:002010-03-16T23:38:49.171-07:00Where The Right Answer Is a Question<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmN-9sYCBuVTUxTipTgA184yfBqWNLMuJ6RKn-jtMN8jZiFKl9zjKYF_xBOyisduVVTWL_IEFox6FPoAHF4yK-OSh4v9uTBnvS_xt9Xect58RhdLShfYUk3Ss6Dh4ilr8KK-vHLUX8us/s1600-h/DSCN2293.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbmN-9sYCBuVTUxTipTgA184yfBqWNLMuJ6RKn-jtMN8jZiFKl9zjKYF_xBOyisduVVTWL_IEFox6FPoAHF4yK-OSh4v9uTBnvS_xt9Xect58RhdLShfYUk3Ss6Dh4ilr8KK-vHLUX8us/s400/DSCN2293.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449487377426714418" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Hats off to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. This exactly captures the reaction it is striving to evoke from its visitors, young and old alike.<br /><br />The Exploratorium goes where flat-footed edu-tainment cannot tread. It's a collection of brilliantly crafted exhibits designed not just to educate but to spark a sense of wonder and stir curiosity within. Each display has been purposely made to compel its audience to physically interact with it, to engage in the sort of playful experimentation that yields rewarding results and engages the participant in a willing game of detective work to figure out what's going on.<br /><br />As the street banner suggests, it is particularly well suited for helping youngsters learn. The setting encourages them to be absolutely fearless in their pursuit of knowledge. Any self-consciousness they might have about the limits of what they know, or of making mistakes or worst of all failing - the collection of forces that might otherwise hold them back and rob them of an enriching experience - melt instantly away the moment they step inside the Exploratorium.<br /><br />You could also say that a hallmark of an good account planner is to work in a similar way. We didn't have a child-like capacity for play in mind, we were thinking rather about the role to stimulate further investigation. To deepen the inquiry in a meaningful way that advanced understanding of the challenge at hand, through iterative probing that gets quickly to the heart of the matter.<br /><br />There are many situations in the communications or consumer behavior worlds in which a question being evoked as a response to a stimulus - or as the effect of an interaction - would be a vast improvement to what it elicits today.<br /><br />Inspiration to do better, fluttering in the breeze on Gough street above the heads of commuters making their way wearily to work.gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-42693014187677618502010-03-09T11:37:00.000-08:002010-03-09T14:18:44.284-08:00What's The Best Way To Make Careful Decisions?Good decisions are rarely made carelessly. So there's an intuitive logic behind making careful decisions, whatever climate of decision making might prevail at the time. <br /><br />In this era of flux, one characterized by many practitioners and pundits challenging existing principles in search of new and more reliable wisdom, this subject of intuition vs analysis and their relative value in decision making is highly topical.<br /><br />In our view, the issue is rooted in a timeless theme of management science: the issue of thinking vs feeling in decision making.<br /><br />The idea of using feeling in the context of decision making makes many people uncomfortable which is why intuition gets a bad rap. Emotion is associated with a lack of discipline and robustness in analysis (with good reason to some degree). The fact that intuition cannot be attributed to a specific place, to a linear, observable, concrete set of facts also makes it an easy target. Intuition cannot be explained. It emerges or not.<br /><br />This character of intuition raises the other main driver of discontent that emerges with reliance upon it: the lack of control. Management needs to be confident it can replicate results, to assure the effective use of resources and ultimately the return to shareholders.<br /><br />Which leads us to the underlying human issue in play here, which in my view is trust. Decision making begets responsibility and accountability. One feels no better having put that trust in the hands of so called 'experts' whose predictions and recommendations prove subsequently to be wrong than in an internal capacity which transcends tangible analysis and which cannot be explained. <br /><br />Sound use of intuition depends on sound judgment, itself a product of experience and the right kind of reflection. As with any tool, erudite use comes from knowing how to use it and when. And when not to. This I believe, cannot be taught nor prescribed and in part sustains its immense value among those practitioners who do it well. <br /><br />------------<br /><br />The topic was a provocative one shared in the Working Knowledge Bulletin by <em>Harvard Business School</em> by Profession James Heskett. The Full article appears <a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6339.html#original">here</a>, and inspired a lively disucssion among a dispersed community.gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-52888516038486885132009-12-01T13:32:00.000-08:002010-02-21T23:22:50.803-08:00Imagination (And Sound Effects) Make A Basic Search Story SparkleWe've been writing of late about stories. As marketers are challenged to connect more presently and meaningfully with people, we think story telling is taking on ever greater importance. It's not just a familiar device from which we learn, it's one of potent and enduring <a href="http://openfridgedoor.blogspot.com/2009/10/telling-stories-to-others-lets-not.html">human value</a>.<br /><br />Here's a delightful example from Google. The search behemoth is promoting what it's best known for - its utility as a search destination and tool. What might otherwise be dry has been given deft emotional delivery through a charming story. While the concept that plays out is a highly engaging one, there is something refreshing about the simplicity with which it is done (a deliberate expression of brand character we surmise). Creatively speaking, heavy visual emphasis on the search box might be considered a sizeable constraint. But using the search box as an engine to evolve the drama is shrewd indeed. Sound effects, too, are judiciously employed to give a real warmth and emotional valence.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxLws9PS7UNy2IWX65-9Ty_4g9SJNGzjDCnt-UsUOJ2WNZ_QALj3HJiR1h7V4eYSkP4X3JQ95rPb4FKkj6Qxg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-71029106069196649832009-12-01T12:02:00.000-08:002010-02-21T23:20:45.855-08:00A Time For Levi-StraussThe famous anthropologist and a jeans brand share the same name. While we were saddened at the news of the french intellectual's passing, we're commenting today upon the latter. The jeans brand has itself not been in the best of health in recent years. Grant McKracken points to this in his recent book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Chief-Culture-Officer-Breathing-Corporation/dp/0465018327"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chief Culture Officer</span></a>, by lamenting the billions of dollar in market opportunity the company missed out on by failing to understand the changes fashion in happening around it.<br /><br />On the streets of San Francisco are examples of spirited Levi's advertising that fits the times. Jeans are a well-worn medium for self expression so it's no surprise that the brand is promoting a belief which it hopes will be shared by the followers it seeks. An added strength in the work (below) is that the themes echo the sentiment of the zeitgeist. Being a time of austerity and uncertainty has forced many people to question old priorities and focus on qualities that are basic yet enduring. We think it's a good move.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYGLdHOfkWLbzCu0-vvS_85tgx1QDqwlSwyAxGn6NzyL4JmAqQwyuGlzok2QHITOcOcz3xGvUp2TY-xszuhBigWdL3-UolyRxBVmxylv3vKEUX8okRu6BpOU-rLoT-GLyaePZPSbcPrk/s1600/levis1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifYGLdHOfkWLbzCu0-vvS_85tgx1QDqwlSwyAxGn6NzyL4JmAqQwyuGlzok2QHITOcOcz3xGvUp2TY-xszuhBigWdL3-UolyRxBVmxylv3vKEUX8okRu6BpOU-rLoT-GLyaePZPSbcPrk/s400/levis1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410376502041238754" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKtN6FWpcz5vqduHF4byh41uqZWPCnBoF5WQ6Np7L-iyAwXvMk64W0-Wt63kheNFKHmCQh4JUdv9Ixfw-QXes5QdB0Pb_GNLHyhaGWXKGkE1FsOqkLw-WO3aAKU0qclyQTSUvffCw3Nk/s1600/levis2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKtN6FWpcz5vqduHF4byh41uqZWPCnBoF5WQ6Np7L-iyAwXvMk64W0-Wt63kheNFKHmCQh4JUdv9Ixfw-QXes5QdB0Pb_GNLHyhaGWXKGkE1FsOqkLw-WO3aAKU0qclyQTSUvffCw3Nk/s400/levis2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410376692969290082" border="0" /></a>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-47094533099662782232009-10-27T08:11:00.000-07:002009-10-27T19:12:17.059-07:00Telling Stories to Others (Let's Not Overlook The Ones We Tell Ourselves).Here's a shining example of what we think about stories:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwgRw0pNITtAFtnPfpvHf4XB7rk14Qq_vQvvi3GKH70a9MtyGbgKakdQhAYk67L9f6K0xsGKWNbyWhTgix23Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />We typically <span style="font-weight: bold;">see a story as something 'made up'</span>, an abstraction from the truth either completely fictitious or embellished with imagination which then removes it from the reality of the events on which it's based.<br /><br />We also commonly think of stories as <span style="font-weight: bold;">something we tell other people</span>. Arguably the most <span style="font-weight: bold;">important and potent stories are those we tell </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">ourselves</span>. Each of us has created stories about who we are. Quite literally, we had no choice: it was needed as a way of giving order to the psyche and structure to our identity. Overtime, these stories have been crafted into a coherent narrative about ourselves and our place in the world.<br /><br />The intriguing part in it all is that <span style="font-weight: bold;">many people are not aware that this process goes on</span>, existing as it does usually in the subconscious. (Stephen Johnson's excellent book <span style="font-style: italic;">Mind Wide Open</span> illuminates many ways these silent operators influence our actions.)<br /><br />But if you have ever talked to <span style="font-weight: bold;">a woman who colors her hair</span>, especially one that has become and stayed a 'bottle blond', she will tell you quite calmly that this is who she is. That it fits how she sees herself and not just in the mirror; it is how she feels on the <span style="font-style: italic;">inside</span>.<br /><br />Such women do not have amnesia. <span style="font-weight: bold;"> They are well aware of the duplicity at their own hand </span>and they are reminded of it at no time greater than with a showing of roots - evidence of an act of past intervention and a pressing reminder for the need to repeat it. But <span style="font-weight: bold;">it does not matter </span>and it does not violate the integrity of the idea.<br /><br />Stories to ourselves are a secret pact. <span style="font-weight: bold;">We know we're fibbing</span> and there's nothing wrong with that because - after all - <span style="font-weight: bold;">it is the truth in the midst of the fabrication</span>. Psychopaths aside, we can rarely lie to ourselves and get away with it . Deep down we remember, even when we forget.gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-44964951909225042762009-10-27T00:00:00.000-07:002009-10-27T00:00:10.899-07:00Luxury Marketing: Austere Times Call for Disarming StrategiesEven if the harsh realities of this year's economy have not touched us personally, we have not been unaffected by them.<br /><br />As has been widely reported, the luxury market has taken a hammering. This year has seen a widespread <span style="font-weight: bold;">climate of disapproval emerge in our culture</span>. Mere ownership and display of luxury goods has become synonymous with an almost ostentatious flaunting, seen as reflecting a callous insensitivity to the hard times befalling so many others. There has been widespread rush to judgment, in much the same way that greets a Hummer on the roads albeit for different reasons; its existence has become an embodiment for a disregard for environmental concern..and almost a shameless pride in it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">One smart strategy is not to deny the criticism but to tackle it head-on</span>. It is, after all, a hurdle that prevents people being comfortable buying, however much they might want (and secretly covet) the prize and long to own it.<br /><br />Hats off to Porsche for adopting this approach. Anticipating criticism is captured elegantly in the headline with a tone that far from seeming defensive sounds pragmatic, evoking a feeling of being confidently prepared. An accomplishment in itself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2Qo8bFB8ecxOT1HAgYPaC-9aWOM0ox2RoooqBRHO1CZwqcVZCI-UDWENpvi75QtGu0YyoCCZ33KZ9mc3_bjJb4j3bqw313OzcPcFDPmVXXW-UgpaM7o7qDHDymIl34MVd2NHtX5xkvM/s1600-h/DSCN2046.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO2Qo8bFB8ecxOT1HAgYPaC-9aWOM0ox2RoooqBRHO1CZwqcVZCI-UDWENpvi75QtGu0YyoCCZ33KZ9mc3_bjJb4j3bqw313OzcPcFDPmVXXW-UgpaM7o7qDHDymIl34MVd2NHtX5xkvM/s400/DSCN2046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397149197663397762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The key to success?</span> Leverage the equity that give luxury makers rooted in substance (rather than overly dependent on style) a powerful neutralizing effect: <span style="font-weight: bold;"> Performance</span>.<br /><br />Performance is that wonderful quality whose existence is inherently self-justifying. It represents <span style="font-weight: bold;">tangible proof</span> for what one has paid more. It is born of advanced engineering and design - noble characteristics indeed - which enables assertions to or inferences about privilege to be assiduously avoided. Porsche has even suggested that <span style="font-weight: bold;">the efficiency dimension of performance represents greater environment responsibility</span>, the idea of 'doing more with less'.<br /><br />Arming the audience with ammunition in the form of knowledge serves to disarm the critics. This is the final part of this erudition -- recognition of what is so overlooked by marketers in cultivating people's relationships through brands: <span style="font-weight: bold;">storytelling</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5D3E_m6FQVBFJX86ct7PxsIQ8OBIdU8iFQunC44mbcJdlDj_nKqVyRBT5wzx58lIw1ep4UhCsLcHc_hKHcQzziLFldCqFg3AQSyxiMq-DZznZjw9ps9jjg1DeEFMeyu240iFQ1-8fgnM/s1600-h/DSCN2047.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5D3E_m6FQVBFJX86ct7PxsIQ8OBIdU8iFQunC44mbcJdlDj_nKqVyRBT5wzx58lIw1ep4UhCsLcHc_hKHcQzziLFldCqFg3AQSyxiMq-DZznZjw9ps9jjg1DeEFMeyu240iFQ1-8fgnM/s400/DSCN2047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397151960732989810" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Give people things that help them to tell their stories. If we can tell a story we have a claim to having a reason. An assertion to belonging. Storytelling is a basic human need, one that helps us feel connected to others and perhaps more importantly, to ourselves:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species Homo sapiens--second in necessity apparently after nourishment and before love and shelter. Millions survive without love or home, almost none in silence; the opposite of silence leads quickly to narrative, and the sound of story is the dominant sound of our lives"</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;">Reynolds Price<br /></div>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-75935278979440784012009-10-26T19:11:00.000-07:002009-10-26T20:03:34.696-07:00Consumer Consciousness: The Third Element Redefining the Value EquationIn our last post, we outlined <span style="font-weight: bold;">PERSONAL</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">PLANET</span> as two recent dimensions of the value equation emerging in light of the new climate of consumer consciousness.<br /><br />There's a third that most readers will have seen almost at every turn: <span style="font-weight: bold;"> PEOPLE</span>.<br /><br />In the era of higher standards, of greater scrutiny about what is being bought and its effects, people also want an opportunity <span style="font-weight: bold;">to participate and contribute towards a greater social good</span>. As a result, they are also expecting more of the companies they buy from, for them to do their part to improve the world we live in.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Corporate social responsibility</span> (CSR) has been around for decades, but it's typically been more of a PR driven initiative to generate goodwill in order to shape perceptions than a deep-rooted embrace. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tom's Shoes </span>is a great example of a commitment on a different scale. It donates a pair of new shoes to a needy child for every pair sold. The social good is inextricably part of its business model.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xtpg4uD2ZYrjZBd1V8hDFuuHW9MpHPWxBZWzRclb4ZwbLgburaUdnteABgCfSp9K_2fSxCP7cTYceNZmUxwp5mwhE994RDzQm4Oh59iAeNpTu897WwZRJmXp4jWqWE9hn0Ddo_yhCJo/s1600-h/Tom's+shoes.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7xtpg4uD2ZYrjZBd1V8hDFuuHW9MpHPWxBZWzRclb4ZwbLgburaUdnteABgCfSp9K_2fSxCP7cTYceNZmUxwp5mwhE994RDzQm4Oh59iAeNpTu897WwZRJmXp4jWqWE9hn0Ddo_yhCJo/s400/Tom's+shoes.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397087396426862338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />An example of a more traditional approach is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tide Detergent.</span> The "Loads of Hope" campaign is P&G's latest CSR attempt to link 'doing laundry' with 'doing good'. (Don't get us wrong, something is better than nothing: but not only is the link conceptually a weak one - in our culture 'hope' is not something we think of in terms of 'loads' - but the scale and sustainability of the impact is modest).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4ELVeK17pqtMpOD33OWCd0wK75ou89olZ5L-jHeTltVtPsxQ-kn4qQM3cfQ2zGv_kAcIpzfKjrfk9SKl0CRE1WqkMKDs7VZMU1iAWNt8FmyE7-fK-qmeDz5iQp16pfath8qNkszTbGk/s1600-h/Tide+loads+%231.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy4ELVeK17pqtMpOD33OWCd0wK75ou89olZ5L-jHeTltVtPsxQ-kn4qQM3cfQ2zGv_kAcIpzfKjrfk9SKl0CRE1WqkMKDs7VZMU1iAWNt8FmyE7-fK-qmeDz5iQp16pfath8qNkszTbGk/s400/Tide+loads+%231.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397087741968302162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Overall, this strategy is an ever popular one with marketers. The basic approach is to link consumption directly with a virtuous outcome.<br /><br />Starbucks says that by buying its coffee YOU are the force behind change on a massive scale...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuBJL4Fx7WMdSQ-HWd14uNns7UXjIK_61Aa_PNE1FfxzNOGorxzIx7pbdPWp0cHbpqw5p12Rf4jlFkQ9jLlHwKmP2smzJKjpjK688OnlnDQYuNYTLmCUo389FiRuU-6yVEeleYlLafic/s1600-h/DSCN2051.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmuBJL4Fx7WMdSQ-HWd14uNns7UXjIK_61Aa_PNE1FfxzNOGorxzIx7pbdPWp0cHbpqw5p12Rf4jlFkQ9jLlHwKmP2smzJKjpjK688OnlnDQYuNYTLmCUo389FiRuU-6yVEeleYlLafic/s400/DSCN2051.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397087996511873218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Volvic touts its 'Drink 1 Give 10' benefit if you buy its water (click on this recent airport commercial).<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dybJ1Eu74_FQS-ORJlY0VectyEYqMO6EMJU3Li8ouv-cUyZ4wHadgpp1VwWc_aG1F_D9x-RaMhO7wMi3nI-2w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The intent of course: shape brand choice in a way that requires no additional effort by the consumer. "Keep doing what you're already doing". The act of buying is an act of giving.<br /><br />Not a bad strategy (few things are inherently flawed except teapots made of chocolate). Though as Brandchannel points out: <a href="http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/Cause-Marketing-Grows-But-Is-A-Backlash-Ahead.aspx"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cause Marketing Grows: but is the backlash ahead?</span></a>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-26758682842739368312009-10-26T17:51:00.001-07:002009-10-26T18:24:47.239-07:00Consumer Consciousness: Two Forces Redefining the Value Equation.The bubble of indifference has burst.<br /><br />Until recently, it used to be very different. Consumers cared about functional performance and price...and cared about very little else. Like how products were <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> made. The ingredients they <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> contained. What they <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> did to the body. So the reasoning went, if it was available, it had to be safe. Governments regulate, after all.<br /><br />Nothing like crisis to wake people up. And shaken up they have been. Toxicity in toy paint, lethal ingredients in pet food, health threats in the food chain (fruits and vegetables), ever rising cases of cancer, and obesity on a mass scale among not just adults but children. This is the <span style="font-weight: bold;">PERSONAL</span> dimension that evolved the value equation of what people buy. No longer is buying convenience foods so easily divorced from the health consequences of doing to. Marketers are responding with convenient foods that force less of that trade-off. It is a good development.<br /><br />The consumer value equation is also being redefined by another key dimension: <span style="font-weight: bold;">PLANET</span>. The environmental crisis has precipitated a shift: people en masse are making a direct personal link between what <span style="font-style: italic;">they</span> consumed and the impact <span style="font-style: italic;">they</span> were having on the planet.<br /><br />The result: <span style="font-weight: bold;">a time of greater scrutiny but if anything higher standards</span>. People care more about what's in products and how they're made. They <span style="font-style: italic;">have</span> to know, it's almost not a choice. The cost of indifference - personally and for the planet - is too high. Companies are responding by making better products.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozo4Asat5tCpz0Gy3Uc2fZ_kWMEUIbtiN8WLkLRnENlPZvIA40M3ztlPedzfizzQ2p6fydVNXi5tmJ0bCFN6Rm-1SIybtZmsT_fgrvD6WtRKqVfm0Uv_ole1wHIXoaaXgXxacz4O_UZY/s1600-h/Starbucks+change.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozo4Asat5tCpz0Gy3Uc2fZ_kWMEUIbtiN8WLkLRnENlPZvIA40M3ztlPedzfizzQ2p6fydVNXi5tmJ0bCFN6Rm-1SIybtZmsT_fgrvD6WtRKqVfm0Uv_ole1wHIXoaaXgXxacz4O_UZY/s400/Starbucks+change.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397082712368848594" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />A new kind of involvement and a new strategy has emerged among consumers: asking question and demanding answers. The smart companies are recognizing this is a new age of transparency. Avoidance is an option but not a good one. Being part of the conversation is a way companies can shape the dialogue about them, thought the days of control are over. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Trust has been broken and companies now have to earn it back. </span>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-42563994407562361042009-10-22T21:19:00.000-07:002009-10-22T21:19:00.131-07:00Adjacent Opposites of the Gastronomic Scale<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSTnLy2OjygYP9TYJ7mlc-VPpBrl2v4oiZ9VagLcVuHP9Plcx8WlJ-YFuep_Kvs_7-SS4PI9DYrM1TUJ02cvxhS78oM4mOVJrhqf0uGV7wDFVLW8UAUeebzeJweyX-H85qXjuMNJ9jbs/s1600-h/DSCN1954.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSTnLy2OjygYP9TYJ7mlc-VPpBrl2v4oiZ9VagLcVuHP9Plcx8WlJ-YFuep_Kvs_7-SS4PI9DYrM1TUJ02cvxhS78oM4mOVJrhqf0uGV7wDFVLW8UAUeebzeJweyX-H85qXjuMNJ9jbs/s400/DSCN1954.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385258378735337154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Opposite ends of a spectrum by their nature don't usually meet. You'll find a curious exception on Market street at Montgomery in San Francisco. On the left, <span style="font-style: italic;">Japanese Sweets</span> makes dessert delicacies and beside it hotdog vendor, <span style="font-style: italic;">Zog's Dogs.<br /><br /></span><div> No doubt these two attract different clientele. An intriguing contrast nonetheless.</div></div>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-233262399104596221.post-48603334174405562482009-10-22T00:01:00.000-07:002009-10-23T20:19:18.585-07:00Platform Thinking: History Beats Jarvis' Edict by 170 years.In<span style="font-style: italic;"> What Would Google Do?</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Jeff Jarvis makes many great observations about the new rules of business success that have emerged in the last 10 years.<br /><br />One example is <span style="font-weight: bold;">platform thinking</span>, in which products and services deliver the utility they were designed to, but which users go on to embrace and use for purposed well beyond the original intent.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Jarvis gives the example of <span style="font-style: italic;">Craig's List</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Google Earth</span> which have been adopted in new ways never originally envisioned. And with the dramatic popularity of apps for its handheld device, Apple's <span style="font-style: italic;">iPhone</span> is perhaps the ultimate testament to platform thinking by delivering utility that have nothing to do with the phone at all.<br /><br />We were delighted to find a historical predecessor to this digital idea by some 170 years.<br /><br />An emigrant ship <span style="font-weight: bold;">Niantic</span> was moored and then marooned at a site now deep in the heart of San Francisco's financial district. It was covered in a shingle roof and housed offices and stores on the upper deck, while the hull became divided warehouses. A wonderful historic example of people taking an idea, making it their own and giving life to new uses, ones delivering valuable utility that was never anticipated by the original builders. Like their digital counterparts today, we're sure they were equally pleased.<br /><br />[Click on image to enlarge]<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqtW66agwqAR9pJWmU1w7peN5BM1tQOOR3WOUmkyqKp9as7p4N52SyIb9h6sVfz6zsvCmO0wXAbolpK0Mbm8hDnU8M2kgAxxKUAN-uejqsxtdIgh30aXiulhkVAvxmWszJBd15ugR0Ik/s1600-h/Niantic.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 366px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqtW66agwqAR9pJWmU1w7peN5BM1tQOOR3WOUmkyqKp9as7p4N52SyIb9h6sVfz6zsvCmO0wXAbolpK0Mbm8hDnU8M2kgAxxKUAN-uejqsxtdIgh30aXiulhkVAvxmWszJBd15ugR0Ik/s400/Niantic.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396000695361749490" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSetQ0xTWC6l2WRvZwcPx1nwRYakXOIwmbs31lvyKPJMxt6Gb5D3mgt_ZNmlDMb3fFcWPjaPvQaQ9oi2X27Yof7nScEkf4h5ck1wuXJka42c2wzVN-p0YCW5lbGwS548Rglf2QGEo6AxQ/s1600-h/DSCN1949.JPG"><br /></a></div>gugodahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13317658249448584775noreply@blogger.com0