See Change Happen

Form following (online) function

The redesign of Business Week is great, with the exception of the cover, which seems really bland compared to the rest. But, what's most interesting about the new look is how elements of the design seem to mimic what is happening with online design and makes me wonder whether we have reached the point where digital is informing print?

Hanging around with the User Experience team at work has taught me to recognize some of the patterns of online consumption: it's rarely linear and a very common behavior is called "digital snacking" - jumping around between short pieces of content, visuals and sites, aggregating the information as you go.

The redesign of Business Week, whether intentional or not, feels designed for this kind of "snacking." The editorial is frequently broken up by boxes with statistics, graphs or other bits of information that inform the story. As I read, my eye jumps around the page, synthesizing the different elements without even realizing I'm doing it.

Web specific language is also used - the boxes of content at the bottom of some stories are called "links"  which is funny considering they don't actually link anywhere.

The "end of print" seems closer than ever but for now, I'm happy to have this new, very user friendly version of Business Week to enjoy on the train.

Focus Group Moratorium

In my new job, I'm doing a lot of consumer research - about brands, experiences and products. And I absolutely love it for two reasons: people are inherently fascinating, especially strangers, and talking to people makes me better at my job.

Which brings me to the topic of focus groups. Last month, I decided to permanently ban any sort of organized research with a group of people who don't know one another. Because, more often than not, traditional focus groups are an exercise in social dynamics rather than a means to gain insightful data. I haven't read any research on the subject, but I wonder if anyone has ever studied the development of archetypal roles in group settings. (I'm sure someone has.) There's always the same cast of characters. There's the Dominator, who talks endlessly and the Random whose comments have nothing to do with the subject and a lot of bandwagon jumpers who do a lot of agreeing. There's also the bad food, bland decor, and the 2-way mirrors, which unlikely make anyone feel comfortable.

The whole thing feels like a waste of time.

Alternatively, there is experience research, which seems like a very smart use of time. Last night, I convinced my creative team to pack up and head to a local hotel, one of our clients, to do a 24 hour immersion in the brand. They weren't thrilled about the lousy food or the fire alarm that went off at 4am for 45 minutes, but they saw the hotel from the perspective of a guest, which is essential if you want to advertise to potential guests.

While they hung out and explored the wine menu, I spoke to anyone who was responsive, and unlike man-on-the-street interviews, most people actually were.  What I liked about the conversations was no one had to try to remember how they felt at this hotel or what they liked or didn't like. We were exploring their emotional responses in real-time. They could point to things that were interesting. I could see how they they interacted with the staff. I knew why they were looking forward to their spa appointment. (The spa was definitely the best of the hotel's amenities.)

Of course, there is a difference between how something feels in the moment versus the memory of that experience. So, I will probably have to interview more people. But I'm definitely not doing it in a focus group room.

Oh. regarding what we learned, hopefully it will come out in the work.

Amazing signage

Apparently, this Brooklyn pizza place requires costumes.

Thanks Rollman.

Where have all the domain names gone?

I've been doing some consulting work for startups, helping them to figure out branding strategies, and am regularly running into a pretty interesting predicament: naming.

Many startups complain about the lack of new domain names. The one word names were gone long ago. The trends such as putting a color in front of your name, RedEnvelope, or a number, 43things, or beginning with an "e" or "i" is even more passe. Misspellings are now common, Flickr being the most obvious example, as are multiple word domains like mybloglog. Some companies even combine a bunch of different trends into one name: del.icio.us.

I had some conversations with the founders of Xoopit (pronounced zoopit) about the naming process. Can you expect a consumer to remember that "x" is pronounced like "z" or create buzz around a word that has never been heard before? Probably.

Because technology and the way we consume is changing every day. We are constantly inventing new words to describe things that didn't previously exist or are of particular relevance, like meme or wiki or even MILF. And it is amazing how quickly these invented words embed themselves in our cultural lexicon and become legitimate tools of expression.

The biggest thing with a name is, it's permanent. Avoid anything too complicated or too long and if the name is slightly confusing, well, then you've probably figured out an angle for your first marketing campaign.

 

13,000 moving art projects in NYC

NYC is teaming with yellow cabs painted with flowers, part of the "Garden in Transit" project started last month.

From gardenintransit.org, this project merges "the best of healing arts with public art, thousands of participants at hospitals, schools, and community institutions will paint vibrant flowers - symbolizing life, beauty, hope, joy, inspiration and healing - on weatherproof panels that will be placed upon the rooftops, hoods, and trunks of taxis; creating a magnificent "Garden in Transit""

Over 23,000 people, mostly children have participated.

The project was started by Portraits of Hope, a non-profit believes self-esteem can be built by participating in creative projects. (I totally agree.)

It's very cool to see a public art project of this scale.

A moment of love for Wells Fargo

I finally used the the Wells Fargo check scanner and it is amazing. No more adding up the cost of a stack of checks or bringing a pen to the ATM. And no more deposit envelopes. Very smart.

http://www.engadget.com/tag/WellsFargo/

"Green is the new Red White and Blue"

"Green is the new Red White and Blue," said Thomas Friedman at this year's Aspen Ideas Fest. And like a lot of what Friedman says, it's incredibly catchy, but what does that mean? America IS green? Cares about green? Lives green?

One group I know loves green are the marketers. Green is a trend they can ride. And, it is beginning to seem that just about anything can be spun as green.

In January, the Herald Tribune wrote, "BP, the largest European oil company, advertises its investments in solar and wind power as it rebrands itself with the label "Beyond Petroleum." BP's solar division accounted for 0.14 percent, or $400 million, of its $295 billion in sales in 2004."

The current marketplace reminds me of Madmen, a recent AMC series about the advertising industry in the 1960's. There is a great episode about marketing cigarettes in which Don Draper the show's ad guru is faced with the problem of how to market cigarettes in the wake of new research proving medical harm. In the scene, Draper approaches a chalk board and begins to list the process of making cigarettes in single words. He stops on the word "toasted," underlines it, looks at his client and says,  "Your cigarettes are toasted." But all cigarettes are toasted, replies his confused client. No, says Draper, YOUR cigarettes are toasted. The client smiles. A campaign is born.

That's marketing spin at its finest.

I'm not arguing all green marketing is hype or filled with lies. But I do feel like the volume of green marketing significantly outweighs the number of genuinely green products needing to be marketed.

The problem with this bandwagon mentality is consumers are already expressing skepticism about what is really green and  eventually, consumers may (and perhaps already do) see green as just another marketing tactic.

My advice to those folks who are trying to spin a product as green through advertising: save your dollars and spend the money on R&D, developing a product that is genuinely green. If the consumer loves it, it will sell.  If you aren't able to make a new product, spend your money learning how to green your office or manufacturing process. Long term, it will be a lot more beneficial to the company that peddling products pretending to be green.