Content of Character
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character..."
-Dr. Martin Luther King
Monday, January 16, 2012
Monday, December 19, 2011
A 1980s Experience in Two Short Hours
As you may have heard, I had the recent privilege to be the DJ at the 1980s-themed 6th-grade party for my son and his friends. I had a great time compiling the music, taking requests from the kids and sharing the whole experience with my friends online.
So, as promised I am publishing the final list. It peaked at 17.1 hours and I finally got it down to 7.9 hours for the 2-hour party. I’m glad I had it all with me—the kids know their music very well and kept me on my toes.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Good Morning, Astrid
Woke up this morning to see a new little icon at the top of my DroidX screen. The pull-down asked, "Free time today? Why don't you make an appointment with Dr. Aukerman?" When I went to the task screen, it asked "Are you ever going to do this?" I've been playing with several task apps, trying to figure a way to integrate this into my Google-centric productivity world. Of all of them, Astrid seem to stand out not just because it has a voice and personality, but because the personality seems to come from it's core functionality, moving it beyond a mere application. It remains to be seen if I actually use it, but it was a nice moment that moved it ahead of the pack (and prompted me to write this).
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Be Where They Are: Retailers Fanning Out as They Chase Shoppers
from Business First - by Dan Eaton
Date: Friday, April 1, 2011, 6:00am EDT
Related:
Retailing & Restaurants, Agriculture
Retailers are expanding to a town not likely near you.
As the retail climate improves, some national and regional chains are revving up growth plans for the region, but the target is beyond Columbus and its suburbs.
“Convenience, value and choice play as well in more rural areas as it does in suburban areas,” said retail consultant Chuck Palmer of Grandview Heights-based ConsumerX Retail. “Everyone is looking for the ‘new normal.’ The suburban rings are saturated, so most are looking urban or rural.”
Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holding Corp. and Rural King Supply Inc., out of Mattoon, Ill., are two companies looking beyond the suburbs. Sears opened a new Hometown division store in Johnstown this year and is planning as many as six more shops within a 50-mile radius of Columbus this year, while Rural King plans to open a store in Marion this summer.
“Our growth is dictated by demand,” said Gary Hoyle, Sears’ regional development director.
Outside opportunities
Sears had independently owned catalog stores until 1993, when it converted around 150 of them to the Hometown model, Hoyle said. Ohio is home to 23 of the stores, run by independent dealers of Sears’ most popular brands, and it’s looking at towns like Hillsboro, Wilmington and Circleville for new stores. The division has grown by 40 to 60 stores annually to reach 907 total, accounting for more than a third of the 2,191-store chain.
Hometown stores are authorized dealers of Sears products, not licensees or franchisees. Sears keeps the stores stocked, while the local owners run the operation, pay the bills and collect sales commissions. They don’t pay franchise fees or royalties.
The scaled-down stores typically are 8,000 square feet and are focused on four product areas – appliances, electronics, tools and home and garden. Owners can use Sears’ delivery and service network or opt to do their own.
“Brands like Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard – there’s lots of loyalty there,” Hoyle said.
He said the Hometown model is a good expansion opportunity for Sears since the company incurs no overhead from running the stores.
“Rural growth makes sense because it’s not saturated,” Palmer said. “If you look at their buying power, you’ll probably see it’s an underserved market.”
Palmer said Walmart stores have long been dominant in rural markets, but its superstores can require customers to drive farther than they may want.
“This is as much about competition as it is about coverage,” Palmer said.
Land, lots of land
The rural movement may say as much about available real estate as it does about demographics.
Rural King is taking over a nearly 73,000-square-foot former Lowe’s home improvement store in Marion, said Eric Eldridge, an agent with Columbus-based Gilbert Group Inc. Lowe’s had moved its Marion store to a new site nearby.
The chain, which has 47 stores in seven Midwest states, has snatched up abandoned big boxes in the Louisville, Ky., market as well, according to a recent report by Columbus Business First sister publication Business First of Louisville. The company did not return calls for comment.
Rural King targets the agricultural market with livestock feed, farm equipment and parts, but also sells lawn mowers, work clothes, housewares and toys. Its Ohio footprint remains small, with the Marion location its third in the state following sites in Wooster and Van Wert.
Another home and hardware player with its sights on Central Ohio is Eau Claire, Wisc.-based Menard Inc., which has opened stores in Marion and Lancaster in recent years, but is moving toward urban and suburban areas rather than away.
“They’re another alternative,” Palmer said. “They’re going into some places where others are not going.”
The company is nearing the opening of its Northland Village store on Morse Road, on a site that once drew the interest of Home Depot, has purchased a site on East Broad Street near Reynoldsburg once intended to be a Walmart, and is in the rezoning process for a site near Polaris in Delaware County.
Palmer said discounted real estate opportunities are there for the taking. Hoyle said Sears tries to get Main Street-type locations in the towns it targets, but is open to strip centers and other sites.
“It’s a buyers’ market out there,” he said. “We’re definitely seeing better deals than we were three or four years ago.”
614-220-5462 | deaton@bizjournals.com
Sears Hometown
- Business: Independently owned stores in smaller markets that sell Sears’ appliances, electronics, lawn and garden products and hardware.
Based: Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Stores: 907
Ohio stores: 23
Website: searshometownstores.com
Rural King Supply Inc.
- Business: Retailer specializing in farm apparel and equipment, as well as work wear, housewares and hardware.
- Based: Mattoon, Ill.
- Stores: 47
- Ohio stores: 3
- Website: ruralking.com
Read more: Retailers fanning out as they chase real estate deals, willing shoppers | Business First
Friday, April 1, 2011
Experience Audit: Target PFresh Renovation
My Target now has a serious grocery offer.
It includes fresh produce and an expanded frozen and packaged goods assortment. This is part of the PFresh renovation project that Target has been undergoing, reconfiguring stores to capture more families’ food dollars and adjusting the floor plan to be more open and shoppable.
And by “MY” Target, I mean that. I don’t usually get this personal in my store assessments, but this is a special case. My family, friends and neighbors spend a good deal of time and money at this store. Like many Target customers, we have an emotional connection to this store and are glad its gotten a broader offer and reorganization.
We live in Grandview Heights, Ohio, a first-ring suburb of Columbus. This Target has been a godsend in this quasi-urban retail desert of the city’s core. Opened in 1996 on an old HVAC manufacturing site, this Target at Lennox Town Center serves as an anchor on a strip that includes an AMC Theater, Staples and Barnes & Noble.
Experience Shots
The main drive aisle terminates with the grocery offer. It doesn’t look all that different, but feels fresher and more open.
Departmental feature walls take lifestyle message to the ceilings, providing easy sight lines and navigational cues.
New walls vary in height and give you a sense of the whole space without it feeling overwhelming.
Gondola configuration has gotten creative. Feature areas and endcaps, varying heights stop the eye and invite you in. This could seem chaotic and messy, but the variety is a welcome change.
Fashion merchandising orients to the aisle and invites us in. Low inventory levels at this time of year make it a bit easier to provide all that negative space, but it is a nice touch. The use of photography in the large-format back wall display anchors each area within the department.
The perimeter walls of large format boxes are always a retail design challenge. The use of tonal color variations and pendant lamps are a clever touch that elevates the fashion departments just enough.
The addition of touch-screen digital technology is a nice addition. Appropriate in the gaming department, this display feels like it belongs at Target (in-store digital seldom is on-brand) delivers cross-platform/brand information and connects with you outside of store by offering to send you emails or texts about the products you were interested in during your experience. We have yet to see a just-right integration of digital/mobile merchandising within the store or an appropriate promotion of those digital assets in the store.
Seriously? I don’t need to give Target any more kudos for design—that’s a given—but English is one of my pet peeves. There are plenty of copywriters in the world that could have written a better question.
The new layout re-aligns departments nicely. The new department adjacencies flow well one to the next, aiding in the overall customer journey. My personal favorite is men’s fashion next to games next to electronics next to toys. Now that’s my kind of customer journey.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Consumer + Brand Together: The Ongoing Conversation
Consumers are writing new content every moment of every day. What are they writing about you?
“It’s constant. It’s a constant conversation. We have customers and they have customers. We have employees and staff, shareholders, strategic partners, vendors and the community at large. Thankfully I have a group of very talented and dedicated staff and they work with equally talented and creative companies that help us tell our stories and keep up the conversation.”
We are entering a co-authoring age.
The above quote was from a recent project in which we were bringing to life the needs of today’s marketing leader. In this aggregate persona, I defined the need for a brand to develop a strong core positioning and message hierarchy in order to keep the co-authored story “on brand”.
The very notion of “on brand” is becoming outdated as more and more our customers are writing stories about our brands. If we are not proactive, we might find others writing our stories—and in turn that which prospective consumers believe—for us.
How do we co-author? There are thousands of ways to do this, but the first and foremost thing to do is understand who your best customers are and the nature of the shared experience you want with them.
Questions? Call me.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
iPhone + Verizon = A Bell That Cannot Be Un-Rung
So there you have it.
I’ve been a Verizon customer for many years, mostly because of their golden-handcuff approach to incentives. (I have come to appreciate the reliabiltiy of the network) I’ve compared over the years and the cost of changing always outweighs the cost of staying. Funny how that works.
But, I have to say, that I have always felt manipulated; I resent it, but that’s the way it is, right? It’s not like we’re in Japan and we can switch out our SIM card.
Now, consumers (we) have a new way to decide: I want an iPhone and I can compare and choose which carrier to use. Maybe even Sprint or others who also rely on CDMA. Very interesting.
They have even added one new feature AT&T's version lacks: The built-in ability to use it as a wireless hotspot and connect up to five additional devices. The average consumer may not be sure how they will use this, but once its in their hands they will find ways.
But alas the old model is still there. HUGE punishment if you want to change your mind: Existing AT&T customers who want to switch carriers will need to purchase a new device -- and they'll face early termination fees of up to $325 to break an ongoing contract. Not that Verizon is above similar policies.
That said, I’m optimistic about the long-term implications for consumers. More and more, we will question and demand more control over these purchases and not take for granted that the hardware and the software have to go together.
Source: CNNMoney: Verizon iPhone will go on sale Feb. 10 - Jan. 11, 2011 http://bit.ly/eIWRQm
Friday, January 7, 2011
Check In Services & Real Consumer Behavior
You knew it was going to happen: the check in service that checks in to all your check in services.
On a recent RetailWire query, the question was posed about the relevancy of location based services (LBS) and their potentials. Here are my comments.
Gowalla boasts that you'll "find inspiration to explore the world around you while picking up rewards." Similarly, Foursquare says that it's "a mobile application that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore. But are check-in services like these providing enough value to attract consumers?
The novelty is waning. We early adopters are playing with these things to see what the potential may be. BUT, do we represent a brand's best customers? Likely not.
The ideas these services put forth are exciting, but it is behavior that will turn into real dollars. Discounts are driving these things now, which is a step beyond the game mechanics. We have already seen discount fatigue on both sides of the offer equation (Groupon) so we will see innovation on the offer side. It's just good consumer marketing--new versions of Green Stamps and the Blue Light Special.
Shopkick's experiment with Macy's, Best Buy, Sports Authority and American Eagle makes lots of sense. Key retailers in key categories important to the lives of the masses. While it's not really consumer-centric, that's one to keep an eye on.
Facebook's combination of Deals and Places has the most potential to create real value for consumers. Facebook already is embedded in our engagement streams--the behavior exists as opposed to disrupting a visit to Target or Kroger with a cumbersome check in on an unfamiliar platform. Tap into that rich and deep stream of consumer data and craft truly relevant engagements and you got something sustainable.
Originally published on RetailWire: I'm the Mayor! So What? - Retail News.http://www.retailwire.com/discussions/sngl_discussion.cfm/14977
Friday, December 31, 2010
2010 Retail Look Back Part 6: The View Ahead
This year, like any year, consumers wanted what they have always wanted: engaging experiences, good prices, and interesting products and services. We’ve started to buy again, but this time around we are taking a moment to consider− and that moment is when retailers and consumers really get to know each other.
While technically the recession is over, there are many still feeling the aftermath. In the "New Normal" consumers in general are being more cautious with their money, but things are loosening up in particular consumer segments and product categories. There is pent up demand: from a practical and pragmatic perspective, household spending on things like minor repairs, updates and clothing is starting to happen again. From a more emotional side, consumers are meeting their pent up desire for fresh, new things by being creative with their money and demanding more meaningful experiences from those transactions. This can take the form of using a Groupon discount for a manicure or cashing in loyalty points from their credit card or airline for a new camera or MP3 player.
In the coming year, consumers will regularly use their social networks to consider friends’ thoughts and opinions as they buy. Local retailers will become more important as big retailers work harder to “localize” their stores and assortments. Look for fun to return to store shelves and dining tables as the gray clouds dissipate.
Have a happy and prosperous New Year!
Originally published: Retail 2010: The Year in Review | The Metropreneur Columbus http://bit.ly/f2LPuA
Thursday, December 30, 2010
2010 Retail Look Back Part 5: Creative Alliances
Retail brands are aligning themselves with non-retail brands to add unexpected value for their consumers.
Like-minded brands who share core values find ways to work together to create unique offers.
In 2010, we saw innovative companies mashing up their offerings to create unique, new products. West Elm −the modern furniture arm of Williams-Sonoma− partnered with Pratt Institute −the renowned design school− to create a line of furniture designed by students and distributed through West Elm stores, catalogs, and websites. Here’s a LINK to our post about the program: http://www.consumerxretail.com/2010/12/creative-collab-west-elm-pratt.html. Locally, the tastiest partnership –between Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and Middle West Spirits− birthed a new ice cream flavor: Oakvale Young Gouda with OYO Vodka-Plumped Cranberries.
Next: Part 5: The View Ahead
Originally published: Retail 2010: The Year in Review | The Metropreneur Columbus http://bit.ly/f2LPuA
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
2010 Retail Look Back Part 4: The Engagment Stream
Consumers are relying on their “streams” more and more to edit and articulate the information they want and need.
The Home Depot sold 250,000 Turkey Fryers leading up to Thanksgiving 2010 through their Facebook wall.
While you are hunting for deals on Facebook, you’ll get both direct and indirect valuable offers and information from all the brands you’ve “liked” there. The email newsletters in your inbox provide exclusive offers and information you have opted to receive.
Facebook and email remain two of the most important channels for receiving information, and small and large retailers use those tools to stay in touch. We see things in a continual stream that we can edit and control. We can pick and delete the messages we want and begin to understand how that information influences our purchase decisions.
Many of us willingly conduct constant conversations with the products and services, retailers, and restaurants we like. Here in Columbus, Dirty Franks Hot Dog Palace, Surly Girl Saloon, and The Wexner Center do a great job of using Facebook and Twitter to keep the conversation going, give us valuable information, and keep us coming back.
Next: Part 5: Creative Alliances
Originally published: Retail 2010: The Year in Review | The Metropreneur Columbus http://bit.ly/f2LPuA
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
2010 Retail Look Back Part 3: The New Blue Light Special
This year, we’ve seen the advent and experimental use of new mobile services, like Groupon and Facebook’s Places & Deals. Goupon offers 50 percent off deals from retailers of all sizes for a limited time to a limited number of people. This creates a strong sense of urgency and guarantees a win for retailer and customer alike.
Location-based services that meld check-in games, like Foursquare or Gowalla, with deals allow customers to determine whether there are good deals nearby or at the store they are already in.
Facebook’s version, which incorporates its Places check-in service with an open incentive platform called Deals, is poised for growth. The sheer volume and scale of Facebook is an advantage, but the consumer behavior that already exists will be crucial to helping it thrive. Those most likely to utilize Places & Deals are regular and loyal Facebook users.
The 2010 holiday shopping season is the first real testing ground for such services and the results will shape how retailers alter their use in the short term.
Next: Part 4: The Engagement Stream
Originally published: Retail 2010: The Year in Review | The Metropreneur Columbus http://bit.ly/f2LPuA
Monday, December 27, 2010
2010 Retail Look Back Part 2: It's the Experience, Stupid
We still love events like Independent’s Day and Gallery Hop, hanging out, dining, and maybe buying a thing or two. This year, we’ve really embraced mobile and/or event-based retail options, like food carts and pop-up stores. Foodie Cart Locator, Ray Ray's Hog Pit, and MoJo Tago go where the action is and oftentimes make the action. We saw the first sparks of innovative experiences, like the one offered at Wonderland Columbus’s Food Cart Food Court. It reflects a national trend not only in food carts, but bringing products and services where people are and want to be. Check out the Marc by Marc Jacobs jewelry truck that went to the people for Fashion’s Night Out 2010.
Next: Part 3: The New Blue Light Special
Originally published: Retail 2010: The Year in Review | The Metropreneur Columbus http://bit.ly/f2LPuA
Thursday, December 23, 2010
2010 Retail Look Back Part 1: Girded Loins, Consolidation & More Consumer Power
A year ago, when we were thinking about retail in 2010, we looked for glimmers of uptick, worried that some businesses might not make it, and girded our loins for more of the same.
Well, 2010 wasn’t as bad as we thought and in some sectors it was pretty good. As a matter of fact, the numbers coming in −both in sales and consumer confidence− seem promising, with the expected amount of post-recession caution. November was one of the best months for retailers and December is looking very good. It’s likely the result of pent up demand −the desire to shop without a gray cloud over our heads− combined with retailers/brands aligning their inventory and deals with consumer attitudes.
The last year has taught retailers big and small more about how and why we shop than ever before. Paying attention to how consumers −all of us− react to adversity, what drives our purchase decisions, and our rational and emotional needs has been as important as new products and services.
We saw consolidation and retreat (Borders Books made a bid for Barnes & Noble and Google tried to buy Groupon), tighter stock levels, as well as new, exciting takes on tried and true incentives like coupons, loyalty points, and limited-time-only offers that bring to mind Kmart’s classic Blue Light Special.
All in all, we consumers have more control than ever before. We are more thoughtful about everyday purchases. We have new considerations to go along with the old: local and “green” are as important to us as selection and value. We have tools in our hands, literally, that give us information and incentives when we want and need them.
Next: Part 2: It’s the Experience, Stupid
Originally published: Retail 2010: The Year in Review | The Metropreneur Columbus http://bit.ly/f2LPuA
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Experience Audit: Radish Underground
Check out this great store in Portland Oregon. We found it, among many other amazing small shops—on a recent trip.
Here’s a link to their Web site: http://shop.radishunderground.com/.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What Constitutes In-Store Shopper Marketing Compliance?
In James Tenser's role as director of the In-Store Implementation Network, the challenge of merchandising compliance is frequently addressed, from a variety of perspectives -- both theoretical and solution-oriented. What criteria define planogram or schematic compliance?
MY COMMENTARY:
Goggle Goggles and Localization.
This brings to mind my early training at Macy's. As a floor manager, it was my job to interpret the planograms and make them work for my business. As a buyer, I visited every store (I know, those were the days) and worked with the floor manager to make sure my merchandise "complied."
I know department stores are not grocery, but more and more we are moving toward localization. That is, tailoring assortments to the customer of that store or region. The idea of a singular planogram that needs compliance seems antiquated albeit operationally necessary.
I've been playing with Google Goggles--the visual search application. I wonder if there isn't a way to develop an algorithm that measures the installed floor set against the ideal. This could be centrally managed but locally connected.
At ConsumerX, we look at everything from the consumers' perspective. They (we) expect basics--in stock, engaging value propositions, ease of purchase. Centralized planning is powerful, but it may be time to train in-store staff to interpret, know their customers and, yes, be creative.
From RetailWire: BrainTrust Query: What Constitutes Compliance? - Chuck Palmer's RetailWire Blog http://bit.ly/gTq4Sx
Borders Bid for Barnes & Noble? What the...?
FROM RETAILWIRE:
Usually in business, it's the bigger company acquiring the smaller one. But sometimes the normal rules no longer apply. What do you think of the proposed merger between Borders and Barnes & Noble?
MY COMMENTARY:
Let's look at this from the consumer's point of view. Do they care about the near-term strategy of Border's stockholders? No.
The future of this business is probably consolidation and reduction. While it's great to browse metropolitan-library-sized stores, is this a sustainable model in a future that needs innovation, flexibility and continual responsiveness to consumers?
I think we will always crave physical books and magazines (not so sure about the next generation) but they will be special, intimate experiences apart from our daily engagement streams.
The "4-wallers" (love that term) have a special place in consumers' hearts and minds--look at the innovation coming from Library systems--they have an opportunity to be newly relevant by helping us manage not just the information at our disposal, but the inspiration, too.
That just might make a proposed deal like this make long-term sense.
-----------
Here’s the RetailWire piece: Ackman Pushes Borders Bid for Barnes & Noble - Chuck Palmer's RetailWire Blog http://bit.ly/h4QVav
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Creative Collab: West Elm + Pratt
Here’s another example of a major retailer hooking up with a design school to create new products. These programs are a win for all—students, retailers/brands, and consumers—as they provide fresh new products for consumers and brands to offer, but for students and their schools they provide rich learning experiences and marketing and positioning opportunities.
Take a look at this line at West Elm. It is seriously different than most of the other products, not just at West Elm, but in the category. It’s a nice mix of metal and wood, with clean lines without being too boxy or hard-edged.
Here’s a quote from the West Elm site:
The Pratt home office was developed in collaboration between west elm and students at the Pratt Design Incubator, part of the renowned Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. It all began with a competition. We challenged students to create a line of office furniture using FSC–certified materials. Two teams presented proposals (both of which were quite ingenious), and after much deliberation judges from the west elm design group selected designs from both. The teams then developed their concept, creating scale models and full–size prototypes of pieces including a desk, chair, filing system, and LED lamp. The finished collection is thoughtfully designed, responsibly made, and effortlessly chic.
Shop Pratt Home Office Collection Visit Pratt @ www..pratt.edu
Visit Pratt Incubator @ incubator.pratt.edu
You can see more here: http://bit.ly/hUrZgv
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Urban Consumer Experience: New York Reinvents Street Life
was halfway through an email response before I realized that I was sitting in the middle of the street. I looked around, really studied it and ended up having a few very cordial conversations with my fellow loungers.
The parks serve as normal parks do—providing respite and relaxation, but because there embedded in the normal urban street fabric, they also serve as economic and social catalysts. During my lunchtime visit, most tables and chairs were filled with diners eating both brownbag and store-bought lunches from all over the area. I chatted with two people who use the park for a weekly catch up session because it was close to both of their offices and they got to pick up different lunches along the way.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Converse Blank Canvas: Principles of Consumer Centricity #10: Write the Shared Story Together
People have been doodling on and customizing their apparel for ever. Fashion dictates, in some circles, that you make it your own.
Converse is doing some pretty cool stuff. Chuck Taylors have been a wardrobe staple of rock n roll, youth and old guys like me for ever. In recent years they have really hit their stride and opened up their brand. (For a glimpse of what they’re doing click the link below —be sure to click “MUSIC”.)
Their Blank Canvas program which has been event based is popping up in Utrect Art Supply Stores. It’s such a simple and beautiful idea: plain white Chucks and the means to make them you own (with Molotow ONE4ALL Paint Markers). They’ve been doing this as event/promotion for years. Now they’re bringing it to retail.
Source: http://www.leyp.com/2009/08/lowlands-leyp-converse/
This is a perfect example of Principle #10 of the Principles of Consumer Centricity. Write the shared story of the brand & consumer together. Let your customer choose how to converse (that’s conVERSE, not CONverse) with the brand and allow the experience with the brand to be personalized and customized to develop deep emotional ties.
Converse Chuck Taylor: http://www.converse.com/#/
Utrect Art Supply Stores http://www.utrechtart.com/Brands/Converse-All-Star.cfm
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Dieter Rams' 10 Principles of Good Design
I subscribe to a lot of stuff. It’s amazing how much one needs to know. I have always had an affinity for design. I love and respect what designers do. ConsumerX collaborates with designers everyday. Our consumer-centric strategy informs the design and execution of products and spaces and all the digital ways people interact with stores and brands.
So as I was reviewing my “intelligence inbox” this afternoon I came across this little item from a site called Charles & Marie http://bit.ly/9LSuCF . I have always loved Braun products and to see the AB1 available gave me pause. Even better is their sharing of Rams’ thoughts on good design. I had to share them too. Here’s an excerpt from their site. Thanks Charles & Marie.
The seventies, the decade when cars were too big, pants too wide and side burns too long. But also the decade of Braun, the design powerhouse led by Dieter Rams that created some of the most iconic pieces of consumer electronics ever designed. Unfortunately that design sensibility is long gone and since it was purchased by P&G it has joined the rank of many other dull consumer brands, churning out bland and dull design. Not ‘good design’ as Dieter Rams called it.
Ten principles defined Dieter Rams’ approach to “good design”:
Good design is innovative
Good design makes a product useful
Good design is aesthetic
Good design helps us to understand a product
Good design is unobtrusive
Good design is honest
Good design is durable
Good design is consequent to the last detail
Good design is concerned with the environment
Good design is as little design as possible
Back to purity, back to simplicity In 1971 Braun introduced the AB1 Alarm Clock, designed to do what is required — keep accurate time and wake you up in the morning — no more no less. By adhering to design principles, Dieter Rams and Dietrich Lubs, created an icon of modern design.
For nearly 30 years Dieter Rams served as head of design for Braun until his retirement in 1998. He continues to be a legend in design circles and most recently designed a cover for Wallpaper* magazine. Many of his designs — clocks, coffee makers, calculators, radios, audio/visual equipment and office products — have found a permanent home at many museums over the world, including MoMA in New York.
Now the last batch of the AB1 was recently sold and we got our hands on a good chunk of them. If you want to get your hands on what is undoubtedly the most quintessential alarm clock ever designed before they are all gone – forever – then act fast, those won’t last long.
If you even remotely appreciate good design go buy one of these. But get in line behind me.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Was Kodak as Consumer-Centric as Don Draper Asked Them To Be?
I finally got to see the first season of Mad Men. In season finale our (anti) hero Don Draper knocks their socks off with a complete re-think of what could have been a pedantic, feature-focused advertising campaign.
Kodak has a rich history of understanding and communicating its rational and emotional place in its customer’s lives. Was it their ad agency that first pointed this out? I’m sure the facts are not as dramatic and rich in poetry, but this my friends is one well-written and produced piece of entertainment. It works on so many levels, not the least of which serves to inspire professionals to be this passionate and engaged in our work. It’s worth another view.
Kodak has a rich history of understanding and communicating its rational and emotional place in its customer’s lives. Was it their ad agency that first pointed this out? I’m sure the facts are not as dramatic and rich in poetry, but this my friends is one well-written and produced piece of entertainment. It works on so many levels, not the least of which serves to inspire professionals to be this passionate and engaged in our work. It’s worth another view.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wondering about Wonderland
The word “Wonderland” evokes many things. Alice comes to mind for most. I'm involved in a project here in central Ohio called Wonderland Columbus. It’s a not-for-profit (’m on the board) that is operating the building and programming.
Wonderland is a catalyst of economic and cultural development for the creative community. In the great tradition of things like KEXP (www.KEXP.org) it’s a place for the creative community to work, grow their businesses and for all to experience the results.
We are doing this in the old Wonder Bread factory in the Short North. The space will have artist studios and production space, a recording studio and rehearsal space, performance space, exhibition space, retail, restaurant and office space.
We are developing programming that will inform, enhance and encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations. We believe that working interdependently yields things none of us can imagine.
We have received up to $800,000 in federal and state historic tax credits, hired our executive director, Columbus College of Art & Design alum Adam Brouillette and established a solid board of directors.
This is and will be a multi-million dollar project that will be self-funded and self-sustaining. It is our business model. In order to make this a reality we are developing a diverse portfolio of revenue and funding streams.
For example, we are up for a Pepsi Refresh Grant of $250,000. That money will help with making the building what we need it to be. We need you to VOTE TWICE each day--online and via text. Go here now: http://www.refresheverything.com/wonderland .
To learn more about Wonderland go here: http://www.wonderlandcolumbus.com/ or http://www.facebook.com/#!/WonderlandColumbus .
Thanks for wondering about Wonderland.
Chuck Palmer
ConsumerX
customer-centric retail strategy
Wonderland Food Cart Food Court
<p>Wonderland Food Truck Food Court from Mike Beaumont on Vimeo.</p>
I heart Wonderland. Wonderland Columbus (www.WonderlandColumbus.com) is a mixed use place for the creative community to work and grow their businesses. It’s a place for all to gather to experience great stuff and meet up. Check out this video from SpaceJunk Media’s Mike Beaumont. It perfectly captures what we are building Wonderland to be.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Customization Experience: Industrial Design in Everyone's Hands
http://youtu.be/oSc8IDgCoTI?hd=1
Frank Tyneski, vice president of design strategy and new product development for San Diego-based Skinit, admits to having "almost a perverse fascination with buying behavior...why people buy products and what draws them in." Tyneski is a superstar designer with an award-winning track record. He talks about the movement of design becoming a baseline expectation in consumer products and how important customization is to building the consumer’s experience with your brand.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Culture Junk: The Experience of AndrewAndrew
The closing night of the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art’s Time Based Arts festival—TBA:10—featured iPad DJs AndrewAndrew. To call them DJs or even iPad DJs doesn’t begin to describe the experience. They crafted a crazy mix of social commentary, music from all over the spectrum and technology that wow’ed us.
These guys are smart, funny and pretty snappy dressers. Learn more about their multi-talented, multi-faceted lives here: http://www.andrewandrewdotcom.com/. Be sure to check out the iPad interface and the Neil Diamond and Beyonce cuts they use and of course the parallels they draw between 1970s German terrorism and the current state of the world.
It was the best time we’ve had in a long time.
(Special thanks to our friend Kim W who curated our weekend in Portland O.)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Introducing Culture Junk: Inspiration Anywhere
Inspiration is up to you. Are you curious? Do you seek new ideas? How do you do that? Do you allow yourself to be inspired by things, places, experiences you wouldn’t normally engage in?
When ever I travel, I take lots of pictures (and now video). I refer these images to provoke memory. I do this for my clients in order to indicate and communicate strategic points or encourage action. While at some level it is a creative influence, it is more significantly, a specific tool that I use to deliver on my promises. I have tons of this stuff and I’ve compiled my first Culture Junk video.
The idea of Culture Junk is to collect and share inspiration and influence. From Anywhere.
Walking through Brooklyn, I saw and experienced lots of great stuff. I know there’s more, but this is what made it through. I hope you enjoy it.
Problem/Solution? No. Opportunities + Pathways? YES
You may or may not be familiar with the idea of ‘open source’. Its one of those things (like design thinking) that came from somewhere else and is picked up and embraced. The trouble is that the original idea can be muddied or watered down.
Not to get too “meta-idea” but THAT IS the idea of open source. Concepts, structures, ideas are picked up and run with and made into something new. It is a fascinating cultural and psychological phenomenon.
In the article “Forking is a Feature” by Anil Dash http://bit.ly/9LY4PT we learn of the idea of developing many responses to particular situations. Linus Tovalds, in developing an open source operating system—dubbed Linux, not by Mr. Tovalds, but by its users—created what Dash believes is his most lasting legacy. That is plurality trumps duality. We are more and more, embracing and/both thinking rather than just either/or.
Dash’s opening point about Torvalds legacy it true, I believe. I know little of the world Mr. Torvalds has built, but the idea of open-source and the use of what comes of it pervades my world.
At ConsumerX we work with retailers and consumer products companies to build "culture" around their brands. The idea of "forking" (if I understand it correctly) makes a great deal of success in my work.
You see, much of my world has been consultants (designers, architects, advisors) like me developing a solution to a problem when the reality has been a that a complex situation warrants a set of responses, often times, each with a significant investment necessary to execute.
When we allow ourselves to be inspired by ideas such as open-source we develop structures akin to language. (And subsequently, grammar, and perhaps even poetry.) Just because the words are out there, don't mean nobody knows how to use 'em right.
So, yes the legacy is there. We see it today with the most sophisticated (big and small) companies being open with their culture (that means they need to nail down their purpose) and allowing their customers to make new things. Facebook is the best example of everyday people taking bits and pieces and making new value for themselves and those in their orbits.
This construct actually liberates us from the duality of problem/solution and gives us a plurality of opportunities/pathways. The trick is and always has been, deciding what to do then.
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