4.16.09 :: The fate of the daily newspaper has been the talk of the town for some time now. Here in Chicago, The Sun Times has filed for bankruptcy. In Minneapolis, their daily is discussing reducing itself to a once a week publication and the Seattle city newspaper has gone entirely online. The reasons are the same– newspapers do not have the ad revenue to compete with the ad dollars and real time news found on the web.
While reading The Reader (a local Chicago indie paper) on my way to work today, I discovered a simpler reason why the newspaper is failing: you have to turn the pages. On any given day, you will see plenty of people hold a coffee and bag in one hand and a newspaper in the other. To continue reading a story, a messy ballet of appendages and items ensues that eventually results in someone using their mouth as a third hand.
So, what happened that the newspaper became cumbersome? Well, we’re busy. In fact, Americans still work the most per week out of any country. And we’re mobile. We now change jobs more, travel more and demand information sooner. (Thank you, Al Gore and the Interwebs!)
So, I would argue the mere design of the newspaper is failing. It wasn’t the business model or the ROI, it began with a product that simply did not keep up with our new nomadic lifestyles. Proper design takes into account it’s user and the environment. Reference the iPod, iPhone and the Amazon Kindle who all knew ease of use with one finger is paramount. Even Yoplait figured this out with one handed yogurt, GoGurt. The newspaper failed to recognize its user’s experience. Save the NY Times, which can explain itself.
4.13.09 :: With all the gaffs being thrown around about the future of social media and internet, we’ve decided to add our two sense in about web 3.0.
Most people agree that both web 1.0 and 2.0 can be broken down into content, functionality and style. Web 1.0 was about pushing information through fact driven brochureware and e-commerce sites that were fairly static. Web 2.0 used social media and shared content with a higher user experience to pull people to sites. So, what’s next?
Web 3.0 Content Content will always be king. So will concept (the angle or the idea that sells the content). So, despite the proliferation of user self-generated content (i.e. youtube) we can expect branding, infotainment and user generated branded content to proliferate and co mingle more with social media. i.e. Sprint’s Now Site and Coke’s Happiness Factory.
Web 3.0 Functionality
Two words: I, Robot. Largely unexplored in the past 10 years, have been the fields of robotics and AI (despite Google’s ability to ‘guess’ what you’re going to search). Futurist, creator of pets.com, and predictor of social media 10 years ago, Paul Saffo, confirmed this in an interview with Communication Arts recently. Not to mention an upcoming search engine, Wolfram Alpha, that uses AI to provide an actual ANSWER to your question, not just search results. Expect the web of the future to be able to have a conversation with you to figure out what you want. aka Max Headroom.
Web 3.0 Style We will see the webpage cease to be a page. The web will interact with us as a dynamic entity fluidly. See Minority Report. E-ink, touch screen tech and new mobile devices will dictate this new experience, design and interface. Expect information to look more abstract and intuitive rather than instructional. So more icons, less words. Who knows…maybe we’ll develop short hand stenography for the web.
3.30.09:: We’ll admit, we love errant, blunt advertising– pieces that speak plain truth to an audience that has organically become fans of a brand. This awareness is probably one of the great merits of branding. Recently, I came along this poll while on Facebook:
Pretty spot on, right? Absolutely. Unfortunately, efforts of fast food outlets to woo their most dedicated customers (18-30 year old males) have met backlash before. Who could forget the adorable Quizno’s hamsters?
This ad, despite its warm reception among younger guys, met huge backlash from the occasional customers of the sub chain– families. The ad campaign was subsequently pulled. Conversely, other companies have been able to embrace this audience while remaining benign to the greater population. (i.e. The King’s return to Burger King advertising).
So, if your message embraces this kind of honesty:
1. Find the venue that works for you.
Facebook in this case was a perfect place for this interaction.
2. Listen to your ‘fans’, not your customers.
Marketing professionals receive a lot of customer feedback. The best ones know which ones to listen to and whom to regulate to the peanut gallery.
3. Be prepared for interrogation.
Any bold action requires a rationale. Having one that shows how you are embracing the truth about your brand is never a bad one.
3.16.09 :: At Moniker, we’ve always believed being different is good and being amazing is great. The difference between the two is often about timing. Point in case:
This Pepsi ad breaks one of the immutable laws of food advertising– appetite appeal. Or does it? In a saturated industry where slapstick humor and lifestyle photography are the norm, is it so weird to have a lime relieving itself into your product? The answer is no. It garners attention and opens the doors to a new playing field that Pepsi’s audience was ready for.
With that being said, designer, Chip Kidd still warns us, “An idea, no matter how good, ahead of it’s time, is a bad idea.” (Just think about doing Dove’s 2007 real beauty campaign in the 50’s.) We operate in a complex marketplace of thoughts and the question of difference always has to do with timing– finding the swell before the wave. The best clients know this. We strive to jump atop it.
So, when can you achieve critical mass for amazingly different?
1. When boredom sets in
If your business is not stimulating you and/or your customers, there’s a reason, and it usually has to do with ‘business as usual’. Remember– work is not boring.
2. When there is a major untapped consumer generated trend
Think Hush Puppies or Facebook, both of whom saw a trend and then surfed it.
3. When everyone else is distracted
I.e. during a financial crisis. While everyone is worried about what they do and how they spend, by taking a little risk you can stand out and maintain a healthy business.
In business, zigging when someone zags has always been popular strategy, but what happens when ‘zig’ means taking something away from your customers? Lovely Coffee Shop, a place I frequent for my morning caffeine fix, has done just that. They recently decided to cover their electrical outlets that charge an average 7 or so laptops at any given time during the day. See the coffee shop’s official post here.
After discovering this, I prodded the staff for more information. Apparently, the owners feared the shop was turning into a library of glowing Facebook pages, and the place lacked the lively social atmosphere they imagined when they opened the shop. Now, according to the baristas, business hasn’t been affected. In fact, I would assume that if this decision didn’t make customers too irate, increased turnover would help business.
I definitely applaud the owners for taking steps to define their ideal business. (It’s why people quit their desk jobs). Then again, coffee shops are the offices of the new electronic nomad and neglecting this trend could be detrimental. I think in order to be successful with this effort, the shop would need to embrace and promote this difference and remind people the (read their) coffee shop is a place of social exchange and comfort, not a place to fight for power.
