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Weird things people eat...

Armano acknowledged about the new Dorito's chips - flavour X-13D - it sounds distinctly sci fi to me. That said I like the innovation behind the idea.

It got me thinking about the role culture has to play in what we're willing to eat when I saw this post about 'The Weird Things People Eat Around the World'. Cone pizza in Seoul, South Korea might be deemed acceptable - perhaps it was created especially for Western tourists.

Now what would you say to pickled snake head fish? Apparently spotted in an Asian supermarket in Vancouver.

What struck me was that the pickled snake head fish comes in a clear glass jar (and looks rather repulsive hence my reason for not posting a pic). To those Asians eating it I guess it's totally normal. Which brings me back to socialization - a process which starts at an early age. Can clever marketing communications and design concepts ever overcome what we're socialized into? Perhaps sometimes but I'm not so sure I'd ever be compelled to eat pickled snake head fish. The pickled cabbage in a pad thai recipe I recently made is my limit.

Simplicity sells

So I stole a title - 'Simplicity sells'. Why change it when I couldn't think of a simpler way to say it? I just watched David Pogue, New York Times Technology Columnist, talk about this very matter on TED.

A few things I noted...

• David's use of the piano on stage to sing songs about Gates and Jobs. Truly comical. The Jobs song is a take on Evita - 'Don't cry for me Cupertino, the truth is I never left you...'
• Good question - why do you press 'Start' to shut down a Microsoft PC?
• The technology industry is finally embracing simplicity - the break through being the iPod
• New releases need not have more features, they can simply make the technology work better

The 'Sport Utility Principle' is cool. Pogue states people like to surround themselves with lots of features to feel powerful. You know that thing of 'I might need it one day'. Hence Microsoft Write (a straightforward Word Processor) was a flop. This is what happened instead (if you can't make it out it's a zillion toolbars and icons in Microsoft Word):

Finally, simplicity is starting to sell. Undoubtedly, making technology easy is the hard part.

Staying true to your roots

David Armano recently posted a thought provoking piece entitled 'What is your DNA?'. It got me thinking. DNA is identity. The manifestation of it is an outward expression of what's within i.e. how the company conducts itself. Armano poses the question 'is it possible to evolve and stay true to your roots?'.

I watched Denis Weil speak at the 2007 Institute of Design Strategy Conference about what was happening at McDonalds.

 

He was incredibly open and honest about the challenges they face. A lot has changed since Ray Kroc opened the first McDonalds restaurant

in 1955.

Weil made two interesting observations about McDonalds DNA:

• McDonalds has become like a Post Office - a counter with a forbidden view of what's behind. This isn't how they started out.
• They realised that over the years and around the world, they still serve people with a ritual whereby they double fold the paper bag and present it to the customer with the logo facing

The first observation relates to a part of the DNA that was lost over time as the company aggessively pursued growth and efficiency - the kitchens and preparation got hidden. The ritual of bag folding is something that hasn't changed without any effort from McDonalds to keep it that way.

Now McDonalds are trying to reposition themselves as being more than burgers owing to the awareness around the unhealthiness of fast food.

It's an interesting subject - how do companies retain their DNA when they sell themselves to Wall Street? As I wrote about here, Schultz has certainly struggled to retain Starbucks' DNA. DNA is critical but seemingly easily diluted. One company I can think of that has been successful in retaining it's DNA is John Smedley - an English clothing company. An interesting quote on their website sums up their views:

'Of course, looking back should not stop us moving forward. But we stay dynamic by staying put - because it is here in England's traditional knitting heartlands that are found generations of experience and skills in knitting and hand-finishing world-class knitwear. Those unique skills may come at a price. But, carefully nurtured, they ensure the highest quality and innovation. It is they that allow John Smedley to be acknowledged as the best in its class'

TechnoLatin (gobbledygook)

I've been reading the Cluetrain Manifesto. Fabulous reading. Anyhow, I got to the chapter where Doc Searls talks about 'TechnoLatin'. Whilst I didn't know there was a word that described it, I realised it was all the verbal diarrhoea (gobbledygook) that surrounded me whilst I worked at Microsoft.

Here's an apt description by Doc of what I witnessed at Microsoft;

"TechnoLatin is now so pervasive in the computer industry that clarity is the exception when it should be the rule. Today we no longer make chips, circuit boards, computers, monitors or printers. We don't even make products. Instead we make "solutions," a fatuous noun further bloated by empty modifiers such as "total," fully," "seamlessly," "industry standard" and "state-of-the-art"

The thing is, it extends beyond the IT industry to that of the hospitality industry. I'm frustrated by those menus that describe the dish so superfluously that I feel like I might as well be playing pin the tail on the donkey when I order. I went to a fabulous restaurant last night, but really, what on earth is 'sauce soubise' to the average guest?

Sometimes it's hard to even recognise I was writing BS when I was surrounded by people doing 'the talk'. In fact I used to act as a jargon buster in client presentations to kill the TechnoLatin. Unless you get out there, (yes outside the campus and into the real world) and meet the customer and try 'the gobbledygook' out on them and see the perplexed face, a marketer really doesn't stand a chance. It scared me how few of the marketing team that I worked with actually got out and met the people they were marketing to. To me, I couldn't do my marketing job without meeting my customer. It was like walking without tying my laces - eventually I'd trip up.

Make an effort. It can be tiresome but it's worthwhile and in my experience quite energising. TechnoLatin is not necessary.

PC Guy is back...

Now I'm no tecchy but the opportunity to watch Steve Jobs unveil some of the new features of the new version of the Mac OS, 'Leopard', was something I wanted to see.

The first two minutes (well 1:58 minutes to be precise) are hilarious. I don't want to ruin the moment but what I will say is that I'm loving the banter between Apple and Microsoft. It's a gentle poke. There's nothing aggressive about it.

Once again, Jobs tells the story. He uses words like 'try' and 'maybe'. He's ambitious about gaining market share - but not aggressive. There's a difference.

Self exposure: the new self expression?

The Future Exploration Network published a report in July 2006 about the future of media. In it they produced a strategic framework illustrating the symbiotic relationship between mainstream media and social media i.e. they feed off one another. Here's the diagram (click on it to see a larger version).

They describe the key features of social media as conversation, relationships, annotation (i.e. commenting and referencing existing ideas) and self-exposure. Self exposure is defined as:

'...a more powerful driver of social media than self-expression. The exhibitionalism and associated voyeurism of blogs and social networks are a key factor driving participation'

I'm not 100% sure that I agree that blogging is a voyeuristic pursuit. I blog as a form of self expression. I enjoy writing and sharing ideas and being challenged and for me, this blog provides that opportunity. It's more about me putting it out there than wanting others to watch and admire. 

Arguably some forms of social media are more about exhibitionism - the videos on YouTube being a prime example. I read in The Australian today that Justin Timberlake's record label Tennmen Records has signed Esmee Denters after seeing her performance on YouTube. I bet the 18 year old didn't envisage Justin signing her up!

'Crypto-religious marketing jargon'

I recently discovered the book 'The Cluetrain Manifesto'. I'm busily reading it at the moment.

There's the most wonderfully written paragraph in chapter one that I felt compelled to highlight here:

'To this mindset, the Net is just an extension of preceding mass media, primarily television. The rhetoric it uses is freighted with the same crypto-religious marketing jargon that characterised broadcast: brand, market share, eyeballs, demographics. And guess what? It works. If nobody was getting rich off this stuff, you wouldn't hear about it'

What Christopher Locke is referring to here is the companies with the 'net-dot-dollar' signs in their eyes that are missing the 'something special' dimension. I agree with Christopher. Chasing the dollars is very tempting but too often it gets in the way of communicating intimately with customers. Developing a relationship that will last is key and by that I mean one that customers want to invest time in too.

And then I read Seth's blog yesterday. His post is about the new Olympic 2012 logo. I'm not sure the logo is remotely connected to the Olympics. It's an image of fragmentation. I thought the Olympics was about the world coming together to celebrate sport.

To me it's a manifestation of what Christopher describes above - 'marketing jargon'. As Seth comments, someone got very rich designing this logo. Worth the money? Don't think so. But someone paid. I want to challenge the way things have always been done. I'm committed zagging where people zig. Are you?

iPhone: making the complex, simple

Nice Apple iPhone ad. One of the hardest things to do is to distill many functions and features into a simple message. Apple are experts at it. Microsoft have struggled with it. The point is that the new Apple iPhone ads are another classic example of Apple's ability to communicate with the audience. It almost seems effortless. It's a natural dialogue. I want to hear what Apple have to say. They have my attention.

The ad illustrates how the iPhone helps a consumer solve problems - problems consumers do have  - like being able to do everything I need to do from one device that is clear to read and works quickly. Arguably it's a high class problem, but it is a problem. Each ad tells a story - something Seth Godin has taught me the importance of. The technology that makes the features work isn't even mentioned.

The Board of Customers

I was reading John Moore's manifesto born on April 4th 2007. He asks the Starbucks Board of Customers to respond to Howard Schultz's worried memo that the Starbucks brand has been watered down and the observation that what some might call 'the commoditisation of our brand' is happening. I found out today here that 44 million people go to Starbucks a week and a new shop opens every six hours. Yikes.

I'd agree. To me Starbucks is losing touch with it's values and the essence of Howard's soul which made that first Starbucks shop what it was. Using Porter's Generic Strategy Model (I'd hate to think my degree wasn't of some use), Starbucks is getting 'stuck in the middle'. Are you proud to walk down the street carrying a cup with this logo?

The focus on revenue, profit, numbers of new stores opened, sales of merchandise, required to satisfy Wall Street have taken the focus away from the customer.

The Board of Customers (mere mortals like me) suggest:

• Getting back to being a coffee company
• Free wireless (I have walked out of Starbucks to a coffee shop opposite to get free wireless)
• Employ baristas who are passionate, as opposed to those that see it as better than McDonalds
• Get rid of merchandise and poor quality 'freshly baked' cakes

I liked John's approach, to open the conversation, via his blog to the customers.

What it made me think about was that the three person company I work for with limited resources to compete against the bigger 'Starbucks' type players, who doesn't have Wall Street to satisfy, is in as much danger of forgetting the customer in the pursuit of revenue as Starbucks. Cash is king in for our company.  We are a content company that struggles to invest in creating content and trust that the customers that we want to be talking to will come.

I think there's a huge leap of faith into the unknown that needs to happen to focus on being a company who's mission is to be an idea amplifier. To forget revenue and focus on what matters to the customer. Hugh MacLeod puts it succinctly in here, 'Merit can be bought, passion can't'. For me it's about unleashing the passion. Being confident and trusting that the pursuit of passion is the only road to drive down and never look back. And if I start to doubt, well quite frankly the only thing to do is 'fake it to make it'. That has saved me many times.

Business cards...with a difference

My mantra is and always has been 'why be the same when you can be different'. I am not a sheep. Nor do I look like one. I don't join long queues just because everyone else does. I don't go to huge tourist enclaves just because everyone else does. Why go to Goa when you can go to Kerala? The Costa del Sol appalls me for that reason. Lots of English tourists wanting to replicate all the bad things about England - but this time in the sunshine. I was horrified to return to Puerto Banus some ten years after my first visit to see Burger King, TGI Fridays and lots of other chain restaurants. I'm in Spain but I may as well be in Blackpool. Yes I'm subject to exaggeration but I like to make a point.

The same applies to business cards. I want something that starts a conversation. Something that shows my spirit. Something unique to me. Thank you Hugh for scribbling on cards and allowing my to personalize your design to achieve this:

And thank you to the Geek in Disguise for making me aware of these cards. And thank you for my new little Fujitsu Scan Snap that scanned this.

Shoes are another tool for starting conversations. I have some crazy ones. I can't tell you the number of times I've been in an elevator and my shoes have been the saving grace...you know when you have 20 seconds with someone but it seems like 20 minutes as no-one knows where to look or what to say and questions if it's worth bothering. Wear some bright shoes and see what happens!