Experience Manifesto

Advertising Age - Digital - Why Joost Isn't Just Your Average 'YouTube Killer'

I've just become a beta tester for Joost, so I'll be able to update my experiences to the blog. They have a seriously good pedigree behind then, having started both Kazaa and Skype prior to creating Joost. The download was surprisingly simple — it took me about 3 minutes to be up & running. I’ve been having some problems with my laptop running very slowly, so I’ll have to figure that out to really enjoying watching. But, it looks great and so far, it’s been pretty simple to use.

I’m watching my first show on the IndieFlix Premiere Hits network and, while I think the show is dragging, it’s working well. On longer pieces like the one I’m watching, you do get commercial breaks during the program, and the first one took me a few seconds before I realized that I had left the show. Once I understood the pattern, it didn’t really bother me at all. They don’t have a lot of programming yet — although I am watching Rocky & Bullwinkle now — but they’re working on a number of content deals that will make this format really work. It could also use some more descriptions of the channels, right now you kinda’ have to guess at some of them. But these will be minor squabbles in the future.

Looking forward to exploring Joost more.

You get home from a long day at work, flop down on the couch, crack open a cold lager and flip on the TV. Clicking through your own personal programming guide -- no more having to scroll past endless movie channels or cooking networks you've never watched -- you settle on a surfing show. A massive wave forms and you shoot your brother an instant message: "watch this." He clicks on it and instantly is synced with the program you're watching.

Here's the catch: the video stream isn't coming from Comcast or DirecTV, it's coming from Joost, one of the latest entrants into the online video market -- and a service for which the cliche "YouTube killer" has been commonly applied. But it's more likely to become a cable-company killer. While YouTube has become a repository for Long Tail user-generated content, Joost is looking to distribute professionally created content.

Link: Advertising Age - Digital - Why Joost Isn't Just Your Average 'YouTube Killer'.

Link: Kazaa’s Creators Do Latest Venture by the Book - New York Times.

Departments of Energy

Good week for us, getting quoted in another article about the changing face of the department stores in Brandweek. One thing I couldn't help but notice is how many people talked about the value of the experience. Here are two:

"As these retailers develop stronger private labels and enhance the store experience, consumers are increasingly shopping department stores," said Tippmann. "Research shows that 47% of 18- to 29-year-olds shop at department stores," and that the numbers are on the rise.

Tom Julian, svp/strategic director of trends at McCann Erickson, New York, agreed: "It is the return of the department store, [but this time with the right] consumer offerings and experiences that have never existed before."

There's a lot of excellent information in the article, so it's well worth the read!

"Consumers live in a fragmented world and have so many choices," said David Polinchock, CEO of marketing consultancy Brand Experience Lab, New York. "They are looking for places that deliver value and a compelling experience, whether they get treated well like a Nordstrom does or create an environment like Santaland at Macy's." (BTW, a little David trivia. I actually met my wife at Macy's Santaland, when I was a manager and she was one of my elves. Cute story, right?)

Link: Departments of Energy.

Phone Messages

Just need to get this off my chest. Why do people leave very detailed voicemail messages, with all kinds of information about what they need and then they leave their phone number like they have one second to leave it??? You have to replay the message over and over just to understand it. Folks, if you want someone to call back, they need to be able to understand your number. Rant over.

Kraft seeks Ultimate boost | Chicago Tribune

The Chicago Tribune has a good article about the new Kraft pizzeria opening later this month in Chicago for DiGiorno Ultimate. In discussing the new product line, here's what Kraft had to say:

"This is all about playing to the consumers' desire for more premium products," said John Boswell, senior vice president and general manager of Kraft's pizza category. "We believe that people will be willing to trade up."

We couldn't agree more. People love to trade up and will do so, especially if it's also more convenient. And using a pop-up environment is a great way to get people to experience the product and understand what makes it more valuable to them. Mike Gatti summed it up pretty well:

"The consumer is looking for what's cool and what's new," said Mike Gatti, executive director of the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group. "It's a way for established brands to get to a new audience and position themselves on the leading edge."

Those of you who read us regularly know that we believe that retail will grow in importance to the marketing mix:

"Creating these kinds of retail experiences are going to be a critical part of the communications function in the future," said David Polinchock, chief experience officer at Brand Experience. "You're going to get more feedback. People are going to talk to you."

It's a tremendous way to create a real feedback loop with the consumer. You'll see firsthand how they engage your brand and/or products. You'll see where you're hitting on all cylinders and where you might be missing. And because they’ll be spending time with you, you’ll see the full cycle of their brand engagement. When you’re doing more traditional sampling, you don’t really know what happens when they leave. How many times have you seen someone passing something out and the next garbage can you pass is just overflowing with what’s been handed out?

A few years back, we came up with the idea for the World Premiere Cafe and here's how we described it:

The World Premiere Cafe™ is a unique, immersive experience that will foster brand understanding with the consumer. It will be a permanent facility in major markets both in the United States and selected cities overseas. The World Premiere Cafe™ is a road house for our clients, allowing them to have a complete 'eatertainment' complex without the costs and expense of owning a permanent facility.

Well done pop-up experience gives you the chance to engage, observe and interview, all at the same time. And given all of the media fragmentation and ROI battles happening, it will continue to be one of the most cost-effective ways to truly engage your audience.

Link: Kraft seeks Ultimate boost | Chicago Tribune.

Gap said it will close Forth & Towne stores - Feb. 26, 2007

I went to one of the first Forth & Towne's and the Palisade's Mall in Nyack and I must admit, I wasn't that impressed. They made a big deal out of creating a social experience in the dressing room area and when I visited, they had turned all of the seating areas into merchandise displays. I can't speak for the merchandise itself, not being their target audience, but the store experience was certainly not all that unique.

But, I still miss the old Banana Republic, when they were a sort of safari/adventure clothing store and all of their catalogues told great stories. Today, I love to shop at The Territory Ahead, since they not only have cool clothing, but I also like the stories they tell.

It’s a no-brainer to say that Gap has lost it’s mojo. The bigger challenge is to figure out what their mojo is and should be. That’s the billion dollar question! Doug Rushkoff spoke about them extensively in his book Get Back in the Box and it seems that now, more then ever, they need to figure out who they are and what they stand for. It’ll be interesting to see if their new management team can make this work!

Gap Inc. said Monday that it will close its Forth & Towne stores after an 18-month pilot that began August 2005. The retailer said Forth & Towne was not delivering an acceptable long-term return on investment and it will focus, instead, on revitalizing its Gap and Old Navy brands.

"We made the tough decision to close the brand and focus our efforts on stabilizing the existing businesses," Bob Fisher, Gap's chairman of the board and interim president and CEO, said in a statement.

"I want to thank the talented Forth & Towne team for their hard work in bringing this brand to life," said Gary Muto, President of Forth & Towne.

The company plans to close its 19 Forth & Towne stores by the end of June 2007. Of the 550 employees that will be impacted, Gap said it is looking at ways to redeploy them to positions at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy, where feasible.

The company said the pre-tax expenses associated with the closure of Forth & Towne to be approximately $40 million which will be recognized primarily over the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2007.

Link: Gap said it will close Forth & Towne stores - Feb. 26, 2007.

Fake bloggers soon to be "named and shamed" - News-Politics-TimesOnline

I came across this story on a couple of blogs tonight and it speaks to two of our predictions for '07, authenticity and the advertising backlash. I personally think its cool for companies to have fake blogs, but they have to be really fake. Like, if I were reading a blog by Snidely Whiplash about his plans for the lovely Nell, I'd be cool with it.

But, I think that there's a real, fine line between creating character or brand blog and creating a flog. Intent is one of the factors that makes it a line crossed. Is it your intent to deceive people? If so, then you’ve crossed the line. But if it weren’t for the fact that so many companies are ready to deceive their customers, then laws like this would not be necessary.

Hotels, restaurants and online shops that post glowing reviews about themselves under false identities could face criminal prosecution under new rules that come into force next year.

Businesses which write fake blog entries or create whole wesbites purporting to be from customers will fall foul of a European directive banning them from “falsely representing oneself as a consumer”.

From December 31, when the change becomes law in the UK, they can be named and shamed by trading standards or taken to court. The Times has learnt that the new regulations also will apply to authors who praise their own books under a fake identity on websites such as Amazon.

Online consumer reviews are playing an ever greater role in shaping shopping habits, with websites such as TripAdvisor for the travel industry being seen as increasingly influential.

However, a string of businessman in the UK and the US have been caught posing as supposedly independent customers in an attempt to boost sales.

Link: Fake bloggers soon to be "named and shamed" -News-Politics-TimesOnline.

Link: Kinetic Ideas: Marketing Blog -- EU Makes Sock-Puppet Blogs Illegal Small Business Marketing Ideas, Marketing Tips.

fashion.psfk : The New Face of Retail?

Our most recent article in Marketing at Retail gets a nice shout out at psfk!

Not only does he highlight some very cool experiential oppportunities being offered (a walk-in freezer at Burton where you can test the warmth of their jackets, Diesel Denim Gallery's washing guidance and laundry service), the points raised are definitely worth taking note of-

Link: fashion.psfk : The New Face of Retail?.

Shutdown Day

Interesting social experiment coming up on March 24th - Shutdown Day. So far 15,389 people have said yes they can shutdown, 2,319 have said no they can't do it. What do you think? Can you shut down for a day? I'm not sure that I can, but I'm thinking about giving it a try.

It is obvious that people would find life extremely difficult without computers, maybe even impossible. If they disappeared for just one day, would we be able to cope?

Be a part of one of the biggest global experiments ever to take place on the internet. The idea behind the experiment is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if we all participate!

Shutdown your computer on this day and find out! Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer?

Link: Shutdown Day.

Top Ten Ideas For the Yum Foods' NYC Restaurant Re-Opening

I just had to post this response about the KFC/Taco Bell story I got from Scott G, G-Man Music & Marketing Miracles on Soflow. My wife & I laughed out loud reading them! Well done, Scott!

Top Ten Ideas For the Yum Foods' NYC Restaurant Re-Opening

10. Last time we buy our traps from PETA.

9. They were animatronic.

8. We mis-read the calendar and were holding our Halloween promotion.

7. Tastes like chicken.

6. We had a choice for infestation: rats or lawyers; we picked the lesser of two evils.

5. Hey, they're all healthy. Would you rather see dead rats in here?

4. Soon to be New York's first combination restaurant/shooting range.

3. Where's Dick Cheney when you really need him.

2. The problem will be solved soon - we've ordered the pythons.

1. Free pets!

Rats in da' House

Nothing like watching the morning news and seeing a restaurant you eat in every week on the screen. Especially because of a seemingly huge family of rats living there. And like most NYC rats, these guys aren't all that shy. In fact, the seem to revel in the spotlight!

So it's closed now and Yum Brands says that it won't reopen until they get a clean bill of health from the Health Department, but seeing how many rats were roaming through this restaurant doesn’t give you a great feeling that they’re going to be able ever really clean it up. I mean, these guys were running on the table, chairs and everything in the place! You can’t see the food prep area from the camera angles I’ve seen, but you can just imagine what’s going on there. And there were really a whole lot of them!

There’s a million vermin stories in NYC and, unfortunately for KFC/Taco Bell, this one has made is getting it’s 15 minutes of fame. I’ll let you know if I ever decide to try eating there again.

As a side story, last year, I was eating at a Chinese restaurant with a good friend and it was a place he really liked. As we’re munching on a bowl of very tasty, crispy noodles, we notice a cockroach deep fried in with the noodles! And all they offered was to buy us a beer each! Sometimes you just gotta' love New York!