Experience Manifesto

The Value of Communicating

We have used Valueweb to host our web sites for probably almost 10 years and although we've had our hiccups, generally the service does what it's supposed to do and we've been pleased. But, when there's a problem with their service, it's usually a doosey!

And that's happening right now. Something happened to their main server farm last night and all communication went down. Not only could we not access our sites and e-mail, but you couldn't access their site either. And all of their phone lines went down. There was no way to get any information about what happened and when it would be resolved and people started wondering if they had gone out of business.

I finally reached someone about 12:30 last night and was told that they had some pretty serious system issue that did, in fact, shut everything down and they were getting it all resolved. Should be up & running again in a few hours, thanks for your patience.

This morning I tried to check e-mail and there was still no connection to their servers. But if you go to ValueWeb - Systems Status, you'll see it still listed as There are currently no system outages. Of course, that's the last listing and it's from April 23rd. Not making me feel secure that they're so far behind in updating their server status, something that's so critical in today's web-focused world.

Funny thing is that they were calling this a minor system problem until recently, when it was upgraded to a serious network issue. But when you call, they also tell you not to hold as hold times are going to be long with all of the problems they're having.

But when you go to their web page or server status page, there's nothing saying sorry or we're trying to fix it ASAP or anything. It would help a lot during times like this if they broke down their usual corporate communication barriers and told us what was happening. That little effort would go a long way in helping people get through challenges like this.

Link: Web Hosting Services for Business and Ecommerce from ValueWeb.

TV Ads 'a Waste of Money' for the Back-in-Black Gap - Advertising Age - News

I started to write about this article to focus on this the headline of this article TV Ads 'a Waste of Money' for the Back-in-Black Gap, 40% Jump in Profits Indicates Merchandising Initiatives Are Paying Off -- when I got to the bottom of the article where they had this to say:

During the quarter ended May 3, Gap reported a 7% slide in North American stores open at least a year, compared with an 18% tumble for Old Navy and a 4% decrease at Banana Republic. Across Gap Inc., sales at stores open at least a year dropped 11% -- a worse performance than rival retailers JC Penney, Macy's and Kohl's -- yet its 40% profit boost left in the dust Penney (down 50%), Kohl's (down 27%) and Macy's, which posted a $59 million loss.

It's the eternal battle these days, isn't it. Do you provide for your audience or your investors. Do they have to be mutually exclusive? Yes, profits are up, but that's kinda' easy the way they did it. Just don't spend as much. Following that logic, if they closed all of their stores, they'd probably show a great quarter. Unfortunately, they'd be out of business the next quarter.

Their sales are down. Way down. They can keep making these incremental changes and maybe squeeze out a few more quarters of being profitable, but they could also be killing their business. Let me repeat, sales are down 11% across all Gap brands. Now, I don’t think that TV advertising is always the answer, so I’m cool with them cutting it out. But they’re not doing anything to make any real changes to their business. They didn’t cut back on advertising and create a better store experience, did they? Did they give their employees raises to help create a better interaction with their guests? No, they created a short term increase in profits by simply eliminating one single expense.

Could it be that financial measurement is always going to be at odds with other measures of success? Should companies be looking to boost short term shareholder value even when they know it's doing long term damage to their brand?

In the end, it’s always going to be about creating compelling, authentic and relevant brand experience for your audience. Plenty of companies, big & small, do that without using TV. But Gap isn’t really fixing their problems. They just got investors off their backs for one quarter. But without really re-thinking what they stand for, they’re going to have to just keep cutting expenses to keep those investors happy — and that’s not usually a recipe for success.

The brand once known for its peppy, elaborate commercials has struggled in recent years to attract consumers in an increasingly competitive retail environment. But now that it's shelved TV advertising -- the brand has been off the airwaves for several quarters -- and is focusing on merchandising initiatives, Gap seems to be on the right financial track.

Marketing expenditure at Gap Inc. was trimmed 18% during the quarter, driven by the absence of TV ads for the Gap brand, company executives said. That contributed to a 40% jump in profits at Gap Inc., compared to the same period a year ago.

Link: TV Ads 'a Waste of Money' for the Back-in-Black Gap - Advertising Age - News.

Are We Really This Lazy?

I actually like the 100 calorie packages, since it does make it easier to eat better portions. I've really always had a problem with portion control. As my friend Dave says, a portion of Chips Ahoy is a sleeve of cookies. That's how I eat them too. So I get these 100 calory packages that make it very easy for me to take just the right amount and not eat a whole package of cookies in one sitting. (Yea, I pretty much ate a whole package of chocolate chip cookies since last night.) It's why sometimes Kristen will bake fresh cookies for me at night. It creates portion control and gives me the best cookies I can eat. Nothing better for me after a tough day then fresh baked chocolate chip cookies & really cold milk.

But this is just silly. How can a human havve self control issues in terms of how they feed their dogs? How hard is it to give a dog just one treat? Is this for dogs who feed themselves? I can tell you from experience with my two dogs, that when they feed themselves it doesn't matter what it says on the package, they don't stop eating until there's nothing left.

But pets are a big business and I guess we should expect to see more products like this to capture revenue from the pet audience. We won't be buying any of these for our house.

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James Cameron at Advance08

Listening to James Cameron and he just started talking about the social nature of going to the movie theater, something we talk about all the time. Today people want to talk about movies even before they come out. The digital revolution happening in-cinema is able to drive the introduction of 3D movies. They're also developing 3D games for Avatar, which can be played on the game consoles. We're thinking spatially, but we're not displaying spatially.

He's really serious about 3D and what it means for the entertainment industry. He also believes that we'll see a lot more alternative content in movie theaters, like sporting events in 3D, etc.

In every neighborhood around the country, theaters will become a digital community center. Fuel costs are going up and people will look for different ways to experience new content on the big screen. They're not going to simply view the movies, they're going to participate in the movies. Movies still have a great opporunity to hypnotize the audience in a unique way. Cinema is maybe one of the last places where you sacrifice interactivity for a larger experience.

Wow, he's using 128 cameras to do his performance capture for Avatar. Amazing! He built an entire virtual camera system for pre-setting the scenes. Can't wait to see this movie.

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One Day These Quests Will Kill Me!

It seemed simple enough when I started. Growing up on Long Island, we used to go to Jack in the Box quite frequently and it was even a place we'd go as a special treat when we'd spent a full Saturday doing yard work. I've always loved their tacos and I was pretty depressed when they left the east coast.

So whenever I travel to a city that still has a Jack in the Box, I'll seek it out and order my usual -- 4 tacos, large onion rings crispy and a large root beer (I sometimes wonder why I'm still alive eating like this!). So, when I got to Seattle yesterday and found out they had Jack in the Box here, I was pretty stoked. And, as it turned out I didn't have dinner plans, so I thought I gi find a JITB and eat a couple of tacos for old times sake.

But, it wasn't meant to be. I'll have to really map where I walked in my ultimately unsuccessful quest, but I started sort of by the Market, walked to the Space Needle. The went to some other neighborhood up the hill (someone thought I might have been in Capital Hill). The from there I walked near Qwest Stadium and then back to the Market. About 3 hours of walking and both of the JITB's I was looking for were closed.

So, dinner ended up being 3 Zingers and 2 mini Moon Pies and I probably covered 6 miles or so. I guess I walked off the junk food I ate. The sad thing is that if I weren't heading to an event tonight, I'd probably still be wondering Seattle looking for an open JITB.

But now I'm at the Advance08 party waiting for an acoustic set by Dave Matthews, so hopefully the night will end well. I did get to really see Seattle and I got lots of good walking in.

But damn, I could almost taste that taco. Guess I need to go to LA soon. I know where I can find a Jack in the Box there.

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Michael Eisner at Advance08

I got to listen to Michael Eisner rehearse yesterday and enjoyed it a great deal. His first point is that the killer app is creative storytelling. Long relationship between storytelling and emerging technologies. Storytelling is an emotional experience and there's no better way to connect with consumers. At the '39 World's Fair, the NY Times said that the average American family doesn't have time to focus on TV. Youtube is to the internet as the old nickelodeon was to movies. It isn't enough to just tell stories, they have to be highly creative. Need to take better advantage of community opportunities of the internet. As he's exploring, there are a few consistent

Define the size of the box, the financial decisions that you make based on what you're going to spend and make back. Interesting that he started with the financial constraints.

Micromanagement. If the CEO of Disney doesn't stoop to pick up paper on the ground, no one else will. He's a big fan of micromanagement. Talked about how they made "Raiders of the Lost Ark" within the budget parameters and how that enhanced the movie. I've actually heard this from several other people, so maybe there's something to this theory!

There's nothing as valuable as a trusted brand. Showing painting Sunday in the Park that shows how it's all the tiny dots of the painting make up the full picture. That's the importance of every touchpoint of a brand.

The internet won't render previous forms of entertainment obsolete. Internet users will stay with a story as long as it goods. They're getting ready to launch a prequel for a new Robin Cook novel called Foreign Body that focuses on the dark side of medical tourism. They'll run 50 episodes in the 50 days before the book launches. Well produced content that looks good.

He ended with something that we say all the time -- Everyone loves a great story.

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Crossing Flags in Kirkland, WA

I'm out in Kirkland, WA, this week to present AudienceGames to Advance08 at Microsoft. Had the morning free, so I decided to walk into downtown Kirland from my hotel. It's a really cute little downtown and the Irish bar is having a spring celebration tonight, so I'll know where I'll be later!

But, they also do this very strange thing where you pick up a flag when you want to cross the streets. According to the little box, 62 people were hurt or killed crossing the street without the flag and zero people were hurt or killed crossing the street with the flag, so I guess they work! A couple of times I saw all of the flags on one side of the street, but I guess it usually averages out.

Love traveling and seeing what other cities do!

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Guy Kawasaki at avenue a/razorfish

Guy Kawasaki is giving the keynote presentation here at the avenue a/razorfish conference, talking about innovation. Started by saying most presentations were crappy & too long, so he does all of his presentations in a top 10 format. This way, even if he's crappy you'll know how long he'll present. Fortunately, he wasn't crappy!

Top 10 Things about Innovation

Make meaning. He sees many start-ups trying to make money instead of trying to making something that's meaningful,

make mantra. 2 or 3 words that speak what you deliver.

Jump to the next curve. Great innovation is not about incremental steps. Most people stay on the same curve.

Roll the DICEE. 5 things to include. Great products are Deep, Intelligent, Complete, Elegant & Emotive.

Don't worry, be crappy. If you wait for perfection

Don't be afraid of polarizing people. If you appeal to everyone, you probably create a mediocre product.

Let a hundred flowers blossom. If you innovate, the wrong people may buy your product in large quantities.

Churn, baby, churn.

Niche thyself.

Follow the 10/20/30 rule. Optimal number of slides 10 which you should be able to present in 20 minutes and it should in a 30 point font. Rule of thumb? Divide the oldest person in the presentation by 2 and that's your font size.

Bonus: Don't let the bozos grind you down. "It's too far to drive, and I don't see how it can be a business." That was what Guy said when he was asked to interview for the CEO of Yahoo. Even Guy could be a bozo (he said that, not me!).

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Converting the Converted, and Other Tricks of the Light -- Adrants

Love this story from Brian Collins to describe what a brand is and how it should act. He always has great examples! Read the full article for other great stories that Brian told during the One Show presentation.

On Wednesday at the One Show Festival, design guru Brian Collins illustrated the power of branding with a history lesson about pirates.

Or rather, just their flag.

Back in 1748, if you had the misfortune of being a single bobbing ship at sea when a tattered vessel with a skull and crossbones crossed your path, you knew instantly what to expect.

"You're fucked." (Collins, verbatim.)

"As you sail closer," he continued, "the brand promise is reinforced by everything you see."

A cannon fires, shots go off: the brand promise becomes brand immersion. In three hours, maybe less, the brand delivers everything it promised: death, pillage, and maybe a not-so-promising hostage situation.

The fulfillment of the skull-and-crossbones "brand promise" remained so consistent over fifty-plus years that, by the 1800s, pirates didn't even need to waste gunpowder. They had only to raise the black flag to yield the desired results (surrender, animal fear, free doubloons and maybe some teabags).

Pirates (TM!) succeeded because they connected brand promise to performance.

Link: Converting the Converted, and Other Tricks of the Light -- Adrants.

Panera Bread

We're getting ready to see Iron Man at 3:15 and decided to have lunch at Panera's. Lots of folks have commented on the free Wi-Fi here vs. the paid Wi-Fi at Starbuck's. I know that Starbuck's is adding Wi-Fi if you're an AT&T customer, making the change away from T-Mobile. But at Panera's it's just free. But, they've also done something to show that they're committed to actually letting people work on their computers. As my wife observed, they seem to have outlets at every seat! Even with free Wi-Fi, the addition of power outlets is a big deal! Although I guess that means no forced battery-life time limits. It's close to our house and I do like their food!

So, off to Iron Man! I've heard good things, so my expectations are high.

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