Our new puppy has an interesting way of evaluating if something is worth chewing: the more you try to take it away, the more he wants to keep it. Sometimes this makes for great fun, like when he’s playing tug-of-war with you. Sometimes it makes for a real headache, like when he’s carrying off your socks.
It turns out the solution was to teach him the command “trade.” Whenever he’s chewing something he shouldn’t, you corner him, say “trade,” and then present him with a treat. He has to decide if he wants the new-found toy or if he wants the treat. Most of the time his appetite prevails, and he’ll drop the toy to take the treat. If you can quickly get the toy out of his sight, he’ll completely forget it exists.
People work the same way. Deny them something they want, and they’ll work extra hard to get it back. Give them something better, let them voluntarily choose to take it, and they’ll completely forget about the first thing in a hurry. Think about how many people use iTunes and Hulu today who downloaded from Napster and Gnutella in the past.
Billionaire corporate curmudgeon Carl Icahn has started his very own blog called The Icahn Report. Icahn is best known for his money making strategy of buying up shares of a struggling company, forcing his way onto the board, and then demanding changes that suit him before he dumps his shares at a premium. Most recently he has been trying to salvage the Microsoft/Yahoo! implosion by threatening Yahoo! with all kinds of holy hell if they don’t sell.
His blog is certainly full of some good rants. Alternatively, if you’re interested in Carl in some of his funnier moments, Silicon Alley Insider has some videos of him telling humorous stories from his past days. They’re kind of long, but not bad for 72-year-old-corporate-raider-humor.
On the other hand, if you’re interested in Carl at his most terrifying, you can read here about how he made enormous sums of money by shredding TWA into tiny bits and then toying with the floundering remnants of the airline for nearly another decade.
Over lunch at a recent conference, I noticed that the catered cakes actually had serial numbers!
What you’re seeing is a flat chocolate shell sitting on the back of a piece of mousse cake. Look carefully at the bottom left of the chocolate:
Yes, that’s a serial number (sorry for the blurry iPhone photos). What’s not shown is that the chocolate also had a brand label printed on somewhere else. Neither of these things belong on fine food, which is what this purported to be.
Serial numbers help with inventory tracking and things like that, but that is rarely customer facing. Seth Godin had a recent post about serial numbers, but his best advice was simply “Think hard about whether you need a serial number at all.” Diners do not care that your desserts have inventory tracking codes that help you or your suppliers find them more easily. They just want to be wowed by taste and presentation.
While shopping in the HEB before leaving San Antonio, I ran across their store brand version of Wheat Thins, unimaginatively called Thin Wheat.
Store brands have a unique problem: they must look appealing while still communicating that they’re knock-offs of another product. Still, a branding crackers with “Thin Wheat” communicates more about knock-off and less about appealing. Consumers generally expect store brands to be less tasty than regular brands; so when the box is completely unimaginative, their expectations have no hope at all. Thin Wheat conveys Thin Taste, Thin Value, and Thin Quality.
Store brands are inherently low cost products, and people buy them to save money. However, a company can still at least try to make them interesting to the buyer some of the time.
So I wanted to write a very brief personal update for all those who are not immediately aware of my life happenings. Let’s do bullet points:
Gwen and I returned from a trip to Peru a couple of weeks ago where we hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Excellent trip, and I have over 600 photos that need sorting through.
Gwen and I are also engaged (no wedding date yet)
All this means I’m moving to Boston…
…where I have a job at a great little startup called uTest. I’ll be their outbound marketing manager and I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about them both here and otherwise. They’re a rocking company.
I think that’s all of the exciting news for now. We now return you to my regular blog postings.
Just like Coke and Pepsi are the big two of soda manufacturers, there are also a big two of SLR cameras: Nikon and Canon. (SLR cameras are the traditional 35mm cameras with the big lenses on the front you can take on and off, like this one here.) Both Canon and Nikon make top flight cameras, both are well respected, and both are far far ahead of the rest of the competition. Yet Canon is the top manufacturer, and has for the last several years outsold Nikon in every segment from beginner to pro. Many have recently accused Canon of resting on its laurels, and Nikon has certainly not taken its number two position lightly. So it’s interesting to look a little more closely at two recent ads from both companies.
Nikon D60 & Ashton Kutcher
The Nikon D60 is Nikon’s latest generation of entry level SLR camera, targeted at a market of beginner photographers. The typical buyer is best described as aspirational, wanting better photos than a point-and-shoot camera can offer. They want to take photos that look good, while at the same time branching out into more artistic photography when the interest strikes.
This ad perfectly delivers on these values. Nikon positions the D60 as the perfect camera for a wedding, and Ashton Kutcher’s portrayal as a goofy everyman nicely sums up the buyer. Even the use cases are spot on with Ashton photographing everything from the wedding party to a butterfly. The ideals of what an SLR can do for a market of aspirational photographers are presented clearly and effectively, and it’s no wonder these cameras are selling like hotcakes.
Canon Rebel XSi
Up until recently, Canon’s ads have focused more on consumer point-and-shoot models with celebrities like Maria Sharapova and her talking dog. This has long been a more competitive market, but when it came to their SLRs, Canon has always been a little cocky. Now the SLR fun is over, and they’ve begun their own advertising campaign:
The Rebel XSi directly competes with the D60 and targets almost the same market. With this ad, the not so subtle reminder is that when it comes to your photography, you should trust the company that has helped capture some of the greatest sports photos of the last 20 years. Canon dominates the pro market, and their telephoto lenses, painted a distinctive gray, are ubiquitous at sporting events. Their message is that if you want to be aspirational, aspire to use what the pros use.
While beginner photographers make up the bulk of the Rebel market, Canon has a fine line to walk with their advertising. The Rebel line is actually very popular with pros as well, largely because it’s a light weight camera with a lot of hidden power. Canon can’t alienate this market and needs to remind them that the Rebel makes for a great small SLR. However, beyond this point, Canon also needs to keep their pro customers happy in general. Nikon’s new D300 and D3 cameras have attracted tons of glowing press, and just about everyone has started questioning their brand loyalties. Any pro related advertising is good advertising.
Conclusion and Grades
Both ads are good, but Canon’s ad comes up a little short. They’re an 800 lb gorilla with an 800 lb gorilla advertisement. Their value proposition is essentially “we’re the choice of pros,” but that’s entirely because of product choices they made in the past and has nothing to do with the average consumer. Nikon, on the other hand, ties their message to what the consumer actually wants today, creating a more powerful ad that nicely connects with the needs of the buyer.
Nikon: A-
Canon: B
Coming soon, a look at another camera manufacturer: Leica.
Hello FedEx Office. FedEx is reportedly eliminating the Kinko’s brand and leaving their own on all stores starting sometime soon. FedEx acquired Kinko’s in 2004, so the name is theirs to toss, but any time a company eliminates a strong brand they face trouble. In FedEx’s words:
“Kinko’s was primarily a copy- and print-service provider when it was acquired in 2004,” said Brian D. Philips, president and chief executive of FedEx Office. “The name FedEx Office more accurately represents our broader role. … We are a back office for small businesses and a branch office for medium to large businesses and mobile professionals.”
Since when was FedEx about the back office? That was always UPS’s territory while FedEx built their brand around reliable overnight delivery. The stores may have become a back office for small and medium businesses, but have they done so as FedEx or as Kinko’s?
The UPS Store
And speaking of UPS, they actually did this successfully a few years ago when they acquired Mail Boxes, Etc. and renamed it to the UPS Store. The renaming worked very well for them, mostly for reasons that do not apply to FedEx. Mail Boxes Etc. was never as strong of a brand as Kinko’s, while UPS had already started to establish itself with some backoffice credibility. On the other side, the Mail Boxes Etc. shtick had always been about shipping first, other stuff second, making it easy to move the brand for UPS. Today this differentiation still works - when you visit a UPS store you see more shipping material than copiers while a Kinko’s is all about document preparation
FedEx’s Path Ahead
FedEx has a very difficult path in front of it. I have a feeling this won’t work out so well for them and that in a year we’ll wonder why they spent $891 million doing this in the first place. Besides, when was the last time you heard someone say “I’m going to go make a copy at FedEx.” When one strong brand disappears, it’s usually the competitors that win. Expect some turmoil in the office supply and copier space soon.
So after a brief delay, I thought I would follow-up on my last article about adults who think the youth of today are “dumb.” As someone who is almost but not quite 30, I figured I would reply with my own assessment about why adults aren’t so bright themselves.
Of course, these are all generalizations and many are a little sarcastic as well. Plenty of people over 30 don’t fit these descriptions, but since we’re throwing generational rotten tomatoes I figured I would fire a few myself.
You resist learning new things - It is my greatest fear that as I grow older I stop taking interest in new things. New stuff is fun! I don’t have time to dive into every single new website out there, but I love watching how people adopt and use things like Twitter and Facebook. I can’t wait to see what the future brings. Why do so many adults resist innovation as they get older?
The past wasn’t as great as you remember - In my lifetime, a vast superpower bent on my destruction has been largely tamed, vaccines have been discovered for several dangerous diseases, and a global communications network has grown to connect us all. These things and more have made the world a better place. “Simpler times” weren’t really that simple, and the reality is that almost everyone in the United States has a higher standard of living now than they did 50 years ago.
Young people are never good enough - Young people never meet with adult expectations, and what’s worse adults always fear our mistakes will end the world. Everyone makes mistakes, and most people rise above them while a few are left behind. This has been true for thousands of years, and today’s young people are not any different. Rather than complaining about our perceived foolishness, adults should try to mentor us instead. Most young people appreciate good advice and wisdom, especially if it’s given by people who want to work with us rather than against us.
You expect tomorrow’s generation to pay your bills - We have our lives to build, but if we’re also paying for your lavish decisions we’ll never succeed. Keep us in mind when you make your choices. Sometimes we just can’t afford what we want. We shouldn’t have to tell you this.
The unknown is scary for you - The world is full of interesting people, places, and things. Globalization has brought an encroachment of new cultures and experiences, and as a young person this is incredibly exciting. Don’t fear these realities, but embrace them. For example, when eating at a foreign restaurant, neither the food nor the people serving it are likely to kill you.
Don’t begrudge our choices - For a while, the news reported that Gen-Y really liked “praise” in the workplace. A lot of adults were befuddled by this, and everyone had a good laugh at our expense. Thing is, we’re used to instant feedback and constant communication. We like it. Instead of laughing at us, try to understand what we’re getting out of the proposition. We more rapidly learn from our mistakes and develop our strengths while sponging up knowledge in the process. It works! We’re coming after your jobs, after all.
It’s almost human nature to believe you’re better than those who are younger. Usually this griping is short sighted, and none of it more so than the dreck that has poured forth from Emory University professor of English Mark Bauerlein. The good professor recently wrote a new book titled The Dumbest Generation in which he complains that technology has lowered the standards of youth under 30 and made us all dumber. His eight points are neatly summarized by this feature in the Boston Globe.
Well, as a member of the under-30 crowd, I thought I would reply to his points as best as I could given my apparent lack of intelligence.
They make excellent “Jaywalking” targets - I’m not even sure what “jaywalking” means in this context (maybe I’m not bright enough) but supposedly we are cutoff from realities that don’t include “friends, work, clothes, cars, pop music, sitcoms, Facebook.” However, when has any society paid much attention to realities beyond immediate human contact? Up until this century, news from around the world was scarce and we only had our immediate friends and work. Meanwhile, the Internet has brought us access to people who are exposed to more experiences and places than ever before. For example, Twitter users were on top of the Chinese earthquake before the mainstream media.
They don’t read books — and don’t want to, either - Poor English professor, nobody wants to read his book. Bauerlein foolishly defines book reading as a metric of intelligence rather than reading itself. People who are online do a lot of reading, and the fact that books are in decline means absolutely nothing. This argument is equivalent to me saying that the “new generation is so unsophisticated because they refuse to use horse drawn carriages and prefer the disgusting and noisy automobile.”
They can’t spell - The good professor should leave his Ivory Towered office and go visit a social scientist in the linguistics field (maybe none of the linguists at Emory are over 30?). What he would learn is that language is fluid and relative and that spelling is really just a social construct. If he used many of the technologies he seems to dislike, he would also realize that the amount of communicating between people has reached a level where shorthand is more convenient. While long and thoughtful letters are nice, the form has languished due to the immediacy of instant messaging. We should be grateful, however, for this rapidity because it has unleashed an avalanche of economic wealth and benefit including rampant globalization. Instead of crafting a 30 page letter to an Indian developer that takes weeks to arrive, I can have an instant message conversation now.
They get ridiculed for original thought, good writing - I have never once been ridiculed for my writing - other things - but never my writing. The Internet is filled with excellent writing by people under 30. Idiots are everywhere and in every generation, so perhaps Professor Bauerlein is generalizing a bit?
Grand Theft Auto IV, etc. - What does the success of a video game have to do with anything? The new Grand Theft Auto has been praised for its immersive style and complex game environment. Much of that game was developed by people under 30, many of whom are very entrepreneurial. $500 million in sales represents a tremendous economic exchange, creating wealth for all participants. Maybe the professor believes that a violent video game creates violent people. Unfortunately, this idea has been debunked…by actual scientists.
They don’t store the information - We’ve grown accustomed to the vastness of the Internet, allowing us to focus on learning the things that matter while referencing the things that don’t. Are we “dumb” because we find Wikipedia more useful than rote memorization rather than focusing on innovation and creativity which are drivers of new wealth? We can only do so much with our free time, and if I need Wikipedia to tell me the state capitals, can anyone really argue that this is bad? If so, give me a good reason.
Because their teachers don’t tell them so - We are never told “no” or something. This reeks of generalization, but I can’t help but wonder if the professor was ever exposed to youth? Perhaps he was hatched, thus missing out on this life phase. Teens have spent hours pointlessly communicating with peers for a long time, and it’s all part of growing up. Prior to the web, it was constant talk on the telephone. Today it’s IM. Nothing’s changed. People grow up and do fine regardless.
Because they’re young - The worst argument of the batch. Everyone is young at some time, and that no more means we’re the dumbest generation than you were. However, plenty of young people are enormously successful. Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg both founded wildly successful companies while still in college, as did Michael Dell. Google and Yahoo! emerged as Stanford PhD projects.
The youth of today are doing just fine. We should be proud of their accomplishments and encourage them to do more.
Since we’re generalizing a bit, I figured I would next write something inflammatory about why adults are “dumb.” Stay tuned!
