Posts Tagged ‘Outdoor Recreation’

Manage the Information, Control Your Future

Nov 3, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , ,

information-overload-nyt

Courtesy: New York Times

I’ve been talking with a lot of the brands in the outdoor space lately and I’m hearing the same theme. Something like…”new media is important. We are looking at its impact.  We have to determine how much time this will take, who will execute inside the company, and how much it will cost.”

Fair enough. All good concerns.

This brings me to the core problem. The more information we load upon ourselves the less time we have for…everything.

Herbert Simon, a political scientist, wrote in 1971, “What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. The more information, the less attention, and the need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it.” Quoted from A Short Manifesto on the Future of Attention by the Design Observer

In my view, this problem is now pervasive. Consumers are focusing their attention to write messages to companies about products, customer service, and branding. And it is evident that companies do not have the attention span to:

1. Listen

2. Engage.

Why?

Because companies are swamped with so much information that much of  the valuable info gets ignored . The work force is in a dingy and the waves of information are ten feet tall.

Another problem:  many companies are still in the Broadcast Mode because it takes less attention. Executives are saying “ We are on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube…and we have our own Blog. However, that company uses those channels to simply broadcast the message. Face it, that  company doesn’t have the “employee time” to engage with those customers.

Many brands suffer from information overload.  Reposition your company away from the endless silly emails that smack of over-communication in the form of “covering my ass” , positioning the responsibility to someone else ” I sent him an email!”, or ccing the universe “so I could solicit  feedback from the team” .  While all of this is going on, consumers are trying to communicate with the company.

Companies are more self absorbed than movie stars. Stop worrying about your brand image and look away from the mirror …and see.

To all major brands in the outdoor space: time to rebuild your marketing departments. Time to reallocate employee time for New Media. So they listen for the customer. Hear them. And then respond. Time to create content that consumers find worth responding to. Time to take money away from traditional advertising (and the push messaging) and invest it in real time feedback on your products, your service, and your brand initiatives.

Back to the future, where the motto is, “The Customer is King.”

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Skittles Uses New Media and Gets Torched

Mar 3, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Skittles, the candy company, is trying something different, again. When you login to the web site www.skittles.com up comes the Skittles Facebook page. 

Last night Skittles pulled the first idea, which was to have the viewer go to the Skittles Twitter Page when visiting the home page. Well, that lasted for about a day. At first, consumers inundated the site with solid and fun stories about Skittles. “My dog loves them.” ” I love the Skittles rabbit!. “I take them with me everywhere.” Stories that fueled the brand forward. 

Then the chatter turned negative. Pranksters got going on the site and it became unmanageable for the brand. Too much negative and not enough positive to shine a good light on the candy.

So, now you automatically go to the Skittle’s Facebook site. True, tighter security here and the community will police itself better.

But let’s look at what the company is really doing…going straight to the online conversation.  It’s like the company says, “you want to know something about Skittles? Here. Here’s everything being said about Skittles at this very moment. Join in.”

Interesting approach. Surpass all of the boring brand messaging about the company and just jump into the Skittle mosh-pile. Skittles put all of its brand messaging in control of the consumers.

And it backfired. How long can people talk about Skittles? It’s fresh now, but will the rapid-fire comments keep coming? I doubt it. And in a week or two when this is over and the conversation dies down, or worse turns negative, then where is the juice? 

The Twitter initiative really failed because it was not authentic. Certain consumers sniffed that out and they went on the attack. Others piled on.  In short, consumers will not play ball all day long if they think they are being used, and in my view that is what happened.  

Now if Skittles complements this new Facebook initiative with well placed, well timed authentic content, and that content fires up more conversation, well now we have something. 

What kind of content?  Producing more company sponsored YouTube videos, creating a contest in every state to find the most interesting character who loves Skittles, publishing new company green programs or sponsoring grass roots events.  And use many distribution channels; Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc. 

Pump content into the new media channels. Make it real. Make it fun. Make it interesting. And make it brand building. 

Consumers are still in control, but the brand is now a big authentic player in the conversation.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Silence and the Consequences

Feb 23, 2009 | tags: , , , , , , , ,


 

Okay. I’ve thought a lot about this post. The Smartwool Experiment. If you don’t know what it is go to Beck Tench’s blog, The Smartwool Experiment .

You should read up. Why? Because if companies don’t learn this lesson it will happen to them in the outdoor recreational space. 

First, SmartWool is a very good company. Have followed it for years and have had personal dealings with many in the organization. Good product. Well managed. Environmentally progressive. A star in the Timberland Group. The company thought it was handling everything with the Smartwool Experiment just right. And then BOOM…things went wrong in a hurry. 

Here’s the short story. A young woman, Beck Tench, is a SmartWool fan. She buys the socks. Pays the price. Recommends them to others. However, she did notice that her socks were wearing out faster than she thought appropriate for the 18 dollar price tag. She started a blog and called it The Smartwool Experiment.

She writes a song.

Flickr Video

She writes SmartWool. Someone in customer service writes back saying the socks should last about a year. Good response. Honest. To the point. And then SmartWool writes another post to her, apparently from the product development or marketing department. 

“The SmartWool Experiment is a very interesting project. It feels good to see this work reinforce what we’ve observed, and validates all we’ve done in recent years to produce both more comfortable and more durable SmartWool socks. We’re going to try and do a better job at REALLY answering the question, “How long should my SmartWool socks last?”    

(EDITED BY KIRWIN HERE)

“Ultimately, we could never predict how long any sock will last, as there are so many people using our products in different ways, with different habits, with different feet, with different shoes, in different climates, with different washing machines. . . you get the picture.

Here’s a list of things we’ve found can impact how long it takes to wear out a SmartWool sock:

  • Wearing them outside without shoes – Not recommended (though we’ve been caught doing it ourselves occasionally)
  • Wearing multiple times without washing in dusty environments – the grit they pick up will wear the fibers faster
  • Long toenails – This one is a killer, keep them smooth and trimmed
  • Wearing socks with footwear they are not designed for – Look at the wear pattern above the back of the heel in the “Evidence” video. These socks were designed with a heel zone that is much more durable than the portion of the sock above it. We see this type of wear when people wear socks that don’t match up with the footwear profile. A classic example of this type of mismatch would be a Converse All Star high top where the tight fitting top of the shoe is higher than the heel reinforcement in the sock. A sock and a shoe are a system, they need to work together properly.
  • Bleaching – Don’t do it. They’ll never feel the same again.
  • How often is it worn? – We wear our favorites more often. That means we wear out our favorites more often. We guess you will too.
  • Does the shoe fit? – Loose shoes will create more friction as you move.
  • Body chemistry – pH varies from person to person and during exercise”
(EDITED OUT THE REST OF THE RESPONSE)

Personally, I thought this response was fine. Explained why the durability of socks rests with individuals and their habits. 

Beck Tench replied in a video saying that she felt manipulated. In its first response SmartWool wrote that the socks should last a year. Now the story has changed and its up to the wearer.  She said SmartWool made her feel like she should take responsibility for the socks wearing out. And she should buy Smarwool’s new PHP socks for 19 bucks, which last longer. 

As far as I can tell SmartWool did not respond and basically became passive. And this is where the problem started. Beck was hoping for some kind of a response. Post. Email. Pick up the phone. Again, as far as I can tell the company fell silent. 

And The Smartwool Experiement continues to grow. Beck has published her 10th Episode in which she tries out Bridgedale socks that have been sent to her. Darn Tough socks have already arrived in the mail. Beck has published some consumer defenses of Smartwool, but the damage has been done. 

SmartWool had an opportunity to strongly participate in the Smartwool Experiment. Should have sent Beck socks and had her test them. Made her a part of a consumer product testing team. Hell, made her chairperson of it. Had her get others on board and build the team. Had the team report back about durability, design, comfort.  What a golden opportunity. 

Why did Beck feel manipulated? Why did she take it personally? Because she had a personal stake in SmartWool. She had bought many pairs. Had recommended them to others, and no doubt had many discussions about the socks. She believed. And she wanted to talk to her sock company about durability.  

Had SmartWool continued the dialogue, engaged Beck and explored durability together, the company would now have a disciple with a growing blog. An influencer who is spreading the good word about SmartWool.

If your a good brand, sing out for all the world to hear.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

What Does Selling to Ourselves Mean? It Means Change.

Jan 28, 2009 | tags: , , , , ,

                                             See the Changes                                            

 She has seen me changing

It ain’t easy rearranging

And it gets harder as you get older,

Farther away as you get closer.

Words and Music by Stephen Stills

 

I’ve had people contact me about what “Selling to Ourselves” means. So I thought I would elaborate as it pertains to the outdoor recreational industry, and then address the changes that are necessary. 

Selling to ourselves means:

  • Manufacturers selling to the same retailers in the distribution system.
  • Retailers buying from the same larger brands as a safety net during a recession.
  • Brands employing the same marketing tools to reach the same outdoor enthusiasts.
  • Retailers marketing to their tried and true set of customers.              

 What happens then?

  • No new retailers (brick-mortar & online)  entering the outdoor recreational space.
  • Fewer new innovative small manufacturers. Money is hard to get, expensive and tough when the market isn’t growing.    
  • New consumers are not attracted to the market because it is shrinking
  • Interested new consumers have fewer places to buy.
  • New consumers have less choice when they do shop.
And the consequences?
  • Ever accelerating decrease of sales for manufacturers and retailers. (Once you start circling the drain, its tough to stay out.) 
And the solution?
  • More grass-roots local events to get communities involved in hiking, snowshoeing, boarding, skiing, etc. Take the sports to the people. Make it local. Make it family. Make it authentic. 
  • Build a new media marketing program that loads smart relevent content into the blogsphere so influencers and consumers can learn, become intrigued, and react. 
  • Build relationships with influencers so they take your brand to their consumers. 
  • Make all marketing programs interactive. 
In the spirit of this article being a short-read, I’ll need to stop here. However, the point is that companies can employ grass-roots event marketing to cost-effectively engage new consumers. (Do it where they live.) And companies can engage new media to carry powerful brand and product content onto America’s home computers, causing conversations in a much bigger consumer market. 
How does it all start?
  • By listening to what’s out there now. 
Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Barack and his Blackberry

Jan 13, 2009 | tags: , , , ,


 

Recently the news has been full of references to the new president-elect fighting to keep his Blackberry. Apparently Mr. Obama likes the instant unfiltered communications he gets from his family, team members, trusted friends, and consultants. This worked particularly well for him during the campaign. He’d be in Boston and could receive an immediate update about how things are going in California, or about a problem in Florida. He was in the loop…in fact, the center of the loop. 

He’s a new media guy and likes the instant communication. It keeps him grounded.  Now the secret service is telling him that because of security reasons it’s back to the bat phone. He is now forced to  operate in a cocoon where all of the information is filtered and often biased. This new president wants information from all angles, unlike his predecessor who liked one page briefs from the inner circle. 

If I was the CEO of RIM, the maker of the Blackberry, I would get a message to the White House and tell them I am willing to send my top team of technicians and work with the secret service to make every message from Obama’s Blackberry secure. How? Don’t know, but I bet there’s a way. 

The bat phone mentality will only frustrate this new president. He won because he was connected, totally, with his team, and his team with the American people. For him to effectively lead, he can not be cut off from the strum and drang of America. He thrives on it. So do many of us, and that’s why New Media needs to be worked into the presidency. It will be good for democracy.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal

Completing the Loop

Dec 25, 2008 | tags: , , , , , ,

TNF and REI have just come out with iPhone applications that provide great information about ski and snowboard conditions at various resorts. Good idea. Both brands can benefit from providing a service and driving traffic to their branded apps.  You can learn the weather report, get snow depths, get directions, and view trail maps, all on your iPhone while driving to the lifts. 

 

And here is my problem: neither app completes the loop. Shouldn’t these apps help the consumer find where to buy products from these companies? Shouldn’t it be easy to do that? After all, aren’t both companies in the business of selling stuff, good stuff, to consumers? And shouldn’t this app help do that?

Why aren’t store locations on the resort main pages of the apps?  In order to find a store at a resort, you have to go onto their web sites, find the dealer locator, and plug in your location. A lot of steps.  

Let’s say I’m traveling to Breckenridge.  So I connect in with the app and get the resort information. High of 10 degrees F today. Now, what I really want is a pair of gloves because mine are too light for stinging cold. Hey! Right here on the main page is a nearby REI store where I can pick up gloves. Cool. Now, REI just supplied great information AND sold something to a willing customer. The loop is complete. 

Sorry to disagree with many in the New Media universe, but if New Media can’t connect back into selling stuff, then it will die. REI and TNF are not media companies who publish content and then profit from the advertising. They make money by selling stuff. So when they publish they must build a road back to selling stuff…or they are losing time, money and market share.  

Great idea on the app. Now REI and TNF…place your store locations or dealers on the resort main pages. And after that track who is using the apps, where they are riding, and start promoting the service and the stores in the target markets.

Paul Kirwin

Paul Kirwin, Founder and CEO of Channel Signal