Friday, February 26, 2010

Video's power of storytelling

We are all addicted to our various screens, going to the movies is a popular pastime throughout the world and advertising on television has always been used to sell product. Now our industry has a powerful new medium - the video as source for educating, entertaining and selling product.

Midwest Living designed a kitchen and bath for empty nesters for last year's NKBA show that featured a variety of finishes and materials. Neither the magazine nor the space itself is as effective as the designer telling the story in the video that is featured on the Kohler site.
This informative story-telling is much more effective than a straight-forward sales pitch.

Latex could silence noisy neighbours

Latex could silence noisy neighbours - tech - 22 February 2010 - New Scientist

Voice of the Consumer in the Fashion World

Young designers embrace the blogosphere according to an article on Reuters: "the blogosphere offers a voice to new opinions and a platform for the start-up brands themselves." Traditional fashion houses are following, but they are not used to listening to the consumer directly, preferring the conversation with buyers - fashion insiders.

The direct and unfiltered conversation with the end-user should be welcomed by manufacturers and retailers in every industry. The key will be interpreting the information, staying open-minded and bringing creativity to the process of making it useful.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

How to engage the Luxury Consumer

In a recent conversation with several real estate agents, they reported that the luxury market for homes remains strong, but affordable homes continue languishing on the market.

"Beauty in Virtue" is timely with its update on how the luxury market appeals to their customer base. After a tough economic climate for all in 2009, luxury goods purveyors are starting to remember who they are and what they stand for other than blatant consumerism. They make their customers feel good by setting them apart with their products but reduce the guilt of luxury spending by allowing them to "give back." Particularly the venerable patrician brands understand that it is their "duty" to give back and encourage the same in their customers.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A Lesson in Selling Luxury

The New York Times reports that: "in 2009, sales of wines priced at $25 and above dropped 30 percent nationwide." That would explain why Trader Joe's now sells excellent Reserve wines under their own label.

The article investigates what the wineries are doing to survive: "Try the Red: Napa Learns to Sell." Winemakers that have traditionally concentrated on making the very best wines, are now learning that a robust sales focus is becoming a requirement in the struggle to survive in this economy.

Like every other product on the market, a certain quality and sophistication of product is now a given...the emphasis is now on marketing and sales.

Consumer perception vs environmental realities

New Scientist has a fascinating interactive chart on consumer perception vs. the environmental realities of companies in various sectors of the economy. Some companies seem to be good at marketing what is not reality, and others are missing an opportunity.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Presentation is Paramount

Exactly 4 days after I discovered the video of Alexander McQueen's crazy Spring-Summer 2010 fashion show he committed suicide. Fashion week in New York was upon us, and his death made everyone pay even more attention than usual to fashion. Now we can all have front row seats online at the biannual fashion shows, and I have to admit to indulging in some of them.

While I know that
Calvin Klein is a true minimalist, I love his home fashions, but I found it interesting that I just couldn't be bothered to sit through his fashion show. It was so minimalist, there was not even music to distract from the "fashion" - just the tap, tap, tapping of feet. And the clothes were so austere, they could even be updated nun's habits.

The contrast with the McQueen show cannot be overstated, the Calvin Klein show reminded me of the Audi ad at the Super Bowl - taking oneself too seriously is not good business in the current economic climate when offering luxury goods. Offering a little fantasy is not a bad thing - so sad that McQueen is no longer around to invite us into his fantasies - bizarre as they were...but we paid attention and wanted a small piece of it!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Cheap plastic/Well designed too!

A few years ago, I replaced my cheap plastic colander with a classic metal one, while it is attractive, I never use it. It is clunky, heavy and awkward to use. Now the old cheap plastic one is so beat up that I am afraid that it harbors germs. In my recent trip to Target, I found a solution - another cheap plastic one that also happens to be beautiful.

It really doesn't take that much to delight me and I found this simple threesome of colanders designed by
Michael Graves to be just delightful. There are truly few things these days that are this inexpensive, functional and attractive at the same time. As I have said before, companies that I have worked for in the past do not believe in making inexpensive things beautiful. Seeing this on my counter is a simple pleasure that puts a smile on my face, and anyone involved with interior finish products would do well to ask themselves: Do my products put a smile on my customers' faces?


Of course, it could just be that in the dead of the New England winter, the fresh grass green makes me think of spring and warmer weather hopefully to come soon.

Design Influences for fashion and home


Not having seen the last screen on the video, I rushed to the nearest Target store to the see the "
Liberty of London" Collection. You can imagine my disappointment when it was not yet in the store. I was anxious to see it because I noted in my trend report that influences were leading to classic designs, floral patterns and oversize scale. The Liberty store is always one of my first stops on any trip to London This is how the producing agency describes this collection on the youtube.com site: "Outrageously intricate Liberty patterns are featured on the fashion and home décor or inside the garden, becoming truly iconic through the use of oversized scale and giving the viewer a look at the products in a uniquely modern way."

My trip was not wasted, a trip to Targee is always an object lesson in design. The cheap-looking bizarre Goth remnants of the Rodarte collection were in evidence on various racks - this collection was certainly no replacement for the successful and on-target Isaac Mizrahi Collection. In his collection of several years ago, Mizrahi took simple tees and gave them a neckline that took them out of the ordinary - mading them fresh and special. Each of his pieces updated classics with a simple tweak. That is good design for the Target market - as a matter-of-fact that is a philosophy that works for any market. Most consumers don't want to look like those oddballs coming down the runway, nor do they want to look as dowdy as this week's killer professor.


The Rodarte Collection rather reminded me of the baby collection that
Philippe Starck designed for Target several years ago - just simply wrong. There is more to the design process than simply hiring a "big name" and thinking that is enough, the consumer is amazingly design savvy these days
...yes, that includes the Target customer. I predict that the Liberty of London Collection will be successful because it beautifully taps into today's zeitgeist.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

New Operating System for the 21st Century

Good bye to the carrot and stick approach to all but the simplest work taste. In this TED talk Daniel Pink makes a strong scientific case for intrinsic, not extrinsic motivation in the workplace. As our society moves from brawn to brain work, from repetitive to creative work, employers will be wise to pay attention.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Food for Thought

I'm getting a really slow start into this new year, but I recently found some inspiration. Seth Godin, the innovator, writer, and blogger, invited 70 other innovators, writers, and bloggers to share in a project he called What Matters Now. Each selected a single word to riff on - it really got me going! Above is one of my favorite pages.

What to do when headlines and facts don't match

We all want to put the most positive light on the current economic climate, but does it serve a purpose or only serve to confuse us all? There are many who think the continued weak conditions are brought on by the air of uncertainty that exists throughout the economy.

A recent Kitchen and Bath Industry house organ's headline reads
"Recovery in the Air as 2009 Comes to Close" while their own projections for 2010 on the same page show 2010 to be down a further approx. $1.5B from 2009 in small print.


Until economic signals from credible sources are more clear, the uncertainty will continue to stalemate the economy.

Revisiting with Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi

It is the new year, and after being reminded of Massimo Vignelli, I am taking the time to revisit with all the people that have had an impact on my own thinking in the past.

One of those people is Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi. I heard him speak about his company's "Lovemarks" at a branding conference a few year's ago. He had his finger on the pulse of the consumer then, as he does now in an
interview about his current thinking. He especially understands our "relationships" and the ever expanding one that we have with our family of screens.

What is most important is how he see sustainability, not as a grand expensive government-run scheme, but something that each of us can embrace by doing one thing at a time. He introduces Saachi's latest campaign DOT - do one thing in this short interview which introduces Kevin Roberts sensible and down-to-earth approach to creating a "better world."

How long does it take for design ideas to travel?

Like anything else in life, the travel of design ideas and products can be rather serendipitous. Luck, timing and the right alignment of people play a great part. I revisited this thought because I just ran into my favorite product that I discovered in the Passagen section of Design Week in Cologne in the winter of 2002 on 3rings a contemporary product blog for design and architecture. The original designed by Tilo Gnausch, that I saw in a gallery was shown free-floating directly against a mirror. The "Ammonite" sink is indeed a magnificent piece of sculpture, I’m surprised it took this long to make it across the pond.

The sink is made of concrete and distributed by
Bagno Sasso. In Cologne, the original design was in basalt and was paired with a simple but stunning basalt shower. While the sink took 8 years to be noticed in the American market, basalt became an important interior finish material within just a few years. Currently, the sink is also available in what appears to be Blue Jura Limestone, but it is hard to tell from the pictures. Actually it is not clear to me that it is even available, as the supplier is Swiss - maybe someone just saw a picture of it and wanted to blog about it.

Basalt took off here within 2-3 years, but the sink - I still don't have an answer to my own question of "How long?"

Monday, February 8, 2010

Confusing Messages at the Builder Show

Peter Miller, president of Restore Media, the folks that bring us the Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference and a roster of magazines on restoration reports on this year's International Builders' Show on his website. He learned that consumers "want smaller, urban, energy-efficient homes. They want them well appointed and within walking distance to work, schools, shops and restaurants. They want houses in close-in neighborhoods. And while they crave new technologies, especially work-at-home connectivity, they prefer houses 'like the one their grandmother lived in.'"

He has an interesting, realistic and dispassionate take on the show that is well worth reading. He concludes with the thought that,
"The 'reset button' is on. We are all trying to figure out what to do next amidst the conflicting, often contradictory advice we get from the experts. We start a new decade as uncertain as the last. We are afraid because we do not know what's next or what to do about it."

Designing for Sustainability

I ran across a video of Massimo Vignelli giving a presentation in the Heller showroom, sad to say, it was difficult to understand Mr. Vignelli, but I was reminded of the time he gave a presentation at the Cooper Hewitt Museum and the audience didn't care what he said - we were so mesmerized by his charm. He is of course a designer's designer, but what is most impressive about his work is how well it has stood up over the years. He embodies the true spirit of sustainability.

Think American Airlines and Knoll branding and the brochures for our National Parks - his work is both lasting and has lasting impact on our visual landscape. He shares his personal vision of design in a book The Vignelli Canon which is available to read online.

He shares concepts so appropriate for our current economic climate:
"We are definitively against any fashion of design

and any design fashion. We despise the culture of
obsolescence, the culture of waste, the cult of the
ephemeral. We detest the demand of temporary
solutions, the waste of energies and capital for the
sake of novelty.
We are for a Design that lasts, that responds to
people’s needs and to people’s wants. We are
for a Design that is committed to a society that
demands long lasting values. A society that earns
the benefit of commodities and deserves respect
and integrity."

Storytelling Wins and Culture Matters

The lovable geeks at Google win the ad Superbowl with their simple, charming and timeless story. At a time when all the fake science on "global warming is coming to light, the ever-so earnest Germans are ever-so tone deaf with their "green" Audi ad. Culture matters, and the Superbowl is about fun and escape from our everyday woes - no one wants to be reminded about the "plastic bag police" in the middle of their relaxation time. So another year has closed on the most innovative advertising that we will probably see all year. The men in skivvies amused, but really! ...And it wouldn't be the Superbowl without the heartwarming Clydesdale team or the crowd-sourced Doritos ads.

At the end of the day, what we remember most are the stories that engage and entertain us; in the time of global commerce, some stories are universal but getting the local culture right matters more than ever before.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Is this the future of product presentation?


Obviously with intent to shock, Alexander McQueen sent his Spring 2010 fashions down the runway with models in hoofs and hair contorted into antlers as complements to the skimpy dresses fashioned of shimmery reptilian prints. According to the designer, the look was to appear optimistically futuristic, but to me it was oddly ugly and depressing. As expected, the fashion press gushed over the hideous looks, the emperor's nakedness would have been an improvement. The youtube followers were admiring as well. Much more interesting were the comments on the Huffington Post, they were realistic and in line with what I would expect.

This is where the fun begins, the uncomplimentary Huffington Post comment pages (all 5 of them) were full of ads for Alexander McQueen products. This would never happen in the mainstream press - they serve only to compliment their current or future advertisers - snarkiness when allowed is only allowed as comic relief. On the internet, no one knows the difference - so there is both advertising revenue and straightforward public opinion. What a fun concept, but will it last?

But, it is the presentation that is so spectacular here and will be influential across all product marketing that has even a whiff of fashion attached to it. This was truly (what we called in the sixties) a happening the day it was put on and continues to be that on the internet both with commentary and without.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

What's Next?

If your business has survived the recent economic bust you have excellent systems in place and the competitors that did not survive allow you to pursue a bigger piece of the pie. But with the almost total bust in housing starts that will not be enough – you must be in tune with the spirit of the times. Like fashion, interior finishes must respond to short-term trends while remaining attractive over the long term at the same time.


Despite the recent up tick in GDP, in the last year, everything has changed – especially how the consumer looks at the world. There is the obvious move towards value at every consumer level; caution will continue to prevail. In the past you could simply anchor your offerings with a top of the line item and people would comfortably drop down to what was still a luxury priced item. This marketing technique is no longer valid today.


Trend reports are snapshots that look at all aspects of the influences in order to give you the lay of the land that will influence purchases, there are no mysteries in these influences nor do I offer 10 magic trends or 4 esoteric concepts. When this economy does turn around, it will be gingerly with that cautious, maybe even a little scared customer that still continues to have needs and wants. Even designers are reporting that their clients are afraid to do anything other than to paint their walls “near white.” Resale value is foremost in the consumer’s mind at this time. But that begs the question: Must I do more than offer the basics to get through these economic times?


You must, simply because tomorrow’s customer comes to you with a new set of expectations and constraints. You must take a look into that unknown in order to thrive.

This report will look at what lies on the horizon – what will influence the end user of interior finishes. Three of the trends are simple common sense ideas – not new –but they are newly important moving forward, and will manifest just a little differently than they have in the past. The 4th trend is the emphasis on geometry – the aesthetic perspective on technology. You may not have to focus on this in product offering, but it is a way to stay in tune with the designer market and is a trend that can be used in marketing across your entire customer base so that you present a fresh and on-trend look.


At Coverings in 2006, I discussed the proliferation of choices and the need for product editing - that is even truer today. The iPhone has 140,000 apps, but the average phone has installed only 5 and uses less than that. At what point do you trust the crowd-sourcing of your past sales and when do you move your product mix forward? The simple concepts presented in this report are universal, rather than specific and designed to help guide you in that quiet reflective moment when you ask yourself: “What’s next?”


The report is almost finished, so let me know if you wish to be on the distribution list.




Friday, February 5, 2010

WHO WON? Campbell's Soup / Project Runway

The blogosphere has just begun to have their fun with the coupling of Campbell's Soup and Project Runway. As entertainment goes, I miss the full body tattoo's, fierceness and great designs of previous year's show. But enough about that, I want to look at how the episode fared as a branding experience for the folks in NJ.

Sad to say, as this is Superbowl weekend, the Campbell's Soup ad was the best part of the show. (Campbell's soup +1, Project Runway -1)


Do corporate marketing types ever know when to stop? Was simple product placement not enough? Sorry, demanding that the designers incorporate the tacky Campbell's Soup fabric into their designs was in no way reminiscent of Andy Warhol. I hate to be snarky myself here, but does being headquartered in NJ automatically make one tacky and tasteless. (Campbell's soup -1)


And now we know, designers only know how to design for size "0" 18 year-olds. No wonder the fashion industry is in trouble. We "normal" size woman can't find anything flattering because no one knows how to design for us. (Project Runway -1)


All that hype about hearts, and Campbell's Soups did nothing but remind me that Campbell's soup tastes no better than it ever did and is still as salty.(Campbell's soup -1)


Despite some bloggers taking offense, the coupling of the Heart Association, Cambell's Soup and Project Runway was a winning move for all involved . (Campbell's soup +1, Project Runway +1, Heart Association +1)


And the only winner - the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" campaign, with the support of Project Runway and Campbell's.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Nanopool Product Demonstration

This material holds promise as a sealer for a variety of building materials. At this point, it is only available in Europe.