Archive for May, 2008

This will be short and sweet…HackAttack 2008 has officially come to an end.

Lessons learned:  we have an incredible support team here at Voco.  It’s a blessing to deal with a crisis with laughter, strategy, and relative calm instead of falling into a chasm of panic, defeat, and frustration.  Definitely one for the record books, though.

What’s the latest crisis you’ve averted?  I’d love to know.

Apple.  So I don’t really encounter too many issues in dealing with lust.  But walking into an apple store is pornography for me.  I almost can’t control myself, so find myself avoiding it when I can because the temptation is far to great for me.  But sneaking into my awareness lately as been the lust for an iphone.  And cursing the day they decided to exclusively go with AT&T and cursing Sprint for being so shortsighted.

So being sucked in hook, line, and sinker by all things Apple, I have been on the look out for a product, initially an all inclusive product, that will be all things.  Phone, Calendar, Mail, browsing, camera, mp3 player, as well as some storage.  The iPhone seems to fit the bill.  The thing is i can’t stand AT&T.  And I looked into an unlocked iPhone, not quite perfect.  So am starting to look into the iPod Touch.

I love the feel of it, i love the look of it.  I love the simplicity of it.  Full on lust. Now if I can just control myself for a few months, and maybe a new version will come out that will perfect simplicity.  Erin, hold me back. 

But on the other hand it would make me more creative, according to an independent study which would be a benefit to all involved.

When Juli and I started Voco, we knew that work-life balance needed to be a top priority.  It’s hard to serve your clients with the passion and attention to detail they deserve when you are working 90-hour weeks.  It’s also hard to just step away from the computer, especially when you work at home or at odd hours.

I’m still in the process of achieving the perfect balance, but I think I’m well on my way. Here are seven of the top ways I’ve managed to achieve a relatively sane work-life balance:

1.  Intention, intention, intention: Balance can’t be achieved without getting clear on what you want, how it looks, and why you’re pursuing it in the first place.

2.  Cultivate healthy boundaries: This has become my mantra in both personal and work arenas.  I serve myself and my clients better when I have distinct boundaries as to time, scope of project, and ways in which I am contacted.  This means milestones, deadlines, and clear expectations.

3.  Enforce: It’s not fun to draw a line in the sand.  After all, nobody likes to break out of the “nice guy” mold, even when it means sticking up for yourself.  Still, boundaries are useless without diligent and kind enforcement.

4.  Play: One of the many reasons I quit my corporate job was because there was no sense of passion, fun, or levity.  If I recreate that in my own company, I’m defeating the whole purpose.  I take regular breaks to play, read gossip rags, and joke with my business partner.  This is a non-negotiable part of my job.

5.  Forgive yourself: I joke that I’m a recovering striver.  Years at a top-tier women’s college and with top-tier ambitions will do that to you.  Unfortunately, my perfectionist and people-pleasing tendencies won me a big fat case of anxiety, anger, and self-flagellation.  Today, I try to forgive myself for the long to-do list and my many failures in business.  Work without guilt is one step closer to being in balance.

6.  Disconnect: Everyone has their guilty pleasure.  For me, it’s an afternoon or evening away from the computer with one of my favorite books from childhood.  Add a hot bath, some tea, and the sounds of my partner puttering around the house, and you have a less stressed Erin.  Taking a break from the wired life can seem counter-intuitive when you want to get stuff done, but I’ve found that in the long run it leads to more energy when it’s time to get real.

7.  Re-evaluate and don’t be afraid to tweak: I like to check in with myself when I’m stressed and re-prioritize my to-dos.  I ask myself questions like why does this feel icky?  Is this really necessary?  What can I delegate?  What can I change?  We are all works in progress.  Constant vigilance and some gentle changes can help to keep work-life balance on track.

I attended the awesome Colorado Capital Conference in Denver today (and topped off the evening with a raucous night of networking with Naturally Boulder, an amazing coalition of people involved in Boulder’s vibrant natural products scene).

At Dave Taylor’s excellent marketing 2.0 session, there was a bit of friendly banter about buzzwords and “buzzword bingo” that got me thinking on one of my pet peeves.

One of the marketing world’s biggest mistakes (and most tempting pitfalls) is its reliance on the buzzword du jour.  “Interface,” “outside the box,” “tipping point,” “upmarket,” “bandwidth”…excuse me while my eyes glaze over.

Maybe it’s just the writer in me (and that copy of Strunk & White that’s burned into my brain), but I ascribe to the philosophy that if you can’t explain it in plain English, you shouldn’t be selling it.  That goes for products and services.  After all, customers are human first.  There’s a reason creepy sales people refer to “warm bodies”…because that’s what we are, first and foremost.

Bottom line: if you can’t say it in comprehensible English, should you really be saying it at all?

Target.  It is almost enough said.  To be, as a designer, consistently amazed by their genius is astounding. Their commercials, not only culturally relevant, but also culturally defining.  Which is always one of my goals as a designer, to not just ride the wave, but to make the wave.  At the end of the day if one could strip away all of the great advertising, it is not too different than a glorified K-Mart.  Actually though, it breaks down in that comparison.  I think the only way I could compare Target to K-Mart is the general offering of goods and store layout.  This is because Target has been so conscientious to bring a higher level of quality to each of it’s products, but not just quality, but affordable, higher-quality, knock offs, of say Pottery Barn, or Williams-Sonoma.  So everyone can have the Restoration Hardware look for less.  Which is brilliant in the day and age where new college graduates want the type of house their parents have, fully decorated, without the income to support it.  Now they can have it.  Genius!  Go free market and consumerism.  But you can feel good about yourself while buying all of life’s necessities at Target, because they give back to the community and the local schools.  

I think the truest test of their effective marketing/branding is ask any woman if she likes Target.

I am very tactile, I love how paper feels, how packaging reflects the light. And I have a question that fleetingly runs through my head. Does the packaging match the product, does it reflect the same goals as everything else about the branding? With Aveda, the question is barely there because the answer is a resounding yes. From the smooth, non-glossy paper packaging to the brushed metal look of the lipstick tube, it gives off the impression of a organic, herbal, and environmentally conscious company.

As of right now, I am not sure why brushed metal gives that impression, but it does. My theory is that it just isn’t glossy. Which reminds us a bit of the 80s. Glossy and high color and nothing natural. And brushed metal is the look of the future, literally the Bill and Ted future, but take away the glossy. This brushed look evokes calm, and purpose, and restraint. And now I am making myself giggle, because I am waxing eloquent about a lipstick tube and a Bill and Ted future. Thursday here I come.

Kohler.

They make you forget they are selling faucets, but rather investing in a work of art. All of the sudden it is a must have, high-end seeming product.

Never do they mention affordable art, because at that point it cheapens the product. Instead, they pull it off as high-end, but the sheer number of ads they have in magazines and on TV betray the idea that they are in fact marketing for the general populace.

The picture on the right is a brilliant piece of advertising. Of course, I am trying to figure out where to put a Kohler faucet in my already finished house. I feel as if I need one to be the chic, downtown urbanite I claim to be.

The cynics among us like to point out that all holidays outside of Christmas and Easter were manufactured by the card companies and florists to rob us blind and empty our bank accounts, increasing the hellish commute we’ll face when we need to walk uphill both ways to the poorhouse in our twilight years.

Seeing as Mother’s Day is this Sunday (and reading news articles like this one about anticipated spending on flowers, gifts, and cards for Mom), I’ve started to wonder if it’s a manufactured holiday, too.

Turns out it is…but not for the reasons you might think.

Apparently Mother’s Day is a combination of two traditions…the one pushed by Anne Marie Jarvis, who wanted to celebrate her mother after that woman’s death, and Julia Ward Howe (think “Battle Hymn of the Republic”), who used a mother’s holiday as a way to organize women around issues of pacifism and disarmament.  For years, Mother’s Day was known as a working-class holiday celebrating peace, safety, and health.  Only during World War II did this holiday gain popularity, perhaps due to its sentimentality in a time of war.

Though Jarvis wanted Mother’s Day to be about “sentiment, not profit,” her message has been co-opted by savvy marketers looking to cash in on parental devotion.  Nowadays, it’s rare to meet someone who remembers the true focus of the first Mother’s Days in this country.

When you’re buying those flowers or mailing that card to Mom this year, stop and think for a second about the true origins of this holiday.  What can we learn from the co-opting of Mother’s Day?  It can’t be all bad…after all, most mothers are unsung heroes of some variety.  Still, the authentic origins of Mother’s Day feel a bit more real and relevant than a holiday meant for random cards and obligatory gifts.  Maybe it’s time to re-hybridize Mother’s Day, turning it into a celebration of the women who bore us and the universal rights and values of all children.

Every once in a while a product comes along that baffles, confounds, and makes branding folk salivate. The beyond-hot, beyond-prized, beyond-fun Nintendo Wii is one such product, and it definitely makes the grade for What Works Mondays here at Voco Creative.

First of all, as someone whose video game mojo never seemed to transcend the original NES or Sega Dreamcast, I wasn’t sure any modern-day console could make up for my lack of skills. I’m more into loopy, fantastical graphics and hysterical laughter than blood-soaked first-person shooters, and many more modern games make me woozy with their rotating cameras and fast-paced action.

The people at Nintendo must have been listening to the internal angst of women everywhere when they came up with the Wii. First, they made something that’s sleeker and more visually appealing than anything on the run-of-the-mill entertainment stand (unless you are Juli Dimos, who has made great strides in Mac-ifying her life). The Wii is slim, white, and discreet. Its controller is downright brilliant (a “Wiimote” that can be flipped, shaken, wielded like a sword or fishing rod…the list goes on). And its games have managed to bridge the crucial gender and age gaps that make the video game market so inaccessible.

But what really makes Wii work? Simple: Nintendo created a product that wasn’t just impeccably branded, but was in insanely short supply when it first made its way to American shelves. If you’ve been in the United States for the past year and half, you’ve doubtless heard some friend or family member bemoan the empty shelves in their local superstore.

The international Wii shortage may have been accidental, but it was a stroke of marketing genius. By becoming known as the red-hottest, most-in-demand console of all time, the Wii has achieved a remarkable level of public awareness in a very short period of time. It can command a relatively ridiculous price for new games and accessories, and it continues to push the envelope with games that allow collaboration between players of all ages, locations (it has a great online system that works for free via WiFi), and genders.

I’m not sure if Carmen Electra’s Wii pole dancing will take off any time soon, but I can tell you right now that Wii’s combination of accessibility and tantalizing unavailability will make games like Mario Kart Wii and WiiFit fly off the shelves.

Boulder is a pretty gorgeous place, but one of its treasures is the swanky St. Julien Hotel, which combines a metropolitan vibe with an amazing view of the Flatirons. The Voco crew got to enjoy that view — and amazing interactions with local women — at today’s NewYou Expo presented by we2e.

We were lucky enough to help plan the Expo along with a gang of inspired female entrepreneurs.  The event was all about transformation (Voco participated in whole-life makeovers for some of the lucky winners) and empowerment.  We contributed to the mix by handling registration (thanks, Heather, for lending us your amazing interns!) and presenting a standing-room-only presentation called Branding Boot Camp.

Armed with some fabulous shoes by You By Crocs (Erin chose the fuschia ones you see on the right), a list of fearless questions, and a wealth of information about branding and marketing, we helped 40 plus women start to understand what goes into a personal brand.  It was great to interact with the participants, answer their questions, hear about who and what inspires them, and see them well on their way to creating a signature style.

Add to that a gala celebration, gourmet tater tots, the presence of other female business owners and a fabulous wrap-up/rap session at Pasta Jay’s, and it was a Sunday well-spent.