The Naked Blog

The Velocity of Business

One of the things we're noticing about work today is that the expectations of when projects need to be completed (NOW!!) and how long work is expected to take to get from brief to completion (NOW!). It's no longer enough to say, we'll need a week or we'll need some time. Economic pressures, business realities and the need to drive sales NOW!! have forced companies like ours (and anyone in a service business for that matter) to adapt. It's not warp speed. It's hyper-warp speed.

And one of the biggest mistake companies in the service business can make is to compare themselves to others in their business as a point of  reference. 

"If every other company like ours takes a week, then we have a week." Wrong. 

It's wrong because that's not what you're being compared against. The frame of reference has changed.

We recently ordered a USB power adapter for an iphone from the apple.ca web site. Cost us about $40.

We ordered it just after midnight on March 12. It arrived in our office on March 13. But what was more astounding was the rout it took to get here; Started in China, went to Hong Kong, then to Alaska, then to Newark, then to Mississauga and then to our office in downtown Toronto. In one day. And did we mention, the shipping was free? 

Obviously, shipping a product from a warehouse is different than delivering an idea or a creative solution to a problem. But, as the rules of the game change and companies like FedEx, Amazon, Apple, Zappos and others continue to raise the bar, how will your company adapt to the new speed of business?

"I see what you mean..."

We can argue for days about the role the media is playing in accelerating the fears people have about the current economy. Negative headlines & stories abound but journalists remain devout in fanning the flames  ("The news isn't good." one scribe was quoted as saying, "What do you want us to do, write about stuff that isn't true?" - no, but there are two ways to look at a glass of water; half full or half empty.). All the good news seems to be buried or glossed over ("AT&T to add 3,000 jobs" "RIM bringing on new workers") but the net take away is that people are scared, uncertain and fearful.

But this post isn't about that. 

This is about how visual thinking can sometimes help people understand better things that they have trouble grasping. Like the economy.

 

Here's a very good web site which has captured a number of visual representations of the current crisis. Maybe when you see information presented visually instead of a just headline, it'll make you feel better. Or not.

Is This The Best You Can Do?

The folks from GM (and Chrysler) have been in Washington DC talking to Congress about hand outs to help them survive. We can forever debate the pros and cons as to whether the government should be in come to town and tell them why you need the money, what you'll do with it,   how you won't blow it God help you - this time you mean it -you'll never do this again and on and on and on, couldn't they have done better than this????

All the money they spend non innovating the car business you'd think someone in head office could've hired a presentation coach or someone with an eye for communication.

Charts, graphs, bullet points,lots and lots and lots of copy and only one that had a photo of a car in it. 

Can't imagine being on the receiving  end of this presentation, and we can't confirm it but apparently this guy was in the front row.

Think Different

Clients (and friends) often ask us what we do that's different from an ad agency, PR company or design studio. The short answer is that in a world where businesses fight, scratch and claw for a competitive advantage, we develop ideas and creative solutions to help them get noticed and communicate with their constituents in whatever form is appropriate. That's a business advantage. 

Maybe it is an ad campaign. But it's an ad campaign that does something or looks completely different. 

Or maybe it's creating an event to generate awareness. Or developing a documentary film. Or a web site that doesn't look like any other web site in cyberspace. We want clients who want to think differently about how they go to market.

And on that note, here's a great story from Ad Age on some clients who are thinking differently about Marketing.

The Science of PowerPoint

Many people have commented on how ineffective PowerPoint can be as a presentation program. ( or it's more robust, better designed Mac brethren Keynote)
We don't share in that sentiment. David Byrne of Talking Heads helped to prove that PowerPoint, when applied properly, can be an effective communication tool. It's not the tool that's the problem, it's how the tool is used.

We're in the business of Communication Design- that is helping our clients communicate in whatever form is required. Sometimes that even involves designing presentations and tools to speak with different audiences.

Here are some of our beliefs:
1. It's called PowerPoint, not PowerPoints, for a reason- what is the one point you are trying to communicate?
2. Here's the key: The majority of what you put on each slide should be in the Notes section. Guy Kawasaki uses his 10/20/30 rule. The slide below is another way to combine key points and an engaging image that helps sell the point. If it reads like an eye chart your audience will tune it out.
3. Don't read your slide. You are story telling. What's your story?
4. Use Visual imagery to communicate your point (once again, 'A Picture is Worth 100 Words'....are you getting our theme here? See post below - Visual Newspapers)

On that last point, here comes the science: Stephen M. Kosslyn, a Harvard cognitive scientist studies how brains process imagery. He's got four ways to make your presentations more 'human brain compliant'. He uses 4 rules; The Goldilocks Rule, The Rudolph Rule, The Rule of Four, and the Birds of Feather Rules.

A good, simple read for anyone who presents as part of their job.

Visual Newspapers

We believe wholeheartedly in the adage "A picture is worth a 1000 words".
We live in a visual culture. The world moves in :20 second video clips. We don't read anymore, we watch.
In an industry that has survived for the most part from the printed word, how has the newspaper industry evolved?
Take a look at the Award Winning newspaper designs from around the world. See how visual they have become.
And not just pictures either. Notice how the design is more refined, the layouts more open, using typography to communicate. Fantastic stuff.
Many have predicted the death of newspapers; but the combination of bold, adventurous visual design along with a movement to digital delivery, (which no one newspaper has quite figured out yet) spell survival for the companies creative enough to stay ahead of the game.

Less is More

Finally, someone has done a study, the results of which should be sent to every client, every agency, every person who wants to do be more effective with their customers.
Their test subjects had only a little bit of information about a product, then tried it and liked what they tried. If they had more information about it, they liked it less.
"The less you know about a product, the easier it is to engage in wishful thinking," the study said.

This has to be the same for marketing and communications. We sell aspiration and hope. If we keep the copy and clutter to a minimum, our customers can fill in the blanks, and research says it's probably better that way.
I once read a great quote from Bill Bernbach that went something like this: Advertising is the art of removing things. Couldn't agree more.

How To Do Service

Yesterday, I read a research report by Accenture stating that "....customers' expectations of service are on the rise and companies are not keeping up."
Then today at lunch time it hit home. I was in line at Best Buy buying 4 ink cartridges for a printer. Found them in two and a half minutes and then waited 35 minutes in line to pay. When I got to the cashier, the manager asked me if I found everything I was looking for???? Yes, I did but I found it frustrating to have to wait 35 minutes to pay. "We're always busy here at lunch time" she told me.
Got a similar response at a Foot Locker store just before Christmas trying to buy size 10 Timberlands for my son. "We're all out of size 10's. We always run out because it's a popular size." I was told.

Maybe it's just me but if you know it's going to be busy at lunch time, might you hire more people to handle the rush??? Or open more than 2 cash registers?? If you know size 10 is popular, wouldn't you just double up on the size 10 order??? Seems pretty simple.

What's this got to do with communication design you ask?
I've had the opinion for years that we're in both the idea business (our product) and the service business (our product delivery) And though the service part may never win you business, it's one of the major reasons you lose a piece of business.
So, when we're asked in new business pitches to "....meet the people who will be working on our business" we don't do that. We can't. Because we don't know what you need yet. We don't know if you need 3 of these and 2 of these. Or four of these. And we don't want to disappoint. Because we know your expectations are high (and Accenture confirmed it). We want to make sure we have the Naked equivalent of more than 2 cashiers working for you when you need them.
We live in a time when FedEx can deliver a package around the world in less than 24 hours. When a phone at every Fairmont Hotel will be answered in fewer than 3 rings. Where the on line shoe company Zappos sent a customer flowers after hearing of his mother's untimely death and then he told the world about it. Those are pretty high service benchmarks. And that's what anyone who delivers service as part of their offering is being compared to.