Clawing Out A Unique Experience

Posted on September 2, 2008

How do you transform the speculative (and rapidly disappearing) craft of lobstering into a uniquely profitable experience?  Take one part Nantucket Nectars, two parts Vineyard Vines, add a pinch of You Tube add the personality of a blog, a bit of gambling and a dollup of Community…and presto, you’ve got Catch A Piece Of Maine.

For $3,000 you get a lobster trap for the year…and everything that it hauls in.  You pick the captain you want to “team up with”…and you are off.  They promise you a minimum of 52 lobsters…but what you get is a unique taste of The Experience Economy and a lesson in the power of a value added business model.

Seth Godin would be so proud.

From video clips from your captain, to maps that show the location of your trap on that particular day, to “all the fixins”, these two brothers have created a niche business that is built less upon overnight seafood delivery (there are a number of Maine companies who do that) and more about “getting your feet wet” in a unique industry that takes place in a special part of the country.

Finally, this approach increases affinity for and awareness of an industry that is under fire.  A number of factors from climate change to “over lobstering” have pushed this craft to the brink.  Catch A Piece of Maine is not just a fascinating “change the game” approach to the lobster business, but it just also may help bring positive waves of change to an evaporating American craft business.

Nobby Lobby

Posted on August 28, 2008

While working on our skate project, we stumbled upon The Ghetto–an former love hotel in Japan that was converted into a micro skate mecca complete with a bar, skate shops, and a ramp in the lobby.  The aesthetic is all street…and the logo was designed by Keith Richards.

Photos courtesy of Pingmag.  

(If you get the chance, Pingmag is worth a look)

Clown Tag

Posted on August 12, 2008

Banksy this is not.  That said, it did make me smile.  Perhaps that was precisely the clown’s intent.

Graffitti fascinates me.  It seems to exist in the perfect intersection of authenticity, art, culture and belief.

 

note: I came across this on a site that is a favorite of Tracy Jones’ www.ffffound.com

 

Comical Politics

Posted on August 12, 2008

There is nothing funny about a normal “joe” trying to run for office.  Especially after potential-candidate Sean Tevis learned that he would need $26,000 to even have a shot at besting the Republican incumbent.

Tevis’ creative solution relied on three things we admire…

1. Creativity

2. Ingenuity

3. Authenticity

The “game” is changing.  

But a handful of new politicos like Tevis and Obama are leveraging it to make movements and forge a new political reality.

Where politics goes from here is exciting to ponder.

Photos Make Good Neighbors

Posted on August 12, 2008

NPR today recounted how the Hello Neighbor project leverages photography and the curiosity of children to break down the fears, prejudices and divides that exist among those who live in a rapidly gentrifying section of Portland, Oregon.  

Photo journalist Julie Keefe’s vision was not just successfully executed…it is an example of one person doing something truly significant.

 

Microsoft Combats Bad Vista Word-of-Mouth with The Mohave Experiment!

Posted on August 7, 2008

In the wake of overwhelmingly negative consumer sentiment regarding Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft decided to reach out to consumers to see what was going wrong.  What they found was that many people had extremely negative views of Vista…without ever using the product.  So Microsoft conducted an experiment.  They set out to see how people would feel about experiencing Microsoft Vista if they had no preconceived notions of the product.  Thus, The Mohave Experiment was born!

Microsoft sat down with dozens of computer users to give them a “preview” of the latest Microsoft OS called “Microsoft Mohave”.  First, they asked consumers for their overall impressions of Microsoft Vista and, unsurprisingly, consumers gave resoundingly negative feedback.  However, none of the consumers that they interviewed had ever used Microsoft Vista.  

The team from Microsoft then told consumers that they had a new operating system that they wanted to share with them and showed each consumer a new Microsoft OS called “Microsoft Mohave”.  Overall consumer impressions of “Microsoft Mohave” were extremely positive and many respondents stated that they would certainly adopt this new OS.  After hearing each consumer’s feedback, Microsoft then broke the news…”Microsoft Mohave” was actually Microsoft Vista!

With The Mohave Experiment, Microsoft was able to show that preconceived notions of Vista were keeping consumers from adopting their latest OS and combat negative word-of-mouth with authentic consumer experiences. By making numerous positive consumer reactions to Microsoft Vista available to the world, Microsoft has set out to reset negative consumer perceptions of Microsoft Vista. The question is…will the world tune in to see for themselves? Check out The Mohave Experiment at www.themohaveexperiment.com

Keeping Up With The Time

Posted on July 29, 2008

I am intrigued by the power of opening up one’s platform to the world of programming talent out there.  The results are impressive as both the flood of applications for Facebook and Iphone have proven.

One example of the fruits of this strategy is the Emerald Chronograph (Iphone’s App Store Pick of the Week).

Here is how they describe it…

Watch collectors, astronomers, and those who simply admire a beautiful feat of engineering have been waxing enthusiastic over the Emerald Chronometer. A $4.99 application, Emerald Chronometer models seven “high-end mechanical watches,” offering such “complications” as sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, longitude, latitude, and others.

In short, this $5 app turns your Iphone into a fancy, mechanical watch.  Why wouldn’t a high-end watch company want to take advantage of this technology as a viral marketing play?  The team behind the app is right here. All that one would have to do is…call?

It is certainly an interesting way to get those who are “saving up” to have a small taste of the real thing. And, even better, it is a constant reminder that the “real thing” is out there waiting for you when you do want to drop the $3-6K on a really nice watch.

Just a thought.

Tapping A Movement

Posted on July 25, 2008

Rarely is there a “big idea” that really is a BIG IDEA.  BIG IDEAS are rare.  And more often than not, they come from small places.  We like BIG IDEAS…almost as much as we love small places.

See this video case study of how Unicef tapped Droga5 to ignite a true MOVEMENT that just may save the world (or at least a couple of million people).

If you don’t get goose bumps…you are cold as ice (water).

 

 

 

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