The RedBall Project

Posted on September 9, 2008

Kurt Perschke is creating a one man revolution about awareness, art…and how adding a bit of absurdity into our daily “public” lives can free us up to think about what it means to PLAY (and why we may be holding back).  Perschke’s 250 lb inflatable ball has made an impact on humans as far afield as Portland, OR and Sidney, Australia.  Well…(drumroll)……The RedBall project has come come to Chicago.  Check it out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you do search out the ball, play close attention to how others interact with it.  They tell me that kids tend to “dive in” and bound into, touch, squeeze and laugh about the piece…whereas  many adults seem to try to ignore it.  

 What does that say about our license to “play”?

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.

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