experience matters

Skittles re-designed its website when they realized that social media isn’t all rainbows. Adweek and Fast Company weigh in on Skittles’ experiment with social media.

Business Week published a special report on the Value of Design this past week. A couple of choice articles to check out include The Role of Design in Business and Why Design Matters.

Frontline recently aired a new documentary called Digital Nation that “explores what it means to be human in an entirely new world — a digital world”. They’ve created a companion web site containing tons of raw footage and rough cuts.

The lack of Flash support in the new iPad has spun up a bunch of conversation about HTML5 and how great it will be for mobile. While we’re on the topic, Vanessa Miemis has created an impressive round-up of various iPad perspectives.

Finally – in honor of Super Bowl XLIV – Fast Company dissects the new Super Bowl logo. They say that it’s “mean and bold, befitting of the nation’s manliest past time.

Sites of the Week

• Air Jordan 2010
• Lego Click
• I Am the Next Prius (Russia)

13 years old.  That is how old David Sills is.  He verbally committed to play quarterback at USC this week – in the year 2015.  Forget for a second that at 13 years old he is already six feet tall and obviously very athletic.  At that age, how can he have such a high level of understanding of the game?  If you watch this video you can hear the way the coach is talking to him about reading the safety and defensive coverage.  Really?  At 13?

So as we prepare for the Super Bowl this weekend, a game that includes arguably the greatest thinking quarterback to ever play, I asked myself what role the web, and associated digital environments might play in the development of a QB.  Yes, I stretched a bit to find a digital tie in but bear with me.  I’m not Bill Simmons.

I posted the link to that video on FB and Tim Schavitz of Critical Mass fame posted an article in Wired about the realism of video games, specifically Madden football.

“The many hundreds — even thousands — of hours that athletes put into videogame football give them more game experience than Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, or Joe Montana were able to log in previous eras.”

Gaming is now counted as “experience” for athletic training.

   When Peyton Manning was growing up, Tecmo Bowl    was the game of choice and I’m sure he and his    freakishly young looking brother played as much as    they could – that is when Archie wasn’t running them    through drills until two in the morning and not letting    them eat McDonald’s.  I believe its possible that    Peyton Manning will be able to read the Saints    defense on Sunday in part because he memorized    the 1989 Bears secondary on Tecmo Bowl.

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At Critical Mass, we are all celebrating World Nutella Day today. Just this week we announced our interactive agency of record status for Nutella Canada, so all of our offices are making of most of this delicious day! Bistro specials, Breakfast Bake-a-Thons and an office dressed all in Brown. We are all aflurry discussing our favorite hazelnut breakfast recipes and sharing them in our online Nutella community along with photos and fun.

Want to get in on this?
Vote below on your favorite way to enjoy this deliciously healthy breakfast spread. Or visit the community to chat up Ella Nutella and find the recipe for your own World Nutella Day celebration!

According to ABI Research, people spent approximately $1.6 billion via m-commerce last year. Consumers are increasingly using their mobile phones for financial transactions and there is no question that the opportunity is huge. But what is the best way to go about it? If you’ve surfed the mobile web, you’ve undoubtedly encountered some pretty terrible experiences.

So we set out to identify the best practices that make a mobile experience extraordinary. Why are sites such as m.espn, m.google, mobile.yelp, bbc.co.uk/mobile, mobile.nytimes, iphone.ebay, m.facebook so effective? What makes them almost as indispensable as our mobile phones themselves?

With such a diverse client roster, we’ve created mobile sites for retail, travel, banking and fashion. Though each client had distinct needs and business challenges to solve, clear patterns emerged and this post synthesizes our POV on the best ways to craft a mobile site experience.

The Insights
We took a look at how Google breaks down mobile users into 3 behavior groups: (A) Repetitive Now, (B) Bored Now and (C) Urgent Now. We outlined their similarities and differences. We also looked at how consumers use mobile for multi-channel retail. Here are some shared behaviors we uncovered:

• People usually have a goal.
• They’re doing something in real time.
• They’re looking for seamless experiences.
• They’re comfortable shopping online.

The problem is that most mobile experiences fail to deliver on these essential needs, especially for consumers on the go.  We’ve outlined a toolkit of mobile best practices to ensure that your mobile site delivers the value that consumers have come to expect.

Click Here for our 8 Best Practices in creating mobile sites

Originally posted at Experience Planner blog.

At first glance, the new Apple iPad doesn’t appear to be a game changer. Honestly? What it is, is an upgraded, tricked-out iPod Touch and in typical Apple fashion, they’ve focused on basic functionality the first time out. There is no camera, no HDMI, no USB – not without an adapter, at least – and it lacks multi-tasking.

Apple has created a low-risk product based on their existing technology. So unlike the Apple iPhone, there’s no new real technological or user experience innovation here (i.e., touchscreen tech and an application delivery channel in the form of the Apple App store). I can only assume that Apple created this device at a fraction of what it cost to research, develop and market the technology behind iPhone and iPod Touch.

That being said – I, for one, will be getting in line two months from now to pick up a 16gb Wifi iPad.

Personally, I really enjoy the touchscreen experience. I’ve been an iPhone user for over two years and I’ve craved a larger touchscreen experience for watching films, reading books and playing games while on the go (as I travel for work frequently). I get that now with the iPad and I’ll buy it because of that. Yes – I could have that with a small laptop or netbook, but neither of those device types are built for delivering a portable, high-end media experience.

Read More

Nearly two years ago, I wrote about Starbucks as a brand in decline. They were suffering because they had lost sight of what differentiated them from other companies competing for the “third place”: their product and the customer experience.

After years of focusing on cutting costs and driving efficiencies across their global footprint, the benefits of these activities plateaued in 2006 – as reflected in their all-time high stock price, just shy of $40.

They installed automatic espresso machines, introduced flavor lock packaging, ‘templatized’ store layouts and expanded their available selection of merchandise. While this all sounds good, it was implemented at the cost of the customer experience. The automatic espresso machines took all the romance and artistry out of pulling the perfect shot and the machines were so high that they blocked the line of sight between barista and customer. The flavor lock packages of coffee stripped the air of the rich scent of coffee beans. Stores became carbon copies of one another – sharing, for the most part, similar footprints and interior design. And their merchandise selection reflected a weakening focus on coffee.

By the time I wrote my post in 2007, Starbucks had lost 25% of its market capitalization. By the end of 2009, as bad as it was for just about every company, Starbucks shares had dropped to just under $10 – a whopping 75% loss of market cap.

Fast forward to today – something has changed. Starbucks is now a brand on the rise with a renewed focus and commitment to customer experience. Bruce Temkin put it well Monday when he said “Starbucks brews a comeback with purpose”. (Bruce wrote a post about Starbucks’ misfortunes in 2007 too.) Starbucks stock is now trading in the $22 range and is rising.

What lessons have they learned? (read more)

Originally posted at iMedia Connection on Jan. 6, 2010

I’m proud of Critical Mass’ standard of always seeking the extraordinary. So you can imagine my self-disappointment when I sat down to write another “top 10 predictions for the new year” post…it felt decidedly un-extraordinary.

So, forget about 2010. Let’s talk big. REALLY big.

Here are 10 predictions for the next decade. That’s right, the whole darn decade.

Sure, it’s a little linkbait-y, but this is a fun way to start the new year and could ignite some great conversation. What will happen? And how will you succeed in this new decade?

1) Content Strategy Becomes the New Information Architecture: You’ve probably heard the saying, “Information architecture is to design what content strategy is to copy.” And it’s true, except that content strategy lags about 5-10 years behind IA as an agency deliverable. Expect clients to demand content strategy and hence agencies to staff up with folks who understand that the content on a site is as much a science as it is an art.

2) Marketing Sciences Get Sexy: Forget impressions, views, and hits. These dinosaurs are extinct and today’s darlings (the all-too-vague visitors and clicks to name two) will likely follow them into the ether. Web metrics will get a hell of a lot sexier than bounce rate — expect more about engagement, behavior, real customer insights. And as web metrics become more robust, the interpreters of this information — marketing scientists — will become the oracles of the office. Their challenge will be to not only wrestle this data into a story we can understand, but also to make info about past behavior predictive (or prescriptive) for future behavior. (Expect to see offerings like this proliferate.)

3) Google De-throned As Search King: As Google continues to diversify – phones, browsers, tons of acquisitions, etc. — the amount of time they can focus on perfecting search falls. All this while competitors lick their chops. In ‘09, Microsoft’s Bing brought a reasonable alternative to the fore with great ads and some innovative changes, especially for video searches. And with Wolfram Alpha and possibly others in the wings, it’s likely the king of search will end this next decade looking around for all that lost market share.

Intrigued? Don’t worry, there are still 7 more. (read more)

Happy New Year!

Do you notice anything different?

In our excitement for 2010, we decided to give Experience Matters a makeover. We worked on a few bugs, we considered usability and yes, we changed the design. Critical Mass is all about creating extraordinary experiences, so please feel free to leave us comments about your experience with our blog. Are there things we can do to make it more extraordinary for you?

At CM, we’ve all got that wonderful feeling of renewed energy heading into this new year. Our new look is just the beginning, so please… Explore. Subscribe. Participate.

We are looking forward to bringing you insights and opinions all year long.

Last week, we learned that Idea Aid, with not-for-profit partner Heifer International, selected its top five idea submissions. In a bit of unexpected news, one of the winners came from Critical Mass – submitted by this very blogger.

The goal of 2009’s Idea Aid (the first of hopefully many to come) was to generate new fundraising models to raise $1 billion annually. The weeklong brainstorm benefit, organized by Mensa Process, resulted in 585 ideas from participants in 66 countries including Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Congo, Croatia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, and Iraq. Heifer International will share the winning ideas with other like-minded organizations – after all, when the goal is to eradicate global poverty, sharing the idea wealth is a must.

The five winners include ideas that emerged multiple times over the course of Idea Aid week. (“Great minds think alike” is cliché for a reason.)

1. “Rounding Up Around the World” has an approach alá Bank of America’s “Keep the Change,” where users enjoy automatic savings derived from rounding their check card transactions to the next dollar. Here, consumer transactions would round up for the benefit of charities. This idea came from Tomer Ram of Israel – and based on the results of our brainstorm breakouts, it was a popular theme. An added thought from this blogger: Just as BoA offers a 100% match for the first three months and a 5% match thereafter (with an annual cap) to help motivate sign-ups, a similar tactic should be used here – with the help of a generous third-party entity (anyone have Richard Branson’s or Bill Gates’s number?).

2. “A Penny Goes a Long Way,” from Dr. Christina Bautista of New Mexico, suggests that an extra penny from consumers’ credit and debit purchases go to charity. Though consumers would hardly feel these micro-transactions, money would accumulate to a significant charitable sum. This theme was another popular one – in fact, more than a handful of brainstorming CM’ers referenced Office Space as silver-screen proof.

3. “Gift Cards: The little bit that’s left” proposes that the little bit of extra on retailer gift cards be funneled to charity. It’s a no-brainer – consumers could lighten their wallet of those pesky remaining gift dollars, to benefit those who need it more. This idea, from Jay Bassett in Georgia, had at least one idea doppelganger in Critical Mass’s very own Duane Wheatcroft.

4. “Global Online Auction,” a winning idea from Ruth Parvin in Oregon, combines art, charity, and the global reach of the Internet. Artists would donate works to an online auction, with all proceeds going to charity. Ebay would be the first tree to bark up, as they have the global reach this idea would thrive on.

5. The final idea was a submission of mine – originally called “Beautiful Change,” revised to “Destinations for Donations.” In this idea, artists, sculptors and/or architects would create fun, interactive money-collecting structures to appear in cities that get significant tourist traffic. This idea was inspired by the Chicago cows, an irresistible coin-spinner I experienced as a kid (a donation mechanism itself), and a similar thought from a coworker of mine (Senior Copywriter Jamie Toal, who, during one of our office-wide brainstorms, asked, “Why can’t we just clear out the change from the fountains of the world?”)

Needless to say, my Critical Mass cohorts and I are thrilled to have contributed a fundraising idea worthy of the hope and confidence of Heifer International and the Idea Aid organizers. If you asked me, I’d say it’s a lovely way to close out the year. We’re excited to see what comes next.

Critical Mass teams took time out of their workweeks recently to brainstorm for Idea Aid. (Read more about Idea Aid in this entry.)

Heifer International, a U.S.-based humanitarian and not-for-profit organization, partnered with Idea Aid for its inaugural year. By the end of the brainstorming benefit (at the stroke of 11:59 pm on Saturday, 11/21), Idea Aid had gathered 585 ideas to help Heifer raise $1 billion annually to eradicate global poverty.

57 of these ideas came from Critical Mass – through several brainstorms, bagels, beers, and one be-post-it’ed elevator. CM’s submissions represent a wide range of thought from high-concept one-liners like “Elevator Toll” and “$1/flight” to blown-out campaigns like “Buck Poverty.”

Idea Aid participants supported their favorite ideas during the brainstorm by clicking a “promote” button within the list or on an individual submission’s page. One of the Critical Mass ideas, “Beautiful Change,” reached #11 in this popularity ranking. This concept involves artists and architects creating fun, engaging coin-collecting sculptures to appear in tourist cities during a yearly, outdoor exhibit.

As of now, the list of idea submissions is viewable only to those who’d registered on the Idea Aid site. There, an official note from organizer (and Mensa Process Director) David Wynett states:

Thank you for your interest in IdeaAid 2009. The online brainstorming phase of the project is closed. The evaluation team will review and analyze all ideas submitted. The IdeaAid team, in partnership with Heifer International, will announce the five leading ideas once the review process is complete. All registered participants will receive notification of the results.

Whether a Critical Mass idea makes the final cut or not, we hope our contributions help Heifer International and Idea Aid achieve such a noble goal.