September, 2010

android / blackberry / iPad / observatory / strategy / technology — 4 Comments
30
Sep 10

BlackBerry & the business user myth

BlackBerry's all-work-and-no-Playbook?

Poor RIM. They sell more smartphones than anyone else on earth, yet they can’t shake this sense of foreboding.

Maybe, possibly, it has something to do with the iPhone/Android freight train headed their way.

But no worries. RIM has a plan for BlackBerry. Not only will they plow ahead with their “#1 smartphone for business” strategy, they’re going to double-down on that one.

Now they’ve announced plans for a tablet — you guessed it — made especially for business. The BlackBerry Playbook.

This is the “thank you sir, may I have another” approach. Not content to have their share of the smartphone market savaged by iPhone and Android, they’re going to use the same strategy to do battle with iPad and the Android tablets-to-come.

Only one little flaw in this plan, fellas: the business user is a myth.

It’s based upon this antiquated notion that people who work in large corporations are unmoved by such trivial things as design, or that business and pleasure don’t mix.

It’s simply untrue today. Business people, as  some have long suspected, are human beings as well. They do care about design. They also care about simplicity. They have personal lives that intertwine with their business lives. And they’re more productive when they’re happy with their technology.

BlackBerry has had a longstanding love affair with business, meeting the rigid standards of corporate and government IT. But from the numbers, it’s pretty clear that business has a wandering eye. The groundswell from within — c-suite included — has opened the floodgates for the more people-friendly iPhones and Androids.

By their own schizoid behavior, RIM confirms that business users aren’t what they used to be.

They introduce the BlackBerry Torch with the line, “Business, meet fun. Fun, business.” Even though Torch has precious little fun to offer. The business-focused tablet they dream of building is whimsically called the Playbook, with PR images touting photos and games.

It’s like your 60-year-old uncle pulling up a seat at the kids’ table.

If the picture looks bleak for Playbook now, imagine how it will look next year when the thing finally ships. By then, there will be a second-generation iPad (or a family of them), as well as a fleet of Android tablets from a number of manufacturers.

RIM’s lifeline to the IT department is looking more and more tenuous every minute…

advertising / creative / google / observatory — 5 Comments
29
Sep 10

Google’s endurance test

Creative guys used to kill themselves trying to distill a client’s message into a 30-second TV commercial.

Then the Internet set them free. Suddenly they could make their stories as long as necessary.

In fact, some started making their stories longer than necessary. Painfully longer. Only through public humiliation did they learn that restraint is one of the most powerful creative tools.

And now comes Google — apparently unable to resist the siren’s lure.

Over ten of the longest minutes of my life, they stretch a very thin joke to celebrate their new location-aware mobile search. I defy you to make it through the whole thing.

Honestly, I do get the message. There are even a few mildly amusing moments in here. But for the most part, it’s like watching an endless loop of paint drying on grass growing.

Probably not the best way to excite the people you’re trying to reach.

It’s a shame, because Google has actually shown great creative talent with its campaign for Google Search. Now we’re left to figure out which is the aberration: the good Google or the bad Google.

apple / observatory / strategy — 12 Comments
28
Sep 10

Apple’s biggest object of lust

Since its near-death experience in 1997, Apple has been propelled by its ability to create technology lust.

Some people covet their neighbor’s iPad. Others pray for a Christmas iPod. Still others crave a new iPhone to replace the 3G that suddenly feels so pathetic.

Capitalism 101: the company with the best business plan wins in the end

But Apple’s most important object of lust isn’t something you can carry in your pocket.

It’s a business model.

All around the world, CEOs and their executive teams stare at Apple’s model, fantasizing that they can build one even half as effective. But somehow reality always seems to get in the way.

Put simply, Apple has built a business that allows it to make far more profit than the other guys — by selling far fewer products.

As was reported last week, Apple sells a mere 3% of the world’s smartphones (correction: cell phones), yet it pulls in 39% of the category’s profits — more than the top three phone makers combined. It achieves almost identical results in PCs. Worldwide, Apple gets 7% of the computer revenue while it brings home 35% of the operating profit.

This is because Apple has built a super-powerful brand. Just about anyone on earth can tell you what it stands for: innovation and design. Millions will happily pay more for an Apple product, because they believe it’s worth it.

Right on cue, many will chime in, “but their products are overpriced,” “Apple is too controlling,” “they censor apps,” “I can’t play Flash on my iPhone,” or whatever happens to be the whine of the day.

These people miss the point.

Technology is a business. Selling a product people want is part of the business. Selling a product profitably is the other part. If you can’t do both, you might as well pack it in now.

Rude as it may sound, Apple doesn’t care if you don’t like their products, or if you think they are evil incarnate. If that’s the way you feel, you’re simply not their target. No hard feelings, just move along. What Apple proves day after day is that there are millions of people in this world who do appreciate the experience they offer, and that this number is getting bigger, not smaller.

Other companies can lust after Apple’s business model, but they can’t duplicate it. At least not quickly. What Apple has today is the result of 14 years of nurturing since Steve Jobs returned to the company.

What about Android, you ask. Its market share is fast rising, right? That means big trouble for Apple’s precious business model, right?

Actually, not. Google is about to prove the superiority of Apple’s model all over again.

There will be plenty of ecstatic Android customers, all believing they got the phone of their dreams. But the makers of those phones will be slugging it out over ever-diminishing profit margins, making only a fraction of the money that Apple does.

Apple has baked it into their business model: they may not win the popularity contest, but they will always win the profitability contest.

That’s definitely worthy of a little lust.

advertising / dell / observatory — 9 Comments
23
Sep 10

Dell: in search of the creative grail

My my, isn’t this a shocker:
Dell is out hunting for a new agency.

As their spokesperson explains, “we think it’s appropriate to continuously review our creative.”

At some point, Dell may figure out that the idea is to continuously improve their creative, not just review it. Despite a parade of agencies in the last 10-15 years, their marketing efforts remain continuously forgettable.

An anonymous industry sage once observed: Clients always get the advertising they deserve.

That’s certainly the case here.

As a long line of psychologically damaged creatives will attest, it ain’t easy working with Dell. Campaigns that end up running are typically a faint echo of the original idea, ground down by second-guessing and never-ending revisions.

In my opinion, it’s because Dell lacks one essential ingredient: a passion for great marketing.

The tone inside every company is set at the top. And Dell has a leader who is driven by efficiency, not imagination. Quantity is Job #1. To Dell, selling to a customer takes priority over engaging a customer.

So, year after year, Dell’s agencies deliver what is demanded of them — creative that lacks in heart and rarely takes risks. In other words, Dell gets exactly the marketing it deserves.

I don’t imagine too many are surprised that Dell is sniffing around for a new agency, now that their three-year, $4.5 billion deal with monolithic holding company WPP is about to expire. You may recall, WPP started the relationship by creating Enfatico, a global agency devoted to Dell, with 1,000 people across 13 offices. That lasted all of a year. Then most of the Dell responsibilities were shifted to other WPP agencies — with no visible change in the work as far as I can tell.

(Uh-oh. I’m having some kind of weird flashback. A vague recollection that I actually had something to do with Enfatico. That’s not even possible. Is it? Whatever, back to our story…)

Dell will be listening to creative pitches from a number of agencies — including the WPP agencies they currently use.

Personally, I’m always amazed when clients do this. It’s as if Dell is saying to WPP, “Ya know, honey, there’s something missing in our marriage. So here’s my plan. I’m going to sleep around a bit, and if I can’t find anything better, I’ll keep living with you.”

The fact is, agencies invest a huge amount of time and energy in learning a client’s business. Making a switch is expensive. So my advice to clients is: If you think your agency is talented, work with them. If you think they’re not, fire their butts. Walking the middle ground just frustrates everyone.

If Dell is serious about improving creativity, however, they’ll fix themselves before they fix their agency roster. Since Michael Dell is missing the marketing gene, he needs to hire someone who’s got it — preferably someone who has been spectacularly successful elsewhere. He needs to give him/her the authority to streamline Dell’s sprawling marketing machine and make final decisions. He might also make more compelling products, but that’s another story.

Without this kind of substantive change, it will be creativity as usual at Dell.

Winning the big Dell creative shootout will be some agency’s reward — it will also be their punishment.

android / app store / google / observatory — 2 Comments
21
Sep 10

Google’s wayward son

No parent likes to see their perfect kid fall in with the wrong crowd. But hey, stuff happens.

So I wonder how many people at Google are getting that pit in their stomach as they watch young Android dye its hair and pierce various body parts.

In this case, the “wrong crowd” is the only crowd available. The carriers are the culprits, and they’re in it for themselves — not for Google. They’re the ones encouraging Android to show some independence and escape mom and dad’s evil clutches.

Google no doubt envisioned an ideal world where users would fall in love with the look, feel and power of Android, and Google would profit nicely via search and the Android Marketplace. But, thanks to Android’s much-hyped openness, the phone companies have their own utopian vision — and the power to squeeze profit out of every nook and cranny.

For example, Verizon and T-Mobile already cram junkware into their Android phones — things that are often difficult or impossible to remove. Why not? As the PC makers discovered, it’s an easy way to pick up a few extra bucks when margins are small. And the user experience isn’t exactly at the top of the carriers’ priority list.

Another disturbing development for Google is Verizon’s plan to launch its own V Cast app market. According to TechCrunch, Verizon’s world of apps will “likely be more prominently displayed than the Android Market.” Thanks to the freedom of Android, Verizon has the freedom to bite directly into a major Google revenue stream. V Cast is that most evil kind of app market too — a “curated” store requiring apps to go through an approval process, just like iPhone’s App Store.

Then there’s the search function, which is Google’s bread and butter. Will young Android lose its moral compass and experiment with different partners? Last week, a false rumor spread that Verizon was making Bing the default search mode for its Android phones. The reason this rumor could spread so quickly was that it was believable. After all, if carriers can configure Android phones as they wish, or create an app store to compete with Google’s, an alternate default search doesn’t seem very far-fetched.

The exact terms of Google’s agreement with the carriers are not known. But obviously if search went to Bing, Google’s biggest reason to have bought and nurtured Android would be out the window. So for Google’s sake, let’s hope Android isn’t quite as open as it claims to be.

iPad / iPhone / observatory / technology — 2 Comments
16
Sep 10

Learning to read with Stephen Fry

Years ago, I was tied down and forced to watch several days’ worth of British comedies. Very quickly, the restraints became unnecessary and I began to eagerly devour it.

One of the biggest reasons for my transformation was Stephen Fry. Damn, he’s good. So it is with great affection that I have watched Stephen emerge as a personality in the technology world.

His tweeting skills are legendary, and he wrote a great piece for Time Magazine at the launch of iPad — in which he guides us through his adventure at Apple, including meetings with Steve Jobs and the executive team.

Now Stephen has dipped his toes into app territory with a neat little thing called MyFry. This is actually the app version of his autobiography, The Fry Chronicles. What’s interesting about it is that it isn’t just another book — it’s a whole new way of reading a book.

Stephen explains it all in this video, sounding suspiciously like the narrator for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe — which in fact he was (in the  2005 production).

The video is a sweet introduction to the idea. Stephen’s style of speech makes him hard to ignore, and there’s little time wasted  — except for that long, clicky opening that makes you wonder if your sound is working. And yes, it would have been nice to have a good zinger line at the end, as opposed to more clicking.

But my imaginary hat is off to Stephen for being (a) funny, and (b) creative. He’s just proven that writing a book is only half the fun.

iPhone / microsoft / observatory / windows phone 7 — 6 Comments
14
Sep 10

Group dementia strikes at Microsoft

Is it Photoshop? An inmate uprising? One stretches for explanations when gazing upon the unthinkable.

In this case, we must accept the truth, now documented by several sources: last week, Microsoft really did celebrate the developer release of Windows Phone 7 by staging a mock funeral for iPhone and Blackberry. (No word on Android’s fate.)

Presumably, they used the hearse left over from the Kin launch earlier this year.

Photo: Trioculus (Flickr)

It should be noted that this wasn’t the first time someone pulled the ol’ funeral shtick out of the closet. Steve Jobs performed the same stunt in 2002 by putting his own beloved Mac OS 9 in an onstage coffin to celebrate the ascension of Mac OS X.

Think about that one for a moment. Steve was putting his own product in a coffin, simply to make a dramatic point. He wasn’t sticking Windows in a coffin to proclaim its doom. Sitting there with 3% of the market share, that would have made him look ridiculous. Microsoft, with a 0% market share for its all-new Window Phone 7, has no such qualms.

But I don’t mean to make this a story about Steve Jobs vs. Microsoft. It’s really just a story about intelligence vs. stupidity.

When the world is watching, and you’re playing catch-up with the big boys, you simply don’t go out and embarrass yourself. When you get all dressed up, you think twice about putting on the clown nose.

I’m not suggesting that Microsoft employees be locked in their offices. (Well, maybe one.) A new product launch is exactly the right time to celebrate all those months of hard work. People should be excited. Dreams of success should be dancing in their heads. If I worked at Microsoft, I’d be drinking the beer and partying with the rest of them.

It’s just that normally, a grown adult approves the celebration — and prevents employees of questionable taste from giving the whole company a black eye.

Fake funeral parades, giant phone models, costumes and hearses don’t just happen by themselves. Sometime, somewhere, a Microsoft manager looked at this brainless plan and said “sure, let’s have some fun” — instead of “you’re fired for even suggesting it.”

I can only imagine how the guys over in PR must feel. They must have steam coming out of their ears. Then again, this is Microsoft. It’s possible they were out there driving the hearse.

apple / iPhone / observatory — 1 Comment
13
Sep 10

Do I detect a little sensationalism?

Journalism isn’t the usual topic here. But I’m stunned enough by what I saw over the weekend that I wanted to share it.

This is the photo and caption that ran on the front page of MSNBC.com on Sunday morning:

Good lord. By now most of us are familiar with the story of Foxconn, Chinese builder of iPhones, which reported 11 suicides in the first five months of the year. Most of us are also aware of one important fact: the suicide rate at Foxconn is actually lower than China’s overall suicide rate.

Then there’s this other little tidbit: the suicide rate at Foxconn is even lower than the rate in each of our own fifty states.

So of course MSNBC led with the idea that Terry Gou would be making history — if only his people weren’t killing themselves.

That’s too bad, because the article itself paints an interesting and thorough view of Terry Gou’s accomplishments. It only starts with the suicide story. But throughout many pages of detail, not once does it mention that Foxconn’s suicide rate is statistically irrelevant. It’s an astounding omission, considering that this fact was widely circulated when the news broke many months ago.

By no means do I diminish the importance of the Foxconn suicides. Every death is a tragedy, and if working conditions contributed, that needs to be corrected. However, when the facts provide important perspective, it’s the journalists’ professional duty to report them. Using sensationalistic lead-ins to suck readers in is more Enquirer style than MSNBC. At least it used to be.

This misleading image/caption disappeared from the MSNBC home page later in the day, and now does not appear in the main story either. So clearly somebody came to their senses. But for allowing it to happen on a front-page story in the first place, MSNBC — with its partners at Bloomberg Businessweek — get a well-deserved whack on their typing fingers. Watch it, fellas.

advertising / creative / google / iPhone / microsoft / observatory / strategy / technology — 16 Comments
9
Sep 10

Alert! The smartphone revolution is coming!

This just in: Microsoft is preparing a revolution in smartphones. It’s almost ready. Really.

I can only imagine the looks on their faces when they climb out of their news-proof bunker and discover that the revolution’s been going on for three years.

Does Microsoft honestly believe they can introduce Windows Phone 7 as a revolution? According to this video, yes — although (as reported by Kara Swisher at All Things Digital) it is unclear if this is their real marketing direction, or a one-time shot during a London event.

Let’s give Microsoft kudos for exuding confidence. Then let’s remind them that we’ve seen the Windows Phone 7 preview, and it isn’t exactly a revolution. It’s more like running after the train that left the station yesterday.

If they believe using the word revolution will somehow create Apple-like buzz, they’d better think twice. Everyone knows you have to use the word magic too.

If it weren’t for the laughable conclusion, I’d actually be crowing about the imagery and music in this spot. It has an elegant kind of power.

Senior citizens will recognize the desert image, soundtrack and typography from 1962′s Lawrence of Arabia. But most will probably just wonder Microsoft has been drinking — and what the heck that Arabian stuff is all about.

I’m anxious to see what happens when Windows Phone 7 actually does join the revolution-in-progress. Given the masses already in love with iPhone and Android, the market for a Windows phone may look eerily like that desert.

advertising / creative / intel / observatory / strategy — 4 Comments
8
Sep 10

Intel’s character fetish

What is it with these people and their character-based ads? Far and away, Intel has used more zany characters to tell their story than any other technology company.

This isn’t a marketing plan, it’s an obsession.

It was the Bunny Men who started them down this dark path so many years ago — those dancing engineers, dressed in colorful cleanroom suits. Then came Homer Simpson, Blue Man Group, Aliens, Singing Processors and the forlorn Robot from this year’s Super Bowl.*

Now comes the crowning touch. Using a big chunk of their Intel-Inside cash, Intel satisfied their character addiction by renting the Penguins from Madagascar. Looks like they splurged for the Dreamworks package deal too, because the entire cast of Shrek appears (awkwardly) at the end.

Obviously Intel believes this kind of hilarity will propel them to marketing success. Only two things wrong with this theory: (1) it won’t, and (2) it ain’t funny.

If advertising were really this easy, we’d see SpongeBob for Apple and Wile E. Coyote for Google. It’s ironic: Intel tries desperately to be known as the world’s smartest company, yet they can’t bring themselves to give customers credit for having a little intelligence.

I have to say, this Penguins spot came as a surprise to me. The marketing team at Intel has totally changed over the years, and I thought for sure they’d gotten over this “wacky character” fixation. Must be something in the water over there.

(*Full disclosure: During my time as a creative director on the Intel business, I actually participated in some of these misadventures. I swear, I was blindfolded and had a gun to my head.)

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