Cell phones, newspapers and brands

allisonrmckeever — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 02:48:26 +0000

Without a car in the Bay Area I find myself among +350,000 people taking public transportation. Many may see this as an unfavorable approach to get to and from work: crowded trains with disgusting cloth seats (public transportation seats should never be cloth covered) late arrivals and a thousand more things that would make public transportation seem less than ideal. While it isn’t my favorite, there are a few perks.

As an indirect result of working in the design industry I have an innate curiosity towards human behavior specific to culture. For the purposes of this post, culture refers to the status an individual is trying to achieve through their demeanor and appearance. While culture is a much deeper topic, this definition presents a high level, unorthodox view which communicates a belief that culture is inherently tied to the brands an individual surrounds them self with. Each brand signifies its own value and attracts people with similar values thereby creating a culture. Within this newly created culture lies a plethora of sub-cultures based on the unique attributes every individual brings.

Here is where the perks of public transportation are exhibited. Specific to the Bay Area, public transportation attracts many types of cultures because there are many people from different geographic backgrounds trying to get through the heavy traffic caused by the Bay Bridge bottleneck. Those that prefer not to battle traffic in their car use available means of public transportation. This means an average of +350,000 people use public transportation every day, providing an opportunity to observe people and their culture.

Since no one has to pay attention to what is in front or behind them because they aren’t in control of the moving vehicle they occupy themselves by interacting with the things they brought on board. Some people read the newspaper, or a Kindle, others play games on the i-phone (probably the most common) some sleep and others just sit there. Over several months, observing people during their trips on public transportation, behavioral patterns start to emerge allowing for conclusions that can help designers create culturally catered products, services and experiences.

Instead of dreading the trip to work every morning I view it as an opportunity to observe; an exercise in consumer research. I might discover a key insight into a specific culture, and working in design I never know when a culture might be the exact audience for a project. Public transportation provides an opportunity for me to bring added value to my job by providing real-time consumer insights.

Notes to Self

allisonrmckeever — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:16:39 +0000

To avoid looking like a fool:

1.) Listen to all voicemails before calling someone back

2.) Read all e-mails starting from most recent

You never know what that voicemail or e-mail might contain. It could have information that would change the approach to a situation.

Costs of Portfolio and Graduation

allisonrmckeever — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:47:50 +0000

Its’ been a little over two weeks since graduation and portfolio show and it is time to add up the total costs.

Pina Zangaro portfolio book- $48
Adhesive hinge bindings- $39.40
Screwpost extension pack- $4.13
Desktop Sorter (for displaying actual project books)- $34.99)
Resume Paper- $15.99
Folders for resume package- $13.00
Business Card and Brand Book Displays- $6.90
Paper- $24.49
Brand Books (printing and cutting)- $41.67
Printing resume packages- $37.17
Printing and cutting leave behinds- $29.47
Printing Portfolio Color proof- $52.69
Printing Portfolio Final Version (came with two copies)- $150
250 business cards- $79

GRAND TOTAL- $576.90

Luckily I anticipated spending close to $500, but still it’s a lot of money not to mention tacking on costs of supplies like a bone folder and paper cutter things got a little more expensive. I’m sure others can come up with a thriftier approach than I did.

Trying to keep everything consistent with my identity is what ran up the costs because I wanted everything to maintain my colors. I would advice any graduating students to map out ahead of time a general plan. Consider all of your deliverables (portfolio, posters, resume packages, business cards, brand books etc…) and make a plan for printing. If you use your paper space wisely you can save a lot of money on printing. It helps to think of these items as an investment. After spending all of the money on these items I am well suited for interviews. I have consistent self-marketing materials that I can use to my advantage.

Employees Integral Role in a Successful Brand

allisonrmckeever — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:29:07 +0000

I remember my branding teachers would tell me that a brand’s success depended on that brand’s employees. I understood this concept, but it didn’t truly set it until last night. We went for a walk and walked past Cold Stone Creamery, deciding that ice cream sounded good. We went inside and waited in line. There was a customer in front of us who had never been to Cold Stone before the employee behind the counter was shocked by this and tried to explain what to do when ordering. Epic fail. The employee couldn’t explain the simple concept that is behind Cold Stone and couldn’t answer the customer’s question about pricing. The employee was unable to deliver a quality, branded experience while for the customer.

As if one bad employee wasn’t enough I could see a second employee in the backroom, shirt lifted up, rubbing her side which was covered in some kind of red-substance that resembled berries. She wasn’t even wearing any gloves. A little disturbed we left the Cold Stone without any ice cream. Had the franchise hired better employees and taught them the culture that surrounds the Cold Stone brand, we may have left satisfied customers. Instead we left empty handed and the store lost out on a sale.

We decided to go to Fuddruckers Burgers instead for a milk shake. Fuddruckers has a decent in-store ambiance, but they are missing the mark in a few spots. Fuddruckers means burgers and fries, but when you walk into their store they have what appear to be old fashioned drink crates full of various drinks ranging from Izze’s to Vitamin Water, not exactly a good drink to pair with burgers and friends. Definitely reaching outside of the Fuddruckers brand. They also have a “bake shop” featuring pies, cookies and breads. The problem here is that they are trying to be too many things all at once. Their brand is lacks consistency and simplicity.

When we ordered our milk shake the employee was not very engaging and missed her mark on hospitality. She made us our shake, which was handed to us in a Pepsi cup. Had Fuddruckers been on top of their brand, they would have had some sort of special branded cups for their milkshakes. They missed an opportunity to have a milkshake on display as we were on our walk. The cup could have served as an advertisment, instead if people saw our Pepsi cup they would think, obviously, Pepsi.

For a brand to be successful attention to detail must happen. Cold Stone should have had literature that provided an easy answer to what Cold Stone is to a customer who was experiencing it for the first time. They don’t need an entire employee hand guide, but a short book that quickly and entertainingly describes the Cold Stone brand. Fuddruckers should have had branded milk shake cups so they didn’t miss out on a walking advertisement, essentially free of cost.

Perhaps the area where a brand should be most cautious is the employees hired to represent that brand. An employee engages with the customer and is, in most cases, the only point of contact between brand and customer. If this exchange is unpleasent, the brand has a negative view in the customer’s eyes.

Now I understand what my branding teachers were trying to say when they said a brand’s success depends on their employees. The employees have to buy into a brands message and culture if they are going to be selling it to others.

Why I let a great opportunity go.

allisonrmckeever — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 06:34:42 +0000

The following quote eloquently captured the essence of my reasons for passing up a great opportunity.

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful.”

–Alan Alda (shared with me by Leah Noble Davidson)

Earth Science in your Last Term

allisonrmckeever — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:33:00 +0000

Eleven weeks is a good chunk of time, enough to wrap up everything graduation (a lot more things than I had actually thought there would be) and take time to enjoy hanging out with friends before the big move. Throw Earth Science into the mix and eleven weeks seems rather grueling. Why I took that class my last term…basically because I wanted to graduate and needed three science credits. Every Wednesday at 8am I was sitting in room 264 half asleep listening to a four-hour lecture about all things Earth. I was dying for something interesting to grasp onto to make my time there worthwhile.
At about week six I finally learned something that made the whole class ok. Maybe it isn’t as revolutionary an idea as it seemed to me, but the United States has 70% of the worlds best soils for producing agriculture, which is unmatched by any other country. Perhaps this could be a very large contributing factor to the success the United States has had orchestrating power on the world stage.
Then it was week eight. Another interesting fact, maybe this class wasn’t so bad after all. The areas of the United States that have 70% of the worlds best soils (the Midwest) has a waterway system (the Mississippi River) that makes transportation of goods in and out of this area extremely easy and cost effective in comparison. Another considerable factor for why the United States has had success on the world stage.
Perhaps this dynamic between good agricultural soil, cheap/effective forms of transportation and power of a country should be examined in greater detail. A study of that nature could reveal a lot about political relationships between countries.

Graduation

allisonrmckeever — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:27:48 +0000

Friday June 19th is graduation day. After three years at The Art Institute of Portland it is time to accept my BS in Design Management. I just have to make it through portfolio show and the commencement ceremony before I can officially say “done.”
My plans post graduation are moving to San Francisco and beginning the job search.

In-house or Agency?

allisonrmckeever — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:25:53 +0000

I believe in the Intersection Theory proposed by Frans Johansson in his book The Medici Effect. The intersection is the convergence of two industries and the resulting multitude of ideas that can be formed by combining the knowledge of both fields.
An agency seems like an ideal setting to discover the intersection. There are advertising executives working with clients from diverse industries. Combine the knowledge of the two parties and the odds of reaching the intersection are much greater than that of a group of employees in an in-house setting, where the day-to-day revolves around the product and/or service of that company.
In-house does have one benefit over an agency because it offers a work environment in which every employee can engage in a brand and understand the culture around that brand.
I’ve experienced working in both settings and believe that the agency setting better aligns with my goals, but the experiences learned in an in-house setting were invaluable.
To better understand which environment would work best for yourself I would say delve into each and determine for yourself the pros and cons. I would not have formed this decision had I not experienced both settings.

Management Philosophy

allisonrmckeever — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:24:17 +0000

My management philosophy is based on that of the contingency theory, meaning a manager makes a decision only after they take into account all aspects of the current situation. This accounts for the development of a sound strategy, which in turn helps motivate fellow team members in the direction of an established goal by clarifying individual roles and task requirements. I place importance on the scope of a project so each individual knows their specific requirements, and how their role is interdependent with the rest of the project. Within this process communication is key. All team members should be able to openly communicate their concerns, questions, and praises without fear of hurting others. Without open communication projects lack direction and may never reach the end goal.