John Winsor

Really?

This has been floating around for a while but I just saw it. If this wasn't so funny it would be sad. Sometimes, spending too much time internally focused makes you loose perspective.

Howie's Hand-Me-Downs

I just saw this cool line of products from Howie's. The Hand Me Down line is guaranteed for 10 years and is made to be handed down to the next generation. Here's what Howie's co-founder, David Hieatt says:

We live in times of limited resources but unlimited desire to consume them. The answer though is real simple: to consume less as a consumer; to make a better designed product as a manufacturer.

Going forward we will have to take more responsibility for our consumption. The manufacturer and the consumer will both have to share that responsibility.

We live in interesting times.

From where we stand as a manufacturer, a product that keeps working for longer uses less-resources in the end. The key ingredients to this are quality and good design.

To make something well, you know, the best you can do, means going that extra mile. Every stitch, every zip, every little feature considered. The weakest points made strong. Then, and only then, can we say that we have fully understood the responsibility of making something.

This product is guaranteed for a minimum of 10 years from the date of original purchase. The chances are it will last a good deal longer than that. So now you have to decide whom you’d like to hand this product down to? Err??

The Power of Giving

Tom's Shoes has been an inspiration with the goal of giving away a pair of shoes to someone that needs them for every pair of shoes the company sells. How are you giving back?

The CP+B Intern Auction

We're auctioning our summer interns to the highest bidder on eBay. If you'd like to have our brilliant interns work on your advertising, join the bidding. Here's the description from eBay:

In the past, our interns have created work for companies like Burger King, Volkswagen, Guitar Hero and Microsoft. And now they can do the same for you. Bidding starts at $1 for three months of service with all proceeds going to the hardest working people we know - the CP+B interns themselves. So bid early and often, and world-class advertising can be yours for a fraction of the going rate. Send questions/comments to [email protected].

How to Create a Tribe

Here is Seth's inspiring talk from this year's TED. How will you create a movement?

How Does Sports Influence Business?

Lately, I've been thinking about how the behavior athletes develop in training and competing in a sport can influence behavior in business. In these uncertain times, I've noticed the people who are driving business forward in paradigm shifting ways are athletes. Here's a rough list of rules that I've developed from the sports that I do (rock climbing, backcountry skiing, surfing and cycling) that influences my approach to business.

1.    Speed is Safety
2.    Know When to Go
4.    Feel the Danger
5.    Bad Things Happen, Get Over It
6.    Distinguish Between Pain and Injury
7.    Be Fearless
8.    Set the Right Pace
9.    Balance Emotions and Logic
10.  Experiences Outweigh Accomplishments
11.  Practice
12.  Commit

I'd love to get your feedback and additions on the list. Leave a comment here, shoot me an email or hit me @jtwinsor on Twitter.

Thanks.

Customer Service Odyssey, Part Two

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the beginning of my customer service journey with my Olympus Tough Stylus 6000. I started the journey by posting my problems on their customer service page on their web site. Two days later Michael Bourne, from Olympus' agency, Mullen, was on it and reached out to me suggesting that I try a different number and email address.

Instead of using Michael's contact info that day, I decided to wait and see what a couple of days to see what kind of response I would get from the web site. Two days later I got an email from Olympus customer service with a Ticket # in the Subject line. Oddly, there was nothing in the email. What a missed opportunity to communicate with a customer.

After waiting a week and not hearing a word I thought I'd send an email to the address that Michael suggested. Well, it's been four days and no answer. Is anybody home at Olympus? It seems like I'm working pretty hard as a customer. Looks like I'm going to have to buy a repalcement camera. Do you think it's going to be an Olympus?

My experience is a good reminder to all of us that our customers want to engage with us in a dialogue. It's not the big marketing ideas that trip companies up, it's the simple things. Like returning an email, being kind on the phone, or finding a way to turn a bad brand experience into an experience that creates an advocate for the brand.

The journey continues. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

Will the Kindle DX Change Advertising?

For the last couple of days I've been intrigued by the possibilities that Amazon's new Kindle DX represents. I've had an original Kindle for a few months now. While it's been fun to use, it hasn't replaced books. It has just felt too small. My sense is that the DX will push the adoption further, once the price comes down from $489.

One big question is, what will happen to advertising in this new medium as more and more people replace paper newspapers with electronic readers?

As with any new technology, opportunities will certainly emerge.

How do you see advertising changing with this new medium? What will be the opportunities to emerge?

Beginning a Customer Service Odyssey

Today, I took my brand new Olympus Tough Stylus 6000 (ok, it's a week old) on a mountain bike ride and, during the ride, I stopped to take a picture. With the leash around my wrist, the camera slipped five inches onto the top tube of my bike and cracked the LCD. I was really surprised. I ride with cameras a lot and they always seem to get knocked around. I've never broken anything before.

The big reason I bought this camera was because of its name. I figured if you put the word "Tough" in the name of your camera it's going to be tougher than the average. The front of the camera doubles the promise by saying "1.5m/5ft Shockproof."

Naming is such an important part of branding. It holds a promise that binds the customer with the brand.

Tonight, I sent a note to Olympus to see what kinds of solutions they have to fix my camera. It will be interesting to see how they respond. Not only is naming important for brands but, today, customer service is critical. Social media is forcing companies to no longer look at customer service as appeasement. They must be proactive. Bad experiences move quickly across social networks, threatening a companies reputation in the blink of an eye.

Now that the conversation has started with Olympus, I'll let you know how it goes.

Mass Collaborative Art

For a while now, I've been interested in artist Aaron Koblin's use of Amazon's Mechanical Turk to use the masses to create collaborative art. Art always seems to lead the way in paradigm shifts. What's next in this evolving landscape.