Last In London

Wired - missing a trick. Again.

Oh Wired.  You've done it again.  You've missed another opportunity for cross-promotion / integration.

You got me all excited over your exclusive release of Bjork's new 3D video, and then reminded me that to watch it in 3D, I have to go to a craft store, buy materials and make my own glasses.  Appreciate the how-to, but am more likely to swipe a pair from the Science Museum's Imax than to set foot in a craft store any time in the near future.

However, if someone had thought to insert a pair of 3D glasses in the April or May issue of Wired, I would have run to the newsstand in 2 seconds.  I also would have been happy to pay a premium (above and beyond the ridiculous premium I pay for a US import).  AND, if I liked the 3D vid, I'd probably even send it to everyone I know (as I do), and tell them where to find their own 3D glasses.  (cha-ching).

Are you guys (press and online depts) even talking to each other?

(sigh)

Here's the (ho-hum in comparison to the prospect of 3D) 2D version:

And the making of:

Microsoft hits new low with Vista sales video

Oh my.  Surely this is a sign of internal havoc.

Microsoft attempts to reinvigorate their sales troops with this 'motivational' video.

watch it and weep:

Milk-itastical; Milk-imagical... Milk-alicious

I keep heading back to this site.  Perhaps I harbor some deep-seeded desire to return to my Memphis musical roots, or perhaps I just love how the CA Milk Processing Board and Goodby have produced some super-satisfying Good Clean Fun.

The site may be a bit slow to load, but once you're in, you're met with a truly (insert buzzword o the moment here) experience. 

AND, they slowly release new content to keep me coming back, have given me plenty of options to share the hilarity with my friends (Facebook, Myspace, Youtube) and have even give me some goodies to take home (MP3s).

But fun aside, the best bit (for the MPB) is that I'm now going through my day humming songs about "luscious  hair" , "white teeth" and "strong nails." 

I think everyone wins here.  No?

"Microsoft is Collapsing"

OK, so maybe it's just VIsta for now, but after nearly 2.5 years in GB, I've learned a thing or two about sensational headlines.

Gartner analysts warn:

Microsoft's Windows juggernaut is collapsing as it tries to support 20 years of applications and becomes more complicated by the minute. Meanwhile, Windows has outgrown hardware and customers are pondering skipping Vista to wait for Windows 7. If Windows is going to remain relevant it will need radical changes...."Windows is too monolithic," says Silver.

Read about it over at CNET where Matt Asay notes:

Ironically, Gartner's recommendations for how Windows should change sound eerily like a recommendation to become...Linux.

But all of this sounds "eerily" famliar... Bloated operating systems?  Inability to adapt and innovate quickly?  radical change needed to remain relevant?   hmm...

delicious data - Part 1

I'm not finished yet, but just had to share this meaty and delicious report published by Avenue A / Razorfish:  Download AARFDigitalOutlookReport.pdf

A few things I've noted (as in - yes!):

distributed content

Redefinition of online measurement 

Presidential race and digital

non-linear purchase funnel

snacking

client reorganization

offline conversion

Microsoft Enterprise Adoption Slips

Interesting... Though Microsoft enterprise solutions still serve roughly 95% of the market, the modest gains for Linux (.5%) and Mac (3%) are interesting to note.  I'm rooting for the penguin, or at least the principles it evangelizes.   

Full article here.

Happy Day - New Mac Ads

I really can't get enough of this campaign - clever, cheeky, and disparaging in a way that's endearing vs. hostile.

But I sense a pattern for poor PC...

Kubler-Ross grief cycle:

Stability:

Immobilization:

Denial:

 

Anger:

Bargaining:

Depression:

And now for the new Mac Ads:

Testing:

Acceptance?

show me the value

If this is what happens now:

And this is the future: Wired - Free!  Why $0.00 is the Future of Business

How is a fixed-for-life price on home broadband a good deal for the consumer?:

Comcast's "Deal for life"

I don't live in the U.S. anymore, so perhaps I'm missing something...  Is the cute alien tossed in for free?

showmanship exposed

Even though I missed freezing my butt off at the Cubs' opening day, at least this makes me smile (or "makes a body happy").  :)   

See the daily affirmation from Lou here.

 

I Heart Zappos

Pete Blackshaw just published an interesting article over on ClickZ about Zappos, and how they've built their success on culture, customer service and brand advocacy (by their employees and end customers).

Have a read of the full article, but here are the bits that made me want to help Zappos expand to the U.K.:

• According to founder and CEO, Tony Hsieh, Zappos is a "service company that happens to sell shoes"
  
  • Tagline is "Powered by service" (gasp! where's the product?!)
• Zappos gets employees on board with a 300 page "Culture Book" and a 5 week training session in Las vegas upon hiring.
  • "Our goals are set, values clearly defined, and we all buy into it," notes Kris O., an employee since 2000

• And a chart I'd like to personally present to Virgin Atlantic's CMO (along with every other "service provider" who offers miserable web experiences, poorly staffed, outsourced call-centers, and no link between the two):

But what really endears me to this company and brand, is hearing heartbreaking stories like I heart Zappos. 
I think this is exactly what Pete Blackshaw is talking about when he refers to the Third Moment of Truth:

Perhaps what we need to drive this point home is a third moment of truth that builds on Lafley's first moment of truth (what consumers see on the shelf) and second moment of truth (what happens when they try the product). The third moment is that powerful inflection point where the product experience catalyzes an emotion, curiosity, passion, or even anger to talk about the brand.



Oh, and despite all the fluffy talk, look at the numbers in Pete's article - apparently the "service first" approach is working:

• over $1 billion in sales
• one of the Web's fastest growing shopping sites
• 7.4 million customers, nearly half of whom have purchased in the last 12 months
• 75 percent of sales come from repeat customers, and those repeat customers spend much more the second and third times around
• average order size for returning customers is about $140, compared to about $110 for first-time customers