Monthly Archives: April 2010

Profiles in Cool – Bowling for Innovation

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By Paul Dumouchelle,  Management Consultant, ADVISA

The classic marketing entrepreneur identifies a need, creates a solution to that need, develops a marketing strategy to exploit the solution then sells the hell out of it.  Sparking that creativity is where the magic in marketing originates and the source of the spark can come anywhere, anytime. 

For David Stein, President of Beertubes.com the moment of inspiration came in the heat of a 2005 bowling competition when he poured himself a cool, refreshing brew from his pitcher of beer and it wasn’t as cold as it needed to be – horrors!

Collaborating with company co-owner Jason Drum, the team came with the “beertube” – a portable combination of a keg and draft beer dispenser that can be put on a table and keeps its contents colder, longer than a standard pitcher.  Starting small, they created a prototype of the idea using an actual bowling ball for the base and drilling out the necessary holes for the tube of beer and tap.  Reaction to the prototype was positive, Sequoia Pro Bowl’s owner wanted 25 right away. By March of 2006 they had 50 units made and they headed to a bowling trade show to try and sell the stock – they returned with orders for 180!

Early bowling center buyers confirmed the “Beertube” delivered on its promises and the business continued to grow.  David and Jason expanded the line to include more themes in the designs and more customization options – they now have over a dozen bases that can be used.  In 2007 the duo had enough business they had to quit their “day jobs” to pursue the opportunity they had created.

Cool thrills for David in his entrepreneurial journey include:

  • Anytime he sees the product in use in the marketplace and people talking about it
  • Setting up the first full container-load of product from their supplier in Asia
  • Getting placed in the Anheuser-Busch product catalogue for distributors in 2008

To date, their business has grown through trade shows, beer distributors and direct business.  In 2010 the company is positioning itself for expansion beyond beer and promoting the concept of “drinktubes.”  Licensing opportunities with brand equities such as sports teams is another area they have identified.

If you want to experience the Beertube first hand, it is in use at local Quaker Steak and Lube locations and Wings and Rings in Lewis Center.

Author’s Note:  This “Profiles in Cool” blog series puts the spotlight on folks in Central Ohio doing “cool” things in the field of marketing.  My definition of “cool” is 100% subjective – I welcome your comments!

Profiles in Cool – Shedding Light on Humanity in Design

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By Paul Dumouchelle , Management Consultant, ADVISA  

This “Profiles in Cool” blog series puts the spotlight on folks in Central Ohio doing “cool” things in the field of marketing.  My definition of “cool” is 100% subjective – I welcome your comments!

I meet Chris Rockwell, founder and President of Lextant (a market research firm), in the lobby of the 6th floor of the Smith Brothers Hardware Building at 580 N 4th St.  If you’ve ever driven on I-670 north of downtown Columbus, you’ve seen the building, it looks like an old warehouse – which it was, but it has been marvelously rehabilitated and the people of Lextant have an impressive view of the city’s landmarks and skyline from this location just near the convention center. 

Perhaps it is the inspiring surroundings that spark Lextant’s creativity leading to advancement in design for clients in markets as diverse as automobiles, healthcare, financial services and appliances.

The day I visit, part of Rockwell’s team is in a research “war room.”  They are posting sticky notes all over a wall to capture learning from multiple qualitative research sessions among “911” phone system operators.  The scene reminds me of a visual from a Walt Disney “Imagineering” team.

Lextant occupies the nexus of marketing, humanity and design.  Rockwell describes their mission as “problem seeking” to ensure the things his clients design create great experiences for users.  Successful research in design, from his perspective, channels creative energy within his clients toward successful outcomes in the marketplace.

This work seems to be in Rockwell’s blood.  His father was a researcher who taught at OSU, and in 1965 he was conducting eye-tracking research within cars.  When Chris was a kid his science fair projects built on this family legacy – he recounts doing a study on how reading legibility is affected by the contrast between printed words and paper color.  Armed with degrees from Ohio State and Virginia Tech, Chris spent 6 years in Colorado working with Hewlett-Packard on enterprise system management before starting Lextant in 1997.

So far, Lextant has survived the “dot.com crash” and the “great recession” – something many of Rockwell’s entrepreneurial peers cannot claim.  Energized by the ongoing challenge of creating insights on humanity for his wide variety of clients – not only understanding what is going on BUT ALSO WHY! – Rockwell and Lextant seem poised to expand their coolness factor well into the future.

Kids and Branding

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Andrea L. Crabtree MS

Anyone who has spent time with young children knows that kids absorb television commercials quickly and thoroughly. Two summers ago, I watched a six year-old play while he repeated a number of television commercials.

He sang all the jingles. He knew the entire script. He had memorized every word.

K. J. Dell’Antonia wrote a recent article in Slate describing studies on young children and branding. The article doesn’t suffer from a knee-jerk reaction to the exposure of children to advertising.

There is a nice description of what kind of young children understand branding, how they understand it and how branding could be used to actually encourage children to live healthier lives.

Previously, I could not imagine any advertisement clever enough to convince non-vegetable-eating kids to embrace spinach.

It seems I am probably wrong.

Paths to Creativity – Boxlessness

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By Paul Dumouchelle, Management Consultant, ADVISA 

Creativity is at the core of marketing.  The act of defining an offering to an identified market segment through a well-crafted message should involve new thinking every step of way.  To foster such creativity it helps to understand the different approaches people take to the challenge, “Boxlessness” is my term for those who not only think outside the box – they live outside the box – many don’t even know there is such a thing as a box!

Boxlessness is a drive for independence, freedom of expression, freedom of thought and a dislike, avoidance and even disdain for “rules.”  The “Boxless” person is a ceaseless innovator because they always look for the way to do things differently.  Uniqueness for uniqueness’ sake could be their motto.   

Boxless people seek and thrive on risk.  If it’s been “done before” they want nothing to do with it.  If you seek creativity just plug one of these people into the team and stand back!

Involving a boxless person on a team adds a spark of inventiveness but these people rarely want to dig into details.  If your challenge involves substantial follow-through and highly-detailed execution you will want to pair them up with others who will provide these qualities to the team.

A primary challenge in manage boxlessness is that the condition does not just apply to the work of marketing – it applies to everything, including the relationship of the boxless person to an organization, their colleagues on a team and their boss.  The same drive to avoid rules in the marketplace means a lack of respect for internal rules that groups typically need to function effectively.  Providing the boxless person with the freedom they need while maintaining enough structure for an organization to function effectively is a constant tension requiring intense management involvement and support. 

Depending on the strength and degree of the boxless drive, a leader can incent appropriate behavior by clearly communicating the consequences of rule-breaking to boxless people.  If the consequences are meaningful to them (and mere disapproval is rarely sufficient) then the boxlessness MAY be held in check – but you can expect the boxless person to constantly test the boundaries and publicly ridicule the necessity of rule all the while.

Knowing your own approach to creativity and those of people on your team provides valuable leverage for maximizing the impact of your marketing efforts.

Paths to Creativity – The Role of Impatience

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By Paul Dumouchelle, Management Consultant, ADVISA

Creativity is at the core of marketing.  The act of defining an offering to an identified market segment through a well-crafted message should involve new thinking every step of way.  To foster such creativity it helps to understand the different approaches people take to the challenge, the role impatience plays in people’s work should always be considered.

Impatience is a drive to get things done as quickly as possible.  The impatient person starts with the end in mind and looks for the fastest route there – skipping steps and multi-tasking are hallmarks of their activity.  If something can’t be done as quickly as they like the impatient person is sorely tempted to abandon the project and move on to the next new thing.  They thrive on pressure and variety.  The role of impatience in creativity is to generate a hotbed of intensity with ideas flying thick and fast.

Impatient people hate to wait.  If your creative challenge requires a methodical process, with multiple necessary steps that build one upon the other, the impatient person may lose interest.  To avoid this tendency, create “mini-deadlines” that keep the pressure on and lessen the temptation to stray from the task.

Much of the marketing world revolves around quick turnarounds, high-pressure, and multiple changes made “on the fly.”  Impatient people thrive in this environment – when combined with a drive for achieving goals, impatience creates the pro-activity especially valuable in a 24x7x365 competitive marketplace.

Beyond maintaining focus long enough to achieve closure, another primary management challenge with impatient people is negotiating the tension created when mixing them with their opposites – people with patience.  Mixing impatient people with patient people creates issues in all areas of work methods but in my experience the biggest issue is communication.  For example, impatient people start at the end in communication and this leaves patient people at a loss because they need to start at the beginning so they can view the “end” in context of everything that goes in front of it.  Conversely, the thorough approach of patient people leaves impatient people tapping their toes (at least) in frustration as they do anything BUT listen to the meaningless preamble provided by their patient colleagues.  Managing these “oil & water” tendencies requires constant coaching to remind the different people about their counterparts’ needs.

Knowing your own approach to creativity and those of people on your team provides valuable leverage for maximizing the impact of your marketing efforts.