I’m not what most people (especially my brother who is in the gourmet food business) would call a foodie so its surprising that last night I found myself at a high-end food fundraiser and that I was impressed enough to write about it.

The event I went to was a Plate & Pitchfork dinner where the organization pairs a Portland, OR gourmet chef with a local high-end farm and put on a 5-star dinner out in the farm’s fields.

The dinner is preceded by a talk from the farmer and the chef about their food philosophies and then a tour of farm.  This particular dinner took place on Viridan farm where they grow a huge number of edible flowers.  I was amazed as we walked the rows and grazed the flowers.  Later we got an entire salad made of edible flowers.

The dinner for 150 was amazing, the setting beautiful, and the service steller–all the more amazing every time we looked around and realized we were out in a farm field.

There seemed to be a HUGE amount of work that goes into these dinners so all the more amazing that the organization behind it puts on about 20 a year.

All the funds raised go to various organizations that do food education–reminding youth (and the rest) that there is more then processed or factory farmed food out there and why its important to eat it and support it.

I’d heard about these kinds of events before and researched San Francisco area events–but all that I could find seem to instantly sell out… even at $150-$200/person.

If you can find a farm dinner in your area, you should try to attend or volunteer.

If you’re a social entrepreneur looking for a project with built-in demand, check out these events, the world needs more farm dinners.

So, I was amazed when I opened USA Today on July 22nd and saw a review of the Dell Streak in Ed Baig’s consumer tech column which said “Availability: Dell won’t say but indicates the Streak is coming very soon” and “Price: That’s also a Dell secret for now…”

Why would they let one of the two most important consumer tech writers in the world cover a product that consumers can’t buy and not even give them a clue of the price or when it is coming?  Just does not make sense from a consumer sales/marketing/experience point of view.

Its unclear even today (two weeks later) if its available.  There are reviews on Dell’s site but the page still says “The Dell Streak will be available for purchase soon.”

On the other hand…

This past Tuesday, RIM held an event to introduce a new phone.  Over the past few years RIM has been getting better and better at focusing on consumers–with things like product names (Curve, Pearl, etc.) rather than just model numbers.

In fact they have changed so much that the headline and lead of one article about the announcement said “RIM attempts to create Apple-like buzz with BlackBerry Torch event” and “In an uncharacteristic move, Research in Motion held a media event Tuesday in New York City to generate buzz for its new BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone.”

What else did they do different than Dell?  According to the article. “The device will be available exclusively on the AT&T network starting August 12. It carries a $199 price with a standard two-year contract.”

That’s the way to introduce a product: With a DATE AND PRICE!

Over the past decade a number of companies have realized that service and support is a way to build loyalty with customers.  Car dealers, cable companies (yes, them) and Apple, among others have taken this approach.

On the other hand many banks and other companies have gone the opposite way.

Car dealers: Brand loyalty is one reason so many car dealers have upgraded the service department’s public areas.  When a customer is in servicing a car its one more opportunity to sell them on the brand.  It’s all about giving them good experiences.

Luxury dealers (and even some Toyota dealers, etc.) routinely have free wi-fi, espresso and shuttle rides, etc.  Compare that to a few years ago when it was ripped stained furniture and burnt coffee.  If you have a bad experience every time you are in for service, you’d think twice about going back to that dealer or brand for your next car.

Cable companies:  Back in the early 90s they realized how bad a rep they had and sooner or later there would be competition.  Nowadays when I call Comcast I very quickly can get a live person on the phone who will help me trouble shoot the problem and schedule a technician if they can’t fix it.  Typically they get me a next day appointment with a TWO HOUR WINDOW–AND IN MY EXPERIENCE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ON TIME!  They get it.

Apple: Read this post from the Consumerist and this one from Robin Raskin.  Both these people will probably be customers for life–and brand evangelists going forward–in fact they already are evangelizing by publishing their stories.

Apple is the technology company that is showing all the others how to act like a consumer company.  It seems like the company’s philosophy is: “Technology is complex but let’s try to make it simple.  When it’s not, lets use fixing the technology to get closer to our customers not to push them farther away.”

UPDATE: In the end, after I made enough noise, BMW came through and paid for the repair.  I am grateful to them and glad that they did the right thing in the end.  But still a bit of a black mark that it took so much work to get some satisfaction.

One of my key marketing rules is “Know Your Brand.”

BMW has always seemed to get this–they understand that they sell more than a car… they sell an experience and a lifestyle.

Maintaining this experience and keeping customers happy helps BMW continue as one of the most successful luxury car companies with one of the best brands.  They continually win brand awards but they also realize the need to always make a strong effort to please customers.

In 2002 the then CEO, Helmut Panke, summed it up when he said. “What I see as our biggest risk is the possibility of complacency. We need to make sure that nobody leans back. We have to remain hungry and to keep up our desire to outperform others.”

That is why I was so shocked when I tried to get a defect fixed on my wife’s 2004 325i.  BMW has refused to take responsibility or pay for the repairs.

Fixing a defect, in warrantee OR out should be one of the easiest customer satisfaction actions BMW performs.

Here is what happened: Intermittently an indicator comes on showing there is something wrong with the rear lights.  I took the car in to the BMW dealer and mentioned this to my service advisor.  I was really surprised when he guessed at the cause before even getting up from his desk.  Upon checking the car, his hunch was confirmed.

Here is the issue as BMW states in their service bulletin: “Minor corrosion at the 8-pin rear lamp connector creates high resistance causing damage to the connector housing.”  In other words, your rear light can melt!

So what makes this a “defect” and not something that should be the responsibility of the owner?  Well, first, the fix is not just to replace a broken or worn out part.  The fix is to actually modify the original configuration.  From BMW’s Service Information Bulletin (SIB 63 03 06) “Correction: Repair the damaged wire(s) and replace damaged connector housing. Install additional ground wires to both left and right rear lamps.” (emphasis added)

Second, this defect seems very common and BMW is well aware of it as evidenced by the service bulletin, the 100s of postings on BMW forums and the numerous filings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration–one of which claims there was a fire involved! (Office of Defects Investigation ID Number : 10263031)

I have asked the service manager at my dealer to look into having BMW pay for these repairs but he said they declined.  I also called customer relations, opened a case but was told that they also would not step up to the plate.

We are a loyal two-BMW household who purchases the highest level maintenance packages and always services our car at the dealer (who we love along with our service advisor) so it’s very surprising to see how little BMW will do keep us (and the other owners with the same problem) happy for a problem that is clearly a defect and not a run of the mill maintenance issue.

In many circles, failing is shunned.  You don’t mention it, you don’t admit it and you sure don’t hold conferences about it.

But. one of the first thing I learned about Silicon Valley when I arrived here 15 years ago was that it was a place where failure is expected, accepted and maybe even celebrated.

Some companies even acknowledge failure in their corporate cultures–they will say things like “we believe in fail fast.”  Meaning: Try something, see if it works, but if it’s a failure, realize it quickly and move on to something else.

At most client meetings and at every lecture, I encourage studying launch failures (as well as successes).  You can only get a well-rounded picture of how to launch properly by examining both successes and failures.

Now there is a Silicon Valley conference looking lessons learned from failure–FailCon.  They say: “You aren’t a real entrepreneur until you’ve had to deal with failure, and recovering from it – financially, emotionally, and practically – can be challenging.”

I’ll be covering the conference next Tuesday (Oct. 27) and letting you know how the ideas apply to launch.  If you are interested in attending yourself, you can register here.

In addition, the organizers seem to run some interesting conferences so keep your eye on their site for other upcoming topics.

The article says:

James Pitaro, vice president of Yahoo’s audience group, said, “In our research with users, we found that the more information that was displayed on the page, the greater the anxiety.”

He said Yahoo deliberately adopted what he calls “the Apple model — simplicity in design; a clean, simple look, not overburdening our users with too much information on the page.”

Google seems to pay no heed to such psychology. Google Finance, which was introduced in 2006 and shed its “beta” label earlier this year, hews to its original strategy: offer the best data and charts. And when that doesn’t work, offer still more data and charts.

He says, “AMD is making a dramatic bid to simplify branding of its CPUs down to the bare essentials. In fact, rather than emphasizing specific CPUs at all, it will focus on three levels of performance:” Vision, Vision Premium and Vision Ultimate.

This is clearly (and I think successfully) aimed at consumers–who are typically confused by all the tech references in processor names.

From the simplicity of this scheme (and if it is smart) it appears AMD will keep the names simple even as the underlying technology changes.  Apple does this–it’s always the MacBook and MacBook Pro even as the processor, hard drives, ports, etc. continue to change.

Meanwhile…

In 1993 Intel revolutionized the selling of technology to consumers when it, named its processor the Pentium rather than the i586 (the i386 and i486 had come before.)  Ironically, Intel was pushed into naming processors when AMD began copying the x86 names when a court refused to grant trademark protection on numbers.

So where is Intel today with consumer processor naming?

I hate* to say: Not as good.  On a page aimed at helping consumers find the right processor for laptops is a list of products including: Intel Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, Centrino 2, Core 2 Solo, Pentium and Celeron processors.  And while Intel has an explanation next to each (e.g. “Unplug and enjoy great performance in more places.”) there is not a lot of clarity in the names themselves.

Great to see tech companies naming products.  Even better to see good naming schemes.

*Disclosure: I worked at Intel for a few years and still have a small amount of stock.

If you have not seen this talk yet, I encourage you to come and hear the talk. Its got good lessons for anyone launching a product–consumer tech or not. And it’s definitely NOT an hour of bullets on a slide. I’ve worked hard to make the talk entertaining with video clips, props, etc. Come check it out. Details are below along with an interview the organization conducted with me.

Interview: http://marketingsig.blogspot.com/2009/09/dont-just-plan-party.html

Subject: Don’t Launch a Product, Launch a Product Experience: 11+ Rules to Learn

Location:
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP
2000 University Ave.(University Circle)
East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Agenda:
6:30 – 7:00 p.m. Registration / Networking / Refreshments
7:00 – 7:15 p.m. Announcements and Introductions
7:15 – 8:30 p.m. Presentation and Discussion
8:30 – 8:45 p.m. Wrap-up / Networking

Cost:
$15 at the door for non-SDForum members
No charge for SDForum members
No registration required

Better yet, click here and sign up to attend (at a 15% discount).  I’ve attended the conference (as well as other GigaOM events) in past years and can heartily recommend them.  Om packs a lot into a single 12 hour day!  It’s a great conference to get up to speed with the state of the industry right now as well as what the next six to nine months hold.

Also, unlike some conferences held in the bowels of a some giant hotel (with generic chandeliers, carpets, halls, etc. that we are all too familiar with), the venue: The Mission Bay Conference Center is beautiful and full of sunlight.  It was designed by award-winning architect Ricardo Legoretta.

many accounts so far, a worthwhile challenger to the latest Kindle

As someone who has been critical of Sony product names in the past (as have others), I first have to praise Sony for coming up with a name (rather than a model number) for its latest Reader.  It’s nice to see the people who came up with “Walkman” back on track with naming.

On the other hand…

One of the most basic launch rules is “Don’t launch a product until its ready.” so what I can’t understand is why Sony would launch this product when:

• There is no information about it on Sony.com (other than a press release)
• Consumers can’t buy it for at least four months
• There does not appear to be a way to pre-order it
• There did not seem to be a working prototype at the event for press to try

Compare this to how Bose and Amazon and Apple all launch products.

Bose: Bose announced its QuiteComfort 15 noise canceling headphones on Wednesday, August 19th.  They were available in stores the next day.  In addition, on the 19th Bose.com prominently featured the product on its front page and had a complete product page ready (with product details,  tech support info, etc.)  Reporters were able to go into Bose stores a day before to do an on-site test/preview.

Amazon: Amazon announced the Kindle 2 on February 9 and although it would not ship for two weeks, they immediately began taking pre-orders.  Reporters at the launch event were given hands-on time with the product.

Apple: Apple is rumored to be having an event on September 9th.  Immediately following this event, I encourage you to read the news coverage then look on Apple.com.  If past patterns hold true, the new products will be there front and center… and they will be available for consumers within two weeks… if not immediately.

Announce vs. Launch

In this post I have used announce and launch interchangeably.  I have done this deliberately because when consumers see a news article about a new product they don’t differentiate the announcement from the launch.  Yes, occasionally, a product can be announced to the industry (with a consumer launch following) but in those (rare) cases coverage does not end up in Business Week, on local TV news or in the Arts section of the Times.

Launch when ready!

This month’s (September 2009) Consumer Reports magazine has a fun article on how and why paint companies name paints rather then only giving them a number.

The article talks about the origins of names like Old Pickup Blue, Orange Sherbet, Mermaid’s Tail, Jamaican Acqua and a few others.

What’s most interesting for the consumer technology industry is the quotes that explain why give paints names at all.  “In addition to evoking a special feeling, names can be easy to remember. ‘Lily White is infinitely better then White-937,’ says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.”

“Pantone’s color of the year is mimosa because, says color consultant Leatrice Eiseman, ‘yellow is the color of hope and change and enlightenment, and its also very warm and inviting.’”

Benjamin Moore and the other paint companies discussed are not naming only a few colors.  As the article states “There are thousands of paint colors, and each needs a name.”

So how do they do it?  “At Benjamin Moore, that task falls to senior interior designer Sonu Mathew—not that she works alone. When a new color palette is created, she enlists fellow employees, from workers at the plant to the CEO.”

This is a good model for the consumer tech industy to emulate.

Meanwhile back in the tech industry…

The other day Nikon introduced a first for a digital camera.  They announced a digital camera with a built in projector.  CNET’s Don Reisinger said “I believe that projectors will be the next big thing in the digital camera space.”

Anyone remember hearing or reading about this camera over the past few days?  If so, remember the name?  I suspect not.  Maybe because its called the Coolpix S1000pj.  Coolpix may be a name but s1000pj sure is not.  Revolutionary product.  Not so revolutionary name.

August 6 Addendum: Just after publishing this piece I read Walt Mossberg’s generally positive review of a new Toshiba netbook in which he says: “Toshiba has advanced the netbook category in key respects.”

But, what was one of his comments about the product?  “…inelegantly called the NB205-N310…”  Give products names and avoid one more thing that can distract from the good qualities of a product.

The headline on its newspaper advertisement reads, “It doesn’t play music, take pictures or surf the Internet.”  Bravo!   This company understands that for many consumers more features means more complexity, a harder to use product and in the end more frustration.

The company also understands that less is more when it comes to consumer choice.  You can get the phone in White or Graphite.  That’s the only product decision.  No need to choose memory size, feature sets, carriers, etc.  Pick the color and your done.  Again, fewer decisions means fewer frustrations.

While many tech-savvy consumers are racing to smart phones there is a whole world of non-tech savvy consumers (young and old) who are being dragged into the technological world that has emerged over the past few years.  These consumers should be given technologies that add to their lives but do not cause frustration.

The Jitterbug is meeting this need (and in the process its been getting praised by the industry and the press for its feature set and ease of use. Recognitions include the 2009 Wireless-Life Sciences and Triple Tree I Award for “Best Consumer Experience” and very positive comments in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Washington Post.)

It would be nice to see the philosophy behind the Jitterbug phone applied to more products–either by the folks behind Jitterbug or by other companies.

(Disclosure: In the past, I have done some advising for the PR agency working with Jitterbug)

Few can argue with Kodak’s decision to kill Kodachrome film. However, I see their approach as one filled with blunders. The company saw Kodachrome as a product or a name but not a brand. But a brand it is, indeed a brand that still has lots of positive equity associated with it (as evidenced by the press coverage) And there lies the blunder–they killed not only the product but the brand as well.

In their own press release, Kodak shows that they ALMOST (but now quite) understand that Kodachrome is a brand. At first they say “Kodachrome film is an iconic product and a testament to Kodak’s long and continuing leadership in imaging technology.” YES! But then they go on to say “…the majority of today’s photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology…” ARRRRGH! Its not a technology. Maybe 74 years ago in a lab it was a technology. But then Kodak gave it a name, people tried it–they had good experiences with it and it went on to become a brand. A good brand. A lasting brand.

In the public’s mind, Kodachrome still stands for memories, quality, deep colors, leadership, etc. Kodak could have taken advantage of this by introducing a series of Kodachrome digital products at the same moment they killed the film product. These products could have spanned a wide range from cameras to color accuracy devices to paper to printing services. All of these products would have had instant brand equity with the public.

While Kodak has become a digital company, most of the world does not yet realize that. People still remember that it took Kodak a long time to admit that digital was going to kill film. This was a great opportunity to help change that reputation. If Kodak had used this announcement to change the Kodachrome brand from a film brand to a digital brand they would have instantly reminded the world that Kodak had successfully made it through the digital transition and has remained a leader.  But with the way they handled this announcement, the public will still see them as a film company desperately dumping obsolete products.

Brands are not synonymous with names. Brands are the collective experiences people have had with the products that carry the name. Kill off obsolete products but keep great brands.

What many people don’t know is that the organization spends a tremendous amount of time and effort on lobbying/government affairs/public policy (take your pick of names) on behalf of CE companies.

It turns out that more often then not, what is good for the CE companies is good for the consumer.  The CEA has been especially active in trying keep consumer’s rights to fair use/recording media for personal use.

Here are a series of statements from the CEA’s Current Policy Initiative Web site the illustrate some of its positions:

Broadband: CEA believes that market-based competition among all communication channels is the best way to promote rapid deployment of broadband technologies…” “…the government should work toward reserving spectrum to support future rollout of broadband wireless technology.”

Copyright and Fair Use: “First Amendment and fair use rights must be safeguarded to preserve consumers’ freedoms, the creative spirit and advancement in the digital age. Consumer electronics products are a vital link allowing the world’s citizens access to information, education and entertainment. Increased access to this technology will shrink the digital divide and produce a renaissance in arts, science, music, academics and creativity across the entire world. Copyright owners must resist the temptation to restrict technology. If successful, restrictions will deprive the public of equal and fair access to information, entertainment and education. CEA is committed to ensuring consumers’ continued access to legal, non-infringing products by ensuring the preservation of the Betamax standard, both through legal action and public policy.”

Sales Tax: “CEA supports sales tax holidays, or temporary sales tax exemptions, for purchases of home computers and related products.”

Telecom Reform: “[Current telecom] regulations, however, have become outdated and are no longer relevant to the new services and technologies that have arisen over the past few years. Attempts to classify these new services into outmoded regulations stifles innovation, creates uncertainty in the marketplace and diminishes the increase in productivity that is directly attributed to such innovations. Policymakers understand the need to establish a new communications policy framework that encourages the continuing transformation and modernization of communications networks through broadband and IP-enabled applications.”

Unlicensed Spectrum: “Over the past decade, the amount of commercial licensed spectrum has nearly doubled, while the amount of unlicensed spectrum has nearly quadrupled. CEA supports the market-oriented, deregulatory approach that Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have taken with regard to our nation’s spectrum policy.”

If you’re interested in following an advocate for consumer’s keep an eye on the CEA.

Even after just two sessions I am realizing this is a huge topic–for two reasons.  My first realization is that there is not really a limited area called “Tech” Policy.  As technology moves into everyday life, everything becomes tech policy.  For example, we know that spectrum regulation or rural broadband tax incentives could be considered tech policy.  And we can even stretch to think of copyright as tech policy (e.g. is linking to an article violating a copyright).  But couldn’t we consider education policy as tech policy if it effects how many engineers the country is creating?  In fact is there anything (ok, many things) that could not touch the tech industry in some way or another.

Second, what is policy?  Yes, its legislation and its tax incentives and its stimulus spending allocation.  But isn’t fear (as in fear of legislation or fear of consumer advocates) as powerful a policy force as the actual legislation.  And can’t inaction be policy as much as active regulation?

Just some thoughts from a policy novice.  Any thoughts from others?

While I have not studied this issue that often, it is clear that it can have great effects.  For example, allowing unlicensed spectrum allowed consumers to have cordless phones, walkie-talkies and WiFi without the need for the end user to apply for licenses, etc.  On the other hand, there is no absolute guarantee of freedom from interference with these devices.

I’ll be doing a lot of thinking on this issue over the next few days and post here as I think of or hear ideas about how policy affects user experience.

Thoughts?  Add them in comments.

Now Asus seems to be getting the message.

According to New Zeland PC World:

Asus will only launch two or three versions of the Eee PC this year, such as the Eee PC Touch and Eee PC Seashell, a company representative said Friday.

The new netbook strategy differs greatly from last year.

Asustek sold over 20 different versions of the Eee PC last year, with different names such as the Eee PC S101, Eee PC 1000H, Eee PC Surf and more. Analysts said the strategy hurt Asus in its bid to fight off competition from newcomers to the market segment, such as Acer, Dell and Lenovo.

Hopefully this move will allow customers to make better choices and help the company’s success.  I’ll be watching.

BudFits are simple flexiable molded plastic pieces which grab onto Apple ear bud headphones and then loop around the ear to hold them secure.  They could have been engineered to be much more complex (e.g. rotating parts, various sizes, non-right/left interchangeable, etc.)  But they were not.  They are simple when simple is called for.

In addition, Innovelis has done a number of other things right:

Packaging: The BudFits come in that plastic clamshell packagaing that nowadays makes us reach for our scissors in fear of the opening processes–BUT!  The package actually opens simply and easily without knife or scissors.

Name: BudFits.  Could you want a more descriptive, simple or memorable name?  Why can’t all companies follow their lead?

Price: Under $9.  In an era when even the simplest iPod and iPhone related items seem to be $14.95, $29.95 or $49.95, $8.99 is refreshing.

Performance: So far they seem to payoff of their promise.

Simple is not always easy to achive but its important to strive for.  BudFits is a good example of a company that has achived simple.

The two new photo printers from Sony aimed at the average point-and-shoot camera owner are the (horrifically monikered) DPP-FP67 and DPP-FP97, updates on last year’s DPP-FP75 and DPP-FP95.

Apple at 8:30 a.m. Eastern is expected to revamp its entire desktop line, including the Mac Pro, while also introducing new versions of its AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products, a leaked parts and specifications list reveals.

If you are a non-technical consumer (ok, even if you are a technical consumer) which company’s product names will you remember long enough to ask for them in a store?

According to Valleywag

If you care about the issues I have been writing and consulting about, my recommendation is not to wait for the autobiography but to go out today and get a copy of  Leander Kahney‘s book, Inside Steve’s Brain. I have been plowing through this book and getting amazing insight into what Apple does to remain successful.

The book has been getting good reviews but I am baffaled why it is not getting more attention.  Maybe thats because it wasn’t pulled from the shelf like iCon.

Kahney’s Wired article on the birth of the iPod inspired some of ideas in my Apple Launch article.

If you have read it, I would love to hear your thoughts on the book and any insights you gained.

The summary: (In Ken’s words… edited)

Nikon had been pimping a BIG announcement of its MX camera at WPPI’s BIG night.

Whatever it was, it was a product announcement so Earth-shattering and so definite that Nikon stuck its neck out for months promoting it.

What did we get after months of teasing?

Nothing!

All WPPI attendees got was a hastily-booked Blues Traveler concert instead when Nikon couldn’t deliver the goods.

All of this points out the importance of:

1) Expect and prepare for delays.  Companies have to expect them.  Rarely does Apple have only one announcement.  They que up a number of new products so that if one drops out at the last minute, the press’ time is not wasted.

2) Don’t hype early.  When talking about the level of hype, Ken uses the words “for months.”

On the other hand:

1) If the delay was because the product would not ship anytime soon, its good that Nikon held the announcement till closer to ship.

2) If the product was delayed because it was not ready for primetime, its good that Nikon held the announcement till they could showoff a great product.
Thankfully for Nikon this was an industry announcement (aimed it seems at wedding photographers) and not a general consumer announcement… (Although the product may eventually also be used by them).

But, nonetheless, Nikon still lost some credibility with (at least one) press.

Ken again… edited:

Oh well. Nikon botched BIG. The only thing BIG about it was that it was a huge failure and a humongous embarrassment. Nikon loss-of-face was incredibly BIG…

I almost went out to Vegas to cover it, based purely on that tease. I’m glad I stayed home.

For a while, Las Vegas tried to position itself as a family friendly destination but gave that up a few years ago to bring back the idea of Vegas as Sin City.  This was epitomized in the “What happens here stays here” campaign.

This campaign was very successful…  Now Vegas might even be thinking that it was too successful.

You see, Vegas is not just Sin City.  Its also Business Convention City.  That unfortunately was not part of the branding campaign so all people think of is Sin City.

So, not totally surprisingly last week President Obama said “You can’t get corporate jets. You can’t go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer’s dime.”  Of course he did, the city does not advertise how many conventions it hosts.  Just that you shouldn’t talk about what goes on when you are in town to  attend them.

The “shocked” (as in: shocked, shocked that gambling is going on here) mayor is demanding an apology and retraction.

What can we learn here?  First, the “What happens here stays here” campaign did not reflect the total Las Vegas story.  And the lesson that if your brand does not reflect your true or full story, sooner or later it will come back to burn you.

Launch when Ready: Immediately following the announcement of Google Oceans, the Google Earth 5.0 software was made available for download on Google’s site.  Jornalists, bloggers, reviewers and just curious customers could download and begin taking a “plunge into the oceans of the world.” And while the product will expand over time as more people add addition ocean related content, on day-one there was lots and lots of content to look at.  I’m sure there were many happy experiences that day that began to build positive feelings about Google Oceans and reinforce the Google Earth brand.

In contrast, when the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) launched back in February of 2008 there was hardly any content available.  One article wrote “The version of the encyclopedia to be introduced Thursday is far from the finished product, Edwards warned. ‘It’s going to be rough,’ he said. ‘We’re releasing early to get feedback from people.’  And while there were technically 30,000 species listed, there were only 24 detailed fully written pages on launch day.

And while the site proved immensely popular (The encyclopedia’s Web site logged 11.5 million hits over 5½ hours) nowadays on a typical day there are just over 6,000 people who look at the site.  I’d guess that the initial lack of content was one factor for today’s low traffic.

And while the EOL claimed at launch they were targeting the scientific communiuty their launch reached a dream list of consumer publications.  Consumers saw, tried and developed impressions.  And we all know first impressions are lasting impressions.

Be Ready for Launch: When Google Oceans launched there were no reports of download problems. Everyone who wanted to try it probably had a good experience.

When the Encyclopedia of Life launched, FoxNews.com titled its article “Huge Online ‘Encyclopedia of Life’ Crashes Even Before Launch.”  (A similar thing happend to the search engine Cuil earlier this year after a New York times article.)

What’s interesting (scary?) is a quote from an EOL executive: “We’ve been overwhelmed by traffic.  We’re thrilled.”  Thrilled?  How many people tried to access the site that day, got slow or no results and never came back?

I understand how hard and expensive it can be to gear up for peak demand but if a comapny is going to spend marketing and PR dollars to reach the masses they need to be ready for the masses to respond.  You only make a first impression once.

In its usually secretive way, Apple does not usually discuss its values.  The only other statement of values I have seen from Apple is this 21 year old document.  So, these few sentances give great insight into its approach and philosophy.

Here is what Tim said:
“The values of our company are extremely well entrenched.

We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products (and thats not changing).  We’re constantly focusing on innovating.  We believe in the simple not the complex.  We believe we that need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution.

We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.  We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.

And frankly, we don’t settle for anything less then excellence in every group in the company and we have the self honesty to admit when we are wrong and the courage to change.”

I am back from CES now but one of the companies that I was most impressed with was Eton.  They are the US distributor of Grundig shortwave radios.  If you’ve seen the Grundig lineup you know how daunting some of those products can be to use.

That is why I was so pleasantly surprised by Eton’s own line of crank radios.  First, the products seem to be engineered to be easy to use even though have many functions.  For example you’ll see in the picture that the main, most used functions have giant knobs while other lesser functions are controlled by much smaller buttons.

Eton clearly understands the philosophy of “be ready to support what you sell.”  The very first thing in their manuals is their phone support numbers and office hours.  Also, every product page has a downloadable PDF manual.

Finally, they seem to understand that “the little things count.”  Most of their radios have a port to charge a cell phone. So, Eton offers to send a charger tip to match a customers specific phone for free. Other companies would tack on a shipping charge or require customers to copy receipts, send in proof of purchase, etc.  In the same vein, Eton has a online parts store with many battery covers listed at reasonable prices.  How many electronic devices have you had in your life that had lost their battery cover?

I hope to be able to talk with Eton more to study what else they have have been doing right.