Roughstock Round-Up: June 2007
Welcome to yet another redesign of the Roundup, in which I finally decide to leave it alone. The new look simplifies things quite a bit, making it easier to read overall (and if it doesn't, please tell me). It also happens to give a hint of what you'll find with the upcoming relaunch of www.roughstockstudios.com, which will sport both a brand new look and a brand new library of resource materials to help you reach bigger and better audiences. As a Roundup subscriber, you'll get the first peak at the new site when it's ready.
Now on to this month's Roundup!
Does Britain Have a Fourth of July?
If—even for a split second—you thought the above question was referring to the Independence Day holiday celebrated by barbeque-loving Americans nationwide, you just experienced one of the most damaging habits perpetuated by organizations of all sizes and stripes. The answer is, of course, that Britain does have a fourth of July; it falls right after the third of July and right before the fifth of July.
This trick question is a testament to how ingrained our assumptions are; we are naturally inclined to assess any given question, proposal, situation or problem according to our own sense of reality instead of the reality of those affected by said question, proposal, etc. We do this for a simple reason: we don’t necessarily know where our audience is coming from. Rather than make the effort to find out, which often takes time and sometimes money, we go with our own assumptions. And these assumptions are all too often wrong.
Take Coke: back in the early ‘80s, Coke was struggling to maintain market share. In an effort to reclaim the soda market, Coca-Cola decided to launch a new product—New Coke—while discontinuing their old and tired regular Coke. They conducted blind taste tests and New Coke handily won every time. Thinking they had a sure-fire winner on their hands, they launched the new product, complete with expensive ad campaign, and then watched New Coke rapidly crash and burn.
How, if their taste tests showed New Coke was a winner, did Coca-Cola get it so wrong? This juggernaut of a brand simply assumed that because soda drinkers liked the taste of New Coke better, that they would buy it. But they failed to ask other important questions, like what else do consumers value, other than taste, when buying cola? Coke failed to go beyond its own assumption that taste was the most important thing and the result was product failure.
This is why Roughstock spends the early stages of any project doing hours of research and asking lots of questions. I can’t stress enough the value of due diligence before launching an ad campaign, or a new product, or hosting a big event. Ask yourself, what does my audience really want? What do they value? What am I not seeing? What worked and didn’t work in the past, and why? Is there a chance that my own assumptions are wrong? Delve into your audience’s perspective—flat out ask them—and you'll see a far greater rate of success than if you just assume.
Green Design Dialogues
I was recently invited to participate in Green Design Dialogues, an online round table focusing on the growing role of sustainability in the graphic design industry. This hour-plus conversation resulted in a striking realization: as green issues quickly become part of everyday life for the majority of Americans, there are still huge gaps of knowledge that need to filled and us designers must be ready to guide our clients through this process.
As a result, Roughstock's upcoming resource library will be stocked with helpful articles and worksheets for those who would like to learn and do more.
Joining the conversation were fellow designers Megan Prusynski, Dani Nordin, Eric Karjaluoto, design professor Eric Benson and Bryn Mooth, editor of HOW Design magazine. You can read Megan's coverage of the Dialogues on Green Options: Dialogues 1 | Dialogues 2 | Dialogues 3
Substantial Profits, Sustainably
Are you one of the many folks who assume that greening up your business would be nothing but a drain on the bottom line? Well, now that we know where making assumptions will get us, perhaps it's time to discover the truth (and make more money to boot).
Check out my latest installment of The Sustainable Studio, in which I'll walk you through the many ways to earn Substantial Profits, Sustainably. This is the first article in a multi-part series for the Business of Design Online, and it applies to anyone who works in an office (not just designers).
Quick Shots
Beer vs. Wine | If you think your preference is best, think again! I recently tackled this age-old debate on Bar Stories.
Fourth of July! | More than you ever knew about the holiday, including various celebrations around the country.
Subculture, Inc. | NY Times columnist Rob Walker's collection of blog entries, Q&As and columns about people "finding ways to make a living from creative enterprises."
That wraps it up for this month, folks. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to look for next month's Roundup, when I'll be staging a completely gratuitous, self-serving contest to gather the most complaints about Roughstock Studios. Yes, you read that right. You'll just have to wait to find out why on earth I'd want to do something like that.
In the meantime, have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!
Best,
Jess Sand
Principal
Now on to this month's Roundup!
Does Britain Have a Fourth of July?
If—even for a split second—you thought the above question was referring to the Independence Day holiday celebrated by barbeque-loving Americans nationwide, you just experienced one of the most damaging habits perpetuated by organizations of all sizes and stripes. The answer is, of course, that Britain does have a fourth of July; it falls right after the third of July and right before the fifth of July.This trick question is a testament to how ingrained our assumptions are; we are naturally inclined to assess any given question, proposal, situation or problem according to our own sense of reality instead of the reality of those affected by said question, proposal, etc. We do this for a simple reason: we don’t necessarily know where our audience is coming from. Rather than make the effort to find out, which often takes time and sometimes money, we go with our own assumptions. And these assumptions are all too often wrong.
Take Coke: back in the early ‘80s, Coke was struggling to maintain market share. In an effort to reclaim the soda market, Coca-Cola decided to launch a new product—New Coke—while discontinuing their old and tired regular Coke. They conducted blind taste tests and New Coke handily won every time. Thinking they had a sure-fire winner on their hands, they launched the new product, complete with expensive ad campaign, and then watched New Coke rapidly crash and burn.
How, if their taste tests showed New Coke was a winner, did Coca-Cola get it so wrong? This juggernaut of a brand simply assumed that because soda drinkers liked the taste of New Coke better, that they would buy it. But they failed to ask other important questions, like what else do consumers value, other than taste, when buying cola? Coke failed to go beyond its own assumption that taste was the most important thing and the result was product failure.
This is why Roughstock spends the early stages of any project doing hours of research and asking lots of questions. I can’t stress enough the value of due diligence before launching an ad campaign, or a new product, or hosting a big event. Ask yourself, what does my audience really want? What do they value? What am I not seeing? What worked and didn’t work in the past, and why? Is there a chance that my own assumptions are wrong? Delve into your audience’s perspective—flat out ask them—and you'll see a far greater rate of success than if you just assume.
Green Design Dialogues
I was recently invited to participate in Green Design Dialogues, an online round table focusing on the growing role of sustainability in the graphic design industry. This hour-plus conversation resulted in a striking realization: as green issues quickly become part of everyday life for the majority of Americans, there are still huge gaps of knowledge that need to filled and us designers must be ready to guide our clients through this process.As a result, Roughstock's upcoming resource library will be stocked with helpful articles and worksheets for those who would like to learn and do more.
Joining the conversation were fellow designers Megan Prusynski, Dani Nordin, Eric Karjaluoto, design professor Eric Benson and Bryn Mooth, editor of HOW Design magazine. You can read Megan's coverage of the Dialogues on Green Options: Dialogues 1 | Dialogues 2 | Dialogues 3
Substantial Profits, Sustainably
Are you one of the many folks who assume that greening up your business would be nothing but a drain on the bottom line? Well, now that we know where making assumptions will get us, perhaps it's time to discover the truth (and make more money to boot).Check out my latest installment of The Sustainable Studio, in which I'll walk you through the many ways to earn Substantial Profits, Sustainably. This is the first article in a multi-part series for the Business of Design Online, and it applies to anyone who works in an office (not just designers).
Quick Shots
Beer vs. Wine | If you think your preference is best, think again! I recently tackled this age-old debate on Bar Stories.
Fourth of July! | More than you ever knew about the holiday, including various celebrations around the country.
Subculture, Inc. | NY Times columnist Rob Walker's collection of blog entries, Q&As and columns about people "finding ways to make a living from creative enterprises."
That wraps it up for this month, folks. Thanks for tuning in and be sure to look for next month's Roundup, when I'll be staging a completely gratuitous, self-serving contest to gather the most complaints about Roughstock Studios. Yes, you read that right. You'll just have to wait to find out why on earth I'd want to do something like that.
In the meantime, have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July!
Best,
Jess Sand
Principal
Labels: Roundup
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home