What does Hallmark think is the ANTI-greeting card?

I found an interesting link when I searched for "anti-greeting card"... it was an article about an interview with a Hallmark greeting card artist called "Revilo". His real name is Oliver Christianson, but I find it interesting that he is considered "out there" by the rest of Hallmark.

check out the link below and see if you think he is really "out there" or not:
http://www.planetcartoonist.com/10stupidquestions/revilo.shtml

The more I thought about the concept of an "anti-greeting card" the more convinced I became that handwritten notes are the real "anti-greeting card".

When was the last time you got a handwritten card? Probably a while ago I'm betting.

When was the last time you got a greeting card? When was your last birthday? (probably the two are the same occasion.)

Wouldn't it surprise you if someone sent you a heartfelt note with birthday wishes (or any other kind of wishes for that matter)?

Hand-written notes .... the ANTI-greeting card !

Note Writing Crisis in America !

We have a CRISIS in America ....
and I don't mean terrorists or Linux or the spread of rap music...

According to Barry Shank, associate professor of comparative studies at Ohio State University and author of "A Token of My Affection: Greeting Cards and American Business Culture" (Columbia University Press, 2004), even when people have the opportunity to use their own words, people often us the same language, clichés and stereotypes found in the greeting cards themselves.

The following is an excerpt from an article on newswire.com (see Link), “There is this belief that if you handwrite a message, then somehow it is more true to your feelings and more original than a store-bought card,” Shank said. “But that’s not really the case. There are standard phrases, standard clichés, that almost everyone uses, even when they are writing a message themselves.”

[NoteWordy Interruption: Use of a "standard phrase" does not mean that a handwritten card is untrue to your feelings. You can write "I Love You", which is a pretty standard cliche, and if it is handwritten it definitely means more than when it is preprinted.]

In researching A Token of My Affection, Shank examined thousands of used greeting cards housed in the Bowling Green State University Popular Culture Library to see the personal messages people wrote on the cards.

Before he examined the collection, Shank said he believed that the limited, stereotypical messages found on most Valentines and other greeting cards were simply the result of mass production.

Companies couldn’t produce cards that were too complex, or too subtle, because they wouldn’t be able to sell enough to make a profit. “My thesis was that people would write their real feelings in the handwritten notes that they included on the cards,” he said. But Shank was surprised by what he found.

The most common marking in greeting cards, other than the signature, was the underlining of key words in the pre-printed messages. Even when people did write messages, the language hardly differed from what was in the card.

“I realized then that people really meant what was printed in those cards,” Shank said. “They don’t mean something else. Their true feelings are printed there in the messages." ... Shank believes "the popularity of greeting cards shows how our economy has affected our emotional lives – which is one of the key themes of his book. Greeting cards are popular because they allow us to show our true feelings, while at the same time distancing ourselves from those feelings."

I DISAGREE with his conclusions! For at least two reasons...

First he is only looking at a sample of GREETING CARDS. Of course the pre-printed text in a GREETING CARDS are going to reflect the feelings of the sender ... THAT IS WHY THEY PICKED IT to send in the first place! Hello, McFly...

Second, the "handwritten text" is IN ADDITION to the pre-printed text (at least the way that I read Shank's article). This means that the sender did not "start from scratch" and did not necessarily have to create their sentiments from their heart.

Of course, if the sender had a NoteWordy card perhaps they would have a better chance of expressing their feelings on the card (but I don't want to get all commercial right now).

WHERE IS THE CRISIS?????
You are probably wondering where is the crisis? Nothing earth shattering here, right?
Wrong. Shank's attempt to "high five" the greeting card industry and tell us that greeting cards write what we feel is insulting and degrading. I hope others of you out there are at least a little bit concerned about our capacity, as a society, to connect with the important people in our lives via a heartfelt note.

I'm not saying that everything Shank presents is completely wrong, but I have to question his research when he brings up a greeting card company's trend report from 1959 to show the new “rootless American” and how “family separation is a very significant aspect of contemporary life.”

Let's fight this trend toward giving our emotional lives to the greeting card companies. This crisis can be reversed if we each take a few minutes, once or twice a MONTH, to write a brief handwritten note to someone important in our lives.

It WILL mean more if it is in your own words and not pre-written by the Greeting Industrial Complex. Try it. You will be surprised by the results!

The Wisdom Of Crowds.... and using that Wisdom for Profit

I just finished listening to a very interesting book on CD... The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki. In his book, he has a number of examples of ways that the judgements / decisions / opinions of a crowd are in fact BETTER than the wisdom of most, if not all, of the members of the crowd.

This is interesting for two reasons.

First, "crowd wisdom" could be an great tool for improving business decisions since many companies are, in fact, just a crowd of people with (hopefully) the common goal of making the company successful.

Surowiecki has many, many examples in his book, but one that he did not use, but should have, is from the book, "The 7 day Weekend" by Ricardo Semler. In Semler's book, the author describes his HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL company that is primarily run by "consensus".

More specifically, he does not "tell" people what to do, they decide what the best course of action is and then implement it. Based on his success, it appears that he is using the wisdom of the crowd extremely well (while also providing an excellent work environment... the "7 day weekend" in the title).

The second reason that this is interesting is that it gives us the specific conditions that are needed for a crowd's decision to be wise. These 3 characteristics (and one method) are:
- Diversity
- Independence
- Decentralization
In addition, there must be some method to Aggregate the information from the crowd or otherwise your crowd isn't much of decision making machine!

Like any new way of thinking it can be a powerful tool. Of course, you need to know how to use the tool or you may end up hurting yourself. [Just ask the internet bubble investors how they used the "wisdom" of the crowd]

I won't go into great detail about what each characateristic means, (I will leave that as a teaser in case you are intrigued enough to buy the book) but I can say that I've found it very useful as I try to make sure that my company is a WISE CROWD and not just another HERD on the way to the slaughter.

Winning against WalMart ..............................


Seth Godin's recent post got me thinking (which is always a dangerous thing!)
see http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/02/the_walmart_par.html

WalMart is often portrayed as the evil empire... selling at such low cost that it hurts suppliers as well as the local retailers that try to compete with WalMart. So, in my most humble fashion, I will now provide the answer to each of these problems (and maybe shine some light on the "WalMart experience" that consumers everywhere have made number 1).

WalMart Suppliers:
Don't become a supplier to WalMart and assume that you will operate "business as usual". WalMart will require you to cut your costs, improve your quality and delivery your products in a manner that suits their distribution system (e.g. RFID labels and inkjet barcodes). In exchange, you will get unit volumes beyond your wildest dreams! Of course, this sounds like the classic "deal with the devil", but it doesn't have to be. You can use the volume to drive a more cost effective organization which will help you deliver other products, perhaps to WalMart, but certainly to other retailers and grow your business. Get out of the mindset that you must get 20%, 30% or 40% margin to be successful. Focus on providing value while controlling costs and you will have a stronger business at 10% margin. This takes courage, but if you want to play the "WalMart game", you are going to have to "suck it up"!

WalMart Competitors / Retailers:
WalMart sells the mass market, high volume products. There are few companies that are going to be able to compete with them directly simply because of their incredible distribution reach and buying power. It is more important to be DIFFFERENT than to be less expensive.

Target is a good example of this. Compared to WalMart, Target offers (some) products that are more stylish and unique while still providing products at a reasonably low price. They have sidestepped the WalMart express and are doing well for their customers.

What about the small retailers, who can't even come close on price? You have to be even MORE DIFFERENT! What can you do that WalMart can't? Can you find new products that particularly suit your customers? How about taking your strongest niche (i.e. different and unique) products and extend your reach to the rest of the world via the internet?

I recently read that the number of books that you must sell to be considered a "best seller" is going down due to the wide selection of books. Amazon.com offers so many books that they have become a completely different entity than the "online version of a local bookstore" that everyone originally thought it would be. And, in the process, they have made it possible for niche books to be sold around the world!

In addition, Amazon is expanding beyond books into almost anything that you can imagine. (I exaggerated a bit, but you get the idea.) Clearly there are more opportunities out there ... if you are willing to find them and go after them!

You might ask, "How does this relate to your note card business?"
Well, I am not going to be selling to WalMart, or any other "mass merchant". I have made the conscious decision to sell my limited edition note cards only via the web and specialty retailers. This is not exactly unproven territory. Ty sold BeanieBabies through small shops with legendary success and if I can grow to even 1/10th of that size I will probably be happy.

Well, maybe not completely happy. There always needs to be another challenge !

Seth Godin's Edgecraft process ... in a VISUAL format !

I thoroughly enjoy Seth's work and have followed the development of his marketing insights from Permission Marketing to the IdeaVirus to the Purple Cow and then Free Prize Inside. It is in the last book, Free Prize Inside, that Seth lays out the process he calls "Edgecraft", or "How to Make a Purple Cow". If you have not read these books, I highly recommend them!

Since I am very visually oriented (as are alot of people), I find it helpful to lay things out in diagrams so as I began thinking about the Edgecraft process for my company I tried to figure out how it would "look".

The linked file below is the result !

Dave Wheeler's Visual Presentation Model - based on Seth Godin's Edgecraft

It is a very simple model, based on an Excel spreadsheet and a "Radar" graph, but I find that is "shows the edges" (literally). The process of "finding the edges" is also useful since it helps you see what is important and where you need to improve (to show more "edge" than your competition).

If anyone has any questions or comments, please let me know. There is probably more explanation needed, but I will wait to see what you think.

Why should we BREAK ALL THE RULES ?

Have you ever wondered "Why should we BREAK ALL THE RULES ?"

What is the point?

Kathy Sierra brings up some good points about "Rules" in her blog (see link below):
http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/02/f_the_rules.html

Inspired by her comments, I put together the attached diagrams: (link to PDF file below)
http://www.notewordy.com/PDFs/LifeCycleOfRules.pdf

I find it an interesting analogy to think of rules as signposts or trees in the forest that help keep you on the right path. Of course if there are too many trees or the signposts turn into fences, then you will lose sight of new opportunities!

Don't lose sight of the forest for the trees ... especially if your goal is no longer on your current path through the woods!

d.Mark "Dave" Wheeler

Also check out ... www.TheWorldsMostCreativePerson.com

What makes a good BLOG? Part 2

Hugh Macleod's Gapingvoid.com blog adds the following on the topic:

The reason Jeff Jarvis' blog is one of the most widely read in the world is exactly for those reasons:
-He's been doing it longer than most.
-The quality of his writing is better than most.
-The quantity of his output is greater than most.

Hugh definitely "gets it" when it comes to blogging and his reputation in the blogsphere shows it. The key is writing about what you feel is important, writing it well and, as they say, "the world will beat a path to your door" ... in 5-10 years or so. (It is not an overnight process!)

Keep up the good work Hugh !

If you are at all interested in what one of the largest, most highly regarded marketing firms is doing, you might want to check out the following article about P&G's acquisition of Gillette. (see link below)
http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=589&topicId=15026&isPreview=true&docId=l:255920758&start=1

It has lots of background and industry information as well as the following paragraph:

Meanwhile, the complexity of advertising, marketing and distributing branded consumer goods has soared, further pushing up costs. P&G is the world's biggest advertiser, with a budget of around $3 billion last year. A decade ago, 90% of its global advertising spending went on television. Today, for some products only about a quarter of the budget is spent on television. The audience for traditional media is fragmenting, making consumers harder and more expensive to reach. So, along with other consumer-goods companies, P&G is finding that so-called "below-the-line" forms of marketing, such as in-store promotions, posters, coupons and sponsorship, are often more effective.

Clearly there are many more "below-the-line" forms of marketing than are listed here... Word-of-Mouth, Internet and others... but the really interesting point of all this is that as P&G is finding their market more and more fragmented (and expensive to serve), that same fragmentation is boosting internet companies like Amazon as well as all the authors of books with limit sales (which would never have been picked up by a book chain).

How does this tie into P&G? And if they are on the "book chain" side with an old business model, what is the corresponding "Amazon" entity for their markets? How do they deal with the changes in marketing that are happening?

Stay tuned. (I might not have all the answers, but hopefully someone who reads this WILL!)

Another GREAT Idea from Seth Godin ....

If you are currently in the job market, in any way, shape or form, you owe it to yourself to check out Seth's comments (in 3 parts, links below).

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/02/are_you_looking.html
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/02/great_job_part_.html
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/02/great_job_last_.html

Now that Seth has thrown down the challenge for you .... how are you going to make yourself "Purple" (as in "Purple Cow", the title of Seth's book, which I assume you have read). He has some hints (in a general business sense) in his followup book, "Free Prize Inside" which I also highly recommend!

Happy Groundhog Day ! ! ! !

The Simple Answer is the Right Answer !

From Hugh's blog entry today at gapingvoid.com ...

http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/001338.html

"I want to know 2 things from you: Who's using my product, and what they're saying about it.
If we don't like either answer, then we got to figure out what we're going to do to fix it.
Don't talk to me about changing the customer's behavior. Talk to me about ways to change our behavior."

Hugh Macleod hits the nail on the head with this one !

Concise and to the point.

He has hit on a key point that many companies that are trying to understand "buzz" or "viral marketing" or "word of mouth marketing" need to learn!
Step 1 - Start by listening to what customers are saying.
Step 2 - React to what they are saying by making corrections in your product and services.
Step 3 - Repeat step 1 until you have enough money to retire or you die. (If you do it right and have FUN, the latter is the appropriate "deadline".)

As Hugh said, complication is muddled thought and hopefully 3 steps is not too many for people to understand. Simple WORKS!

A Card that has real business impact !

I found out about Aaron's "card" from Seth Godin's blog
(see http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/1658834)

You can read the whole story as originally posted at http://www.helloworldblog.com/2005/01/how_to_guarante.html

I highly recommend checking it out. It shows what impact can be achieved based a bit of simple consideration and creative thought. Finding out what your customer likes PERSONALLY makes all the difference! Even though the gifts may appear to have been expensive, the value of creating a loyal customer greatly exceeds the costs.

I am a strong proponent of "the Rifle approach" to business. The Rifle approach is:
1) Find your target. Not just a face-less demographic, but an actual name. A real person with likes and dislikes. With prejudices and preconceptions. With similarities and quirky uniqueness.
2) Use as much "ammunition" as it takes to make this customer part of your family.

This is in contrast to the "carpet bombing or machine gun" approach which is standardly practiced by people in traditional, big-time advertising. They try to hit a theoretical target based on averages, demographics and such. Their success rates are usually in the single digit percentages.

What do you think is the success rate for the Rifle approach? Ask Aaron and his customers!

What makes a good blog?

My definition of "good" is interesting, up-to-date and interactive.

My interests include marketing (my current profession), creativity (my calling) and personal development. Within these large topics I'm currently exploring Word-of-Mouth marketing, some of the ideas on creativity offered by Hugh Macleod (see Hughtrain and How to Be Creative) and "The Power of Full Engagement" (see web site for free assessment).

If you find these things interesting, hopefully you will find this blog interesting. And if not, well, at least I will find it interesting and by writing it down here I can develop it into speeches or consulting work!

Happy New Year !

Dave Wheeler

Hello World ! This is my first post to a blog and I hope it won't be my last. Tune in for more stuff later !