Views From the Cove
The home-delivered subscription service market is feeling boxed in.
In June, retail experts said “subscription fatigue” has taken over the consumer landscape, killing off a plethora of new entrants into the monthly box trend. Yet, just a few weeks before, the market was reported as “more crowded than ever.” So, which is it?
The truth is, like many other industries, it’s both.
When Allbirds launched in March 2016, it burst onto the scene with the promise to disrupt the athletic shoe industry. In the beginning, this San Francisco-based company sold just one simple shoe design made from simple materials: Merino wool. The company’s idea was that all major shoe brands were too focused on flashy logos and man-made synthetics that were bad for the environment. Allbirds promised a product that cut through the noise with a minimalist design made from natural, renewable materials.
For us, what’s more interesting than the product itself is how this simple, understated brand generated awareness without the million-dollar television spots, celebrity spokespeople, or other flashy marketing techniques we’ve all come to expect from athletic and lifestyle shoe brands. What Allbirds may lack in high-profile campaigns, it more than makes up for them through the power of storytelling.
When was the last time you had a Kodak moment? Or sent a BBM on Blackberry? Or ate at a Quiznos? These brands are headed towards extinction. Why? Largely because they didn't spend enough time asking questions. They were busy telling others what they needed.
Quiznos neglected the trend of consumer choice with pre-designed, hot-only subs. Blackberry was convinced consumers wanted traditional keyboards on mobile devices. Kodak discredited the appeal of digital film. In journalism, there's an expression, "Show, don't tell." In branding, the expression should be, "Listen, don't talk."
Each month, the average employee spends 31 hours in unproductive, inefficient meetings. Estimates put that lost productivity in the neighborhood of $30 billion annually.
Given the number of hours spent in meetings, it’s easy to imagine that people lose their focus.
But, complaining about meetings isn’t a productive use of time, either. Instead, we recommend a few tips for more effectively planning and hosting productive meetings.
Behind today’s charitable “big checks” there’s so much more than just a signature. No longer is a company’s giving limited to the CEO writing a check, posing for a photo with the recipient organization and walking away. Corporate philanthropy has grown up to become a key component of a company’s brand and mission.
Like many companies, Hencove gets into “March Madness.” Our annual pool has nearly 60 entrants – if you want an invite next year let us know – and plenty of research, hand-wringing, and let’s be honest, guessing, goes into completing our brackets. All of this hard work, and agony, has taught us two things: 1) We should stick to our day jobs, and 2) There are valuable marketing lessons to be learned from college basketball.
