Syndicated TV is Dead...

... Long live Syndicated TV.

Syndicated Tv will not lose, as the CEO of of Dicovery, David Zaslav, is banking is strategy upon. The distribution of that value, however, is and will be forever changed. Xbox is one example, Roku, Apple TV etc... My bet is a separation of content development and content delivery. The days of building a cable box, performing a poor install with holes in walls and cables floating in thin outside air, and charging for an static piece of hardware are soon history. Charging mechanisms to pay the bills are in question and need to be resolved, but ultimately, the consumer demand for on demand, in control and pay for preference, and evolving content experience instead of the cruel pay for package will prevail.

Change Management cues from nature

I was reading an article by David Quammen, a biologist, on migratory behaviors that include - linearity, undistractibility, special start and stop behaviors and stored energy.

Undistractability was one that doesn't necessarily equate to the common change management tools such as vision, communications, and understanding change fatigue etc....

--- During migration, animals will forgo an easy meal in order to stay focused on the end goal which is reaching their destination.

So if you are trying to change something, take note if any distractions are being thrown out there. In thinking of some of my projects, I have a whole new view on those delicious short term gains that are impeding progress.

XBox and Home Theater

I have to say the whole Kinect idea fascinated us enough to buy and XBox 360 Kinect Bundle. It is truly a fantastic technology, but the poor product capability release cycle has left us a bit befuddled and confused. It seams there are Kinect connectivity difference between and original XBox 360, an new XBox 360 S and a Kinect bundle.

In an attempt to simplify the connectivity of the Kinect camera/devise, Microsoft combined the information cable and the power cable. This means you no longer have to plug the Kinect Camera in. But they missed a user profile in their design efforts. That user is me and at least a few other adults who have their equipment across the room from their fantastically clean wall mounted (mine above the fireplace) TV's.

Their 10ft cable and optional $50 9ft extension cable just doesn't cut it. Additionally, the limitations are not clearly communicated in any of their marketing materials so I was unable to make an educated decision. The misstep leads me to believe -- Microsoft either doesn't understand a portion of their users or they chose to ignore us.

You be the judge. User design is far from clear or clean cut to even the most heavily invested corporate giants.

Design in power tools and Product Experience

After fumbling around with my Black and Decker blower / leaf vacuum this fall, I came across Worx power tools. Green because they run on batteries not gas. Innovative because they seem to have taken design considerations very seriously. Their blower switches to a vacuum with one switch flick, not multiple part reconfiguration. Their trimmer has a twisted line cord that they claim wacks through the weeds and grass more efficiently.

The challenge with the online model is being able to see and touch. Do they feel solid or flimsy? Amazon now has several demo agreements with Target and Best Buy to get their Kindle product displays and demo units into the hands of consumers.

A recent trip to Macy's Chicago revealed a whole first floor of store in store departments. One of my favorite online retailers, Levenger, has a dedicated floor block to many of their products. In this case store actually carry some level of inventory.

But what does this mean to innovation of distributor structure and supply chain in retail environments? Will their be distributors of experience? Will product and brand experience be delivered differently from the actual product. Will the new product landscape shift to very niche, highly specific product creation companies? I have read articles about the innovation in Black and Decker and yet, they seem to trail Worx in this case.

The Worx trimmer and blower are on my Christmas wish list, but won't be able to confirm quality or performance til Spring at best.

Glassware

If you watch Mad Men on AMC, you may have noticed the number of retro advertisements that go along with it. You also may have noticed the amount of drinking that goes with the show. Bars in every office. Although I understand the drinking may be overdone even for that time period (I still have my Dad's portable bar), there seems to be a resurgence in cocktails. During a recent visit to Chicago, the bar in my hotel , The Palomar, had the finest muddlers I've ever seen and a ton of herbs and glasses to make a plentitude of cocktails with so many ingredients it spins my head to try to remember them all.

Schott Zwiesel may have caught on to the game with a new Basic Bar collection. I will be watching to see if their eyes and ears to the ground and their fantastic collection will find a way to make ground in the US. They base the collection on Munich bar owner Charles Schumann. Extras include a recipe .pdf to marry the perfect ingredients to the perfect glass.

Almost forgot: More info at: http://www.schott-zwiesel.com/

For those fellow residents in Grand Rapids - G.B. Russo's carry Schott. I have emailed David to get a quote on some Cocktail Glasses: http://www.gbrusso.com/

Marketing Synergy

What do Fluevog Shoes, the Canadian shoe company, and Goldfrapp, the English electronic duo have in common? Well they must believe their target markets collide. I recently received a pair of shoes with a Fluevog Business card from Chicago and a Goldfrapp card with a free MP3 downlaod. Shipping costs for the Goldfrap card $0. Now the only question is -- do I like the song because I like the shoes?

On the importance of flow charts

Ski trip any time soon? Road trip? Live in Middle America where chain food descends on the populous as frequently as UFO's?

Full size

And notice how art imitates life as there is no way to get to The French Laundry.