Newly Designed benshua.com Soon!
I’m continuing my newfound design talent and designing a new benshua.com!
So stay tuned for the new site launch coming in April.
Welcome to College Outside
Yesterday, we launched the newly designed College Outside website. College Outside is my latest project. These last 5 months we have spent learning about the outdoor publishing industry and strategizing in hopes to tell the stories of thousands of students who are doing amazing things outdoors which will serve as inspiration and guidance to what a student can achieve.
I have learned countless things from this startup experience and the rate of learning is no where near slowing. I have learned about the many intricacies of building a team, business strategy, networking, marketing, industry research, and so much more. It is experiential learning at its finest. For example, when we needed a logo, I learned as much as I could about logo design and theory.
One specific thing I have learned about myself is that I have a natural eye for web design. The launching of this newly designed website is a result of our team intensely planning the user experience (starting with personas and wire frames), collaborating on backend programming, and my own front-end design. When we were ready for the front end design I took a week off work and taught myself Adobe Illustrator. So began College Outside becoming my first web design project. I am excited to continue to learn and already have several iterations in mind.
Radical Marketing
Great book to check out that I am currently finishing up if interested: Radical Marketing
Lessons learned from radical marketers like the Grateful Dead, Harley Davidson, Boston Beer Company, Virgin Mobile and others….
Radicals marketers have three key characteristics that differentiate them from traditional marketers:
1. Very strong visceral ties with a specific target audience.
2. Focus on growth and expansion rather than on profit-making
3. Embrace being resource-constrained and be creative with what you do have.
Rules of Radical Marketing
1. The CEO must own the marketing function.
2.Make sure the marketing department starts small and flat and stays small and flat.
3. Get out of the head office and face-to-face with the people who matter most – the customers
4. Use market research cautiously
5.Hire only passionate missionaries
6.Love and respect your customers
7.Create a community of consumers.
8.Rethink the marketing mix.
9. Celebrate uncommon sense
10. Be true to the brand.
Design DNA: Logos
I bought this book based on my interest in branding, design, and cool companies with the understanding that all of those things boil down to a strong logo.
This book is a great read to help you understand logo design theory (i.e. what makes a good and bad logo) and how to “read” the elements of a logo design. The deconstructed view of logos from every industry illustrates what key details evoke the necessary emotions from each successful logo.
Taking Back Winter
The winter of my senior year of high school I was fortunate enough to ski 87 days. Days working as a ski instructor, practices and races for the high school ski team, and free skiing days certainly added up. It helped to have a working car equipped with a ski rack, free weekends, and a flexible school schedule. During my spring semester, I only had a first and last period class; I would do the ten minute drive to the mountain right after class, ski by myself for two hours (I taught myself how to telemark ski over this period of time), and rush back into class with my snow gear still on. It also helped that at this point I was already accepted to Babson.
The following winter, the winter of my freshman year at college, was the exact opposite. A record year of snow in the northeast and I had too much work and was figuring too much out for myself to make the drive up into the mountains. I got days in of course, but not of quality. So over the summer I made it my goal to take back my winter. In the fall I committed to a intensive work out routine and got the entrepreneurial wheels turning in my mind. What resulted was an amazing winter. I maximized my ski-related-enjoyment in one of the least conducive winters in the northeast on record (incredibly warm and very little snow). Here is what I was up to this winter:
1. Visited the Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo at the Seaport Trade Center (November)
2. Worked for Poor Boyz Productions for their Triple Threat Tour stop in Boston at The Royale (November)
3. Alpine and telemark ski instructed at Gunstock Mountain Resort (January)
4. Began doing internet marketing for pro skier Dan Egan kicking off at “Ski the Beast with Dan Egan” at Killington Resort (January) See my review of the event here.
5. Was invited to the Eastern Winter Sports Reps Association (EWSRA) On Snow Demo at Stratton Mountain to become a contributing writer for SnowEast Magazine (February) I tested 10 all-mountain twin tip skis across 7 different companies. My review of the year’s best will be featured in SnowEast’s 2012 October issue.
6. As president of the Babson Outdoor Association I planned trips to Sunday River, Blue Hills, Waterville Valley, and Jay Peak; all of which lucky enough had great weather/conditions.
7. …..And of course I free skied with friends. Notably I caught first tracks at Waterville Valley after an 8″ overnight storm and skied Okemo on two bright sunny days.
Here is my “Career Plan”
Finally I have found an article that explains my vision for a career plan – and what do you know, it comes from the words of President Schlesinger of Babson College. Do you get asked what you see for yourself in 5 years? When you don’t name a specific job, company, or industry, do you get this uneasy, blank stare back from your inquirer? If you are like me, then you know what I am talking about.
Here is the article: Career Plans Are Dangerous – Leonard A. Schlesinger, Charles F. Kiefer, and Paul B. Brown – Harvard Business Review.
Allow me to highlight what I find important:
“Instead of formulating the logically perfect ending job and the optimal path to get there, begin with a direction, based on a real desire, and complement that with a strategy to discover and create opportunities consistent with that desire.”
“So, the process looks like this:
- Determine your desire
- Take a step toward it
- Incorporate what you learn from taking that step
- Take another step
- Learn from that one
- Repeat until you have a job, your own business, or have achieved your goal
A New Definition of Entrepreneurship
In the beginning of 2012 Babson began a new marketing campaign that asserts, “The World Needs a New Definition of Entrepreneurship. It’s Being Written Here at Babson.” Certainly before the campaign started Babson was already doing this, but I commend the college for implementing the philosophy in such a different way – a different way that encapsulates what it means to be an entrepreneurial thinker at Babson. Now I know that this campaign is certainly a team effort, but I want to acknowledge how in my experience I have seen President Len Schlesinger practice this philosophy in all areas. In this month’s Babson Magazine, I learned that the image below caught President Schlesinger’s eye and was what began artist Hugh Macleod as being Babson’s Official Cartoonist.
As the Babson Magazine article explains, “MacLeod’s art is fresh, uncomplicated, and effective, perfect to help convey Babson’s message.” And I love it. Such attention to and importance placed on communication demonstrates the Babson mindset well. Below are my other favorite works done by Macleod for Babson.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/babson_college/sets/72157627979870057/
So why i like Babson’s marketing campaign is it is not a pitch, it truly is an ideology. It is what we aspire to be. It is why I am proud to be a part f the Babson College community. So next time you are by a newsstand, in a coffee shop, on the web, or on your tablet flip through Time, Forbes, Fortune, Inc., Entrepreneur or BusinessWeek and see what all this is about.
**I am currently trying to obtain copies of the ads to post, but for now look out for the “Entrepreneurship Is…”, “C_O”, and the shoe ad in magazines or online.
A Small Tribute to Steve
There are many things I could say about Steve Jobs. Among what I could say would be many thanks. Thanks for his commitment to perfection. Thanks for his belief in humanity. Thanks for creating the company who’s culture would open my mind in countless ways. I cannot adequately explain my appreciation. So rather than getting lost in words, I would like to share some of my favorite quotes from Steve that have influenced me most.
***
Playboy: We were warned about you: Before this Interview began, someone said we were “about to be snowed by the best.”
[Smiling] “We’re just enthusiastic about what we do.”
“We think the Mac will sell zillions, but we didn’t build the Mac for anybody else. We built it for ourselves. We were the group of people who were going to judge whether it was great or not. We weren’t going to go out and do market research. We just wanted to build the best thing we could build.
When you’re a carpenter making a beautiful chest of drawers, you’re not going to use a piece of plywood on the back, even though it faces the wall and nobody will ever see it. You’ll know it’s there, so you’re going to use a beautiful piece of wood on the back. For you to sleep well at night, the aesthetic, the quality, has to be carried all the way through.” [Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985]
***
“Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
“Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have. [Wired, February 1996]
***
“That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” [BusinessWeek, May 25, 1998]
***
“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” [Fortune, Nov. 9, 1998]
***
“But innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we’ve been thinking about a problem. It’s ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea.
“And it comes from saying no to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much. We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important. [BusinessWeek, Oct. 12, 2004]
What I Would Do: Ski Resort Marketing
A little while ago I reflected on what it would be like for resort marketing to embrace the popularity and growing maturity of today’s ski film. Upon writing the post I understood that few marketing budgets and manpower could cater to the idea, so I decided to put into practice what I thought could be done. Below is a plan that I would implement if put in the position to implement an interactive media campaign for a ski mountain.
The campaign is based on my theory that resort marketing in the ski industry lacks its consumers a much-desired intimate experience that goes beyond simply supplying them a playground for themselves, their friends, and their families. A large portion of the market (18-30 year olds mostly) would welcome being interacted with in a whole new way – interactions that would have local insight that is both inspirational and untreated into the products and services they love. This sort of campaign would not be in replacement of the refined marketing strategy that has been successful for mountain resorts in the past, but would rather compliment it quite well and reach an audience in a way that will change how they view ski culture and ultimately where they decide to spend their extra hard-earned dollars.
A large section of the plan involves basic utilization of interactive platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. The magic of the plan is in the creative use of technology and the capturing authentic emotion. The campaign is fairly low budget, but could certainly be more impactful with a little extra money.
I have broken up what my campaign would be in three parts, which I will call Marketing Through a Different Lens, Sharing the Love in Both Directions, Tie it All Back Together with Personal Interactions.
Marketing Through a Different Lens
1. Documentary-type film based on the “life” of the mountain resort. Basically, an unscripted look at what is traditionally marketed each year by the resort.
Lodges
Ski School
Snow Production (ex. Grooming Operation at Mount Sunapee)
Whatever the mountain prides itself on
2. POV film of the 3 “best” trails at each mountain
The most thrill (black diamond or double black diamond)
The best cruiser (blue square)
The unique (sidecountry, park, trail with special view)
3. Through video, pictures, write-ups, and audio a real look into the good local eats (including the mountain’s lodge), local shops and brands to know, and après ski places and experiences.
4. Give customers GoPro’s to film their own POV films for an hour, morning, or full day similar to testing out skis. This promotes GoPro as well as gives footage to use (Customer inclusion).
Sharing the Love in Both Directions
1. Each element will be posted individually on YouTube and will be combined to create a 5 minute inspiring video of the mountain.
2. Blog-style webpage, Twitter, FourSquare, and Facebook will be fully integrated (except special content available on each medium exclusively). Constant variety of posts on each medium.
3. Blog-style webpage
4. Twitter
Contests & Sweepstakes (Free Gear, Free Passes)
Where to be this upcoming weekend or upcoming vacation advice
Catching content to bring followers onto other media outlets (blog, Facebook)
5. FourSquare
“Check-In” Scavenger hunt around mountains for prizes
Connect customers with each other to learn about where the fun is
Let customers know where you will be to push personal interaction
6. Facebook
Creative and interactive Welcome Page
Like Gating – Customers have to “like” Facebook page to see exclusive YouTube videos. Bold request for the “like” and hint at what’s waiting for the fan
Utilize “send” button to have customers share with friends easily
Create partnerships with resorts and ski manufacturers to benefit fans
Post Rules of Engagement for Fans (brief, but impactful and encouraging)
Places application utilized with FourSquare
Fill with photos of mountains and skiers posted by customers and the mountain
Tie it All Back Together with Personal Interaction
1. Host events that on the mountain where interactive media has a key role
2. Follow up with fans and followers – an online interaction should also continue on the slopes.
Learn why customers come back through a competition where they make their own videos (through camera phones and personal cameras) that show why they love the resort). This aspect of capturing data to push out offers would need to be improved upon.
3. Receive feedback and repeat.
Ski Film Meet Resort Marketing
What if ski resorts marketed their mountains like ski production companies market the ski culture, athletes, and brands that they represent in their films?
What I am getting at is that although ski resorts have executed high quality commercials over recent years, they have not been able to cause the viewer to forget they were being pitched to. Granted that television commercials and web videos are not anywhere close to the center of marketing strategy for any resorts, I still believe that film can take a more influential role than it does now.
Ski film became popular in parallel to the emergence of “extreme” skiing probably most notably in the early 1980′s. On the whole films were compiled of endless tricks and stunts. No story line. There was music, ski jumps, and powder lines continuing in what seemed to be an endless loop of adrenaline-infused video. In retrospect, any film from this point up until the turn of the century was lovingly referred to as ski porn. Appropriately named – all action, no plot.
I have not uncovered what film was the first to break away from this trend, but certainly I have found some in recent years that have done an exceptional job at being about more than just shots of big air and stylish spins. Certainly the ski film conversation cannot go far without mentioning Warren Miller’s contribution to encouraging skiing in America and undoubtedly the influence his films have had on any skier, but my first ski movie I purchased was something not necessarily deemed a classic.
The movie was Contrast by Nimbus Independent. Filmed on the basis of taking a different approach to both documenting and editing, the Contrast is moved forward by the story of a small group of progressive and innovative skiers. To set the stage, the film begins with a silent shot looking forward at the empty chairlift ahead in a snowy scene – a peaceful moment that any ski enthusiast has enjoyed. The film then shifts to intertwining interviews with each skier reminiscing how they began their journey in the sport while we see glimpses of home videos. Their dialog continuous through video of the friends planning a ski trip together and the travel it takes to get there, where then the professional-caliber ski video begins. Throughout these skiers talk about how skiing is an art, it is an expression for them. They share how valuable the adventure in getting to their snowy destinations is as the film goes between the actual skiing and shots from the car ride of the open road. Contrast even came in two disks, one was the motion picture and the other was a DVD of webisodes called “en route.” This film deeply made an impression on me and how I view the sport and culture I love. As the name alludes, it contrasts conventional thought and gets you to think about what is truly important and what you should actually be spending your money on.
Films such as Contrast are about the fun of the sport and showing it in all of its different lights – skiing has never been only about the snow. The marketing needs to reflect that and stay close to that intimate experience between yourself and the mountain and the experience between friends. I think in a way the ski industry has done a good job over the years, but for me who really hits the fun of the sport on the head is the freeskiing film crews. Now you may mention that none of these videos are trying to showcase a family-fun area or other aspects that are generally showcased at a resort, but it could. If I heard that there was a video compilation on the internet showcasing a mountain I would be much more interested than seeing the (well done, but just not the same) commercials on tv. I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of one of those commercials for a mountain (naturally I won’t be sharing that link), and although they are done amazingly well, I think if a mountain was able to take the time to film all year the pure reactionary video from guests would sell more if done right.
Now the monetary cost and use of resources to get a season’s worth of film completed, organized, and edited for a ski mountain would at first seem far too monumental for its worth, but what if you put the skiers themselves in the position to do most of that for you? Let’s take a look at the probably unfamiliar name Andrew Whiteford and his contribution to ski film. Whiteford is credited with some of the year’s top Point of View (POV) videos which have circulated through Vimeo. Keeping mind he is a sponsored skier, you still watch his videos with amazement and enjoyment from anticipation of doing something similar yourself. POV photography has been growing for several years now because it gives such a unique, personal viewpoint. What if that viewpoint was delicately edited together to show what the actual, intimate experience is at any given ski resort? You could even take a competitive approach: check out the Jon Olsson Super Sessions (JOSS), a competition between 7 nation-based teams made up of 2 filmers, 2 pros, and 1 rookie who have 264 hours to put together a 5 minute edit that is judged on the aspects of the skiing and the film. My favorite video to come out of this format is the 2009 Team America video with Simon Dumont starting off talking about “that special moment when the light is perfect and the camera is in focus…” or on an unofficial level, the 2010 Team Canada celebratory parody of an old WWII film. For one last approach to the film idea we can look at the G.N.A.R. Competition and the movie that resulted from it put together by Unofficialsquaw. Yes the game may be slightly immature, but as the Skiing Magazine article points out, “it reminds us to stop taking everything so seriously” like Shane McConkey (the founder of the game) would have wanted it.
In essence, I would like to see film be used to appreciate the little things about the sport and culture of skiing. I also think that it would be of great advantage to many mountains to try and capture the small things about their resorts that keep bringing skiers back to market to their future skiers. In a small part, sidecountry (one of the growing elements of ski resorts) was embraced by resorts due to the popularity the videos gained with their skiers wanting to explore beyond the groomed trails (for example, Sugarloaf’s Bracket Basin). So I think that is enough proof to give the idea some consideration and certainly enough examples to continue enjoying the media behind a pastime I certainly love.