Imagineer Jargon: “Weenie”

The Imagineer Term

Weenie – Walt Disney’s playful term for a visual element that could be used to draw people into and around a space.

According to Disney Imagineers, a weenie is big enough to be seen from a distance and interesting enough to make you want to take a closer look.

The best weenie examples are the castles in each Disney themepark. Pictured is Cinderella Castle at the end of Main Street, USA at Walt Disney World in Florida. Weenies are critical to Imagineer efforts at laying out a sequence of story points in an organized fashion.

Broader Marketing Interpretation

In design – whether it is retail space, package design, instruction manual, or website – it is important to progressively reveal layers of information, and not overwhelm customers. Visually guide them, offering weenies as they move deeper and deeper into your space.

Convenience and grocery stores draw customer deep into locations by putting most commonly purchased items in the very back of the store. Their strategy is to draw you in past products you may impulse purchase. This creates an incremental purchase and increases their average check.

If you create products, how do you draw customers in through your packaging?

Apple Computer does a great job with this. When you unpack an Apple product, you experience several layers of reveal… First the lid of the package, where you’re greeted with some sort of welcome… Then typically another reveal – perhaps removing the styrofoam cover from atop your PowerBook… Then when you start the product, you’re typically greeted with some sort of welcome message.

If you’re a retail business, what visual magnets or weenies do you offer your customers from a distance to attract them to your location? When they arrive, how do you draw them deeper in? What is big enough to be seen from a distance and interesting enough to make you want to take a closer look?

Image source: Laughing Place.

Did use an abacus or slide rule to build your FY’10 budgets?

To prepare and distribute information about next year’s Marketing Plan did you use a typewriter and make a duplicate with a layer of ink paper?

Or did you hand crank copies on a Ditto (or Verifax) machine?

Of course you didn’t. That would be crazy and inefficient. We have invented better and more efficient tools.

With that said.. while we are in the 21st century… there is a tool that is stuck somewhere in the mid-1900s: The Off-Site Meeting.

It is interesting we don’t perceive meetings as a “tool” the same way we do a photocopier, computer, or even the coffee maker.

And, of all meetings, the “off-site” is critically important. So important, it warrants sending a hand-picked group away from the office, sleeping away from their families, huddled in a hotel conference room for three days, not allowed to return with out “the plan.”

Yet we put no thought to the meeting room. It is a “people container.”

Meeting Space = Commodity

Look up commodity in the dictionary, and there will be a picture of a hotel meeting room. Tan. Accordion folding walls. Wall to wall patterned carpeting. Sweaty pitchers of water dripping into black coasters. A small paper pad and hotel logo pen. Sums up 99.9% of the meetings and conferences you’ve attended, right?

And we don’t care… when we book it. We ask the office admin to call around and find a cheap place that can hold the number of people we’re bringing. If there was a preference, it would be something like: “Oh, let’s stay at that place we were last time likes their Caesar salad.”

Yet, as marketers and business people we intimately understand the importance of environment and ambiance and the affect it has on behavior and action. We create it for our customers everyday. Especially right now, the holiday season is when we pull out the stops! Christmas lights, holiday music, decorations, special programs and themes… All this to create a more pleasant environment mood and environment conducive for purchasing.

Pay Per Stomach

And the hotel doesn’t care… what you do in the room. They just want to know how many stomachs will be present.

Catering Manager: “How many?”
Your Assistant: “18 maybe 20.”
Catering Manager: “Okay, that’ll be $45 per person for breakfast, buffet-style lunch, and an afternoon snack.”

We literally pay “per stomach.”

And, because the rooms are where hotels make their money – book enough rooms and there is no additional charge for use of the room – just the food costs. But, of course that does NOT include all the tools for the meeting itself. Add on fees for renting the projector, a mic, access to the internet, easels, flipcharts…

The room is tan to be generic. To accommodate yesterday’s Bar Mitzvah, your meeting today, and the wedding reception this weekend.

That is the venue that we think will inspire the multi-million dollar strategy and “killer idea?”

Today’s meeting spaces are the equivalent of using the Ditto machine. With hard work you can crank stuff out… But your results will be inconsistent, sloppy, and slightly blurry.

The Solution?

Hire A Better Space – If you’re going to have an off-site where creative thinking, problem solving, and new ideas are involved – get yourself into a space that will inspire you – yet not be distracting for your work.

Below I’ve listed a few places throughout the United States and Europe built to be a creative space for creating thinking. But it doesn’t have to be a ‘meeting space’ either. You could get inspiration from your local art museum, science museum, or zoo. Find a place that works for your particular group.

• The Boardwalk, Manchester, England
• The Boardwalk Creative Center, Ann Arbor, MI
• Catalyst Ranch, Chicago
• Heineken – The City, Amsterdam, NL
• Idea Loft, Kansas City, MO
• Meet, NYC
• The Old Laundry, London, England
• SoHoSoleil, NYC
• SparkSpace, Columbus, OH
• Strategy Loft, Denver
• Spaces, Amsterdam, NL
• Thinkubator, Chicago

Hire A Better Lead – If you don’t have someone on your team skilled at leading groups or drawing ideas out of people – hire someone. (This will also allow you to relax and focus on coming up with the “killer idea” instead of running the meeting).

What spaces have you found inspiration for you and your team?

This article originally posted on the Marketing Prof’s Daily Fix Blog.
Image Source: OfficeMuseum.com

In June, I posted an article called How To Create The Perfect (Brain) Storm.

I shared the perspective that a great brainstorm or strategy session… heck ANY great meeting… is a combination of the right people, the right process, at the right place.

Upon exploring this thought further, I realized there is a priority to these elements… Not only are all three important, but they’re important in the right order.

When I turn the diagram sideways, you can see how they build on each other.

The PLACE is important… the space where people feel safe, free from distraction, and can be inspired.

However, the place is useless without PEOPLE to populate it. Yes, people are the ultimate source of brilliant ideas that lead to innovation, however, just sitting around winging-it (even in an inspirational space) won’t efficiently lead to the solutions you are after.

However, you gather these people in a place led by someone with the right PROCESS (includes tools), and you’ve got yourself a winner. The process forms the base, the strength of the entire process.

If you don’t have a good process figured out (or hired out) don’t bother meeting. All the great minds in even the most inspirational spot won’t make good use of your time.

Background

I offer these thoughts as I’m crafting the Idea Sandbox Brainstorming Destination. I will provide the PROCESS and the PLACE, you provide the PEOPLE and the PROBLEM to be solved.

For those of you who have been reading Idea Sandbox from the beginning… Even back when I co-launched Brand Autopsy with John Moore… You may recall the original concept of… and dream behind… Idea Sandbox was to build the world’s best brainstorming destination.

This idea never went away… It has been simmering while I’ve been out of the US on a European adventure. I’m pleased to share with you that things are in full swing for the Idea Sandbox Brainstorming Space.

The target opening time and date is…

(In fact, I already have interest in pre-booking those first sessions!)

Idea Sandbox will do for brainstorming what Walt Disney did for amusement parks. Yes, a lofty goal… But one I fully intend to bring to reality.

Coming up with brilliant ideas and innovative programs for your business is too important to be conducted in boring, tan conference or bored board rooms.

To create remarkable ideas (that will knock the socks off of your customers) you don’t want to leave things to chance. You need to employ the best process with the best people in the best environment. Idea Sandbox will deliver on all three… And then some!

Gratefully, through Maxine Clark, the founder of The Build-a-Bear Workshops, I’ve connected with Studio Productions, Inc to assist me with the design work for this one-of-a-kind brainstorming destination.

Another goal is to be transparent in the development and construction of the idea and the space… So I will have the curtain pulled back and will be sharing the process as we go along. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy watching the idea grow from seedling to blossom.

All of my posts having to do with the brainstorming destination are categorized here…

Paul

Save The Date!

Next year, October 10th is going to be a big deal. Similar to this year’s 09/09/09, there will be a moment on 10/10/10 when it will be 10:10:10.

That is the time of the opening events for

You’re all invited to the celebration!

Have you ever been in a brainstorming or strategy meeting where all the elements seemed just right and ideas just kept flowing and flowing? You and your team were able to hit ideas “out of the park?”

Chances are you had…

1. the right people assembled,
2. the right process and tools, and were,
3. in the right place… where people felt safe to think big ideas and were free from distraction.

I call these conditions the Perfect (Brain) Storm… When all the elements come together just so, and ideas just seem to flow.

What a great situation! However, the climate for this type of brainstorm and creating wicked good ideas doesn’t have to be left to chance. You can craft this by gathering the right people, with the right process, at the right place.

People

You need a skilled facilitator. Someone who can keep the team on track. Push when people aren’t opening up, and know – when the conversation is stalled or getting tangental – how to re-direct to the topic at hand.

This person leads the right group of people, who are in the right mind frame, and feel safe to think and suggest the big thoughts.

Process

The problem you are trying to solve needs to be clearly defined. I strongly recommend structured sessions with an ice breaker, scheduled breaks, and short bursts of brainstorming activity. Each of these bursts should be designed to address a key aspect of the problem.

Place

While great ideas can happen when you’re in the shower or driving to work… If you’re working with a group of two or more people, being in a space conducive for discussion, free of work distraction and “noise” ensure the ideas will come much, much easier.

Keep these in mind when you want to schedule your next Perfect (Brain) Storm!

For your next important meeting… Imagine… instead of walking into a plain, tan rather non-inspirational conference room with wood-laminate tables and flourescent lighting… you enter one of several themed creativity rooms.

Perhaps today you booked the Inventor’s Lab. The laboratory for ideas, where anything is possible surrounded by the tools and spirit of great inventors.

Or the Think Tank? It’s easy to come up with twenty-thousand ideas in this Jules Verne-style drawing room where you work – safe and dry – from the ocean floor… 20,000 Leagues Under DC.

Or perhaps The Great Hall – where the environment is created virtually! Enveloping you and your team with the sights, sounds, and smells of anywhere we want to be. You could brainstorm with croissants under the Eiffel Tower in the morning, head to the Greek Isles for lunch, and conclude the day with a golden sunset among the olive groves and vineyards of Tuscany.

To get to these themed spaces, you don’t enter an office building, but instead – enter a giant sandbox, the Idea Sandbox!

The Idea Sandbox combines the right people, the right process and the right place – for the perfect (brain) storm.

In the Idea Sandbox, it is possible to suspend reality just long enough to come up with those wicked good ideas you need for next year’s product, marketing plan or company strategy.

The Idea Sandbox is slated to open in 2010, and will be located in the Washington DC-Metro area.

I am excited to share this update with you, and will continue to post updates as the project progresses!

(I’ll also let you know when I’ll will start accepting pre-booking dates!)

In my quest to find inspirational spaces… I’ve come across this TED video of Jay Walker sharing the insides of his “Library Of Imagination.” Not only does he have an amazing collection of one-of-a-kind relics, but he presents them in a space that looks like it’s been cooked up by the Disney Imagineers and Willy Wonka. He has objects that span 5000 years of imagination!

The beginning of the video, Jay talks about some of his artifacts… Just past the 3 minute mark, you’ll see images from the Library of Imagination.

Wired magazine did a write-up on this space in their October ’08 edition. Here are some of those photos featuring the Library:

You may read the full article, here!

(Images copyright Wired magazine)

Welcome to the newly re-designed Idea Sandbox website and blog!

Through months of work the site has been refreshed for your reading enjoyment!

I worked with a few talented people to make this change happen… and will share with you the story in the upcoming weeks.

There are a few wrinkles in this new site that I’m ironing out… (you may come across a few pages with the old look and feel…

As always… thanks for visiting!

Did you see the article last week in USA Today about the teacher who is selling ads on tests to make money to afford to make copies?

Tom Farber, a calculus teacher at Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, California “did the math” and calculated that at 3-cents per page he would need over $500 to print his tests for the year… However, school district supply cuts left him with only a $316 printing budget.

So, he had the bright idea to allow his tests to be sponsored. So far he’s collected over $350 by charging $10 for a quiz, $20 for a chapter test, and $30 for a semester final (which, by the way has sold out).

Most of the ads purchased have been motivational quotes underwritten by parents… But it also includes a local dentist ad stating: “Brace Yourself for a Great Semester.”

While the root problem that needs a solving is the underfunded schools, Mr. Farber’s ability to take a different and creative approach has solved his short-term pain.

Are there non-traditional approaches you should consider at your business?

Photo by Charlie Neuman, San Diego Union-Tribune

I think you’ll enjoy the below video.

It’s a presentation by Tim Brown, the CEO of Ideo (the innovation and design firm) talking about the importance of play leading to creativity. He spoke in May ’08 at the Art Center Design Conference in Pasadena, California. The theme was “Serious Play”.

One of the secrets to Ideo’s success is creating an environment where people feel safe to play and be creative. From this fearless approach to creativity have come some of the most innovative products and ideas.

Many of the activities we performed naturally as children – playful exploration of ideas (seeing a shipping box as a space ship), building with our hands , and role playing (playing house, shop keeper, or doctor) – are the same activities that help create wicked-good ideas as adults.

By the way, Idea Sandbox is based on these concepts. The sandbox is the classic space where nearly anything is possible. And if you don’t like it, smoosh it and start again. What I call ‘creativity without consequence.’

Enjoy the clip.

If you can’t see the film, click here to open the original page. Source: TED.com

I often write in this space about problem solving techniques. I plan to do so today as well, but with a different spin.

When organizing a brainstorm or problem solving session, I always recommend taking great care when selecting the team of participants. Here are some tips…

1. Make sure you include experts who know all about the topic – their subject matter expertise will be critical.
2. Make sure you include people who know nothing about the topic, their naiveté will help ground the conversation.
3. Include those who will ultimately implement the idea. As a marketer at Starbucks, when coming up with consumer promotion ideas that would be executed by store employees, getting input from the Operations team was invaluable to success.
4. Most importantly however, make sure those invited don’t only attend the brainstorm session, but that they actively participate.

Someone who sits there, not participating, has become part of the problem. If they’re not adding value, there is a strong chance they’re only adding noise.

If you actively engage and add your voice, you can consider yourself part of the solution.

What’s more, you’ve earned the right to voice your opinion about the outcome after the fact. Participation is the price of criticism.

Segue…

On Tuesday, November 4th, the United States is holding a nationwide problem solving session.

Your role as a citizen is to be an active participant. If you actively engage and add your VOTE, consider yourself part of the solution.

If you’re not happy with the outcome and didn’t participate, you’ve lost your right to criticize.

Your vote counts. Did you know ultimately 537 votes ultimately decided the outcome of the 2000 election?

I’m sending this message to you. You should send it to five more friends…

Great ideas can strike at the most inopportune times.

For me, many ideas hit me when I’m in the shower. Back in April I shared that I purchased a dive slate to capture ideas while lathering. A dive slate is a white piece of plastic with a pencil attached. It’s what SCUBA divers use to write notes while underwater.

I just read about the Shower Genius Waterproof Notepad on the ThinkGeek website. This may even be a better solution.

ThinkGeek is offering it for $14.99. That includes the holder, pencil, and 4 pads (25 sheets each) of waterproof paper. (Click to view site.)

15 bucks is a bargain if it can capture your million dollar idea!

(2) of (2) Announcements
For those of you who have been following Idea Sandbox since the very beginning, the initial concept of “Idea Sandbox” was a brainstorming destination based in Seattle.

This dream has never gone away… It has simply been put on hold while I’ve been working and traveling abroad.

In working to determine what makes Idea Sandbox remarkable… I keep coming back to the statement:

Gah! I love the sound of that!

The world’s first and only (and best) immersive brainstorming destination.

In fact, I’ve created a special section of the Idea Sandbox site to specifically keep track of my planning as I move forward.

I invite you on this journey. In fact… I’m going to be asking for your feedback and input. Since, ultimately this is a place I want you to visit, it should include exactly what you need!

As of this moment, I’m planning on opening on a ‘remarkable’ day, perhaps…

We are going to have a blast coming up with wicked-good ideas.

At times, coming up new ideas can be as frustrating as staring at a blank piece of paper… Waiting for the words to come to you. You’re experiencing the innovator’s version of writer’s block – thinker’s block.

In the August edition of “Sand for Your Inbox” (the Idea Sandbox eNewsletter) I share a super-strength brain cleaner to unclog thinker’s block. Below is the link:

Subscribe now to “Sand for Your Inbox” for free and be the first to receive ideas to help you think and work more creatively. Each month I will send tips and tricks directly to your inbox.