Jun 24 2007
Big Ideas/Bad Ideas: Part 2
I certainly believe ideas are the coin of the realm in marketing — and in many other areas of life as well (politics, culture, literature, etc.). In this Part 2 of our continuing exploration of good and bad ideas, we offer examples that hold many lessons for the marketers among us.
GOOD IDEA — Web 2.0: An effective way to brand what is truly different, new and positive in this latest Internet revolution.
BAD IDEA — The me-tooism of many of the Web 2.0 start ups: Do we really need another YouTube, MySpace or even Google? Entrepreneurs, get some new ideas! At least no one is trying to reinvent eBay. That category looks shut out forever.
GOOD IDEA — Daimler/Mercedes Benz dumping Chrysler: They even had to pay the private equity firm to take it off their hands.
BAD IDEA — Daimler/Mercedes Benz "merging" with Chrysler in the first place: What a great way to ruin a world-class brand. It’s like Four Seasons Hotels "merging" with Motel Six.
GOOD IDEA — "Compassionate conservatism," "new tone in Washington," "competence of the first MBA president," "fiscal prudence," "a little humility in foreign affairs": All pretty good ideas that then Governor George W. Bush ran effectively on in 2000.
BAD IDEA — Reneging on your promises and values: Too bad that now President Bush has not kept one of the above promises (MBA competence?!!). No wonder his approval rating is at just 29%, the lowest of his presidency and one of the lowest in American presidential history. (Huge lessons here for corporate brand stewards!)
GOOD IDEA — "Alt A" and other alternative mortgage funding models: These non-traditional mortgage strategies opened home ownership to many deserving families and singles.
BAD IDEA – Not checking on the financial wherewithal and suitability of many customers to see if they can even afford and manage a mortgage: Greed wins out again and the suprime mess is what we got. The problem with the still unfolding subprime crisis is not the disreputable mortgage companies and banks who are losing money on this financial debacle, but the families who now are out on the street because they can’t afford the mortgages they should never had gotten in the first place. It’s heartbreaking for those hard working people.
GOOD IDEA — Apple’s consistent innovation: They just stay true to their brand promise/essence of innovation. The Apple Stores and the soon to be launched iPhone are the latest brilliant examples of this company’s single-minded focus on continuous innovation.
BAD IDEA — Dell’s dull as dishwater products and indifference to branding and consumers: It looks like Dell finally got the message, and is now trying to become a real marketing company instead of just a supply chain distributor. Michael Dell has a huge challenge on his hands. And, he has never shown himself to be a marketer.
GOOD IDEA — Starbucks’ "third place" retailing concept and bringing quality coffee to the masses: Howard Schultz and team deserve all the accolades and wealth they collected for creating Starbucks.
BAD IDEA — The growth-driven homogenization of Starbucks: Even Mr. Schultz admitted this in his now famous memo the troops. It’s true, the stores are losing their soul with automatic espresso makers, no real role for the barristas, no grinding of coffee (the smell is so important to the Starbucks experience). But, it goes beyond all of that. The stores are dirty, outdated and frankly no longer inviting. We are addicted to Starbucks, so we’ll keep coming, but if they don’t slow down and focus on the product experience they could become like Wendy’s or Burger King (see below).
GOOD IDEA — The amazing comeback of McDonald’s, based on emphasizing fast food fundamentals: Hot food, quick service, value prices, clean surroundings and new products. Do that consistently in fast food and you can win like McDonald’s.
BAD IDEA — Wendy’s falling from its leadership perch because of a lack of focus on the fundamentals and no real innovation: Forget the "digit in the chili" hoax (poor Wendy’s was victimized by that one, but they handled it pretty well), Wendy’s has not kept pace with change and innovation in the category. As a result, the once fast food leader is now on the block to be sold.
GOOD IDEA — Modular, high tech, green homes: Check out the magazine "Dwell" sometime and see where the housing business is going (and should go). These modular homes are the housing equivalents of BMW’s.
BAD IDEA — McMansions slapped together with bailing wire and paper mache: At least, that is what they look like. The recent housing boom created a lot of these abominations. Why people want to live in them is just beyond this writer/marketer.
GOOD IDEA — Socially responsible globalization: There actually are some examples of this, like the companies who now enforce human rights and basic working standards in their contract manufacturing facilities throughout the Third World (Nike and Reebok are two examples…although they were forced to do this because of pressure from workers’ right groups and the growing awareness of consumers about these issues).
BAD IDEA — Companies like the US "maker" and UK brand rights holder of Tommy the Train: You’d have to be a hermit on a deserted island not to be aware of this globalization debacle. The Chinese factory that makes the Tommy the Train toys for the aforementioned US and UK companies used lead in its paints, thus putting at risk thousands of children around the world who love these toys. The US company handled this crisis in a less than timely and responsible way, and the UK brand rights holder has disavowed any responsibility for the crisis. They just pointed the finger at their US licensee; but, they own the brand!! This recall, the recent pet food poisoning crisis, and the tainted toothpaste scare are huge wake up calls for globalizing companies the world over. If you are GE, P&G, Adidas, or you name it multinational, you have to be concerned with every step in your global supply chain. If you want the benefits of global sourcing, you must take the responsibility to police it for the good of your customers and society overall.
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The modular green houses that Dwell is showing are much improved over the original modular houses but as someone in the design business I understand they have a way to go.
As far as “MacMansions”? Frank Lloyd Wright was a proposed that each person or family should have a little piece of land. He never envisioned the out of control growth of the suburbs. As the suburbs grew so did the size of the houses, it is the American way to super size everything! There is a trend now in living in smaller spaces forced on many of us who live in places like SF or NY. Hopefully, as people realize that the commuting and time away from their families is not worth the extra space we will all figure out that we can live very comfotably in 1500-2000 square feet!
Did you see this article in the Chronicle?
Design Spotting
Panel discussion
A cost-cutting building system could change custom home design, making production faster and less wasteful
Zahid Sardar
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Thanks, Kim. Frank Lloyd Wright definitely did not envison what America’s suburbs have become. You put it perfect…everything has to be super-sized. It is the same mentality, and problem, we have with huge gas guzzling cars in this country. When will we learn? When one of the 12 global climate change tipping points tips, and a real Armegeddon happens!
I think the wake up call has come to many urban places….the smog, congestion, and frustration with a hectic life is really getting to people and moving to the country is no longer the answer. I am astounded as I have watched the green movement in the Architecture world explode! The national convention of the AIA (American Institute of Architects) just held their national convention in Texas. The theme was Green Architecture. A few years ago when people in SF were talking about LEEDS certification other parts of the country thought no one would buy into it. Now everywhere I go I hear about it. They seem to think they really on to something in NY! How long will it take to trickle down? I think the tipping point has passed just look at the new plans for BART! Soon we will become much more like Europe and Asia in regards to living space and transportation.
you said - “Modular, high tech, green homes: Check out the magazine “Dwell” sometime and see where the housing business is going (and should go). These modular homes are the housing equivalents of BMW’s.”
are you kidding!!!! are you trying to doom my profession? …I hope for the sake of creativity and the future of architects worldwide that the housing business does not become all modular. At their very best these are still the VW’s of the housing world!
Kim, I could not disagree with you more about modular homes! First, they are being designed by architects (I assume). And secondly, the newer ones are constructed with the finest materials to the most exacting standards (much more than can be said about most stick built homes). And, those contemporary pre-fab homes in Dwell are anything but VWs! They are absolute jewels of housing!
Patrick,
Fair enough , I totally understand your point of view and I suppose there will always be a place for the custom homes and upper end multi family housing designed by architects from scratch. There is a a high demand for architects right now with not enough to go around.
Maybe I am wrong as I have not seen one of the new modulars in person, have you? I saw the article in Dwell and I know they were very highly praised. Yes, designed by architects but really it is a one off siutation were the architect is paid for his time but would recieve no more income if they ship 10 or 10,000 of them. This really the same as mass housing in the burbs. I not sure quaility is really the issue. The idea that these homes reduce waste and cost little is great but in the long run we need more mass housing with easy transportation.
I discussed it with a friend who is thinking of building on property in Mendo. She began to pick apart the plans until it was obvious she needed a custom house. Don’t get me wrong the modulars have their place but I don’t think they will satisfy enough people due to lack of ability to customize and the stigma surrounding them. Once they sre developed in a way that you can pick and choose more options they will work better.
I think a good alternative is discussed in the attached article:
Design Spotting
Panel discussion
A cost-cutting building system could change custom home design, making production faster and less wasteful
Zahid Sardar
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
The first factory-made wood-panel home has just gone up in San Francisco on a hilly lot in Glen Park.
Although it looks no different than any other made from standard wood-frame construction, this new way of building may be so cost-effective that it will change the way people design custom homes in the future.
A panelized system reduces the time it takes to frame a standard 3,000-square-foot home by half and saves more than $50,000 on that one phase of building alone.
This three-story wood-and-glass home with split-level floors and dramatic picture windows belongs to architects Jim Zack and Lise de Vito, who will live there with their two children. Many suburban homes have been built using this panel system, but none have the custom look the couple have achieved.
“My original intent was to simplify the construction of such a house in San Francisco,” Zack said. “We were very interested in mechanizing a traditional way of building,” he said, because the couple have begun to develop similar properties for sale. They considered steel construction and other panel construction companies, such as Ceres’ Metecno-API (which is supplying LEED-rated steel-covered foam panels for a loftlike San Francisco house designed by Olle Lundberg), but found what they needed on the Internet.
“Most panelized construction companies like to do 10 or 20 houses at a time, but Forma Homes in Fernley, Nev., was the only one where we could do a single custom project like ours,” said Zack.
That company’s first manufactured panel home in the Bay Area is in Danville, where Forma Chief Executive Michael Murray lives. (See “When your ship comes in, prefab house could be on it,” April 21 and “House in a box / Modular home-building goes upscale in Danville,” July 25, 2004).
An architect’s design is first translated into 3-D CAD models at Forma and then constructed on an automated assembly line by machines. Precut lumber, sized for standard walls from 8 to 12 feet high and as wide as 24 feet, is aligned, nailed, trimmed and sheathed so quickly and efficiently that Forma can construct walls for a 3,000-square-foot home in less than a day for about $12 to $16 a square foot.
The advantage for homeowners in San Francisco’s high-cost labor arena is that these panels can be quickly assembled by a handful of carpenters in six weeks — less than half the time it normally takes.
“There is also a green factor,” said Zack. “There is less waste on-site because you are not cutting lots of lumber.” The lumber is custom cut and is ready to assemble when it arrives. As much as 60 percent of Zack and de Vito’s panels use engineered lumber made of laminated wood scraps. Later he realized that every panel could have been ordered that way.
The exterior sheathing is also made of recycled wood remnants instead of plywood, which requires large-diameter trees; the use of non-off-gassing adhesives is another green quality of the panelized building system, which was first used in Sweden.
“There is always waste when you cut lumber,” said Zack. “That waste can be turned right back into engineered lumber if the waste occurs right at the mill.” At Zack’s building site, there was no waiting trash bin because there was hardly any waste.
For two weeks the interior panels, fully sheathed on one side with drywall and, for the exterior, additional waterproof Tyvek and siding (a complicated assembly Forma perfected for this, its first city job) arrived in batches on flatbed trucks just wide enough to maneuver around narrow Laidley Street. San Francisco and other tightly packed urban areas require double drywall sheathing (a layer inside and one outside) along property lines so that a house fire can be contained. The floor and windowless wall panels unceremoniously dumped onto the street were kept flat by the drywall sheathing on one side. Walls with preinstalled windows were treated with greater care, packed vertically for the long trip from factory to construction site because they are fragile and prone to warping.
“For us the time savings was the biggest plus,” said Zack. By using Forma’s panels, their typical 14-week framing project was reduced to one week of preparation time to get the base ready, three weeks installing panels and three weeks to hand-frame walls the factory could not produce.
“They could not do everything,” said Zack. “They can’t do angled walls, and they can’t do short walls (under tall windows, for instance) effectively.”
Since de Vito had designed the building for conventional wood framing, 15 percent of the structure had to be framed by hand. In the next house they design, keeping Forma’s limitations in mind, Zack and de Vito will use only pre-framed panels.
“We had bids for the construction materials from $75,000 to $85,000 roughly. Labor for us is about $8,000 a week, and we got all the panels delivered for $95,000, which is equal to the cost of materials plus one week of labor,” said Zack. Add to that the cost of renting a crane to lift the heavy panels and you still save $50,000.
“In San Francisco there is also an unquantifiable benefit,” said Zack. Instead of five construction workers with hammers and saws working for 14 weeks, neighbors can appreciate it when there are only six weeks of noise.
Could San Francisco mandate this neighborly way of building? Perhaps, said Zack, but there are often access issues — a truck may not be able to deliver panels to every location.
Architect Tom Kundig, speaking recently at the American Institute of Architects in San Francisco, highlighted another drawback of prefabricated panel construction: It discourages the development of local building skills.
Zack poured a concrete foundation and laid the ground floor to provide an efficient plinth from where they were able to add the lower walls and top two stories of the structure within six weeks. But before they got started on the framing phase, “we spent 100 hours coordinating our drawings with their company, communicating information and verifying their drawings. This was extra effort we may be able to avoid next time,” said Zack.
Still, that time spent saved them money, said Murray.
“We have a framer guy who explains what the proper foundations ought to have for panelized construction. We help clients with hold-down layout, and we work with an architect for a month or two before they pour a foundation,” said Murray, because that’s where things go wrong.
Surprisingly, Zack, who thought that Forma’s panels would be unusual in some intrinsic way, found them to be the same as conventional wood walls built on-site.
“They are just put together with more machine labor,” he said. And that, Murray points out, is why they are truly straight and better made.
“We had problems with scheduling and rain,” said Zack. Mountain snows delayed a big shipment for several days. When a delivery truck is late, it means that five carpenters and an expensive crane for lifting panels are waiting, which increases costs.
Oddly, that’s not something they’d worry about normally. “In conventional construction, there is always more to do,” Zack said, not without irony.
This article appeared on page G - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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