#visualdiary10

[akcadle]

Although the photo above is the top search result when Googling this, this photo was taken by one of my former co-workers during our media day with the new uniforms prior to unveiling. When the Minnesota Twins first unveiled their new brand and uniforms about a year ago, some of the new marks, primarily what is known as the “M Star”, was met with heavy criticism, saying it looks too much like the Miami Marlins, and copies the Minnesota United Loons, Timberwolves, Lynx, and Wild’s North Star icon in their logos. Forget about the Marlins comparison for a second here, the point of the Twins creating a mark that had a North Star in it, like the other professional Minnesota sports teams, was to include a unifying mark across all of our teams (except the Vikings). It took a lot of marketing, advertising, positioning, storytelling, etc. to help fans understand the meaning behind this alternate mark and as the season went on, I personally heard and saw more and more fans warming up to it through conversations and the attire they bought and wore.

[nice-lines]

Visual diary #10 | Instances of Putting a Stake in the Ground

Trader Joe’s is in a league of their own.

In a time where more and more stores are closing physical locations, Trader Joe’s seems to be thriving. It is safe to say this is largely due to how they have differentiated themselves among other grocery store chains

Trader Joe’s is very different than its competitions. From the moment you walk into a store to the time you checkout, it becomes more and more obvious that there is something fundamentally different about their stores. Their employees are always out on the floor, stocking the shelves and looking for opportunities to chat with customers. Trader Joe’s doesn’t stock their shelves at night. They do it during the day so their employees can be home with their families and so there is always someone close by to answer questions.

The options for items at Trader Joe’s is also different. Instead of having dozens of different salsa’s, cereals, cheeses, and beers, Trader Joe’s only stocks a handful of options for every item. This keeps the choices simple without overwhelming the customer. It also makes it easier for them to source products and track which items generate a following or are a flop.

Many of the differences between Trader Joe’s and its competitors are obvious and are experienced after spending time in a store. Upon closer inspection however, the differences only deepen as you begin to look at how staff are hired, how food is selected, how artwork is chosen, and how locations are decided upon.

Trader Joe’s has thrived when many other stores have failed. I believe this is in large part due to every Trader Joe’s employee putting a collective stake in the ground and buying fully in on a simplified, straightforward shopping experience. Other grocery stores may look at Trader Joe’s and dismiss their decisions as flawed, but that would be wrong. It is Trader Joe’s thoughtfulness and long-term vision that has separated them in the industry.

References:

Benham-Archdeacon-Lattice, Hayley. (2017, Sept. 18). What Trader Joe’s figured out about work culture that my other past employers haven’t. [Weblog post] Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/40468445/what-trader-joes-figured-out-about-work-culture-that-my-other-past-employers-havent

Cop, Phillip. (2018, Sept. 6). Trader Joe’s Success Formula and What Can Other Retailers Learn From It [Weblog post] Retrieved from https://www.mytotalretail.com/article/trader-joes-success-formula-and-what-can-other-retailers-can-learn-from-it/

[laurennbradford-blog]

Stake in the Ground - Steve Jobs

[creativecollectionnk32-blog]

Visual Diary #10 | Stake in the Ground

This post isn’t about the Global Positioning System (GPS) itself, but rather one of the main makers of mobile GPS systems for vehicles. Today, we all mostly use our phones for this purpose, but Garmin was one of the first companies to really capitalize in this field. For my stake in the ground research I really tried thinking of things that changed my life immensely. I can’t imagine a life today where I couldn’t type in an address and be told directions on how to get there within seconds. It’s totally mind blowing to me that we used to have to use good old fashioned maps! I can still read a map, but the simplicity of today’s technology and GPS capabilities has been a major game changer. 

While Garmin isn’t the only navigation system of its time period, it was one of the most substantial from the beginning and they did place a stake in the ground with the development and keeping up with programming. I use navigation systems, mainly just the maps app on my iPhone, so much these days that it makes me appreciate this technology so much!

[insowmnia]

Pure Vida is a company that put a stake in the ground to evoke change through bracelets. Their company has people in Costa Rica hand craft each product. They have donated over a million dollars to the greater good. 

[akcadle]

My two stake in the ground examples this week are from my personal work over the last year or so. My first example was inspired by my time volunteering with the University of Kansas Hockey Club during undergrad.

Over the last four years, one of the biggest issues we've had within the KU Hockey Club was communication between the coaches, team, and staff. The team has their own GroupMe chat, the staff has their own Slack channel, and the coaches have their own iMessage group, but no one is willing to choose one platform and make a group chat with everyone. We also have issues with players not knowing when practice or game times are because those reminders get lost in the constant feed of messages. As a solution, I designed a mobile app where all coaches, players, and staff have access to the team side using their KU ID login credentials. On this app, members can check scores, upcoming and past games and scores, schedule, roster, stats, standings, shop for merchandise, and converse with other members either in groups or direct messages.

Fans can also download this app and sign in with their own credentials and have access to the same pages members do, except instead of messaging other members, they can fill out a contact form that goes directly to the staff, rather than waiting hours or days for a response on social media.

The link to view the whole project, description, and features can be read on my website at this link.

[insowmnia]

Toms put a stake in the ground to give one pair of shoes for every pair of shoes bought. There was a public need for shoes, as well as, a company that provided a greater good post purchase. 

This example stands out to me because it reflects the way I am looking at the purchasing of underwear. 

[laurennbradford-blog]

Stake in the Ground - Chick fil a

[nice-lines]

Visual diary #10 | Remote Year

Keep your job. See the world.

Remote Year helps workers make the transition to working remotely. Remote Year’s unique differentiator is their focus on pairing travel with remote work. Their stake in the ground is ascribing to the notion that work should not restrict one's ability to travel.

“Come with your job and a suitcase. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Remote Year charges a monthly fee that goes towards a travel itinerary and all associated logistics to make sure you don’t get bogged down with flights and hotels. You can focus on your work while traveling to see some of the worlds most beautiful landmarks. Not only will you travel, you will meet and collaborate with others who also work remote for companies all over the world.

Remote Year has different programs to suit the needs of different travel or work goals. Once you find a program that best matches your preference and schedule, you will receive a custom itinerary that outlines where you will be and when.

As working remote becomes more acceptable in more disciplines, I see programs like Remote Year becoming more popular. Once workers are free’d from offices and cubicles, it’s only a matter of time until they look for better desktop views.

References:

Remote Year. Retrieved from https://remoteyear.com/

[creativecollectionnk32-blog]

Visual Diary #10 | Stake in the Ground

There are many companies and inventions, etc. that come to mind when I think of breakthrough design and innovation. One that has literally changed the way we live and learn is the internet, and Google was a big facilitator for that change. It’s the largest search engine and I love it–it’s always my go-to! I mean we have even come to adding it into our language, “just google it!”

It’s amazing where Google is now and how much they have grown their technology. Google Analytics has also become a major player in businesses all across the world. Being able to provide access to so much information is truly amazing and that is why Google comes to mind for a classic stake in the ground scenario. The World Wide Web has done many great things for our growth as a society, but Google has been a major player from early on and that’s why they stand apart from other search engines. They have such a recognizable brand and even a modernized logo reigns true to their early beginnings. Google impresses me more and more everyday and I quite honestly can’t imagine life without search engines, especially great ones like Google!

We all know Google is so much more than just a search engine today, but that is how they started out and where I see them as having placed a stake in the ground. They have expanded so much and I’m sure they will continue to do so.