John Winsor

What's Your Inside Story?

As a consumer, I love the process of discovery. When I get a product I like to find things that make that product a little more personal than I would have ever imagined. It's so much fun and gives me a deeper connection to the brand. Yesterday, after my ride, I was taking off my Rapha jersey and felt something in the pocket. There it was. A great little story. So much fun.

How are you using the power of discovery to create a deeper connection with your customers?

Welcome to Victors & Spoils

The news is out. Another adventure begins. I love the start of a new adventure. So much anticipation. So much excitement. It always comes down to the team. Standing at the beginning of this adventure, Victors & Spoils, is especially exciting with the amazing team that’s come together. My partners Evan Fry, Claudia Batten, Scott Beck, Chris Marks, Dana Vallely and you (That’s right, you. More on this later.) comprise a crew that I’ve always dreamed about having on a big adventure.

Victors & Spoils is the world’s first creative (ad) agency built on crowdsourcing principles. Our goal is to provide businesses with creative solutions to their marketing, advertising and product-design problems, by engaging the world’s most talented creatives.  

Brands need an alternative to current ad agencies and crowdsourcing platforms. One that offers the strategic direction, engagement and relationship management that agencies deliver today but one that also delivers engagement, connectivity, creativity, and ROI that crowdsourcing platforms have the potential to deliver.

It’s time for a new agency model. One built to address some of the biggest forces changing the face of business today. Radical transparency, the consumer’s demand to be more involved and a growing cost consciousness regarding clients’ budgets have all made crowdsourcing especially timely for today’s marketers. However, the crowdsourcing paradigm is a bit unruly for most clients. The number of possible solutions created and the effort to keep things on strategy for a brand can be overwhelming.

At the core of Victors & Spoils is our creative department. It’s not a typical creative department made up of art directors and copywriters but one in which everyone from art directors and copywriters to strategists and producers come together to solve a brand’s strategic problems. Our creative department is a global digital community where anyone who wants to participate can.  People will not only be rewarded by the solutions they develop both individually and as a group but also for participating in the community, itself, and helping others develop their skills and talent. In an effort to guide this participation, members of the creative department will earn a reputation ranking that will help determine a share of the revenue from each project.

As on any journey, things will change and develop new paths. I’ve been blown away already by how fast things are moving and the amazing excitement that clients have expressed. This is going to be a wild ride.

We look forward to figuring this new paradigm out with you.

Rep Rap Shifts the Paradigm

RepRap from Adrian Bowyer on Vimeo.

What are the consequences of a 3D desktop printer that can reproduce itself? Amazing.

Math That Makes Sense

More math here.

Via BBH Labs.

Will the Kindle DX Change Advertising?

For the last couple of days I've been intrigued by the possibilities that Amazon's new Kindle DX represents. I've had an original Kindle for a few months now. While it's been fun to use, it hasn't replaced books. It has just felt too small. My sense is that the DX will push the adoption further, once the price comes down from $489.

One big question is, what will happen to advertising in this new medium as more and more people replace paper newspapers with electronic readers?

As with any new technology, opportunities will certainly emerge.

How do you see advertising changing with this new medium? What will be the opportunities to emerge?

Need Your Thoughts for a Speech at Stanford's d.school

I'm talking at Stanford's d.school tomorrow and need your help on ideas for the talk. Here's part of the note I received:

As far as the content: Students are now working on their final project: They will be using design thinking to find a target user group and a point of view to spread some kind of change of behavior around the use of gas. What we want the speakers in the mini conference to focus on is techniques, thoughts and experiences around spreading ideas, unleashing virality etc. It can be a story with some learning's, it can be a few case examples whatever you like – plan on 20 minutes with a few questions.

I'd love to include your thoughts on spreading ideas and unleashing virality.

Thanks.

The World Digital Library Launches Today

What happens when everything is available digitally? Historical books, ancient maps, rare recordings? It's only going to accelerate learning. The World Digital Library is certain to change the way we look at history and bring cultures closer together.

SHARKLOVE

My good friend and fellow CPBer, Evan Fry, just created a cool new site called SHARKLOVE. Here's what he has to say about it:

Sharklove was founded in 2002 with a simple sticker designed for the Northern California surf community. It was a sticker that told the world, "I recreate in waters inhabited by Great White sharks so I am sending them good vibes. Because though they could easily swallow me whole, they are not monsters. They are awesome. And it's an honor to play in their backyard." But we soon learned that Sharklove should, and could, mean so much more. So today, Sharklove.com is a home and resource for shark lovers - a place where we can learn, share and rally. So whether you use it to get a free sticker, post a recent sighting or help stop what is arguably the greatest threat to our planet, as long as you're using it, we'll be stoked. And we think the sharks will be too.

As surfer, I love sharks. Being tapped on the foot once, I respect them even more. I'm sure you'll enjoy a little Shark Love as much as I do.

Great job, Evan.

Designing QR Codes

For a while now I've been interested in QR codes as a way to connect the physical and virtual worlds, yet the codes have always looked a little bit like a wart on a product, ad or poster. Tonight, I caught this on JoshSpear.com.

How many of you know what to do with the image to the left? Hopefully most of you. Aside from identifying it as Murakami work, it’s a QR code for your mobile phone. QR (quick response) codes are like the Japanese version of bar codes, because they started in Japan. The code is scanned into your mobile phone via the camera and outputs a link. Think of it as a way to add hyperlinks in the real world. Normally, these QR codes look like deformed boxy versions of bar codes. But as soon as Murakami touches one we are all gaga. It’s amazing what a little Louis Vuitton pattern and color can do to a QR.

Also, check out the other incredibly designed QR codes from SET. It's inspiring to see how design can
radically shift something from a wart to a beauty mark.

Never Lose Your Keys

LaCie has just introduced a new mode of storing and transporting digital content.  LaCie, who is recognized as one of the leading manufacturers of computer peripherals, is offering three styles of it’s USB key drive: itsaKey, iamaKey and PassKey. The USB keys were designed by 5.5 Designers, recipients of the “Grand prix de la creation” by the city council of Paris. The keys mirror that of a standard house key, which is compact and fits easily onto any keychain. Being made of metal, the keys are virtually resistant to destruction.

The LaCie Keys are available now, starting at $9.90. The itsaKey and iamaKey store up to 8 gigabytes of flash memory, whereas the PassKey has a microSD card reader.