I love nothing better than a marathon of my favorite shows to get caught up on weeks of missed episodes. For this I suggest Modern Family, NCIS, Finding Bigfoot (don't tell anyone about that one) and What NOT to Wear. Tonight is dedicated to TLC's What Not to Wear.
I absolutely love this show. I love clothes, I love shopping, I love changing my hair--and I love seeing the women on What Not to Wear go through these major transformations. They fight the change, they cry when Stacy London and Clinton Kelly make fun of the wardrobe they've sported for years. Eventually, they cave. They take the $5,000 gift card and start out buying the same crap they already own. Stacy and Clinton swoop in, stop the madness, remind the subject of what she has learned. She heads down the proper path, and comes out looking amazing.
I usually cry at this point. (I love a good happy ending story--or commercial for that matter.) I'm excited for the plane-Jane girl who dresses like a hooker, a homeless person, or an old-maid. She is unveiled as elegant, sophisticated, re-styled and reinvented. Ah, success!
This is a seriously amazing process. I've never seen a woman take a different route. Each subject is hesitant to change, but in the end takes the advice of the pro's -- and the result is nothing short of amazing.
Why am I rambling about this fashion show on a Marketing blog? Well, for one: I'm watching it right now and am amazing at multi-tasking. But more importantly, the process is the EXACT same for a marketing makeover.
I just helped to launch my first User Experience (UX) web project. It, too, was nothing short of an amazing process. It began with a group of people so close to the project that naturally they saw nothing wrong with the way things were. The web pages were frequently visited, the content was updated when an update was due, and the product was a rock star.
The product champions have decided to move ahead with the UX process, taking the advice of the pros. While were discussing user flows, click paths, content creation, and new ways to view the product--our Subject Matter Experts begin to back up... They're worried about the unknown, not sure they want to go down the path that requires so much work, so much time, so different than what they're used to.
In the end, they decide to move with forward--struggle with change and VIOLA! The entire product team ends up elegant, sophisticated, re-styled and reinvented.
What I'm getting at, is sometimes it's a small change--but sometimes an entire make over is eminent. As the marketing pro, or the person in charge of the product under the microscope: Change is GOOD! Sometimes the people--I mean the product most in need of an upgrade have no idea what a difference a new look will make.
People or Product: People will notice the extra effort. People will hear the real you -- you won't have to scream from underneath that outdated facade. When change is due, accept it with open arms. Be kind to those making the recommendation. Be kind to those TAKING the recommendation. In the end, it's so worth it.
Kind of makes me want to go buy some new shoes! Maybe even get a perm.
 |
| I swear I've gotten better at dressing myself. (mom jeans rule!) |
I absolutely love this show. I love clothes, I love shopping, I love changing my hair--and I love seeing the women on What Not to Wear go through these major transformations. They fight the change, they cry when Stacy London and Clinton Kelly make fun of the wardrobe they've sported for years. Eventually, they cave. They take the $5,000 gift card and start out buying the same crap they already own. Stacy and Clinton swoop in, stop the madness, remind the subject of what she has learned. She heads down the proper path, and comes out looking amazing.
I usually cry at this point. (I love a good happy ending story--or commercial for that matter.) I'm excited for the plane-Jane girl who dresses like a hooker, a homeless person, or an old-maid. She is unveiled as elegant, sophisticated, re-styled and reinvented. Ah, success!
This is a seriously amazing process. I've never seen a woman take a different route. Each subject is hesitant to change, but in the end takes the advice of the pro's -- and the result is nothing short of amazing.
Why am I rambling about this fashion show on a Marketing blog? Well, for one: I'm watching it right now and am amazing at multi-tasking. But more importantly, the process is the EXACT same for a marketing makeover.
I just helped to launch my first User Experience (UX) web project. It, too, was nothing short of an amazing process. It began with a group of people so close to the project that naturally they saw nothing wrong with the way things were. The web pages were frequently visited, the content was updated when an update was due, and the product was a rock star.
In the end, they decide to move with forward--struggle with change and VIOLA! The entire product team ends up elegant, sophisticated, re-styled and reinvented.
What I'm getting at, is sometimes it's a small change--but sometimes an entire make over is eminent. As the marketing pro, or the person in charge of the product under the microscope: Change is GOOD! Sometimes the people--I mean the product most in need of an upgrade have no idea what a difference a new look will make.
People or Product: People will notice the extra effort. People will hear the real you -- you won't have to scream from underneath that outdated facade. When change is due, accept it with open arms. Be kind to those making the recommendation. Be kind to those TAKING the recommendation. In the end, it's so worth it.
Kind of makes me want to go buy some new shoes! Maybe even get a perm.