Moving on over

At the risk of confusing the myriad readers of this blog, I am announcing that the blog has moved to a new URL and boasts a shiny new Feedburner feed to make life easy.  Please re-subscribe and/or go directly to www.getelastic.com to http://feeds.feedburner.com/getelastic.

The Squadron Lands in Chicago

Many - perhaps most - of my tasks the past few weeks have been preparation for the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition in Chicago. Well, the materials were created, plans drafted, arrangements arranged and the team sent eastward this past Sunday. Monday was set-up and opening reception and today (Tuesday) is the big day on the trade show floor.

This show is really Elastic Path's chance to introduce the refined brand to the marketplace. The preparations were thorough (I hope) so I am confident the exhibit is bound for success.

In brief, the 10X20ft booth will be visually anchored by two connected exhibit panels featuring the "bendy girl" (contortionist) images. Two contortionists are along for the ride with 3 shows daily which is bound to draw some attention. The show times were announced on a postcard mailed out last week (a bit too close to the wire) and the booth location is near an show entrance, and close to the Jaguar car giveaway, for fortuitous foot traffic.

After booth set up, the 3ft high booth cases are then wrapped in branded vinyl sheaths and used as display pedestals to hold the brochure rack (equipped with the stylin' new brochure) and data sheet (not as stylin' but packed with useful info), plus the "ballot box" for ecommerce survey/contest entry form to win a trip to Las Vegas to see Cirque du Soleil (reinforcing the flexibility and control message - get it?).

Two silver exercise/sitting balls and a clear table for the contortionists' performances fill out the space. Clean, inviting, open, branded. Check, check, check, check. Oh yeah, 450 tins of "thinking putty" were shipped to give away which I suspect will garner a lot attention as people play with it in the sessions (careful it bounces!).

With the show underway, the office here in Vancouver is less hectic than last week (for me anyway) when the booth was staged in the lobby surrounded with collateral and accessories as I checked off the list to make sure no item was missing before packing giant hockey bags. My aim was to sort out the details so the squad of 5 could concentrate on networking with the attendees and spreading the Elastic Path message which is dialed in and delivered throughout our new batch of materials.

A video camera was part of the retinue of gear so hopefully some compelling images and loquacious reporting from the floor will be forthcoming.

Besides the variety of trade show materials, a few press releases are heading out to the world announcing partnerships and integrations with tools like Scene7's dynamic imaging tools, Celebros' site search and merchandising technology, and SiteBrand's personalization platform. A case study is also wrapping up about Aeroplan's great new site which was a great success by Elastic Path's Professional Service department.

Perhaps I'll post some of these materials for hardcore Elastic Path enthusiasts. Interested?

 

On Communicating Specifically (and Enjoying Long Weekends)

With impending printer deadlines, I am busily assembling concept and wordsmithing copy for various trade show materials. While at first blush, this may seem simple - add a (neat) picture, write some (fluffy) words and hand off to designers, these tasks do require a series of editing gutchecks and detailed revision during which each element (both 'what we are saying' and 'how we are saying it') must prove to be absolutely essential to the piece.

Then, once the big picture is developed and key points are determined, the words must be streamlined to speak directly to the intended audience. In Elastic Path's case, the audience is sometimes technically-minded programmer types, sometimes marketing (or sales) variety, and sometimes C-level executive/administrative flavored. Each audience segment has their own concerns and desires which certainly come into play when deciding where/when/how to spend/invest in ecommerce (or any other for that matter) software platform.

To effectively combine the copy and visual concept, one must think metaphorically, while managing to keep the message concise and remain emotionally evocative. The words must show the value and benefits of the product but not *really* let on that that's the goal. Subtlety is key but only works on people who "get it."

We have the advantage of knowing that our audience are: a) aware of ecommerce and the nuances of promotion and fulfillment; b) desirous to increase revenue (they *are* retailers after-all), and; c) technically astute to the point of general knowledge at a minimum as they are likely migrating away from some platform or another. However, each of three audience "types" needs something a little different to speak to them.

With that in mind, we (meaning our uhhh.. *massive* marketing department) are producing a multi-page, booklet-style brochure geared primarily towards marketing minded folks which briefly identifies the key attributes, and emphasizes the critical benefits of, using Elastic Path to remedy the challenges affecting eretailers. Next up, a data sheet designed more towards technically-savvy people who are in on the decision making process. This sheet will include a "laundry list" of the features and technology chunks used to make the software. Along with those is a new case study which the executives enjoy since it speaks to real life projects and how problems were sorted out and goals achieved.

Further, a postcard is almost out the door to mail out in advance to encourage the conference attendees to stop by booth 842 (win a trip to Vegas and all that). Finally, a "playbook" to provide advance scouting info, stratgey scenarios and travel logistics to the crew of 5 heading to Chicago. Whew, I'd best get to typing. Oh yeah, did in mention the mini-survey and contest entry form? I am thinking of a perforated piece for that but we'll see how that works out.

In other news, Harry Chemko (CEO) showed me the additional office space in progress downstairs which will allow space for 17-24 more worker bees. Walls need painted and Ethernet wired but the spacious space is coming along just in time as new hires are coming aboard regularly around here. Also, Harry hosted an enjoyably fun, long-weekend-kick-off-party Friday night. Ahhh long weekends, everyone likes them, shouldn't there be more?

This is a whole other blog post waiting to happen but … as rumored Sun has "officially" open sourced Java. The concern is "forking" in which the code base would fragment into two divergent, non-compatible paths but alas, one must carry on and accept an element of risk to fervently explore innovation. And really, in the hyper-competition for developer buy-in and community building, this was the sensible choice from my (rather limited) viewpoint.

By open-sourcing, Sun is inviting the developer community to the conversation and handing the proverbial conch shell to anyone who wants a turn to speak. We Elastic Pathers should/will find a way to start conversations with our erstwhile tech evangelists for the benefit of the software, the end user (and us).

We'll start by saying, "Hello World."

Greetings from Elastic Path in Vancouver, Canada

Indeed, 'tis the birth of yet another blog!  This one offers news and discourse on the e-commerce industry in general, and chronicles scenes of life from (the rather comfy) offices of Elastic Path Software in Vancouver, BC, Canada  - near the south end of the Cambie St bridge to you Vancouverites.

As a new employee with a fresh new set of eyes (today is day four for me), I aim to feature everything from astute observations to naive explorations plus various ephemera 'from the trenches' of a fast-growing, entrepreneurial endeavour.

In the spirit of disclosure, … I am empowered to speak freely and, as such, have charged myself with the pleasant task of not only providing observations on the e-commerce software Elastic Path produces, but also to post audio recordings (call 'em podcasts if you want), and video clips (v-casts if you prefer) to share information on EP's shopping system and perhaps allow you to associate some faces with the company.

I share the 3rd floor of the Elastic Path HQ with an international crew of developers, coders, thinkers, planners, marketers and sellers - all working to build innovative software with open source components and custom-crafted code.  So far, I've learned most of my co-workers names, read the employee manual, watched a Bruce Lee film, ate pizza, built a paper tower (actually it collapsed), and learned to use the coffee machine (tricky).  What else is there?!  We're on the road to find out.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!  Drop us a note or add a comment if you seek knowledge.