Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Flip-Flops, Kinky Boots, and Dreaming of Invention

A friend explained over lunch how his son and friends came across the idea of imbedding messages on the soles of flip flops so beach goers could leave messages behind them in the sand, perhaps including the inevitable end- of-summer lament:  “She loves me, she loves me not,” though that would require a lot of shoe leather.  The flip flop project was a modest dorm room affair until a stripper learned of the business and posted her approval on Twitter.  The rest is history and a nice uptick in cheeky sales.   Just to make sure my remarks are not apocryphal, please visit the site at www.Flipsidez.com.

I wanted to record this mix of intuition and luck before the sea comes in and wipes out the one or two-word #hashtag endearments on the remaining beaches where sand is not yet a luxury.  No word if some version of this will be used by sure-footed sky divers and sky walkers who, like their beach brethren, insist on being ephemeral and disappearing into the sunset.

If you think these observations have nothing to do with digital, you might be right or you might be wrong.  My friend had just come from a meeting in which a cross-section of publishers lamented, in spite of all the headlines and fuss, the challenges they face with digital publishing and how little impact digital revenues have on the bottom line.  After all, publishers are lucky to derive 5% of their total revenues from digital.  We are all looking for that huge digital hockey stick to appear on our Balance Sheets.

We are both survivors of the Dot Com boom and were wondering out aloud whether that kind of vapor was seeping into the marketplace again.  I don’t think so and argued over lunch that the digital sophistication in the media ranks these days is quite high, and, anyway, we got over our flirtation with banner ads a long time ago.  I suggested, however, that it might take another twenty years before digital revenues routinely represent 30-40% of total revenues of the average media business.  But who knows.   I heard the same forecast from CEOs in 1998.  I’ve yet to hear a digital prediction that has come true.

Nonetheless, the urban legends around the digital space are simply delicious.  Is it really true that you are 116 times more likely to survive a rattlesnake bite than intentionally click on a mobile banner ad?  For a thorough unpacking of dubious mobile stats, please go to www.digiday.com.

My friend remains convinced that we are experiencing a period of digital “froth,” citing some evidence that the interest in digital editions is sagging and consumers are tiring of the billion app App Store.  There was a note of nostalgia in his voice.  He mentioned an associate in the auto supply business who markets online parts for vintage Mustangs.  His business philosophy is simple:  If there a niche product he can put in a box and market via the internet, then there’s a business.  The auto guy just sold his share of the business for $17 million and promises to live happily ever after.

The psychologist James Hillman wrote that we’re probably better off having a drink with a friend than going to psychotherapy.  There was no booze at this lunch and no therapy that I noticed.  But Hillman has a point.  He also advised a generation to keep an eye on their dreams and wait for moments of invention.

I did, and as if on cue, an enterprise dream landed in my lap.  You can trace the incubation right back to the flip-flop guys.  The central dream image was of wooden toy train engines with red and yellow “noses,” that were converted for use as shoes for a particular young, fashion-conscious set.  There was a hint that a local football team was also interested, proving that fashion’s crossover appeal is a universal archetype.  The androgynous guys were strutting with purpose across my dream stage, a wonderful, uplifting set.

I have yet to ask my friend whether this dream might suggest a business.  I’m still on the digital fence, but plan to see the Tony Award-winning “Kinky Boots” that had, I understand, a similar, inauspicious beginning.  That is, once it discovered an essential truth:  the sex is in the heel.


No comments:

Post a Comment