gap intelligence?s 1.2 mile move from 3300 Third Street to 701 C street is nearly complete. ?The desks are set, phone lines are in and all that is left is to wait for AT&T to give us the gift of DSL, which will hopefully be in just two short days.
DSL should arrive on the last day of 2008, which marks the end of an unprecedented year for our little company.Last Exit rip ? The company has seen amazing growth as we moved into our old building with 9 employees and a team of contractors to 18 employees and an even bigger army of contractors.? Naturally, the growth that we have seen is through our longstanding relationships with our clients, whose own businesses have grown and required more support from gap intelligence. ?Additionally, our success is due to our people and it?s at this time of the year that we salute the efforts of our employees for all of their hard work.?
This year?s holiday party (read below) was a celebration of our good fortune and to toast a year filled with hard work, lots of fun, and the camaraderie of a team getting bigger and stronger. Skinwalkers movies ?As part of the celebration, we give out the much acclaimed Kurosawa-san ? gap intelligence?s Oscar, given and cherished by those who have worked hard enough to be bestowed the award.?
This year?s Kurosawa-san Award Winners:
gap intelligence MVP ? Jake
The People?s Choice Award (elected by team) – Jake
Leader of the Year ? Sarina
Writer of the Year ? Jake
The Rock Award ? Michelle
Rookie of the Year ? Nicole
Can?t Live Without You Award – Katie
Part-Timer of the Year ? Lena
The Stealth Award – Aidan?
Quote of the Year ? Michelle
Grossest Food ? Owen
Best Dressed ? Nicole
Thank You Award ? Stacy
OnLatte isn?t letting Starbucks have all the fun with coffee. Founders Josh Grob (as I have come to learn half way through writing this article is the cousin of our very own Jake Fishman) and Oleksiy Pikalo have created a printer than can produce different images on the foam of a latte. While there are baristas across the country that pride themselves in the art, OnLatte has automated the technique, how American! Christmas in Wonderland buyA Yank in the R.A.F. dvd
The two inventors are currently using an old Kodak inkjet that they attached to a flatbed scanner to produce the images. The company is not ready to stop at lattes either as they have visions of making designs on the top of Guinness beer foam! The small start up company has yet to patent their invention or gain the $200,000 investment that they will need to produce a machine ready to sell to coffee shops nationwide.
As a former Starbucks barista myself, I will say that this is quite an extraordinary invention. Starbucks does not currently make designs on lattes, largely because of time constraints as well as the majority of customers wanting their beverages in to-go cups with solid white lids. With such an automated device however, I could see a mainstream coffee shop offering up the little extra something with your double tall extra hot two pumps sugar-free vanilla skinny latte. So, although we think customization in the coffee world has peaked as customers order their 5 minute long coffee preferences, let?s add one more thing to the mix!!
The perks of being a competitive intelligence analyst are few and far between. ?Journalists receive a constant stream of free food and drinks from manufacturers who hope to receive praise and adulation in return. ?I know a lot of journalists who get free presents from manufacturers in the form of mugs, pens, shirts, and even free products to “test”. ?Market and Industry Analysts have it good too. ?Manufactures want Market Analysts to say great things about the company and will hold “Analyst?Briefings” that are really an excuse to wine and dine these folks at great spa resorts at exotic locations around the country. ?In order to get “in” for these kinds of presents and gifts and trips, you have to be “in” with public and analyst relations departments at manufacturers – and therein lies the problem. ?My job at gap intelligence is to discover competitive insights on manufacturers before they make it to the wire – I am suppose to blab about new products and strategies before they happen. ?In other words, I am public relations’ worst nightmare and treated pretty much as a?pariah.
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On the very, very rare occasion, a company will take us out for a great event, which is what happened a few weeks ago as an unnamed camera manufacturer took me and Gary to an NFL Football game. ?In order to keep my neutrality, I won’t tell you the name of the company, but it is the official camera sponsor of the NFL, located in Japan, starts with the letter “C”, and rhymes with “manon”. ? Easily the sweetest part of the day was to get loaded down with very expensive professional camera equipment, walk down to the field, and snap pictures of players warming up before the game.
The experience brought to light two things: 1) NFL Players are absolutely gigantic human beings and I wouldn’t want to take one out for burgers and fries and 2) any shortcomings in experience and photographic talent can be largely overcome with good equipment. ?My professional DSLR was loaded with a 1GB memory card that allowed me to snap over 260 full resolution pictures – though I snapped roughly 300 shots and deleted about 100 of them on the fly. ?Easy statistics suggest that even ME, a novice photographer who simply pointed the camera and snapped photos, can capture one great shot out of a 100 – roughly 1%. ?So if I snapped 300 shots, then I should have maybe 3 solid photographs that I can possibly put into a frame or create a holiday card around.
Thanks to the mysterious company who invited me and Gary to the Charger’s game. ?If any public relations departments want to spoil me, please send all invitations to analyst@gapintelligence.com
timed promotions, early store openings ? a stop watch
c.?
animal instinct to win d.?
desperation
Black Friday expectations were lower than normal, but no one would have guessed that the day would bring the tragic death of Walmart employee, Jdimytai Damour.? Customers lined up outside a Long Island Walmart preparing to purchase their bargain televisions and at 5 a.m. when Damour was instructed to open the doors, a rush of people trampled him to death.? One would think that humanity would leave the store immediately once authorities arrived and began investigating a person?s death.? But this crowd of consumers was so self involved that some were appalled at the very thought of abandoning the supercenter of discounts due to the inconvenient death of another human being.
The unfortunate death of Damour was the result of the growing disease of consumerism in this country.? As the economy continues to struggle and people pinch every penny, the desire to get a deal on that TV or camera becomes more important than life itself.? Although shoppers may have less money to spend they still covet – we want what our neighbors cannot have.? Consumers are addicted and obsessed with getting the best deal at whatever cost.? Each year, we read endless news accounts of that mom or dad pushing their way through the toy store to get the next Tickle Me Elmo toy for their 5-year old child that will likely not remember or appreciate the gift in 20 minutes.
The question remains, whose responsibility is it to ensure that shopping events such as Black Friday are safe? The retailers – they can do only so much to blockade the stampedes of animalistic shoppers.? Consumers are at a point of desperation where they have no regard for the public when it comes to getting the best deal.? Will retailers have to hire police task forces to make people stand in single file lines in order to contain the masses? Shouldn?t we, the consumer, be able to control ourselves?
So what now? Will consumers think twice about the importance of their $25 DVD players?? At least for a short time America is looking a bit more embarrassed in the mirror about the consequences of the consumer driven economy we have created.? Retailers and electronics manufacturers, alike, depend on holiday sales to get them through the rest of the year.? We have built a mentality that encourages people to wake up early or even camp out at stores days in advance when they have a hard time getting up for work in the morning.? If the motivation to get that one deal was as strong as the motivation to help the environment, feed the hungry, or stop wars, maybe we would be a lot better off.
