Over the past year, we’ve had the opportunity to participate in the development and launch of the Speak Easy, a place for entrepreneurs, startups, and the folks who support them to work, play, and collaborate. Crafting a brand, web presence, and influencing the structure itself, we couldn’t have been happier to launch the Speak Easy on January 18th.

Taking a cue from coastal co-work spaces like Grind in New York, a group of 8 investors and entrepreneurs (including our own Kristian Andersen) set out to create a gathering place for those active in the startup community. The resulting space is a combination of a 17th century salon, coffee shop, and science lab.

Collaborating with local designers and architects – Nikki Sutton, Nick Allman and Craig McCormick – they transformed a 5,750-square-foot warehouse into a common area office infrastructure, conference rooms, and, in the words of Verge, “a massive opportunity to connect and collaborate with others in the startup community.” Wi-Fi, refreshments, a library and gaming center are just a few of the accoutrements that will be fueling Indy’s creative class as they work at the Speak Easy. Take a peek behind the scenes in IndyHub’s interview with Kristian about startups and the Speak Easy.

The Speak Easy bar, photo by Clay Reinken

The Speak Easy isn’t an accelerator nor an incubator. Rather, it’s a collaborative workspace, where entrepreneurs in any phase of an early-stage startup can work. A membership is required to utilize the space, but thanks to funds from local veteran entrepreneurs, Develop Indy and the CICF, only a nominal annual fee will be required of members.

To learn more and apply for membership, visit SpeakEasyIndy.com.

Apps are software programs that have been created for a specific purpose. We use them to play games, to get directions, to communicate, to socialize, and to organize. Apps provide us with wanted distractions and useful information in real time. Apps meet users where they are.

The success of a brand is no longer directly related to its products’ pricing, entertaining advertisements, or celebrity endorsements. With today’s technology, customers can quickly and easily find cheaper and better solutions to what you are offering. Customers no longer want the best product for the best cost, they want more information, more interaction, and a relationship with the brand. They want an experience.

Here at KA+A we believe that the sum of all customer interactions with your brand is the user experience. To be successful, brands have to break the traditional molds of marketing and sales and focus on creating an experience that extends into their consumer’s lifestyle.

Lifestyle apps are created around activities that people use to express who they are, what they do, and what interests them.

A few brands have made this transformation by creating lifestyle apps. Lifestyle apps are created around activities that people use to express who they are, what they do, and what interests them. Through this channel, brands are able to provide their customers with the specialized interaction they desire. These apps go beyond the scope of a company’s products and services and provide relevant and timely information on activities their customers are engaged in.

Ultimately, customers are thankful for a brand’s vested interest in who they are, and in turn become more loyal to the company’s products and services. There are many channels a brand can take to create a great user experience. However, if an app sounds like the right solution for you, be sure to take a note from brands like Clorox, Northface, and AAA who have made my life a little bit easier.

Clorox: My Stain
I am one of those people who can’t go an hour without spilling something on myself. No matter how hard I try I always seem to ruin more clothes than I can save, but not any more! Clorox created the app MyStain which is completely dedicated to prescribing how to remove the toughest stains.

The app is searchable by type of stain, such as, red wine, egg, or mildew, and then it provides users with tips and tricks on how to get the stain out while they are on-the-go or at home. Clorox’s suggestions aren’t just restricted to their products, but rather, they include helpful hints like when to use soap and water over club soda. This app has been extremely helpful in preventing the continued loss of more clothing in my wardrobe.

Northface: Trailhead and The Snow Report
Northface has two great apps for outdoor enthusiasts. The first, Trailhead, is searchable for paths and trails based on your current location. Users can narrow down their options by selecting an activity such as biking or hiking or by selecting the amount of time they have to finish a route. The best part is that the app tracks progress, speed, and elevation allowing users to share their trip with friends via Twitter or Facebook.

The second app, The Snow Report, focuses on a more specific community, such as; skiers, snowboarders, bobsledders, etc. This app provides users with snow conditions, weather updates and advisories, maps of trails, and even comes with push notifications so at any time they can see where their friends are, find their favorite skiing spot, and get notified when there is a fresh blanket of powder in the mountains.

AAA: TripTik Mobile
As a AAA member I am always looking at what discounts I can get when traveling. However, I was very excited to find that they created an app that is useful throughout my entire trip. AAA’s app TripTik provides users with the most up to date gas prices, maps, restaurant and attraction locations, and lodging details based on their current location. Now when I take a road trip not only can I find the best gas prices but I can also pinpoint must see attractions. Who doesn’t want to see the largest ball of twine in the world?

The Evolution of QR Codes
Quick Response Codes (QR codes) are two-dimensional barcodes that can deliver large amounts of information while taking up a small amount of print space. QR codes can be made up of many different types of data and can be downloaded at a high-speed by a QR reader. Originally these codes were used in the automotive industry for manufacturing, but due to their ability to store and deliver a message in a fast and concise manner, QR codes quickly found purchase in a variety of industries.

Much like its predecessors, Microsoft Tags and Jagtags, QR codes are easily read by mobile devices, which use the camera as the reader. The contents of the tag typically direct the viewer to a URL where they can find more information on a product, service, topic, or issue. Since QR code software is open source, multiple companies can create QR codes, and theoretically each company’s reader should be able to read any QR code. This is an advantage that alternative solutions lack.

Best Buy was one of the first companies to take advantage of the QR code, using it to amplify the awareness and promotion of their products. They added QR codes to the fact tags, which instantly catered to shoppers’ desire to use their mobile phone in their purchasing decisions. Shoppers use the QR Reader on their smartphone to get detailed information about the product they are considering; they can read consumer reviews, compare benefits and features of similar products, and quickly share information with a friend.

Uses
Best Buy employs just one of the many ways retailers and businesses can use QR codes to market their company, product, or service.

• Depth: QR codes allow you to share a larger amount of information about your product or service. By placing them on advertisements, packaging, or business cards you are able to provide details that you’d otherwise have to limit.
• Discovery: Let QR codes help people discover something. Cities, parks, and museums are placing QR codes throughout their streets, paths, and exhibits allowing people to take self-guided tours.
• Simplicity: It doesn’t have to be complicated. Adapting to the paperless trend, event organizers are now using QR codes to serve as paperless tickets.
• Surprise: Think in new and innovative ways to share your QR code and end message. One of the most innovative ad campaigns I have ever seen using QR codes is the press freedom campaign, The Voice, which was developed by Reporters without Borders.

Marketing your QR Codes
When creating a QR code strategy, be sure to consider each customer touch point. Identify where your target market exists and the best way to communicate with them. Placement is key, so understand your audience’s mindset when they scan your code and how you can tailor your message to meet them where they already are.

Lastly, before you launch any marketing campaign that includes the use of QR codes, make sure to check out this list of issues that could make your campaign fail. 1 out of 4 QR code campaigns fail, and you want to make sure the experience your deliver doesn’t result in an error message.

In a piece titled “Sense & Drivability”, in the October issue or Fast Company, Jason Feifer broke down some of the subtle ways that Audi intentionally designs “delight” into every facet of their automobiles. Below, pulled from the article, is a list of some of their tricks.

Sight Team
COLOR TEMPERATURE

Headlamps are set at 5,500 Kelvin–the measurement of color temperature–because that mimics natural daylight, and therefore causes less eye fatigue.

Touch Team
BUTTON ACTIVATION

Audi and psychologists studied the depth that buttons must be pushed in order to feel “premium.” The answer: 4 to 6 millimeters. Any more or less seems cheap.

Smell Team
ODOR SCALE

Assembled cars are sniffed and ranked from 1 (odorless) to 6 (stinky), and pass with 1 to 3–but odorless isn’t optimal. People prefer that cars have a smell.

Hearing Team
DECIBEL ADJUSTMENT

People crank music to overcome road or engine noise, so Audi’s Bang & Olufsen system monitors for new noise, then auto-adjusts by up to 20 decibels to compensate.

A version of this article by Jason Feifer appears in the October 2011 issue of Fast Company.
Illustrations by Peter Sucheski

Audi understands that they are in the business of designing experiences… not just cars. They understand that it’s the details and the often overlooked minutia of the automobile design, that creates a transcendent product experience. It’s the little things that make a difference – but the little things are often the difficult things. These are the aspects of the design process that get de-prioritized, shuffled to the bottom of the deck, out out-right ignored. But these are also the elements of design that create the perception of value, comfort, performance, and delight. They’re the reason that branded experiences are more than just the sum of their parts.

The lessons that Audi teaches us in the design and manufacture of their automobiles are broadly applicable to almost every industry. But the software and technology industry might have the most to learn from them. Often times software companies are so fixated on functionality, pricing, and distribution of their products that the details, the ones that comprise great user experiences, get de-prioritized or ignored entirely. By paying attention to elements of a product that are typically taken for granted, such as error messages, in-line support, and often the entire user interface, software companies have a huge opportunity to differentiate their products, delight their customers, and grow their bottom line.

What does it take to be a successful consultant?
If you find that you are asking yourself this question there may be a simple answer. Change the way you engage others.

I know. Easier said than done, but exactly how do you change the way you engage others? First, you have to understand that you have your own personal experiences, opinions, and goals. You are not meant to fit into anyone else’s perception of these, just as they are not meant to fit into yours. Next, you have to surrender your perception of control, predictability, and consistency and learn to value the inclusion of others.

Achieving Positive Results
We can all agree that the primary goal of every organization is to achieve positive results. Peter Block, author of The Flawless Consulting Fieldbook and Companion, believes organizations that are focused on delivering these positive results through consulting require three factors to be successful:

• The ability to give original and unique responses to customers.
• The ability to create new knowledge and successfully apply it to products and processes.
• The ability to create a workplace in which each person chooses accountability for making the entire enterprise successful.

Enabling Accountability
To ensure your organization has the capacity to fulfill these factors, it will require that each employee makes the business their own. This may sound simple at first, but you can’t just go out and demand your employees to pour their heart and soul into their job (maybe their tears and sweat, but not their heart and soul). Nor can you force them to take accountability for the good and the bad. So, how do make this change?

You must enable each person to make this type of decision on a personal level. Block also references three factors he believes are required to achieve a workplace where each person chooses, supports and sustains their own accountability:

• You must engage people in radically different ways.
• You must forsake utilitarian thinking about change in favor of inviting engagement as the means of creating change.
• You must deliberately let loose the reins of power and commit to a broad and deep distribution of business literacy and accountability throughout the workplace.

“Sustainable change would require us to give up programmatic intervention and engage the will, freedom, and intelligence of the people with whom we worked.”

This model needs to be accepted and implemented internally, before you can be successful with your clients externally. If you looked around right now, would you find that your successful peers have already chosen to live and work within this model? Are those who aren’t as successful still pointing the blame in other directions? Can you identify which you are?

Creating a Win
As a consultant you may find that you are stuck in this mindset where you are consistently viewing your interactions with others as a means to reach your end goal. By doing this you fail to create a situation that allows each person involved on a project to accept accountability for its success or failure. Block states that, the key question to ask yourself is not “How do I get my way?” but is instead “How do we employ our freedom to work together and create a worthwhile future?’” To be a successful consultant and employee you need the freedom to question the meaning, choices, and accountability of your own decisions, as well as others. You also have to enable others to use their freedom to challenge you in the same manner.

“The question is not ‘How do I get my way’ but is ‘How do we employ our freedom to work together and create a worthwhile future?’”

Consulting isn’t easy. Engagement isn’t easy. But, rather than trying to manipulate a situation to achieve your desired outcome, remain open to exploring unpredicted territory. I know that taking this approach in your consulting could make coming to a positive result a lengthy and difficult process. There may be times when you feel like you’ve lost more than you won. However, you will be wildly more successful and satisfied in your job, in your company, and with your clients if you invite others to explore the opportunities for success with you. As Block summarizes:

“Engagement is about inclusion. It is an affirmation of faith in the capacity of each individual in the organization to contribute toward positive change.”

Each move within the app has been fully branded with justWink’s witty design and tone. Flip through their more popular cards or jump to a specific occasion, and you’ll soon be exclaiming “Yay, new human!” as you search for the right card to welcome a new baby. justWink has even managed to make the loading time enjoyable, by incorporating a few zingers that will have you anticipating the pinwheel’s spin:

• “Calibrating Awesomeness”
• “Ooooh Spinny”
• “Caught Off Guard”
• “Pretending to Think”

With this, they’ve been able to shift the user from being frustrated, to thinking “what clever thing will they say next?”

Using the app, you can personalize your cards with photos and a message before you e-mail it off to the lucky recipient. Or if you had fun searching, but want to send a tangible version, the app will guide you to the closest retail location.

The introduction of justWink’s iPhone app connects their traditional paper card to the digital world, positioning them to be part of life in every interaction (and turn the hunt for the perfect card into a fun experience).

If you are a true Hoosier then you couldn’t be more excited about Indy’s opportunity to host the 2012 Super Bowl. You may be a bit worried if you’re a local about where you can watch the game, how you’ll get around, or what events to attend, but have no fear the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee is taking care of everything!

This will be the most compact, connected, and convenient Super Bowl in history.

Indianapolis is hosting the most urban Super Bowl to date, and with that comes its advantages and disadvantages. On June 29th, Dianna Boyce the Communications Director of the 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee was joined by Scott Dorsey, Co-Founder and CEO of ExactTarget and Taulbee Jackson, CEO of Raidious, to share some insights on their communication strategy for this year’s Big Game.

They plan to make it about more than just a game. They plan to make it an experience and here is how:

Super Service
Indy is already known for its Midwestern lifestyle and hospitality which will make visitors feel right at home in our city. But hosting a Super Bowl is more than just being hospitable – it’s about creating magic. As Dorsey explained, having attended a few Super Bowls before, “you walk off the plane in anticipation to be greeted by banners, signs, excitement, and confetti falling from the sky, but it isn’t always like that.”

The Host Committee made it clear, it will be like that this year! Boyce even took note of the confetti idea…ha!

They have organized a training program called “Super Service” for Indy’s hotels, restaurants, cab drivers, and many others in the hospitality sector that will be working during those weeks, in an effort to unify the city and ensure our guests are delightfully welcomed.

Fans First
“Fans First” has been dubbed as this year’s theme. After last year’s experience in Dallas the NFL realized “bigger isn’t always better” and Indy’s commitment to engagement and communication will prove them right. By using various channels such as email, mobile, and social Indy has built a foundation for providing information in a fast and effective way.

Over the course of the next few months there will be Twitter hash tags designated to various topics you’ll want to follow while here, such as: where to park, where to eat, what streets are closed, what events are going on, etc.

Raidious plans to shut down their office two weeks prior to the game to be setup as the social media command center. They will be sending out mobile updates on navigating the city and events, answering your questions via Twitter and Facebook, and blogging about anything and everything that will be going on.

Real Time Connectivity
We’ve all been at an event somewhere in the world where it’s overwhelming trying to get around or even know where to go. You get the feeling that you have to know somebody to get in somewhere or find out later that you missed something you would have loved to go to. Not to mention the difficulty of getting enough service on your phone to try and find the answer to any of those questions.

It’s not too good to be true, and this is just ONE example of how Indy is doing it better. The Host Committee is working with the City of Indianapolis and multiple mobile service providers to increase the bandwidth and cell coverage in Indy during the big game and the weeks prior to it. You’ll be able to call a friend, map directions, post updates, share photos, and actually communicate in real time!

Some may be skeptical of Indy’s ability to manage such an event, but they shouldn’t be. This year’s 2012 Super Bowl Host Committee boasts some of the most innovative minds out there. Trust me they have thought of it all. Various companies, organizations, and individuals are volunteering their time and services to make this a success.

How are you getting involved?

I manage a lot of bank accounts. I have personal accounts, business accounts, checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, etc., and that doesn’t even include things like HSA accounts, brokerage accounts, credit lines, etc. The accounts are spread across several banking institutions in a handful of states. The one thing they all have in common is that they are all a source of ongoing frustration. On a good day, they are impersonal, faceless, corporate behemoths. On a bad day they are uncaring and even downright belligerent.

Since the House of Rothschild established European banking and finance houses in the late eighteenth century, the banking industry has been historically resistant to change. To be fair, there have been some successful attempts to drag the banking industry into the 21st century, by banks such as ING, Commerce Bank, and First Internet Bank, but a new player is really attempting to shake things up.

There has been a lot of buzz lately about a new banking startup called BankSimple. BankSimple is based in Brooklyn, NY and they claim to be creating a better interface for banking through the web and mobile apps. Their plan is to partner with financial institutions, which will hold the actual deposits. BankSimple is focusing on creating a better customer experience and simplifying the banking process by unifying all accounts into a single bank card accessible summary account.

Rather than making money from different fees, BankSimple plans to split the net interest margin (the difference between the rate they lend at and the rate they pay to depositors) with its partner banks, thus eliminating the incentive to push more confusing products at consumers.

BankSimple is attracting a lot of attention from the investment community as well. Current investors include a veritable who’s who of early-stage investors, including: SV Angel (Ron Conway), First Round Capital, IA Ventures, Village Ventures, & Dave McClure’s 500 Startups.

After spending some time on the BankSimple website, I decided to sign up for their beta launch. Signing up for the beta was a delightfully easy experience. I just filled out a simple, well-designed form, and was notified via email that I was on the list.

But what really blew me a way was the follow-up email I received later in the day.

Wow! They talked a lot about service on the website, but the fact that a real person (with a real name) sent me a note asking to hear my story and my opinions, before they had ever made dime off of me, really made an impression. Now let’s be clear, it was a form email… but who cares? It conveyed empathy and sincere interest in my opinions. It was the first touchpoint, after signing up, and it beautifully reinforced the brand’s promise of service and relationships. It’s a brilliant strategy for BankSimple. It costs virtually nothing and keeps prospects engaged during the waiting period before the beta opens up.

It’s the little things, the touches that don’t cost much, that make brands human and lovable. This same principle can be applied to virtually any business, but it’s especially important for web-based businesses. Web-based businesses need to exert more effort to be human, because customers rarely interact with actual humans.

The BankSimple website promises “No Surprise Fees,” and I hope that’s true. But I also hope that they don’t stop surprising customers with thoughtful and human touches like the ones I experienced.

@KristianIndy

I have to admit. I have a slight addiction to purchasing un-needed but sounds-so-perfect Groupon deals. After signing up less than a year ago, I’ve shown no signs of slowing down. Unlike some users, I found I am less likely to purchase the $20 off a local restaurant or ½ price put-put. Instead I gravitate more towards the $40 Cha-Cha lessons my boyfriend wishes I never bought or the 1-day flight lesson he couldn’t be more excited for.

It wasn’t until this past weekend when I came across The New York Times article, “Funny or Die: Groupon’s Fate Hinges on Words” that I actually thought about the enticing words I read each day in my email, urging me to click “See Today’s Deal”.

Groupon isn’t the stereotypical Internet startup. Founded by Andrew Mason who majored in Music at Northwestern, Groupon has become a home for many other musicians, poets, actors, and comedians all of whom bring a unique twist to traditional e-mail marketing. In the New York Times article, David Streitfeld attributed a lot of Groupon’s success not to the daily deal idea, but how they present their deals to the market. More specifically, the emphasis on diction – particularly in the first two sentences of each deal’s description.

“Groupon shuns being thought of as a marketer or, worse, an ad agency, promoting cheap pizza or sushi for anyone who wants to hire it.” – David Streitfeld

With many other companies spinning off their own version of the “Deal of the Day”, Groupon relies heavily on their writers for success. The Voice, as they call it, is their market differentiator. Whitney Holmes, a poet with a fine arts degree from the University of Alabama, has become a sherpa for new writers, as she guides them to obtaining The Voice. New hires are often faced with a pop quiz like this one:

“The kitchen is statistically the most dangerous room in a home because it contains the highest concentration of knives, open flames and …

A. cereal killers
B. spoiled fruit
C. mother-in-laws
D. pots of semi-living lobsters”

According to the article “Nearly half the writers pick A, but the correct answer is D. Puns are not allowed, spoiled fruit isn’t even remotely funny, and defaming mothers-in-law could irk mothers-in-law.”

“The more you can laugh with Groupon, the more you will like it”. – David Streitfeld

Finding your flare can make all the difference in the success of your business. Groupon has taken an nontraditional approach to email marketing and their brand strategy is working. When I opened my e-mail this morning I found myself paying particular attention to the opening sentence in today’s deal for Snapperz Family Fun & Sports:

“Families and recreation have gone together since the nomadic Neanderthals congregated to play rock ball, stone ball, and ‘imprison the baby mammoth in the glacier’ on Tuesday nights.”

The New York times recently featured an amazing infographic that offered great clarity into the rent vs. buy decision. On the cusp of turning 26, I’m still in the age of Big Questions (e.g. marriage, children, home), so found this particularly relevant.

But it wasn’t just relevancy that drew me to this infographic; it was the experience. Afterall, mortgage rates, rent, home cost, and property taxes aren’t the most scintillating of subjects. But with the sleek design of this calcualator, you can customize all these inputs, and the graph updates instantaneously, on the same page. No new windows pop up; no circle spinning as it loads. It’s dynamic, and you can see not just a pictorial version, but also the supporting data charts – all custom to your situation. The design is so clean, simple, and functional – that you almost don’t notice it. You expect it to work this way – why should it be any different? But the ability to take a complex equation, and make it immediately understood is no small feat. It’s the result of comprehension, constraint, and user-oriented design. It’s good design.

Experience it for yourself here.