Posted Friday, January 7, 2005
Hi Bruce --

Haven't heard from you since I posted that Page for Alternative 1C (with the copy & graphic changes you requested). I wonder if you guys are in the sights of some of this heavy weather -- which seems to be going around.

Anyhow, here's our proposed Alternative 2 -- what we were calling the "transition" concept . . . that might be the test case to bridge the gap between the modified "Childs' Play" concept -- and what we're hoping may be the more serious "Business" concept.

You mentioned the possibility of using a turtle with a rocket, too, which might be visuallly "advanced," but I'm thinking that it would still be a bit of a gimmick.

Somehow, that strikes me as conveying some kind of a synthetic "fix" on the back of an inherantly slow and not very nimble system (which of course isn't the case at all).

I'm just guessing here (until the tests are actually done and until all the juries are in) -- that if you want to attract the more serious business folks, most of whom you feel are no longer in the ground-zero "startup" phase (and most of whom you feel aleady have at least a "starter" site up) --you'll need a simply stronger business-oriented image.

That would be what we discussed as Alternative #3. Though if you're in the mood for testing four approaches, your turtle may be #3, and Alterative #4 may be still to come.

I've had a concept for that last alternative in mind for several days now, and want to develop it.. But I've wanted to do as you had outlined, and go "by the numbers" first . . . perhaps ramping up to something diametrically opposed to the Child's Play image.

In the Army they used to call it the "bracket" method. Fire short, then fire long -- to get a better idea of where you really need to be before you let 'em loose and fire for effect.

In any case, please let me know how you feel about this (version A) of the "Step-Up" approach. I think it's a very cedible approach, involving the implied necessity to "step up" from a child with a "pretend" solution to the actual, "real thing."

In which we had discussed that the same concept could be done in a series of "follow-on" graphics that show different minimum-to-maximums in other ways. All showing the juxtapositioning of junior varsity-to-varsity . . . or amateur-to-pro.

Meanwhile, I hope you're all warm & dry. If you are, it's more than I can say for all of us Left Coasters!

Best, & Happy Weekend! --

-- Rik