Radio Shack has started to try and rebrand itself and create a more “neighborhood” feel by labeling their advertising with “The Shack”. While I have been calling them this name for years, it seems like a strange idea to see in an actual ad campaign.

As a former employee who has a lot of fond and not so fond memories of “The Shack”, it is sad that the above image is still the first thing that comes to mind when I see their advertising now. It’s like the Beverly Hillbillies bought a Radio Shack franchise. I would assume that the average consumer has a similar experience.

It reminds me of a similar idea that was used on a small scale in the last few months of Circuit City. They started refering to their stores as “The City” and even went as far as putting the name on the sign for a few stores. If it didn’t work for Circuit City, I’m not sure that the concept will work for Radio Shack.

I hope that this change doesn’t indicate trouble in Radio Shacks financials.

Despite how poorly I was treated while an employee, and the way I was let go, I still have a soft spot for “The Shack”. Radio Shack however should stop relying on suckers like me and actually start treating their employees better. This will lead to longer tenure and thus, a more knowledgeable sales staff. They have always been known for the knowledge of their employees, an equity that has been deteriorating for the last few years. Putting extra money into employee benefits and keeping their good employees will do more for the company than rebranding their name ever will.

Maybe they are now calling it “The Shack” because that’s all their employees can afford to live in?

]]> http://jimcheney.com/2009/08/13/radio-shack-steals-rebranding-idea-from-circuit-city/feed/ 0 JimCheney The Shack? http://jimcheney.com/2009/08/09/pandora-radio-the-perfect-combination-of-social-networking-and-radio/ http://jimcheney.com/2009/08/09/pandora-radio-the-perfect-combination-of-social-networking-and-radio/#comments Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:52:37 +0000 Jim Cheney http://jimcheney.com/?p=77 ]]> I just discovered a new site: Pandora Radio.

The site allows you to create your own Internet radio station through use of song and band comparisons. All that you have to do is put in a favorite artist and it starts your station. You can then rate songs up or down and add other artists to the station. After all while the site is supposed to learn your preferences down to styles such as “varying tempo and time signatures” and “repetitive melodic phrasing”, just to name a few.

I personally think that this is a brilliant idea. Having had previous experience being able to play whatever I wanted while I was the Programming Director at the college radio station, I can testify that it is cool to be able to listen to a huge variety of music that you like while still in a radio format.

In this day and age of social networking people seem to expect being able to customize their entertainment experience. Pandora allows this and gives you the power of social networking.

My first created station (based off of the artists Five Iron Frenzy, MxPx, and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes) can be shared with other users to the site looking for similar music. I can also create a station to give to someone. It’s like a modern version of the mix tape.

Pretty cool if you ask me.

Cellular Technology sure has come a long way in the 25 years since the FCC issued the first license for a mobile phone.  In the 1989 Radio Shack catalog they feature a new model mobile phone that only weighed 28 ounces and cost a miniscule $1500.  It would have made Zack Morris proud.  Little could we have imagined then that 20 years later 85% of Americans would have a phone small enough to fit in their pocket.  The question though, in the age of iPhones and bluetooth, is where do we go from here?  While researching calling options for my likely move to South Korea in early 2010 I stumbled upon an intriguing calling option through Skype.  For those of you who don’t know, Skype is an Internet based calling company that allows you to talk to other Skype users around the World for free through video, audio, or text messages using a computer or portable Wi-Fi device, like an iPod Touch.  If you want to talk to someone who isn’t on Skype, all you have to do is pay $2.95 a month and you can call from the US to any phone number in the US for free.  Considering the cheapest unlimited nation-wide calling plan starts at $49.99 a month, the savings potential is obvious.  In my opinion the only thing holding back the usefulness of Skype is the availability of wireless Internet.  After all, while many people have wireless internet at home and work, it is still not widely available while walking down the street or traveling.  

There are however 2 trends that are making me think that nationwide high-speed Internet may be possible in the next several years.  First, several large airlines, such as Delta and American, have started to equip their planes with Wi-Fi capability.  If a plane can be constructed with Wi-Fi, then why can’t a car?  It’s not to hard to imagine a time in the not too distant future when most new cars are sold with optional Wi-Fi, just as they are with GPS upgrades today.  This could give you the ability to drive cross country while your passengers surf the Internet.

Secondly, we have the advent of city-wide Wi-Fi that is available now in a handful of cities.  This technology essentially works the same as the wireless Internet you would get through your cell-phone, but is generally faster and can be used on any number of devices.  One day soon we will mostly likely pay our monthly Internet bill in exchange for a network password instead of a modem and an assortment of cables.

Ultimately this could spell the end of the current cellular phone business model of subsidized phones, contracts, and high monthly rate plans.  After all, why would you pay for Internet and a phone bill when you could simply pay for the Internet and call everyone for free?  It will be interesting to see who adapts and who is relegated to electronic purgatory.  Already companies such as Sprint and AT&T seem to be focusing more of their advertising touting their Internet speeds than there cellular network.  Realistically though, it is only a matter of time before a company like Skype can fully take advantage of the accessibility of high-speed Internet and can make our World that much smaller.