From The Head Of Zeus Jones

As you know, we’re big believers in the idea that brands are increasingly defined by a company’s internal culture. The two examples that we use in our presentation to clients to make this point are Zappos and Method. So it was a rare treat for us to be able to get a tour of Method and spend time with Eric, on our recent trip to Planningness.

Apart from some very cool and top secret stuff they are doing on a product front, the stuff that impressed me the most was the amount of energy and creativity that they devote to their culture. It’s no accident that culture is what defines them. One of the things that really stuck with me was something that Eric said offhandedly, “we always try to find ways to help our people feel like they’re working at a place that matters.”

This becomes increasingly more clear and evident as you walk around their space. From their wall of values which every employee has posted a quote onto, to their staircase of employee pictures with their ideas on “how to keep method weird,” to their grass-lined quiet room, every part of their space is a reflection and an embodiment of who they are. It is literally impossible to work there and not understand what they’re about.

Lest you miss it, one of the touches that I really loved was seeing the kit they lay out for people who are just starting to work there.

Of course it contains all the stuff you’d expect but on page two of their orientation binder is this:

A lottery ticket! It’s a really nice little touch and is emblematic of the attention to detail they’ve taken in all things cultural.

We try to make culture a focus here at ZJ, but I walked away realising we don’t spend half the time on it that we should. I also realised that if, as I believe, brand strength is directly correlated to the strength of your culture, there are very few brands out there who can compete with Method at the moment.

Technorati Tags: culture, eric ryan, method, new marketing

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Tags: culture, eric ryan, method, new marketing

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at 11:33 am and is filed under brand, category breakers, culture, environment, marketing, new marketing, san francisco, transparency, values. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.