The Future Importance of Custom

December 23, 2008 · Comments

MyJoy Custom Shoes The company FootJoy has a custom shoe division called MyJoys, where they can make various color and logo combinations on shoes that you order. These variations amount to something like 250,000 custom shoes you could potentially order. (Yes, I know that Nike is doing that, too. That’s interesting-ish, too.)

I just think it’s incredible. 250,000 possible combos. Now, I also know (because I spoke with Mike Lowe, Sr. Interactive Manager of Footjoy and he was kind enough to fill me in) that they do custom logos as well as major league baseball and National Football League and those kinds of things. Mike was contributing to a strategy meeting about the larger company’s projects overall, but when we were all done, he walked with me by a table covered with special custom shoes (see the above picture).

Quick geek moment: how cool would it be to have a pair of shoes with my logo? Cool.

I think that custom projects like MyJoys are really where the action is. Like Seth said so well, “Small is the New Big.”

What’s your take? If something like shoes can be made into a customizable product, why are you still leaving your marketing to the mass level?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Tagged as: , , ,

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress

Thesis WordPress theme

Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.

With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like ChrisBrogan.com, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.

  • Jeremy --

    Great question. MyJoys began development in late 2002 and was launched in September 2003. The directive for the development of a mass customization program came from our company president, so his support cleared the way to get the process rolling.

    Development went very well, but was not without its speed bumps. MyJoys was built with a trade and consumer-direct component, so this addressed any Sales concerns. Our reps see this program as an incremental opportunity and have passed this enthusiasm down to their accounts.

    For the rest of the organization, we got them involved, developing a feeling of ownership across all departments (customer service, finance, credit, etc..). This approach worked very well for us and continues to bolster the program today.

    Regards,
    Mike Lowe
    FootJoy
  • The hurdle of customization is getting the customer involved the process.

    That is, designing something that they think is worthy to put on something. I have been working Mikons.com for two years now http://mikons.com and http://mikonmixers.com A mikon is a symbol about you - like my icon. Users can design their own image and put them on stuff, or connect with others at parties with iconic stickers (mikonmixers).

    It is easy to imagine that everyone wants to be unique and express themselves in a custom way. But difficult to facilitate that.

    Co-branding with the larger companies is one way. However, the entrenched big guys are presently afraid of the implications and the threat to their own manufacturing processes.
  • I like my Nike IDs so much. It sucks that they're getting beaten up though now. I work in the customized clothing industry also at http://www.cutandsewn.com. We like the threadless idea, but it sucks for the people who are below the line of top 3 designs. Everyone's design deserves to be made.
  • Customization expenses are high now, but as manufactures continue to improve their processes we'll see more and more services like this - even from big brands like FootJoy & Nike. Threadless' concept is a bit different than Nike's, but I think they prove that customized JIT manufacturing is the wave of the future. As more consumers begin to migrate to those companies offering expanded choices, It will be interesting to watch other brands adapt and try to regain their share.
  • @steve I have been to skinit.com before as well. A great site although I have never purchased anything myself. Seems like more customizable is the way. People are willing to spend money if they can customize and the quality is high. With the internet, you can find anyone who is willing to buy. The internet breaks down barriers.
  • Let me know when they make size 18s that aren't grossly expensive ;)

    I think that custom work is an application of micro blogging and micro formats in the real world. Here in the tech space, we look for ways to condense input. Here, FootJoy is condensing outputs.
  • @chrisbrogan

    I'm really interested to know how much resistance these initiatives were met with in their organizations. Perhaps you know.

    Did this product have an easy road at FootJoy? Or was there an "old guard" who resisted the idea of walking on unfamiliar ground?
  • I love the idea of customization and what that means from a brand perspective -

    Traditionally, brands present a limited offering of products, and the brand loyalist is expected to morph in order to use the brand.

    Nike and FootJoy are demonstrating the idea of a brand morphing to fit the individual.
  • My first thought was 'how cool would it be to get some with my logo!' And then I read "Quick geek moment: how cool would it be to have a pair of shoes with my logo? Cool. "

    Everything else on the web is about finding a niche market, which can now be quite big. I think providing products that can be customized for that niche, or even at a more individual level gives people something to identify with. It's another way to build your brand.
  • I believe customization has a very bright future. With the proliferation of drop shipping companies can leverage the value add and pleasant margins that customization can offer. Adding a Red Sox or Yankees logo to something (anything!) shouldn't cost much but your everyday rabid fan is likely to pay a bit more for a unique brag piece.
  • Customization costs. It's nice to customize your stuff, but like I said...it costs. As for business, I do believe in providing a quite personal service...people really appreciate it. I guess I customized my bizz.
  • I think getting something customized has been coming on for many years. I really do not think that it is anything new. I know for the past six years I have been able to customize my basketball shoes if I choose to do so. I think it just depends how many options you have when you are customizing something.
  • Great Post! The price of individuality was insane. Nice to see more people will be able to express what makes them them. I am looking forward to a future with a lot less clones now!
  • I like it. Thanks Chris for framing this so well.

    Custom used to be too expensive (read: craftsmenship). Various pressures including war brought about the assembly line and mass production. Technology destroyed craftsmenship and individuality. Technology is now bringing it back.

    The ability to target long tail custom markets qualify the cost of small numbers. This is a good example. Etsy is another good example. It's amazing the number of craftsmen and women on Etsy and related sites - good for culture.
  • The market for custom products will definitely be enormous. One of my favorite companies innovating in this space is Infectious.com. Not only is Infectious making custom products, but they crowd source the designs and allow the contributors to profit from sales helping the product get traction/distribution (Threadless-like).

    I have a sneaky suspicion that if you can customize the product, consumers have more incentive to buy multiple items, increasing sales and repeat customers. No data to back this up, but I'm sure it's the case

    http://twitter.com/squasher98
  • Great post Chris! I'm the type of guy who hates to run into someone with a shirt or shoes or hat like one I own. It's very frustrating. I was just thinking this morning that with all the technology we have in manufacturing and the marketing power transition from marketer "pushing" messages to the masses to consumers "pulling" messages and wanting a brand to be malleable to form in their personal life, why don't we all have our very own wardrobe? I think you are exactly right that customization is the future in both product offerings as well as marketing.
  • Chris: Custom product/service and social media--essentially custom relationship--go hand in hand. Thanks, as always for your laser-sharp insights!
  • For that price, I'd make a sticker and slap it on something that wasn't so fugly. What demographic looks and comments on another's shoes though? You'd get more by paying some kid to walk up and down the boardwalks in the summer in a custom tee.
  • One of the reasons that personalization has taken off recently is that it taps into two "defining needs" that consumers look for in apparel and footwear. The opportunity to be "inclusive" (associated to a certain brand) while also remaining "exclusive" (unique in their appearance and choice of look).
  • Mass customization has been talked about for a long while. Do a search on Amazon (http://bit.ly/o1Wh) for Mass Customization, and you find lots of titles, even one called "Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition" from 1992. But for some reason, it hasn't taken off large scale yet. It's still very niche, although besides FootJoy and NikeID, here are some others:

    Timberland Boots: http://bit.ly/3dkg3Q
    Performance Outdoor Clothing: http://beyondclothing.com/
    Land's end Customer Clothing: http://bit.ly/urWV

    For $150, there's 2007's "Mass Customization and Footwear: Myth, Salvation or Reality?", which I'm sure would be very interesting. http://bit.ly/cgU

    Finally, Dell Computer is one of the (if not the largest) success of mass customization. Michael Dell has a book called Direct From Dell (http://bit.ly/JawL) and it's a great read for those interested in the topic.

    I think social media might be the key that unlocks the opportunity, and hence the willingness, for marketers and companies to embrace mass customization on a much larger scale. It helps unlock "small is the new big" or "the long tail" concepts. Is it any coincidence that Dell is the company publishing how much money they've made from Twitter? http://bit.ly/lX2d
  • Joann Sondy
    Interesting. I'm on the fence about this one.

    For sports teams I embrace the customized shoe.
    For individuals (not Tiger Woods) I'm not sure.
    Is this just another vanity item in an already over abundant "ME" society?

    FYI: you can order customized KEDS on Zazzle.com
  • Custom has been around for a while. Granted, we've made it more accessible and more individualized, but the 80/20 rule still applies. It's important that we offer customization in our products and marketing strategies, but we can't rely on it.

    P.S. I can't wait to order a pair of custom University of Kentucky golf shoes. Just in time for basketball season. Go Cats!
  • Chris,

    Personalization is the next big thing in retail products. It has already started happening with shoes as well as products like Heinz ketchup (www.myheinz.com), Kleenex (www.mykleenextissue.com), even Pringles chips and Sharpie markers can be personalized. My company has printed personalized labels for wine and cookie jars.

    This trend is only just getting started. With today's digital printing technologies many retail products lend themselves very easily to personalization. It is pretty easy to setup a simple web site to allow your customers to personalize the packaging of your products. I expect in the next decade this will become a common option for most retail products.

    Peter Renton
    Lightning Labels
  • now if I could just get my art on some chucks then that would be awesome!
  • I think custom is cool.

    Just this morning I was looking around for a keyboard skin and found these guys.

    http://www.skinit.com/

    They'll put a skin on almost anything AND you can upoad your own image. I like that.

    I also upoaded a custom image on my Dunkin Donuts card. It's fun to use because the people in the store are almost always excited about seeig what I've done.

    It's a Barack Obama sutome image and you can see it here:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevegarfield/3118384504/

    In addition to getting the cool image on my card, the Dunkin Donuts support people called me on the phone to make sure I was happy after having to reprint my card because of a design issue.

    I was very impressed with their follow up AND the end product.

    I think a lot of products would benefit from custom options.

    I could easily think of a few more right now:

    Beer, Wine, Newspapers...
  • Having spent eight years working at Reebok, I appreciate the analogy between customizing footwear and customizing our marketing messages. Marketers working on mass retail / brands are already regionalizing and in some cases offering small group communication. It is a must as product assortment plans become more defined by store. In my opinion, retailers have a tremendous opportunity to now start truly personalizing their relationship with the customer by merging social media, brand presence online, RFID and new media in-store. Shopping online and picking up a product in-store is a start; but we have so much still to delve into. Thanks so much for a thought provoking post.
  • Wow! That would be awesome to have custom golf shoes!
  • Those are definitely the coolest looking golf shoes I've ever scene. Not so different than Nike ID I reckon but the logo design element is super. Customization is a thing that's been talked about for ages in marketing and only starting to come alive in this age of ME. This is a nice find!
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: