Not Your Father's Workshop

Just when I am at a loss for a discussion topic, something comes across my desk, usually tying into something else I was thinking about, and I then see connections that were not initially apparent.

This post was inspired by a topic in an online forum I participate in, and it touches on a number of social media subjects I am interested in, including how older/more traditional people and organizations use or react to the internet and social media, find a new/younger audience, and how information has become much easier to find (and not for the "insiders" only).

It contrasts two organizations: One embracing social media, and one apparently ignoring it.

I belong to "The Grumble", an online forum for professional custom picture framers (although anyone with an interest is welcome).

Custom picture framers typically operate as a small business, and their opportunities for networking on any scale might be relegated to information via trade publications, visits from manufacturers' representatives, or going to a trade show. The Grumble allows them to trade information, ideas, pricing issues, etc. with their compatriots all over the world.

There was a recent post with a link to a video from Craftsman (the tool brand sold through Sears), How to Frame a Sports Jersey , showing how to build a display frame for a collectible. (This  post is in a section of The Grumble requiring registration to view/comment, but the comments can be summarized as "who let these two idiots make this video"). So, of course, being a lover of snark, I had to take a look.

 

 

 

I not only looked at the video, but at the site and the rest of their Craftsman YouTube Channel, and was drawn in by how different it was from my perceptions of the brand. Not just how to make a coffee table, but projects such as How to Build a BMX/Skate Quarter Pipe!


This led to my post on The Grumble (abridged):

Yes, it doesn't seem like the typical demonstration video, but I don't believe for an instant that these guys are incompetent, or that Craftsman doesn't know what they are doing. I think this was planned and produced in a deliberate move to change the image of "home workshop", particularly for a younger generation.

To reach this generation (and sell them tools), you want to avoid the "old fart puttering in his workshop stereotype". I think this is an attempt to make woodworking "cool".

The comments posted on the YouTube site were also snarky, but it also shows that people watched the video (even if they considered it a train wreck).

 

Now, both of these industries are facing challenges from social and demographic changes.
The custom picture framing industry is now competing with low cost, ready-made frames and art, and a customer base that does not seem to grow. They do have a trade association, Professional Picture Framers Association .

The marketing materials provided to members seem to be traditional-media only, with no participation in social media outlets. In addition, their market research appears to be out of date (but it wasn't looking promising for the industry).


As you might expect, the market for home workshop tools traditionally is an older demographic.


From FineWoodworking.com:


Our website users represent skilled and active woodworkers who have the time and resources to spend on their home workshop.Median HHI income is $100K

• 97% are men
• Median age is 55

Source: June 2010 FineWoodworking.com Website Survey Fine Woodworking Demographic Information

 

And according to a Target Marketing Magazine article:

"The typical amateur woodworker is male, 50 to 55 years old, educated, married and a homeowner, says Lawanna Bales, CEO of Atlanta-based Highland Hardware, a mail-order marketer of tools, supplies and books for wood-workers.

Even more troubling, a few weeks ago, I saw an article in the New York Times: A Nation That's Losing its Toolbox by Louis Uchitelle

 

“Young people grow up without developing the skills to fix things around the house,” says Richard T. Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. “They know about computers, of course, but they don’t know how to build them.”

If parents are not handing down these traditions, how do we learn? Google, blogs, user-sourced technical pages/support webs will provide both information, and a form of virtual mentoring. Craftsman has apparently seen an opening here.

The Grumble, while not a formal trade organization, is interested enough to look at what the people are saying; but not making enough  productive, positive use of this.

Common discussions on the board relate to the perceptions among the public that custom framing is over-priced, and not that difficult a skill. Could this industry follow the advice in  Groundswell and engage/build a community? Rather than complaints, why not some engagement? Offer tips and advice?

In the video example, instead of snarky comments, why not suggest they take their home-made project into a shop to see appropriate options for hanging hardware (if you didn't watch to the end, they use a piece of rope to hang their frame).

Craftsman appears to be looking at the demographic, engaging them and tailoring their image to them. If The Grumble is indicative of the picture framing industry, they, or Professional Picture Framers Association (PPFA) need to be thinking along the same lines, and right now, they don't seem to be.

  

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