Throwback Thursday: The Shape of Things to Come
The 1 Minute Answer Center offered how-to information at the point of purchase.
An advertorial in the Aug. 10, 1992 issue of National Home Center News, the forerunner of HBSDealer, sings the praises of the 1 Minute Answer Center.
Here’s the pitch: Imagine a library of more than 100 how-to videos conveniently located in the home improvement store to help guide your DIY customers to a successful project.
The product came from the creators of Hometime Video Publishing, which produced a public television DIY show that ran from 1986 until 2016. The product was described as a “free-standing kiosk system [that] uses interactive laser disc technology to allow DIY consumers immediate access to how-to information on over a hundred topics, at the point of purchase.”
While in-store video kiosks have been used with varying degrees of success for decades, they generally focus on a single message. The 1 Minute Answer Center marked an ambitious approach to the in-store kiosk, and hinted at the power of the digital information explosion that was to hit home improvement
“At the press of a button, consumers can call up information on the techniques, tools and materials related to a specific phase of their project,” reads the advertorial copy.
Do you have any memories of retail kiosks. Please let us know at [email protected].
# # # Throwback Bonus
Last week’s Throwback Thursday segment on Coast to Coast Hardware generated the following responses:
My first real job out of college was as a Project Manager at Coast in Ray Griffith’s Eastern division. I travelled the country setting up new stores and re-merchandising existing ones. I'd spend a few months at each job and consequently got to know the area and, especially rewarding, got to know the store owners. It started me on a path of entrepreneurship and in hardware/building materials, a road on which I am still traveling. One of the most fun jobs I have had!
-- Paul Kluempers,
General Manager, AG-CO
Thanks for sharing this history Ray, it sure was a great company, one of my personal favorites to work with!
-- T. McDermott
HBSDealer’s Throwback Thursday is sponsored by Schaffer Associates, a national management consulting firm specializing in executive search and organizational strategies for the hardware, home improvement, building materials, and consumer products industries. As the premier management consulting firm serving the industry, we help build organizations and leadership teams that foster corporate growth and success well into the future. Contact us at SchafferAssociates.com.
An advertorial in the Aug. 10, 1992 issue of National Home Center News, the forerunner of HBSDealer, sings the praises of the 1 Minute Answer Center.
Here’s the pitch: Imagine a library of more than 100 how-to videos conveniently located in the home improvement store to help guide your DIY customers to a successful project.
The product came from the creators of Hometime Video Publishing, which produced a public television DIY show that ran from 1986 until 2016. The product was described as a “free-standing kiosk system [that] uses interactive laser disc technology to allow DIY consumers immediate access to how-to information on over a hundred topics, at the point of purchase.”
While in-store video kiosks have been used with varying degrees of success for decades, they generally focus on a single message. The 1 Minute Answer Center marked an ambitious approach to the in-store kiosk, and hinted at the power of the digital information explosion that was to hit home improvement
“At the press of a button, consumers can call up information on the techniques, tools and materials related to a specific phase of their project,” reads the advertorial copy.
Do you have any memories of retail kiosks. Please let us know at [email protected].
# # # Throwback Bonus
Last week’s Throwback Thursday segment on Coast to Coast Hardware generated the following responses:
My first real job out of college was as a Project Manager at Coast in Ray Griffith’s Eastern division. I travelled the country setting up new stores and re-merchandising existing ones. I'd spend a few months at each job and consequently got to know the area and, especially rewarding, got to know the store owners. It started me on a path of entrepreneurship and in hardware/building materials, a road on which I am still traveling. One of the most fun jobs I have had!
-- Paul Kluempers,
General Manager, AG-CO
Thanks for sharing this history Ray, it sure was a great company, one of my personal favorites to work with!
-- T. McDermott
HBSDealer’s Throwback Thursday is sponsored by Schaffer Associates, a national management consulting firm specializing in executive search and organizational strategies for the hardware, home improvement, building materials, and consumer products industries. As the premier management consulting firm serving the industry, we help build organizations and leadership teams that foster corporate growth and success well into the future. Contact us at SchafferAssociates.com.