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It's official. We're already counting down. On July 20, 2009, we will kick off the third annual Plaid summer tour. PlaidNation 2009 will take place in the midwest.

We haven't yet planned a route - so if you live in the land-locked states and would like a visit from Plaid, just let us know. (darryl AT thinkplaid DOT com)

We've got a vanload of super cool ideas for PlaidNation III that we're nearly wetting our pants to tell you about. But we'll have to wait. Until at least 2009. Start paving the roads, mid-westerners. Plaid is coming to town.

Labels: van

posted by darryl ohrt at 7:53 AM 3 Comments

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The van has been de-plaided and returned to Avis (what they don't know won't hurt them) and the Plaid team has returned home to rest and empty their inboxes.

We're uploading final photos in the next few days, editing a couple of final videos for the dashboard, and then we start putting together the details for next year. We've already got a load of fun ideas to push the tour past anything that's ever been done. Just wait for 2009!

Thanks to everyone who wrote about the tour, emailed, tweeted or called us with input and accolades, and especially to those on the west coast who graciously gave us their time.

See you next year!

posted by darryl ohrt at 8:48 PM 0 Comments

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No kidding. Deals may get done over drinks and strip clubs, but when it comes to having to get some work done in the room, not havin it. Yeah, I know Vegas ain’t for work, but when your flight is cancelled and you decide to catch up on some posts and stuff, it quickly becomes a PITA. It’s not just Vegas either. A few extra plugs close to a table makes a big difference in half the places we stayed. An ice machine less than an hour away would be nice too. And of course, wireless.

It’s easy to take that last one for granted, but it’s still an iffy proposition at many places on the road. If we didn’t have the USB sprint cards, we would’ve easily lost a third of our uploading ability at night. It’s ironic the first time on tour we stay at a motel hotel and there’s no wireless, only an ethernet connection on some sort of vaccum cleaner cord Retract-O-Matic thing. (You can see how far it reached in the photo, just to the right of the laptop.)

Just close enough for me to work on some chairs and peer out at the future Darwin Award winners poolside.

posted by mtlb at 4:07 PM 0 Comments

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Now there’s a guy with a call to action. Snapped quickly as we walked by with an iPhone was one of the people in the ‘old’ Vegas casino area responsible for saving Vegas and mankind, possibly in that order. He’s probably known as ‘The Jesus Guy’ by locals. The sign in his right hand has a list of everyone Jesus hates. The usual suspects like: Homosexuals, Muslims, bloggers, etc. Say what you will, but the overall messaging is direct. And with two foot letters, he didn’t have to shout a single word. (He also had Jesus schwag like flyers and shirts.) Always be branding people!

Labels: interesting people, las vegas, lifeontheroad

posted by mtlb at 3:29 PM 0 Comments

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Today we completed the last meeting of the tour, and disassembled the van. This van could write a book about its travels, and it's only a few thousand miles old.

We've removed webcams, power and internet connections. We've discarded about a dumpster full of garbage. And shipped leftover swag back to the Plaid headquarters.

And then we removed the wrap. A little bit depressing, and a whole lot hot - as we de-plaided the van in 108 degrees of Las Vegas love. Professional grade heat, as Bill calls it. Watch the entire de-plaiding process in the wrap up video, tomorrow.

After a few hours of uploading, blogging and editing, we're headed out for some end of tour celebratory fun. Watch out, Vegas. The web cams are off.

Labels: las vegas, technology, van

posted by darryl ohrt at 5:42 PM 0 Comments

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Our last meeting of the tour was at Zappos!

Plaid was treated to the ultimate tour of the Zappos facility, which is unlike any corporate workplace that we've ever visited. Anywhere. This is a firm with hundreds and hundreds of employees, yet they've managed to keep a culture and vibe that's consistently ZAPPOS.

Just a handful of the thousands of things that make them awesome:
+ A nap center, with those super-future nap-pods.
+ Employee groups decorate each zone of the office. There were jungles, tents, and more themes than I can even remember.
+ Tony, their CEO, and all the Zappos executives work side by side all other employees, in a cubicle.
+ There's an employee coach, masseuse, and a mayor.
+ Employees have created their own original greeting for any visitor to the Zappos facility. This has to be seen to be believed.
+ Employees (and guests) are treated to free books for continued learning. There's a library in the lobby of books that Tony has suggested, all free for the taking.

The Zappos workplace is a more creative space and culture than most creative agencies of their size. A testament to the fact that you don't have to be in the creative business to have fun in the workplace.

Look for video of the Zappos headquarters on the wrap up show. If you live in Vegas, this looks to truly be one of the best places to work in the country. Thanks to Tony, Jerry (the Mayor of Zappos), and the entire crew for showing Plaid the ultimate Zappos love.

Labels: las vegas

posted by darryl ohrt at 5:20 PM 0 Comments

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We stay at some pretty damn skanky motels while on tour. That's part of the adventure, and part necessity for a small agency footing the bill for a national tour. Stays at the Motel 6, Super 8 and Travel Lodge will usually yield some pretty good road stories.

So we were all pretty stoked to check in at the Excalibur in Las Vegas, for our last couple of days on tour. And had no idea that it might turn out to be the most dangerous night of all.

Here's how it went down:

Dead asleep in my room, I was woken by someone knocking on my door during the middle of the night. Figuring it was a drunk who couldn't find his room, I ignored for a minute. And the knocking turned to pounding. I jumped up, peeked through the security hole, to see a complete stranger. I yelled out "you have the wrong room", thinking that when he hears someone's voice that he doesn't recognize, that he'd move on. Instead, he begins screaming "LET ME IN" and literally begins to KICK DOWN THE DOOR. Full force kicks, doing everything he can to knock it down. Now I'm scared for my life - literally - and call security.

Meanwhile, a couple of doors down, Bill (who is of much larger build than I am) OPENS the door to the dude. Because Bill is more man than Chuck Norris. Bill discovers that he is indeed just a drunk, who believes the best way into a hotel room is by force, and moves him along.

I'm still a bit upset with how Excalibur handled this situation, and won't be staying here again. I'd even love to press charges against this individual - but security indicates that 'he got away.' The most secure place in America (other than the Canadian border) and you can literally kick in the doors of any guest, and drunkenly walk away.

Lots of brand love lost for Excalibur at 4:16AM this morning. Anyone looking for a good bodyguard should get in touch with Bill.

Labels: lifeontheroad

posted by darryl ohrt at 3:55 PM 0 Comments