Wieden+Kennedy New York – W+K NYC Blog » Behing the Scenes

Anybody Have A … Got It! (April – May ’11)

Dustin Chinn — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:02:21 +0000

Say what you will about all-office email as a creaky relic of Web 1.0, it’s still one of the most frequently-used tools in the office. Hungry scavengers get their heads-up on leftovers from client meetings, swarming to tables outside the main conference rooms like tiger sharks to chum. Bleary-eye weekend/late night warriors give an electronic shout to see if there any other poor stragglers before activating the security alarm on their way out.

However, as any new hire will see in days (if not hours), the most common use of the system are the ubiquitous “Does anybody have a …” requests. The frequency at which even the most random inquiries are satisfied (usually punctuated by a follow-up reply with GOT IT! added to the subject line) can be terrifying. You would think W+K NYC is nothing but a hub of extra-dimensional space, keeping North America’s treasures safe for future alien species to discover.

I decided to keep track of these requests over a one-month period (April 25 – May 25, 2011). Out of 40 instances, here’s how it broke down:

*PNC Bank Arts Center Impressions (see No. 3 below)

Notable observations:

1. Allergy season hit the office hard, with Claritin/Visine/Emergen-C/Excedrin accounting for 15% of all requests. However, as of 5/26 (the day after the observation period), we were informed that Office Services will be stocking up on cold/flu/allergy meds. Office Services don’t need no pie chart to be proactive!

2. Sarah Park was not only most frequent user of the system (3 requests), she was a search category herself. I’m sure there’s an Inception-level analogy here but I haven’t found it yet.

3. Yes, someone used an office-wide email to solicit feelings about an amphitheater in Holmdel, NJ. If it’s good enough for Janet Jackson, The Flaming Lips and Hall & Oates, that inquiry is moot. MOOT.

4. We are clumsy slobs, as Tide pens and Crazy/Super Glue clocked in at 12% of requests. Perhaps Office Services should stock up on detergent substitutes and industrial-strength adhesives too.

Incredibly Long and Confusing Email Chain Still Going

keiji — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:56:10 +0000

It starts with Kurt asking for a hospital referral:

Best Hospital in the city?

On 5/20/10 11:26 AM, “Kurt Lenard” wrote:

thanks.

Who is God?

On 5/20/10 11:26 AM, “Kasey Foster” wrote:

Who is God? — GOT IT

On 5/20/10 11:28 AM, “Kasey Foster” wrote:

Re: Who is God? — GOT IT

On 5/20/10 11:30 AM, “Nick Sonderup” wrote:

Re: Who is God? — GOT IT

On 5/20/10 11:35 AM, “Andrio Abero” wrote:

Spoiler ALERT!

Re: Who is God? — GOT IT

On 5/20/10 11:36 AM, “Sarah Park” wrote:

Wait. Andrew Robertson is God?!

Re: Who is God? — GOT IT

On 5/20/10 11:41 AM, “Timothy Ward” wrote:

Spoiler alert would work better in the subject line. Some people may not have watched that episode yet!!!!!
Spoiler ALERT: Marlow might go missing later…