Back in 2010, Sears opened a “Craftsman Experience” studio in Chicago.
I remember talking to the Craftsman social/community manager prior to it opening, about what kinds of activities, stations, and experiences the then-in-progress Craftsman Experience could feature.
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When it opened, the Craftsman Experience was promised to have Craftsman tools “as far the eye can see,” with most if not all tools available for hands-on demos. There was to be a workshop and space for projects, how-to clinics, demonstrations, restorations, and more.
I visited the Craftsman Experience in 2011, and had an interesting time as an instructor for a “blogger” workshop where a couple of us led some parent and lifestyle bloggers through a couple of woodworking projects.
But, the Craftsman Experience wasn’t quite what I expected.
Then, in 2012, the Craftsman Experience was remodeled and converted into the Kenmore Craftsman Brand Live Experience Studio.
The content that came out of that studio was okay, but it never seemed to reach its full potential.
I have been watching some of Bon Appetit’s videos. Bon Appetit is a cooking magazine, and I’ve been enjoying some of Brad’s fermentation and hot sauce experiments, and Claire’s efforts to recreate store-bought foods and snacks at home. My daughter has been watching Claire’s homemade pizza roll efforts, and we’ll be finishing up the 30-something minute video later tonight.
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Although it’s a cooking show, completely unrelated to tools, I think that Bon Appetit got everything right in how they structured their videos. There’s a test kitchen with different stations, and the different hosts/personalities/cooks produce clean and relatively BS-free videos as they demonstrate different things in front of the camera.
The episodes are well-executed and enjoyable, and they cover a wide range of cooking-related topics.
I couldn’t help but wonder about what a tool-related show of similar structuring might look like. It would have to be a little different, as Bon Appetit focuses on the use of kitchen gear without focusing on the gear itself, and a tool brand would be more focused on the products they want to inform fans and potential customers about. But there’s no reason that shows or episodes couldn’t find a balance between tools and project demonstrations.
Yes, there are a lot of DIY, woodworking, and project YouTubers out there, but individuals don’t come close to the type of structuring that Bon Appetit has accomplished. I suppose there are some larger content-creation companies that could emulate Bon Appetit’s presentation styles, but none come to mind.
Perhaps some of Adam Savage’s Tested videos come close, where he goes through projects methodically, from what he wants to do, through the how.
There are lots of big players in the industry who could and perhaps should bolster their video creation efforts. If content opportunities seem limited, they could always sponsor members of the huge pool of independent YouTubers and content creators for guest spots, maybe even flying a one or two person camera crew to different locations.
Which tool brands could set up a nice studio and series of videos aimed at DIYers or Pro users?
Stanley Black & Decker’s Craftsman brand could do it, and I quite frankly expected them to do something similar years ago. With so many brands under the SBD corporate umbrella, there are plenty of tools to better show off to the public.
Stanley Black & Decker already has a huge demo space in “Black & Decker University” in Maryland, or at least they did – it’s been years since we’ve been there and things might have changed.
Ryobi could surely do it.
Walmart and TTI’s Hart tools team could surely do it.
Lowe’s Kobalt team might not have as broad a selection of tools as the other brands, but maybe it’s something they’d be capable of doing too.
Apex Tool Group has a broad selection of hand tool brands. Their structuring would have to be different, with demo cars and such, but I’m sure they could come up with projects to show off their tools on.
Epicurious has some interesting videos as well, where they show how beginner, experienced amateur, and professional cooks, chefs, or bakers create their own versions of the same dish. This is something that could work as well, showing off different approaches to the same project or tool-related tasks.
I can no longer find any good tool or project-related content on TV, and while there are a lot of great woodworking and metalworking YouTubers out there, I sometimes struggle to find content of personal interest.
Cutting through the noise is a problem whenever I try to research new product categories, with there being more unboxing videos, hands-off “reaction” videos, shock speculation, and other such less-meaty content.
Here’s my point – I want to see more project-related videos, and I think that Bon Appetit’s structuring and styling would be a great way to do it. This is the kind of formatting that the Craftsman Experience should have had years ago, and there are plenty of current and active brands that could and perhaps even should ramp up their video content creation efforts.
Even if a brand doesn’t want to set up their own studio space, decide upon a structured format and fly out to many of the talented YouTube content creators and produce a project episode each week. Or, fly out guest creators and film them in a small studio space.
DIY focused brands, such as Craftsman and Ryobi need to be called out on this. There’s a shortage of compelling creative project content – how about some Bon Appetit-style videos that I can watch, and even watch with my kids.
Bon Appetit’s video formats are what Craftsman should have done back at the Craftsman Experience. What’s the excuse for brands’ avoidance of project videos in this day and age?
Bon Appetit Channel
Epicurious Channel
Craftsman Channel
Look at Craftsman’s YouTube channel. There was a holiday tools commercial 2 months ago, and before that commercials focusing on tool storage boxes. I am thoroughly disappointed in the lack of effort by Craftsman and other DIY tool-focused brands. I know it’s unfair to compare tool brands to cooking magazines, but surely they can do better.
Gordon
Epicurious has loads of great videos, like the “here is almost every fruit and how you prepare it” and “we have a coffee expert guess which beans are cheap and which are expensive”. There is a ton of knowledge packed into their videos.
I also really love America’s Test Kitchen’s methodical product reviews. I think it would be amazing to see some tools reviewed the way they do things. I also love their sister company Cooks Illustrated and Cook’s Country. They do a great job looking at the why of cooking, not just the how.
IMHO, the biggest hurdle would be getting a tool brand to not treat it as an advertisement. Those cooking shows are partially successful because they aren’t hocking their wares. So perhaps it would be better to see a store like Woodworker’s Source or a magazine like WOOD take on this new approach. There are some good videos out there but it can sometimes be like watching Gordon Ramsay add $500 of black truffles to his breakfast.
MattJ
Not sure if you’re referencing woodworking specifically, but I have really come to enjoy the youtube channel “Home Renovision DIY” with Jeff Thorman. He does a good job getting into details on home repairs and renovations and has a lot of helpful, timesaving suggestions.
Apparently, a lot of YouTube bloggers/broadcasters have found that they get a lot more traffic on general discussion videos than they do on detailed project videos. Kind of a bummer, but just wanted to throw that out there. I know Steve Ramsey mentioned it in his most recent project post.
Matt J.
Agreed…Love Jeff’s videos. They’ve definitely been helpful even as a (former) carpenter in getting into some projects outside my wheelhouse in my own home. I don’t always 100% agree with everything he says, but he’s clear, knowledgeable, and presents a good reason for most of his choices.
Also, I have to say…it’s wicked confusing when I see you comment here. Sometimes I have to stop and think whether I’ve already commented…
Craig
This seems like a great opportunity for Ryobi. Market it to DIY’ers and even encourage them to bring their kids. With Ryobi’s innovations and extensive selection for homeowners it would serve as a great advertisement for the brand name too. Today, someone could enjoy using a tool at the “Ryobi Experience” or whatever it’s called, look it up immediately on smartphone and realize the prices are quite affordable. It would be a great way to get the younger generation into using tools when so much focus for kids these days is on TV and computers. They could even have short videos playing of non-pros building projects with Ryobi tools to spark added interest. I’d love to hear my girlfriend’s kid asking if she can have more tool time instead of more screen time. Maybe a Ryobi-HD partnership on something like this and build it here in Atlanta where HD is headquartered.
BTW, i only own a Ryobi wet saw i used for one project but their brand sticks out to me as a perfect fit for this type of thing. I can’t see pro users going to something like this on their weekend even if it was a yellow or red branded store when they already know most of the tools out there and how to use them.
Matt J.
Ryobi did do a bunch of partnerships with DIY woodworking youtubers a few years back. They weren’t always great content and often felt halfway into infomercial territory, which I think is the major risk with this.
Adam
It’s not conventional construction stuff, but I’m a big fan of Starr Tile on YouTube. Most of his videos are about shower failures he’s been hired to fix, and are intended to let people know what to look for when they’re buying a house or having renovations done.
Corey Moore
I see what you’re describing as another indicator of the lacking earnest belief manufactures and companies have in their products these days. A lack of heart, if you will. The slightest of profit margins seem to be overwhelming what’s driving the industry, and not the passionate people who could or would actually be proud of how well they made something. Despite my distaste of Milwaukee’s marketing at times, I’ve got to say that they are the most openly focused on their product line and customers of any other brand I see. And I’m not calling anyone out in particular, but that’s just the state of things these days.
MT_Noob
I recall seeing some pretty good Kreg sponsored videos on the Kreg Youtube channel. There were some that were multipart entire project builds.
I enjoyed those. However the vast majority are less useful to me when they are just a one or two minute video that is simply an overview of one particular product or product release.
I also agree that it would make a whole lot more sense to have really good how to videos out there by tool manufacturers, and don’t hide them behind paywalls. Make the information free and comprehensive, and people will be far more inclined to pick up the tools to do that job.
The Ryobi Dream Nation workshop series on youtube was a great example of that.
daniel husser
I bought a Craftsman pressure washer. Treated it like a baby. Religiously blew out all water every fall. Even so , it started to leak. The replacement pump costs more than a new pressure washer. Bastards.
Jamie smith
Just diy the orings
Andrew
If the motor is on and you are not pulling the trigger you are in danger of blowing the pump on all washers.
glenn
Ozito in Australia have something along these lines.
Ozito was an Australian company and is now owned by Einhell and sold exclusively by Bunnings. Their positioning in the market is aimed at the diy-er etc. I don’t own any of their products but they look reasonable and offer a good exchange warranty. The PXC 18v range, in particular, seems to get mostly positive reviews.
I haven’t looked into it much but they have a page called Ozito community which has some diy projects and tool tips etc.
https://ozito.com.au/community/
Ryobi is one that should also be doing this sort of thing in a major way.
Toolfreak
The Craftsman Experience was probably something that had been in planning well before 2010, and just happened at the wrong time when Sears started circling the drain even faster, as 2010-2012 was when they ended most of the USA tool production and started bringing in their core tools that were made in China. Not that they couldn’t have had a Craftsman Experience with the China-made tools, but by that point Eddie’s plan to loot the brand and the real estate of Sears was set in motion.
I’d agree that there’s been gigantic missed opportunities for tool brands, among others, in leveraging their monetary might in the weird wild world of social media and online content like videos in particular, but it’s not really anything new.
Gigantic companies have almost always farmed out their advertising and PR and just changed agencies when they don’t see an increase in sales, or when someone else is in charge and wants to do something else.
Partly it’s the nature of the internet and sites like YouTube, which gives viewers the ability to turn a video into a portal of attack on a company for business practices, bad news of the day, or whatever else. There’s also plenty of failed attempts at short videos or ads incorporating “influencers” that really just show how clueless the company is.
The risk is high and the reward might be too low for a company to bother doing anything but play it safe and hiring the media stuff out.
I am surprised more tool companies don’t sponsor shows like This Old House and their online segments. Providing a selection of free tools to the crew and helping out a homeowner with the costs of projects to show the process would seem to be a safe and easy way to showcase their tools and how they can be used, in classic format with established pros who are used to being in front of a camera.
Throwing free tools at a few of the semi-popular YouTube tool-focused channels and hoping they give positive reviews and not giving them any more if they don’t doesn’t seem to be working out so well.
Chuck
“I can no longer find any good tool or project-related content on TV…”
Amen.
Hometime is gone, Dean Johnson retired after building his last full-season-feature home in Minnesota; This Old House has come increasingly under the rule of the Social Justice Warrior mafia, less solving of design and construction problems than of tear-jerking hand wringing and historical tours; the Canadian Quickies, and ol’ Danny, so riddled with commercials as to be unwatchable, 14 minutes of Ancient Bob surfacing in 5-year-old shorts about unknown contractors doing stuff wedged in between 16 minutes of commerecials, the now-retired Rehab Couple’s family agonies, the list goes on.
I’m thoroughly selfish – I don’t want video tool demos, I want smart people using tools and brains to construct things, and doing so in a manner that does not abuse my intelligence or time, especially my time. Yes, there’s YouTube, but the price of entry there is too low: wobbly, uncoordinated video, unhearable sound, rambling incoherent descriptions, incompetent editing (when there’s any editing at all), four minutes to describe a 20-second setup for a 60-second task. People who can neither spell nor define “fame” chasing it via YouTube.
It’s all money, of course, because high production values cost money. I’d be willing to pay for a good series on it: think 60 well-focused and commercial-free minutes of Tommy, Richard and Roger in their 40s showing “how it’s done” (they’re all in their 70s now, and desperately in need of fresh replacements, which is why Jeff Sweener is becoming more prominent), a new, young Dean and his various crews tackling projects, with modern tools and modern materials, etc. And, please, avoid concentration on the distaff set; I understand Modern Womyn are capable of driving nails, drilling holes and, perhaps, picking up one end of a sheet of 3/4 ply between makeup touchups, but unless they can sling a worm drive or a 28-ounce framer for 10 hours as well as Fred or Billy Bob, they need to be an adjunct, not the feature.
Any takers?
Gordon
Show me a guy swinging a 28oz framer and I’ll show you an idiot that will regret that decision 10 years from now. Maybe instead of gatekeeping and expecting women to do ridiculous stuff to “prove their worth” you could learn to appreciate the different perspective they offer. I think women like Laura Kampf and April Wilkerson have made some great projects and taught me great things along the way. I don’t always rush out to replicate their work, or even agree with the way they do things all the time, but their perspective and methods are unique and fresh. Most of all I appreciate how willing they are to do something new and show vulnerability. Not everything works out all the time and it’s important to share and learn from that. Learning from my own mistakes is crucial to success, but learning from other’s mistakes is even better.
But honestly, you sound like a miserable person. “SJW mafia” and “womyn” aren’t terms used by people looking to expand their horizons. Your word choice quick to cut down and discredit. Perhaps its because your afraid of liking something that doesn’t fit into a preexisting box? I don’t know, maybe try liking something different. Best case you find something you like, worst case, you confirm your own narrow views and continue to live like you are now.
Kent
I agree with your point of view, but I also think it’s a poor comparison. Bon Appetit is showing how to prepare food, and any tool channel will be about selling tools.
Imagine a cooking show made by Oxo or Cusineart – they’d be all about selling tools to cook with. Independent YouTube makers do a pretty good job of making things, without the emphasis on a brand of tools. Foureyes, Wood Whisperer, Johnathan Katz Moses and others come to mind.
We should just let Craftsman either and die. It’s over.
Chuck
Awww, looks like I hurt Gordon’s feminine side.
Miriam Johnson, Peggy Knapp, JoAnn Liebeler, Robin Hartl, Suzanne Egli, all on Hometime…and JoAnn Liebeler not only did construction on Hometime, she also produced the show for several years. With, maybe, only a couple exceptions, I’m sure could all swing a 28-ouncer, but they didn’t have to because they used air nailers. Heck, I don’t know anyone carrying a 28 ounce hammer anymore because they all use pneumatic nailers; This Old House has had at least 1 female apprentice each of the three years it’s been running its Generation Next program, one of whom was recently highlighted on the show as a new instructor for a timber frame building school, and a 2019 season show highlighted a women’s workshop in Tennessee. Jenn Nawada has, over the past year, taken over the TOH landscaping work from Roger Cook as he deals with his illness. So it seems there are quite a few women doing actual construction work.
I’ve used a 28 ounce hammer for framing and it didn’t take long for me to appreciate the joy associated with compressed air and invest in compressors and nailers. Still own the hammer, though, my wife uses it for driving rebar and landscape spikes when we do landscaping projects around the house.
The question is “what do you want in your television construction program”? If you want girls – excuse me, “women” – doing painting and decorating there are cable shows that do that. If you want a canned show from a manufacturer featuring his products in construction settings those are available as well – they’re called infomercials. There’s a switch underway, “television” is stagnating, “internet” is growing; YouTube now has its own channel, available on Roku, Amazon FireStick, etc. to deliver YouTube content and, interestingly, some of “regular TV” programming. How that wind up affects the home improvement/construction TV offerings remains to be seen (PBS is also on the internet so TOK and ATOH are – sort of- available, but just like AT&T stinks at nearly everything not “voice over copper wire” PBS doesn’t know how to do internet well).
But, if you want television – which is what Stuart’s post was about – showing actual construction with smart, experienced people solving design and construction challenges with tools in settings where you can see the tools being used and briefly discussed, however, that’s becoming much harder to find. Tommy and Norm on TOH have used the Festool Domino cutters for years, and a couple seasons back the Silvas added an automated compound miter saw stand, and both tools, and others, were discussed when they were added, probably not in as much detail as some of would like, but the show is This Old House not This New Tool (I’m confident those, and lots of other tools, were donations from the manufacturers so they could get showcased on the show, but they get used a lot because they’re good tools that help solve challenges; I doubt Silva Construction would use a tool just because it was free if it didn’t help them work faster or make a better product). Ryan’s videos at GarageJournal.com about his Festool buys and how he uses the tools, and especially his BM/MFT Workbench build are excellent; long, but necessarily so because of the detail, but he has high production values and doesn’t abuse the intelligence of his audience; he knows he has smart people watching who own and use similar tools in similar ways. That’s quite rare on YouTube. Most YT stuff is Billy Bob rambling on in his basement about making a better bookcase than Ikea for his kids. I’ve now looked at a couple Kampf and Wilkerson YTs – thanks for the tip – and they seem well done, interesting and potentially useful.
But they’re not broadcast TV which was Stuart’s original point.
Stuart
My post wasn’t focused on television. I’ve been frustrated at the lack of good and easily-found tool and project content on TV, but more than that there’s a lack of it online. TV trends seem to have changed, and that sucks, but online via YouTube or other providers, there’s a big hole of opportunity that should have been filled a long time ago, and formatting similar to Bon Appetit’s would have been great. The Wood Whisperer, Marc Spagnuolo, perhaps comes close.
Your first comment had unnecessary antagonisms, e.g.:
There are plenty of women contractors who are as or higher skilled than many men, and lots of “makers” who are extremely talented and can leverage that talent far more interestingly and efficiently than I and many men can.
There’s enough sexism and misogyny in the world, there’s no place for it here. But, I’mg lad that you’re open to Kampf and Wilkerson’s content (I enjoy their content as well).
For the record, I’m sure that on any TV show, men and women both have makeup and appearance adjustments between takes.
Bob
I think the social media platforms are hard for some established companies to understand and exploit. I think cooking shows have done well with this medium. However to some degree they are equipment agnostic. In most cases you can still fulfill the recipe with cheap grocery store equipment. Although I really love the test kitchen equipment reviews. Short to the point and no BS. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them do any large appliance reviews. I can’t decide if it’s because its outside the purview of their review experties or they also have sponsorships with oven/range manufactures they don’t want to piss off.
As far a good Project/Tool content on YouTube, it takes some digging but there are good youtube channels out there. YouTube now considers their competition cable, network TV, and streaming services. The new algorithm rewards channels who upload high-quality content on a fairly regular basis (weekly) just like TV, cable and Netflix does. Typically the only people that can do that are production studios sponsored by corpetate entaties or “famous” people or product shills. The point I’m trying to make is you don’t get the quality of idea in the content anymore. A regular guy can put a awesome video about building x project with xyz tools but if he only has four videos you’re never going to be able to find it in the search function on youtube. It’s just not profitable for YouTube to promote those types of channels. It is too bad because I think it’s what made the platform what it is today.
I come here to avoid politics but as far as women or men in the workforce. Reward who does the job best regardless of what bathroom they use. End of story.
BUT the problem is due to the current social/political climate people can’t have honest discussions about these things anymore.
People mistake equality of oportunity and equality of outcome.
If you make the comment that men on average are physically stronger and more likely to work in a job requiring lifting 3/4” ply or swinging a framming hammer all day evey day certain misguided people will jump all over you and call you a bad person. For stating the facts? Im calling BS. As long as in the hiring process for the job of “swinging hammer all day” women and men applicants were treated equaly and considered on their merit and not gender we have a fair process. If it so happens most of the workers in this job are a particular sex (assuming fair hiring) it is ok.
In their quest for equality of outcome misguided people want to make the number of men and women HIRED equal as well. There in lies the problem.
Ok rant off.
Ps
I wish Norm Abram was still doing NewYankee Workshop. He had corperate sponsorships but I wouldn’t consider him a shill for products.
Matt J.
I think it’s hard for a tool company to produce this kind of content without coming across as infomercial-like and disingenuous. Bon Appetit (which I agree does a fantastic job with their youtube channel) doesn’t really have a visible product that they’re selling. I mean, of course they’re selling their culture, their knowledge, and the image that their recipes are amazing (which they mostly are). For a tool company to do this, I think they’d have to remove all advertisement-type language, which has got to be a hard sell for management.
The channel for me that represents the greatest potential for the type of content a company could successfully create would be something like Essential Craftsman. He has numerous tips videos (his video on string layout was practically life-changing) as well as a current series on home construction where he’s actually building a spec house start to finish. He’s accessible enough for DIYers, extremely knowledgable and frank, and covers a ton of ground. Videos in that realm, featuring and teaching about tools and trades without explicitly advertising or naming the manufacturer, simply featuring their brand(s) throughout, would be great. I just don’t know how far subtle marketing like that would go, although it worked for Dewalt pretty well back in the early DIY television show days, so maybe…