At Zappos we have a very unique culture where each team and/or department is responsible for creating their own environment. By environment, we mean our surroundings…our home away from home…the place that we live and breathe Zappos.

While it's unheard of in most companies, at Zappos we tend to think it breathes a little life into what could otherwise be very drab and dreary office walls. Plus, it’s kinda fun!

So, what’s the marketing theme? Hint: Save the Customer, Save the World.

Okay, you’ve got it! Heroes! Here’s a quick introduction to a few of the heroes in the marketing department and what they think their superpowers are:

Fletch, the Investigative Reporter (aka Andy)
Super Shopping Woman (aka Ashley)
Guitar Hero (aka Brian)
Ultimate Multi-Tasker (aka Britni)
Search Sensei (aka Darrin)
Fairy Godmother (aka Holly)
Kristaman, does what the Kristaman can do (aka Krista)
Rapid Reader/ Predicting the Future (aka Libby)
Bionic Woman (aka Linda)
Keeper of Time (aka Michelle)
Donatello’s Voice of Reason (aka Mig)
Mandal Man (aka Ned)
Flying Wonder Woman (aka Rachel)
El Sonador - The Dreamer (aka Robert)
Spreadsheet Surfer (aka Vegas)

If you had to pick what kind of hero you’d be or superpower you’d have, who/what would you be? Comments welcome! Oh and by the way, we're always looking for more heroes to join us in the good fight!

Ever wonder what the story is behind the basset hound that looks at you with those droopy eyes, thanking you for your order on Zappos? Wait no more! World…meet Fletch!

Name: Fletch

Birthday: September 15, 1999

Likes: filet mignon treats and long walks in the park with Ned and Andy

We at Zappos love our furry friends and since his arrival into our lives, Fletch has gained quite a following. So much so that he was one of the guests of honor at the recent 1st Annual Basset Hound Picnic.

Andy, Fletch’s owner, said that he was expectedly very excited for this function. When they received the invitation in the mail, there was a sense that he knew exactly what was in store for him. He’d get to spend some quality time with his old friends from the rescue; Gary - the brown and white droopy eyed senior citizen, Henrietta - the blind 5 year old with a plucky spirit, and Boscoe - the quiet, reserved gentleman.

“Like any reunion, the atmosphere was electric when we got there,” said Andy. “Old friends and new ones approached Fletch and I right away, I could sense fear and anxiety in Fletch.”

Fletch certainly wasn’t used to this sudden bombardment of creatures that looked like him. A few standoffs, and nervous urinations later, Fletch finally relaxed. He began gravitating to his old social circle.

Boscoe and Fletch appeared to pick up where they left off. Telepathically Fletch told Boscoe about how he became this big Internet star and how his life was never the same…constant requests for interviews, award shows and endorsement opportunities. Boscoe, not one to be impressed by this, responded by laying a ‘deuce’ next to Fletch’s feet. Un-phased by this, Fletch went on talking about himself, often referring to himself in the 3rd dog.

Fletch has quite a following and you never know…he might just join the conversation on Twitter! (twitter.com/fletch_thedog)

P.S. Check out more of our Zappos.com Critters!

Team building is a vital part of our company and department culture, especially with the growth and change that we’ve experienced over the past few months. Our teams are encouraged to spend 10-20% of our time outside the office walls, whether it’s for specific team building activities or just hanging out. Developing these personal relationships actually helps our teams become more effective by breaking down the typical office barriers.

Well, what better way to get to know your team members than a little fishing trip out to Lake Las Vegas? Thanks to Miss Britni and Miss Ashley we had the pleasure of learning how to fly fish for the April marketing team outing! Fly fishing in the desert? Yes, it can be done! And boy do we have fishing stories to tell?!

It wasn’t a surprise that our resident superman Darrin wins the prize for the first fish. Ask him how he felt about getting the first one and he says, “Darn, it feels good to be gangsta!” Darrin, who knew?!

Our gal Rachel wins the reward for the biggest fish! Come to find out, she grew up fishing with her dad. Fair? I think not! Her fish may not be a frog, but will it turn into prince charming someday? Only time will tell!

Since it was one of the few times he had been fishing in his life, it didn’t matter to Ned that he didn’t catch a fish. “I almost caught myself…does that count?”

And ever the optimist, Robert’s quote of the day: “It’s not the size of the fish that counts; it’s the size of the fight!”

Andy looked the part of a fisherman but was more interested in feeding and watching the ducks. “I dunno – I think they’re kinda cute!”

Did we accomplish building a stronger team? Did we build upon our personal relationships? I would say so…all in all it was a great day out at the lake. Watch for the May marketing team outing - coming soon!

PUMA PG Saddle shoes at Zappos.com - $94.00
O'Neill Bermuda shorts at Zappos.com - $44.00
Linda Long dancing on the table at Zappos.com gathering - PRICELESS

(A little background: It was a Thursday night. The marketing department and other Zappos friends took over the Roadrunner patio. There was a farewell party for our friend Neill. There were friendships blossoming. There were funny stories being told. It started to get dark. There might have been a full moon? Hmmm...and then it happened...our very own Linda Long up on the table! Linda, we can probably never live up to that moment again but you set the standard high - you go girl!)

You can take the mandals out of the man, but can you take the man out of the mandals? Now that is the question! What are mandals you say? Well, some may call it a fashion atrocity; others may say they are simply, man sandals.

Ah, yes…meet Ned, ladies and gentleman! He's our fearless Affiliate Program Manager, commonly known for his keen fashion sense – polos, shorts at all times of the year, and an extreme love of mandals.

Those who know Ned would probably never believe me when I say that he was recently spotted without mandals at the Shop.org conference in Scottsdale. Ask him and he may deny it, but take a peek for yourself! Proof is in the pudding, my friends! And by the way, Zappos.com has a huge selection of mandals!

"There would be more peace in the world if everyone wore mandals" - Ned Farra

Today we handed out our 2008 Zappos.com Print Ad Creative postcards
to Vegas employees! They are a sampling of some of the visuals being
used in our print ad campaign, which hit the newsstands this week!

All employees received five cards to send anywhere to anyone in the world! (I suggested we send them all to Val Kilmer. I don't really know why. First person that popped in my head.)In true creative service/marketing style, we just wheeled them around the office in a wagon and dove headlong into the seas of madness that are the CLT and Merchandising Floors.

Our Creative Service and Marketing crazies filled the aisles in a very non-disruptive.....well, ok, rather disruptive manner to hand bundles of postcards to the un-suspecting masses. Every employee has been given free reign to do what they want with them...who knows, you may be receiving one yourself!
These cards are a part of the 2008 Zappos.com Print Ad Creative, which is also coming along the same time as our brand spankin' new television commercial that began airing a few weeks ago. It is airing on multiple networks throughout the U.S. T.V.-O-Sphere, maybe you've seen one....if not, and if you're nice, I'll post it right below. I'm considering it......I'm considering it.....alright, you won me over. But barely. : )
It's a great new direction for us and we are very excited about it!
Anyway, back to filling out postcards, I'm sending one to my favorite
New Kid on the Block! (I won't say who)

Hey! Today is Brian K's fifth anniversary at Zappos. He started with Zappos back when it was in San Francisco. Now, look at him - one of the world's foremost proponents of Argyle and Argyle accessories. I thought I'd ask him a few questions about then and now. Please feel free to ask him other questions in the comments section.

1. What do you remember about your first day at Zappos?

I remember a lot less people :-)But I also remember a positive energy and a complete sense of unity in what we were trying to achieve as a company. We had so much to learn and when I look back I sometimes get all excited thinking about how much I have grown personally and professionally.

2. Any comparisons you'd like to make from then vs now?

I actually think we have enhanced our culture and work environment a great deal in the past 5 years. From the beginning (my beginning rather) I noticed it was a distinctly different place than any other I had worked at. Perhaps that was the beginning of the company culture forming and taking shape. But now, I see it as the core focus of the business, happy cows make good milk.

3. What did you think Zappos might look like now back then vs how it really is now. Any milestone moments?

Well honestly, I thought looking out my window that it would still look like San Francisco but it actually looks like Las Vegas! I know that is not quite what you meant, but really that is the only tangible thing I can say about it. Because back then we knew there was potential, but at least I did not know how much. While I had faith Zappos would grow massively I guess 5 years ago when I took the job I didn't fully comprehend the possibilities as I do now.

4. Any other stories about people from way back when you'd like to share with us?

Well, one of my first full days in the office was the day a certain someone arm wrestled a certain someone else and an arm was broken!

5. Anything else you'd like to add?

Well, I hope on my 10 year anniversary that I have grown and learned as much as I have in the first 5. It’s been a good fun ride so far, understanding where Zappos can go just adds fuel to the fire!



Brian shows off his Argyle trimmed shoes. His feet are propped up on several cases of offical Zappos shot glasses. Check out his quote on the white board. He has a bad case of hat head/hair today. And that is not his middle finger.

<Dramatic Dunh Dunh Dunh music> All good things must come to an end and Thursday was the last day for our brave band of Las Vegas Encounter adventurers. They visited with both Marketing and Creative Services and then met with our Life Coach, Dr. Vik. Our Marketing team has grown more than most departments at Zappos in the past year. We’ve become much more visible online, in print, and now, on television. We’ve also become much more active on the relatively invisible side of the internet by more closely planning and managing our online presence.

Our Creative Services team has also grown a fair amount, both here in Las Vegas and in Kentucky.
As the number of items we carry increases, the number of photographs taken and the number of web pages, complete with fresh graphical elements, also increases. These Zappos blogs were a recent project for Creative Services with help from Marketing, Development and System Administration. A huge commitment is our website renovation project. That’s a fine balancing act right there – too little change and what’s the point – too much change too fast and that’s not good either.

And of course no trip to Zappos in Las Vegas is complete without a visit with Dr.Vik, our fulltime, onsite Life Coach. Besides the bestowing of paper crowns and pictures sitting on the throne, everyone is encouraged to speak their mind, about good or bad, personal or public, to Dr. Vik. He’s an essential element to keeping our culture just right!

Next, we took some group pictures at the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. Here’s the group on the backside of the sign. They are spelling out "LVE KY" with their bodies.

These lovely ladies don't know how proud they should be of their style, they wished to remain anonymous. I have trouble with that, I mean really, if you are so fashionable to know that Argyle is the new _______ you should embrace with open arms (and eyes). They chose to wear the black bar across their eyes so the fashion police (the good ones, the ones who recognize good fashion) don't stalk them continuously for fashion advice! As a strong promoter of Argyle I have some advice for these ladies... wear more Argyle!

Thanks, I'll be here all week. PS, we love Argyle!

Chinese New Year has come and gone and so we've welcomed in the Year of the Rat. Anyone else reminded about the song "The Year of the Cat" by Al Stewart in 1976? Anyway our Marketing Department put on a parade. They dressed in red, put on some rat noses, borrowed some lion heads from our Private Label group, filled some baskets with fortune cookies, fired up the boom box and off they went. I tried to keep up with them as they paraded through the building and tossing the fortune cookies. Well done and “Kung Hee Fa Choy!” or “Gung Hey Fat Choy!”

Hey, so today we'll start a virtual tour of Zappos in Las Vegas. Several days a week, we'll share a picture or two and some tidbits. And after we're done here, it's off to Kentucky to see the action out there.

Here's today's picture.

Early one morning, I caught one of our Marketing people on her way in and asked her to pose for a picture. We don't have the balloon arch every day - hardly ever actually so I am pretty happy how this picture came out. It got windy soon after and most of the balloons popped or went flying away.

Zappos HQ is in a fairly new office complex. We currently occupy 2 buildings. We also have our 3 outlet stores. The outside is fairly generic but wait till you see inside! You can see our golf cart shuttle for hauling stuff between buildings. We also have a little red wagoon. I crack up everytime I see it. We're going to have the golf cart decorated soon - pictures will follow! So that's Day 1!