talk

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As marketers struggle with this recessionary economy, history might be able to provide a lesson or two in terms of how to survive and create opportunities for growth. Our president-elect purportedly is looking back at history, including Franklin D. Roosevelt’s management of the Great Depression, for inspiration to deliver on his winning “change” proposition. And while FDR might have a few lessons for Obama, I also think there are some strong reasons why your brand should take a look at our thirty-fourth president for tips.

The current economic crisis with its near collapse of the financial markets and consumer sentiment is the type of perfect storm that comes once every century or so, making it normal for us to look back at the handling of the Great Depression for guidance. That watershed moment in our nation’s history also witnessed a near collapse of our economic system as well as the public’s trust, allowing FDR to motivate the country around his winning 1932 campaign proposition of a “New Deal.”

What made the New Deal unique and noteworthy was the acknowledgement that the tough circumstances facing the country required a drastic reassessment of how things were done, primarily through stronger government intervention. And while the New Deal’s basic tenets provide eternal fodder for the rich and heated debate around our government’s role in the economy, its lasting impact is with us today.

I propose that, despite the economic and political interpretations of the program and its merits, we look at its key lesson of FDR’s government reengineering to address what is undoubtedly a new day in consumer perception and, hence, in marketing

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Many fashionistas talk about the stimulating and soothing effect of shopping when one is not feeling too fancy. The ladies in “Sex in the City” have become the ultimate symbols of this state of mind. But what happens when the carefree shopper is hit with a not so light case of dwindling disposable income and credit, as is currently the case across America. How should retail brands respond when people start putting the breaks on how much they are spending for clothes? It seems the fashion and retail categories need some retail therapy of their very own.

While a recession is not good for anyone, the limitations it engenders can motivate brands to become more focused on what they provide their consumers. By weathering the storm with a smile, a touch of class, and a lot of ingenuity, retail brands can fuel an evolution that will take them to new heights once recessionary waters subside. So retail brand managers: stay positive that better times will return, and in the meantime, work to find more creative and nuanced ways to connect with shoppers.

One of the most important lessons to remember when selling during a recession is that this unique confluence of economic variables presents a good time to remind your consumers about your unique value proposition. By doing so, you dispel the uncertainties of a recession, with the certainty of choosing the right brand for them.

continue reading “Retail Therapy for Recessionary Times”

As the economy doldrums set in and few Americans can afford the luxury of that new car, computer upgrade or even that new flat screen TV, it’s the little things that we will rely on to make us happy. It’s a special lunch at our favorite place, a latte indulgence that feels like a hug. It’s Pizza and a movie. It’s take out or a drive-through pick up.

Euripides said: “When a man’s stomach is full it makes no difference whether he is rich or poor.”

This may explain why, although most consumer spending is down, the NRA forecasts that snack and non-alcoholic beverage shops including McDonalds, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Jamba Juice, are expected to post growth. And while most retailers are down, Walmart and Costco are posting growth. Surely this must have something to do with their reasonably priced grocery departments.
So, how can we up-sell this concept while ensuring consumers will continue to see value in the experience and in the time and energy saved by dining out?  Here are some simple truths that may go a long way to providing that “extra value’ customers are seeking.

Pamper your customers.
When times are tough and winter is coming on in more ways than one, we all have a basic need to be pampered and taken care of.  This is fulfilled when one dines out, no matter how simple the experience may be. Now would not be the time to skimp on quality of the product or cleanliness of the store. Details like courtesy, greeting your customers by name, overall atmospheric warmth and free samples can go a long way to making them feel welcomed.

Motivate your employees.
Delivering value in an economy where raw food costs are going up, and prices are not, is a tough prospect any way you look at it. Many restaurant and franchise owners are asking how to best build morale when they can’t give their staff a raise or worse, they have to ask them to take a cut. continue reading “Salty Satisfaction. It keeps us happy.”

Excursions to the African and Asian continents have been a persistent theme in 2009 spring shows: surely something to do with the urge to get as far away from the West’s problems as possible. Junya Watanabe and Ralph Lauren have both gone African throughout on their runway. Miuccia’s idea to “move away from all the fussy, couture-derived fashion that has become too heavy and overexploited,” must have really made us all remember that we’ll need truly visceral temptation to get us out shopping.

Regardless of intentions, this years spring shows seemed to be so much more authentic and riveting than previous seasons. With a few exceptions, such as the case of Gucci, designers really seemed to be taking a seeking inspiration in the cultural traditions that precede glamour, and western civilization.

In the case of Watanabe the beauty of it was the way he struck such an attractive balance between tribal references, and his own signatures. He used colorful “African” prints with motifs of apples, hearts, and leaves; he bunched, twisted, and draped them into tops, tunics, and dresses, steadily mixing them with faded denim, in the way that reflected how Western women would wear them; the ruffles of cotton prints bursting out of the hems of long skirts.

For Ralph Lauren, down came last season’s gold antlers and up went a Moroccan lamp. The show opened with a khaki camp shirt that looked like it had just come back from safari and beaded gold harem pants slung with two belts. Interspersed among the other silk-satin takes on that slouchy, relaxed.

In todays world of dramatically reconfigured priorities, Orientalist-modernist mix seemed to be the right answer. For many such as YSL and Dolce & Gabbana the choice was to play it both ways, combing Japanese-inflected austerity with uncompromising risk-taking shapes and hotly desirable accessories. The Oriental themes came out in the towering lacquered chignons, and soft, cocooning shapes inspired by kimono wrapping, and Japanese fishermen’s pants.

In these economically challenged times of conflict and insecurity, fashion leaders are using culture to bring us together reminding us once again, that it is indeed a small world.

The once secret world of the sneaker collector has exploded into popular culture, with a whole army of fans hungry for the rarest shoes, the latest designs or reissued classics in a never-ending myriad of color and materials. Sneaker fashion has evolved to the status level of couture. The exclusivity, craftsmanship and design in women’s haute couture has translated into the male sneaker world. This has spawned a renaissance of creativity, collaboration and demand. Bragging rights to be the first or only person in your circle to have the latest exclusive shoe comes at a cost.

My girlfriend has her Manolo Blahnik shoes. I have my Alife sneakers. Our habits are closer than we think.

I’ve always had a good gut. When I was 5, I thought it would be a wonderful idea for a chain restaurant that JUST served fries. When I was 13, I couldn’t understand why places like Walmart or Target didn’t have fashionable teen clothes. Why everything “cool” was super expensive. Why gum, couldn’t help whiten or clean teeth. Now all of that has changed and I see that, I wasn’t crazy, I was just ahead of my time. There are a couple of more ideas that I have that I would like to put on the table. The business development of such enterprises is a bit beyond my area of expertise, yet as I would truly love to see these ideas come to life, I’m sharing. After all I can’t do them all and I would love to see them happen. If you’re reading this and know how to make these ideas happen feel free to ring us up for ways we can help.

1st: PureFeet: A business model that combines holistic foot spa treatments with podiatry, with a podiatrist on site to take a look and prescribe treatments as needed. continue reading “Billion Dollar Ideas.”

The artists that are shaping our culture today can no longer be limited to the art gallery and the museum. Today’s artists are broadcasting their work all over the world on screens large and small. They are fluidly migrating back and forth from the art and commercial worlds. Brands like BMW, Adidas, Scion, Louis Vuitton have created clear points of view that they now own as movements. This comes as art has become mainstream and as consumers and the art establishment encourage mixing and matching. It’s fair to say that commercialism and new technologies have shaken up the art world. But this was not always so.

During most of the latter part of the twentieth century, figure art and craftmanship lost its perceived value as the art-buying elites took their acquisition cues from the prevalent mood among critics and artists such as Duchamp. “Traditional” artists, then, went into the more lucrative, less subjective worlds of commercial Art where an image needed to tell a clear story.

continue reading “Business Art is happening now”

Three news items in the space of a few days recently caught my attention. The first was the announcement that the annual World Biofuels Markets Congress will take place this year in Brussels in mid-March. That was followed by extensive coverage of the first biofuel-powered commercial flight courtesy of Virgin Airlines. And shortly after that came news that the UN World Food Programme may have to scale back assistance to poor countries because of a 40 percent rise in world food prices in the last year.

There is a common thread to all three items, and it has to do with food.

The international market price for wheat, corn, soybeans and other food products have all at least doubled in recent years, and in some cases as much as tripled. There have always been fluctuations in global commodity prices due to climate, economics and geopolitics – but this time around there is an important change that is permanent and needs to be addressed urgently by the international community.

The two leading contributors to the current round of increased food prices are fossil fuel and biofuel. Historically high oil prices have dramatically raised the cost of running farm machinery, transporting grain and all other produce, and increased the cost of manufacturing fertilizer. The new factor, however, is biofuel.

The early promise was that only marginal land not currently serving as forest cover or being used for growing food crops would be used to grow biofuel. That myth has been shattered in many ways in many parts of the world, but the US government has typically stepped in with a particularly heavy hand to make matters worse. In the last few years, the US has used subsidies to divert enough domestic corn for bioethanol production that it now constitutes about four percent of the entire global production of coarse grains.

Will the next step be a cartel of biofuel-producing countries? Founding members could be the US and its subsidized farm land, Malaysia and Brazil with their rainforests felled to grow fuel, and Caribbean nations that are putting sugar cane to new use.

Ok, it is not all bad. We do need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel. And indeed there is a great deal of marginal land that could be used for biofuel. But the process can not be completely market driven when it means that people starve as a direct result. The international community needs to take a serious look at how to manage the whole issue of biofuel production so that it represents a net gain for the planet and not another missed opportunity for clearheaded collective leadership.

Links

Lester Brown - Why Ethanol Production Will Drive World Food Prices Even Higher in 2008

Foreign Affairs / C. Ford Runge and Benjamin Sanauer – How Biofuels Could Starve the Poor

World Biofuels Markets – Annual Congress 12-14 March 2008

Here’s an amazing site: pandora.com

Type a song or artist into their search bar and click the “create” button, you now have your own radio station that will play music from the artist/song you picked and others based on similarities in acoustics, instrumentation, melody, rhythm, etc. — It’s a great way to discover new artists that you’ll enjoy.

These days the latest Olympic scandal is a print ad for a courier company, official sponsor of the Spanish Basketball team, where Spain’s Olympic basketball team players appear stretching the skin on either side of their eyes for an Asian slant with sheepish grins on their faces. That add seems to say “look out Chinese people, here we come!”
The two full-page ads have been running since August in the Spanish sports newspaper Marca. Nobody in Spain noticed anything “inappropriate” until a British newspaper showcased it yesterday.

“Spain’s Olympic basketball teams have risked upsetting their Chinese hosts by posing for a pre-Games advert making slit-eyed gestures.” Wrote Sid Lowe for The Gaurdien. “The failure to recognise the potential consequences is striking in the light of the problems Spain has had with issues of race…”

I am sure the Creatives behind the campaign had no intentions of offend anyone with this ad, nor could they distinguish any offense in it.
It’s an interesting cultural contrast, which is worth examining. continue reading “The Un-PC basketball team”