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As marketers continue the uphill struggle to ignite consumer spending during this recessionary economy, not everything should be gloomy. Recessions have historically instigated certain business corrections that fuel innovation and creativity.

Additionally, many of the brands that have weathered the test of time have been those that continued business as usual during rough times. They took advantage of their competitors’ retreat and invest to extend their market share. To a certain degree, that’s when leaders are made to last.

Many brands are looking at international markets. There are also some golden spots at home. A unique opportunity currently exists to increase the investment in the Hispanic market, which constitutes a domestic emerging market.

Here are some reasons why you should engage the Hispanic market:

• Already at 15% of the population, the nation’s largest minority is fueling over half of the population growth during the next ten years
• The Hispanic population is also, on average 10 years younger, allowing you to also make a strong impact in seeding market share with both a current and future consumer base
• Hispanics are perfect for pilot marketing programs. They are more centralized geographically and with least costly consumer acquisition costs including media, it’s more practical to engage them then other groups.
• On average, the average Hispanic family is bigger and is supported by a larger extended family allowing them to lend a hand to jointly manage difficult budgets as a result of the economy.
• Focused on quality as part of their
• Finally, U.S. Hispanics, strongly connected to their home countries, can also serve as a gateway for international expansion into emerging markets such in Mexico and South America.

So. Go ahead and say “que tal” to this local emerging market.

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.”

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”

Raul Higuera’s work is hauntingly beautiful, and definitely worth checking out. The self taught Colombian Fashion photographer presents images that are both dramatic and enchanting as they are fashionable.

check it out at: http://www.raulhiguera.com/

Parents often have an image in their heads about who might offer their kids drugs that has nothing to do with reality. The members of Generation Einstein, as children born after 1988 are being called, have a good grasp on perception management. You see it in the popular teen shows like Gossip Girls; you hear it in their references to what is, or what isn’t “off brand” for them.

This is making it harder for innocent parents to discern who is a menace to their family and who isn’t. This challenge taken to another level when you throw into the equation the fact that these parents are not American ex-hippies, well aware of the subject at hand, but 1st generation Latinos, more familiar with kidnappings & violence than they are of the slow burning social ills that plague our urban centers. They face an uphill battle of cultural differences as their children adopt the language and customs of American kids, which they often have trouble understanding.

Many such parents prefer to defer such important, but often awkward, conversations to another family member or to the school system without realizing that such procrastination facilitates the opportunity for others to make that first introduction to Mary Jane. Parents also have trouble with the idea that kids as young as 11 or 12 are already getting exposed to pot.

These latest ads were developed with Latino parents in mind to bring precisely these ideas to life. The pictures are sweet and cynical meant to drive a point home. They are meant to be provocative to get kids and parents talking about the subject. The idea is that if we give parents and kids a reason to start talking about the subject, we’ve accomplished half the battle.

In the past, the perception of genius was counter-productive to the collaborative working environment so crucial for most of us today. Yet we’re still enamored with this classic sense of the genius as the steadfast individual that toils on his own towards a huge breakthrough that revolutionizes art or science. Ayn Rand’s hero in “the Fountainhead” embodied this concept, as does the perennial Albert Einstein who has been representing this “genius brand” for the past 30 years.

As defined by Wikipedia a genius is a person of great intelligence, who shows an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work. But how applicable is this to our everyday? The idea of the solitary genius working in a vacuum producing breakthrough work on his or her own is swiftly going the way of the VHS players, walkmans, & Cd’s. The notion that some are “born with it” and others are not may be true but at the end it’s those that best pursue the “it” through perseverance and collaboration that will most likely snag the genius title.

continue reading “The Genius Connection”

It makes sense when you think about it.

Ralph Lauren can remake the Great Gatsby with all its 1920’s American Royalty luxury. Juicy Couture could put out a 16th century raunchy French comedy full of dark humor and cotton candy wigs. Levis could remake Rebel without a Cause, or reinvent a great American tradition in need of an update: The Western. DKNY can tell a futuristic city sleek story of action, ambition and betrayal. Alexander McQueen could make a series of shorts: Grimms Fairy Tales, for adults.

With Product placement becoming more of the norm, it seems like only the big studios and the fashion & luxury brands will be able to rescue my favorite genre before it becomes to expensive to produce: The period piece; The historical fantasy; Those films that take you to a time and place before products.

I could go on and on, about the different designer luxury brands that could tell fabulous stories, it’s an expensive endeavor, and few will take the risk even though the rewards might very well skyrocket their brands. continue reading “Will fashion brands join the Advertainment revolution shooting movies that tell a trend story?”

Ok, so with all thats been going on in the democratic party, i couldn’t resist one political rant.If Barack Obama wants to make a transformative impact on the politics of this country, he will start with his choice in Vice President. This choice will say a lot about him. Whether he’s truly seeking someone who will complement him ideologically and otherwise to help win over those that do not trust him. Whether he can stand up to the strong enclaves of power within his own party and look to what’s really right for him, his team, and the country at whole.Hillary Clinton is a brilliant woman, a strong leader and a good public servant, but Hillary Clinton is not the right VP choice for Barack Obama. Even though this “dream team” may unite the party for a moment, chances are great that it will fraction it further in the long run.And at the end of the day, it’s not just the democratic vote Barack needs. He needs the independent vote, the vote of people who are pro-family but are concerned about gas prices, the economy; the vote of antiwar Republicans that are upset with their party. He needs to show that he understands their moral concerns, and can bridge and foster dialogue in areas where more is needed.This two party system must evolve with the needs of the country, and Barack can champion that evolution with a solid if controversial ticket that truly showcases a solid team that can lead the country, not just half the country.

I love to draw naked people. Fat ones, skinny ones old ones young ones, for some reason that passion that I had in Art school of trying to capture as much as I can about a person by the expressions of their bodies lives with me still.
I realize that figurative work has not been in vogue for a while, and I wonder why I am still obsessed with drawing the figure inside out. I think it has to with an honest exploration of our humanness and its different forms of manifestations.

The body has a language that communicates so much. It can be subtle or flamboyant; awkward, self-conscious, tired, earnest, graceful, poised, monumental. Models say so much about themselves with their body movements. Maybe I’m also attracted to the idea that the unclothed individual occupies a timeless place, where the same thoughts, yearnings and attitudes and anxieties have existed for thousands of years. Over and over again I paint the experience, pressure, enlightenment, acceptance, sensuality, anger or ambition that each person presents me with. I relish the structure of their core, the curves of their reserves, the expression of their hands and feet and the experience of their faces. I capture with my line, what their bodies tell me with the same tone and intensity. I suppose the way I draw people also says a lot about the artist, but I’ll leave that to the viewer.

for more drawings check out more naked people.

I give special thanks to Eviva the monumental, Robin the brash, Rebbecca the beautiful, and those many others who’s name I cannot remember who graced the model stands at Pratt & Parson’s campus’s from 91 to 98.

Enjoy!