talk

Spain defeats Germany for the Euro 2008 Cup. It’s their first major title in 44 years.

Spain: 1
Germany: 0

¡Felicidades Campeones!

As Raul Castro continues to introduce new reforms in Cuba, he is slowly evolving the political ideology of a country that has been Communist for too many decades. We all have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness in the United States. Although we take it for granted, we are rewarded for our entrepreneurial spirit and our abilities in every aspect of our life. What if someone took away your ability to better yourself or certain aspect of your life?

The equal pay system has been in place in Cuba since 1959. Cuban workers have been earning the same wage for decades with no incentive to excel due to everyone earning the same wage regardless of performance. It is no surprise that Cubans have allowed a government to oppress them for close to 50 years at home, at work and in all aspects of their lives with little resistance.

There is hope! Cuban officials hope to reverse a stagnant economy by adopting a new wage system that will reward workers with a minimum 5% bonus for meeting performance goals and their salaries will have no set ceiling. We will truly see the entrepreneurial spirit of a people that have been oppressed for so long personified in the improved production and services that Cuba can offer in this modern global economy.

What difference does 5% make on a relatively poor society? A new wage system will open the window for improved human rights conditions. That window will slowly become the door for a more democratic Cuban society.

At an Obama rally in Detroit, Michigan last week two Muslim women wearing traditional religious head coverings were asked to sit elsewhere so that they would not appear in the background of any photographs taken by the media. Shimaa Abdelfadeel and Hebba Aref, like many other Arab-Americans, may be getting the cold shoulder from a campaign that talks about unity and bringing together people from all walks of life. The Obama campaign has visited many temples and churches reaching out to all types of religious constituencies. He has even visited small Cuban Jewish communities in South Florida. So where’s the fist pound or the Obama horizon for Arab-Americans who are looking for the same types of political reforms as most Americans today?

It was a great public relations move by the Obama campaign to have Mr. Barack Obama personally call and apologize to these women, but wouldn’t we expect that type of apology from anyone with a publicist. How about a presidential candidate? It is the right move of course. In the end, the Obama campaign volunteers who refused to allow these women to sit behind the stage during Obama’s speech were likely just following the tone and orders set by Mr. Obama or his senior advisers. There is obviously some caution with the Obama campaign affiliating themselves too closely with the Muslim and Arab community.

As a Democrat and a former Hillary supporter, I continuously wonder if a two year senator from Illinois has the experience to lead this great country. Is this campaign of change for real or just a slogan created by the great David Axelrod? I for one will vote for substance over style everyday of the week, thus I remain undecided until November.

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 other night I was flipping through the channels and I came across Nashville Star, NBC’s country music answer to Fox’s American Idol. There were a couple of things that caught my immediate attention. The first was the public’s ability to not get bored with the multiple variations of the Idol format or that Billy Ray Cirus, of “achy breaky heart” could be given a second chance.

But more importantly than that, or that Jewel is a judge of the show and now a bonafide country-star, was the fact that one of the participants was Latino and the other one an African American. There they were, Gabe Garcia and Coffey singing contemporary western hits and making it to the next round. It seems that country is finally all-american, no guilt or shame attached.

Country is becoming bigger and more attractive to both whites and non-whites and it’s going to get bigger. Here’s why. America has become more comfortable in its cultural skin, shedding the haughtiness of the eighties. It’s something our fast-paced culture is craving in a post-911 society that values return to simpler times. As a result NY professionals welcome a restaurant called hill country, and texas hold’em poker becomes one of the most played games online, as well as watched on ESPN.

At the end it seems that the US is ready to embrace its humble Honky Tonk roots. The result is that we’ll see more country, healthy comfort food, albeit all with new touches and accents reflecting our cultural pluralism.

 And we’ll see more of this throughout this year as both Republicans and Democrats need to speak to that other disenfranchised group, the rural white.  So get your country records out, practice that two step, and put some ribs on that barbeque and celebrate the new old face of America.

Innovation, along with the power of execution, is constantly heralded in the business media as one of the cornerstones of business strategies and growth. But how do you attain it. Industries differ in their inherent capacity for innovation. It’s an art form that requires both a culture fit and a set of processes that see business ideas thrive to become profitable initiatives and products giving new life to brands and to the bottom line.

Advertising agencies should be naturals at doing this given their focus on what consumers are looking for. But unfortunately they are more concerned in the day to day of running ads. “Today’s agencies must become more open in everything they do, we need to leverage our uniqueness when speaking to consumers and come up with other innovations besides simply ads to impact our clients. ” states Roberto Ramos, President & CEO of the vox collective, a full service communication agency that comes up not only with campaigns but also with product and business ideas for clients.

The vox collective worked very closely with Regatta USA and Kohl’s to come with a clothing line for model and television personality Daisy Fuentes. The agency leveraged its extensive knowledge of the retail and female market, as well as the growing Latino market to come up with a business plan and relevant communications to launch this brand. It is currently the biggest private label brand at Kohl’s, expanding into categories such as accessories and home décor.

Should we have less actual media placements and just make them the right ones? This is the question provoked by Fox’s recent decision to limit themselves to five commercial minutes per hour in two of their new programs. Media Nerd suspects that these premium units will initially be snapped up at a package rate by long-term big spenders while the network looks at the effectiveness of this strategy. The alternative scenario is that the cost will be sufficiently high to have more :15s being placed into these programs. This certainly won’t solve the clutter problem because of the traditionally-perceived lower recall rate of the :15s, leaving everyone back where they started while paying more for it. Nobody wants their CPPs to double, so the return for this has to be more than twice the sales to make it viable.

The Spanish-language networks already run fewer commercial minutes per hour and more program promos, mostly not cluttering the screen during credits or program time. When you factor in the lower commercial load during most novela premieres, you have an audience that isn’t picking up the remote. Good opening episodes will then mean a loyal audience.

Univision’s forthcoming Video on Demand in 2009 comes as no surprise in a market with increasing media choices and comes as very welcome news to viewers who want to have choices about viewing times. The damper on this good news, however, is that their licensing agreement with Televisa doesn’t allow them to provide their blockbuster telenovelas within the VOD offerings.

No te preocupes, because Televisa’s own viewers have come to the rescue: A few of them are meticulously posting entire episodes to YouTube. Media Nerd saw the first 40 episodes of Fuego en la Sangre prior to its record-breaking US debut and saw numerous posts from regular YouTube users eager for the next installment. The stream count for most of those clips so far is in the low to middle 5 figures, not enough to cut into Univision’s normal viewing audience, most of whom clearly prefer to see their programs on a standard-size or large screen with significantly better resolution.

The ones censored by Univision, however, got over 200,000 plays each.

Media Nerd, having seen some of the badly edited DVD sets of a few past titles, would happily watch them on YouTube. Even with commercials. Muchas gracias, amigos.

Over the past few years the cost of clothing has not increased at the rate of inflation, but it looks like the tide is finally turning. From the credit crunch here at home and in the West, the rising costs of raw materials, surging oil prices with no cap in sight and the soaring price of food; the clothing industry is collapsing. So what does the price of oil have to do with my designer jeans?

Well, most synthetic fibers used in clothing are made of, you guessed it, oil. Soaring oil prices are making it difficult for manufacturers to operate their factories and cover the costs of shipping to foreign markets. The wages paid to factory workers are also increasing at a steady rate, especially in developing countries like China and India.

Food shortages are being reported all over the world as increased amounts of rice are being used to create ethanol for fuel. Subsequently, food prices have shot have shot up in response to shortages and a surge in crop prices. Fertilizer costs are also soaring, adding to the costs of raw materials used in the production of clothing. The credit crunch at home and in the West is only adding to the squeeze as low-margin clothing manufacturers are finding it harder and harder to turn a profit.

Consumers should get ready for clothing prices to follow suit as importers are faced with greater overhead costs. They will either have to raise prices for the clothes they make or go under - which in turn will reduce the supply. For consumers in Europe and the U.S. the outcome is crystal clear; prepare to pay more for clothes in years to come. I can kiss my discretionary purchases good-bye.

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”

The Roberto Cavalli at H&M collection debuted in around 200 select H&M stores worldwide in November 2007. H&M was created 60 years ago and has become a worldwide success offering a large range of trendy fashion items at low prices. The collection included 20 men’s and 25 ladies’ pieces including underwear and matching accessories all in Cavalli’s unique signature style. Stars like Madonna, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez, Sharon Stone, Victoria Beckham and Lenny Kravitz have worn the exotic patterns and prints on Cavalli’s name brand lines.

H&M has perfected this formula over the years; signing a top fashion designer to create a special collection for the low-cost chain. First off was Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld in November 2004, followed by Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf and most recently Madonna. H&M has never disclosed the sales revenues for the unique collections, but the special labels have flown off the racks within days. A fashion revolution for the masses?

Hardly! The price points for these unique collections seem a little high for the quality and design. Fashion conscious people everywhere should know better than to squander anywhere from $49.90-$349.90 (Cavalli’s price range at H&M) on mediocre designs made from the lowest-quality materials. The brand name is irrelevant if the quality cannot justify the price. I for one would rather invest in a piece from Just Cavalli or the Roberto Cavalli annual sale.