gonzoblogging

It is a Merry Christmas!

[This post originally appeared as a letter to the editor of the Daily Bulletin newspaper on 12/07/06]

It is a Merry Christmas!

I wanted to get that out of the way right up front.

It is a Merry Christmas!

Sometimes the need to be politically and socially and culturally correct compels us to lean too far and forget our own roots and values and culture, evidenced by the trend in recent years to substitute "Happy Holidays" for "Merry Christmas" during this time of year so as not to offend anyone.

I'm not going to be doing that this year.

Having spent my entire life in the ethnic patchwork of Southern California, I have often been in situations and settings where the culture was far different than the one in which I was raised. It might have been Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, Eastern European - the list goes on and on.

But each time I have been asked to share the customs of another culture -- to eat their food, exchange their greetings or take part in their traditions -- I have been touched. I have been touched that they thought enough to include me in their festivities. That they have taken the time to explain things to me makes it all the more meaningful.

We live in a society that is rich with difference and variety. There are fewother places in the world like the United States, and to not take full advantage of it is a mistake. Everybody brings a little to the pot and we all take away so much more. I grew up in a home and culture where Christmas was celebrated. Your culture might include Kwanzaa or Hanukkah or Ramadan or Chinese New Year or countless other holidays. To not recognize any one of them means the pot is a bit less.      

So this year when I wish you a Merry Christmas, I am inviting you to take part in the culture in which I grew up.

I hope that you return the favor.

It is a Merry Christmas.

The Bottled Water of Computers

An article came across my browner this morning that reminds me of the age old question: Ford vs. Chevy.  Except for the last few decades the question has been PC vs. Mac.

I have owned both types of computers.  They each have their benefits.  But in the end I have found no discernible difference in how it affected my productivity.  I used to work for an agency that was solidly in the PC camp, even for their designers.  Again, I did not see any difference in performance.

Okay, there actually is a difference:  Mac has done a better job of branding their product, so they are able to exact a premium for it.

The article, on the on-line version of Information Week, reported that nearly half the U.S. user base of Apple is over 55 years of age.  PC users number 25.2% in the same category.

Insider joke moment:  Does this mean that about half the people at a Rolling Stone concert own an Apple compter? (see previous post)

I can see a couple of reasons for the older demographic Apple computers.

First: Apple was a name that was out early on in the computer game.  We all remember the 1984 Super Bowl ad.  They branded early and branded well.  That early branding has carried through to later loyalty in their customers. Many Apple users are evangelists for their product – one of the hallmarks of effective marketing.

Second: Apple advertises itself as not crashing as often as a PC, and it is relatively virus free in relation to a PC.  For the crashing part, I disagree. All my Mac-brat friends seem to experience crashing more than I do on my PC (although they always blame it on a “software problem”).

About the only area where I see Apple having a distinct edge is in their resistance to threats from virus.  But if you own a PC, a few inexpensive software packages and staying away from the problem web sites (read porn) will solve that problem.

According to the article, Gateway has the largest foothold in the younger demographic – 18 to 24 year olds.  This explains why Apple spent a lot of $$$ running their last ad campaign with the two men on various on-line venues as well as TV.  TV is notoriously bad for reaching that younger demographic. Not a bad campaign, by the way.

Considering that Gateway has had some problems, this is great in showing their comeback strength.  Plus they have good branding. 

There are some other interest numbers on Apple’s strength in the laptop market.  However in the end I will probably stay with my PC.  I see Apple as being the bottled water of computers. 

I can’t wait for the mail. 

An Old Fart Goes to a Rock Concert!

Sorry it took me a few days to get this post up, but I have been busy working out.  You see, I’ve seen the convalescent homes of the future and I want to stay out of them!

They are going to look like a Rolling Stones concert.

Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but I couldn’t resist the joke.

As I posted last week, my brother invited me to the Rolling Stones on Thanksgiving Eve at Dodger Stadium.  It was a lesson, in part, on how rock concerts are milking the cash cow for as much as possible these days. The event was at Dodger Stadium – capacity 56,000.  If everyone paid the $120 my ticket was worth, that’s $6.7 million.  My seat was one level below nose bleed, so you know many people paid more.  It was probably closer to $10 million for the gate. It was $20 a car to park – There’s another $320,000.  It cost $12.50 for a beer, $6 for peanuts, and the least expensive Rolling Stone t-shirt went for $35 (I bought mine from a hawker out on the street for $20). Add to this that Radio Shack sponsored the event. 

Rock ‘n Roll is still making a lot of money! (And I am acting like an old fart complaining about how much money it cost, and my tickets were free!)

The concert was great.  Bonnie Raitt was the opening act and she went on right at 7:00 pm.  Her voice and guitar are enough to make anyone convert to country music.  I had no idea Bonnie was opening for the Stones, so it was an extra treat. 

Bonnie was off the stage before 8:00, a little bit of a disappointment, considering that the Stones were not going to be on for a while. The stadium was less than half full.  Thanksgiving traffic was taking its toll.  You could see lines of cars snaking through the parking lot.  There were a lot of people still to get in.  My sister, who brought her son, didn’t make it in until 9:00 pm. As it turned out, the band held off coming on in order to allow fans to get through the tangled freeways.  Another reason these guys are great.

In the meantime, I pondered the four-story structure in the outfield. It was a huge television screen – 40 feet high, flanked by huge wings, and loomed over the stage.  As a Southern California native, I have been to Dodger Stadium countless times – although this was the first time it was for anything other than a Dodger’s game – so I knew this structure was not permanent.

The audience was as you might predict – a lot of middle-aged folks from all walks of life.  There were also some Gen-Xers and some Gen Ys.  Many of them were there with their parents.  You could almost hear the older folks saying, “This is what rock ‘n roll is all about.”

Just after 9:00 I saw the bottom two levels of the structure in the outfield filling up with people.  I wondered what the cost of those seats was – probably upwards of $500. At 9:20 Keith Richards walked out, followed by Mick Jagger and the rest of the Stones.  “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” blasted throughout the stadium, and the mysterious structure in the outfield turned into a huge lightshow, comparable to anything you would see in Las Vegas or anyplace else.  It was spectacular!

They have been playing concerts for better than 40 years, but the Rolling Stones are a class act.  Mick Jagger, north of 60, still moves like a teenager.  He never stopped.  At one point I was trying to take the music away and just watch him.  He is so distinctive.  What he reminds me of is an old Afro American blues musician who has been filled with religion at a tent revival -- his arms especially. I got tired just watching him.  Thanks to the giant TV screen we got up close views.  Keith Richards never stopped smiling.  It was a lot of energy. 

Three songs into the concert Bonnie Raitt joined the Stones for a country song -- Dead Flowers.  It was classic.  So was the The Midnight Rider and a version of Sympathy for the Devil that was worthy of any MTV performance.

It was during this time that I observed the disconcert that led me to my earlier observation about convalescent homes of the future.  There were a lot of Gen Xers in the audience, but there were also a lot of aging baby boomers. A few of them had broken out their tie-dye t-shirts, but most of them were dressed for their age, and dancing in the aisles like they were teenagers, clutching purses and teetering on wallets bulging with pictures of grandchildren. 

I could see the scene around many Thanksgiving tables the next day: Grandpa in a $35 Rolling Stones t-shirt showing anyone who would look the fuzzy pictures he took the night before at the concert with his cell phone.  Pretty much described me.

The last song before the encore was Satisfaction.  This is where I turned into the old fogy that I know I am.  My brother and I knew the encore was coming, and after it, 56,000 people were going to pour into their cars in the parking lot. Judging by the heavy smell of marijuana wafting through the stadium, it was going to be an adventure. It would take hours to get out. 

We ducked out and were on the Harbor Freeway ten minutes later, before the encore was probably done.  We’re not above going to a Stones concert, but we didn’t have the patience for the traffic.

What's This About a Martha Stewart Story?

This all began back in 1994 or 1995 as Martha was just beginning to reach what would become her height of popularity that continues today, despite her misadventures in the stock market.

I was working for an agency and one of our clients had just brought in a new marketing executive and, true to form, she decided to do an agency review.

We had run some print ads in Martha Stewart Living for another client in the same industry with some success, so we were looking at incorporating the magazine into a campaign for this client as well. We contacted the magazine and discussed rates.

A week later we got a call back from the magazine: Martha was going to be appearing at a luncheon at Raincross Square in Riverside, they explained, and would we like to be her guests?  They could give us six tickets.  We naturally accepted and immediately assembled an entourage from both the agency and client side. I should also mention that I checked around and even though this event was a month off it was sold out.  We had something here.     The day of the event arrived. Little did I know what was in store for me.

Prior to the luncheon there was a crafts fair and Martha was signing books. Martha was in the far corner of the exhibition hall, ensconced like a queen in her throne under an elaborate canopy affair. A line of women clutching books to be signed by the domestic diva snaked throughout the exhibit hall.  In fact, the entire exhibit hall was packed, mostly with women.  The best I could do was catch glimpses of Martha through the throngs – an occasional flash of her blond hair or her smile. I felt not unlike a small child trying to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus. Around me there were booths of table decorations and cooking accessories and knick knacks of all sorts.  This was definitely a chick hangout.

What I really found interesting was that there were a number of Martha wannabes at this event.  What is a Martha wannabe, you ask?  These were women who dressed like Martha, did their hair like Martha, and obviously took pains to look like Martha.  Other than having this Martha fixation, these people looked fairly normal – no signs of serious pathology. It didn’t look like a group fixing to kidnap Martha and spirit her off to be held hostage at some cooking school.  These were ladies who just wanted to look like Martha Stewart. Strange. 

The announcement came.  Lunch was to be served.  We all moved into the dining hall.  Me, Martha and 1,000 other women.  The rep from Martha Stewart gave me a ticket for table #31.

It took some time to find my table.  The dining hall was packed.  There were people – all women – everywhere.  I finally got to table #31.  The crowds were even thicker.  Finally a few bodies parted and I was able to better view my lunch table. 

There, sitting at table #31, was Martha.

I was going to have lunch at the same table with Martha Stewart – the domestic diva! 

Someone came to the microphone and got things going, so we all sat down. My boss, a woman, was sitting next to Martha, and I was next to my boss.  There I was – one person away from being elbow to elbow with Martha Stewart!

The lunch was a forgettable affair, especially if you are a man – those lady finger sandwiches are gone in a gulp.  They might make a good meal if you can get your hands on thirty or forty of them.

While we ate lunch and worked on our anorexia, Martha gave her presentation.  I recall that most of it was about marzipan – a must have for serious kitchen folk made from almonds and powdered confectioner’s sugar and egg white.  By the time Martha was done, I was convinced that I needed a store of marzipan in my toolbox for the next time I changed the oil in my car.  That stuff is handy!

Martha’s presentation was winding down.  I started to panic.  So far the only thing I had done was mumble a few comments, laugh at a few jokes, and try not to steal too many lady finger sandwiches from other people’s plates.  I had done nothing to distinguish myself to Martha Stewart.  Nothing!

What could I do?  She was handing out thank yous and acknowledgements and here I was, little more than a hulk sitting in a chair.  She was walking down the short flight of stairs from the stage.  This was my moment.  Suddenly, it flashed on me.

As Martha wound her way through the tables I stood, careful to catch my linen napkin before it fell to the floor.  She was approaching.  I had to act.  I moved to my right, around my boss’s chair, and turned towards Martha, who was a mere three feet way ----- and I pulled out the chair for her. She made eye contact and smiled.

I held Martha Stewart’s chair.  I actually touched her.  We had a moment.  I have a bond with American royalty.  She likely does not remember me, but I will remember that moment --- forever.  

I'm Going to a Rolling Stones Concert!

It’s happening this coming Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving!  My sister and mother went to a recent taping of the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Ellen was handing out tickets to the Rolling Stones Concert at Dodger Stadium.

            

The Stones never were really on my radar screen when I was younger.  I was more of a Doors, Credence, and Motown type of guy.  As I have grown older, most of my music preferences have leaned towards jazz and big band.  But I can’t resist going to a Stones concert for the sheer magnitude of the event.  These guys are icons of the ‘60s and they are still around, and as popular as ever.  From a marketing perspective, and just a people perspective, I expect this to be a very memorable event. 

Maybe it will rival my Martha Stewart Story.

The Double-Edged Sword of the Consumer Economy

My father was born in 1925 -- a Depression baby.  The defining period of his life was growing up when few people had anything and there was not a whole lot of hope.  His mother died a year into the Depression of diphtheria, which only added to the instability in his life.  He survived combat in WWII (another defining period) and went on to build a solid middle class life for his wife and three kids.  He often worked two jobs and eventually owned his own business and was able to retire at 65 in relative comfort. 

But I remember every pair of jeans and every pair of shoes I got as a child.  They were always just a little bit too big.  I could “grow into them,” I was told. (My wife and I recently bought a pair of shoes for one of my grandsons and I mumbled something about buying a size too large to he could “grow into them.”  My wife looked at me as if I was crazy.)

            Until the day he died in 2004, my father lived in the Depression. He woke up every morning and I am sure his first thought was, “Today it could all go away.” Every expenditure was weighed and analyzed. He kept receipts for everything.

            That was the mindset of someone raised during the Depression. I think it affected men more than women.  My mother was born in 1926, and she lived through the same period, but I don’t detect the underlying desperation in her that I saw in my father.

            When my father was ten years old he told me how he found four dollars, wadded up in the gutter in a street in downtown Los Angeles. Adjusted for inflation that four dollars would be worth about $55 today.  What did my father purchase with his newfound fortune? A pair of shoes for himself and some groceries for the family.  My nine year old grandson, were he to find $55 wadded up and the gutter and unable to find the owner, would probably buy a video game.

            My grandson is a direct beneficiary of his great grandfather’s desperation. Because my father believed that at any moment it might all go away, he worked long, hard hours to make sure his children never knew hunger or cold. As a result, I grew up in relative comfort, as did my children and now their children – my grandchildren. Chances are they will never know the instability my father knew. They look at money differently.  Sometimes I wish I could look at money the same way my father did. 

            I contrast this to something I read in The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley and William Danko.  The closer a person is to their generation of immigration, the better their chances of becoming a millionaire.  This is why, on a percentage basis, immigrants and children of immigrants, are more likely to be millionaires.  They are more likely to inherit the frugality their parents brought from their country of origin.

            But there is another factor that figures into this.  It was explained to me by a Palestinian man of about 60 who had immigrated to the US from the Middle East eighteen years earlier.

            “If you were not born in American and you come here to live, chances are you came from a poorer country [he’s right; only Luxembourg has as high a standard of living as the U.S.]. Where I came from, it was a struggle just to make in through the day.  But here in America, it is easy to make money – easy.  You just have to work hard and be industrious.  Americans don’t realize just how easy it is to make money in their own country.” 

            But let’s get back to my grandson.  That my grandson has grown up in relative comfort and does not want – and don’t get me wrong – he is not spoiled – is a good thing.  He, along with myself and his parents, are part of the enormous purchasing engine that drives the U.S. economy – and much of the word economy.   If everyone were to suddenly revert to my father’s frugality, the economy would take a big hit.

            So here we are – the double edged sword of the consumer economy. We admire our parents – Depression babies that learned at an early age to pinch every penny, but now we live in an economy where the government encourages spending.

It’s the engine that runs the economy.

They Are Coming -- The Cell Phone Wars

Last week the Wall Street Journal This Morning, a podcast I listen to whenever I can, discussed ways you can get out of your cell phone contract without having to pay the cancellation fee. 

Was this actually a piece that WSJ researched, or did it come from a press release one of the cell phone carriers slipped through the fax or email?  If it came from one of the cell phone carriers, then it was a real public relations coup. 

It also probably was the opening salvo of the real cell phone war.

            I thought of this as I read a more recent article in the printed version of the The Wall Street Journal about Ten Problems with Wireless.  One of the points made in the article was that cell phones have saturated the market.  Everyone over the age of 14, and many younger, has a cell phone.  Service providers are now transitioning from recruiting new customers to stealing customers away from the competition. 

            (Personally, I thought the market reached this point some time ago, but maybe that was just my observation.)

            In order to do this the carriers are going to have to improve their offering.  We are going to start seeing service improvements – less dropped calls, better reception, simpler billing.  Prices will also drop again, too.

I also predict that another tactic is going to rear its ugly head in the market – cell phone carriers will start offering to buy you out of your current contract if you make the transition to their service.  The aforementioned piece in The Wall Street Journal This Morning is probably a precursor to that.

We currently have a family package with Verizon (by the way, I am very happy with the service), but I recently wanted to take a phone off the contract.  I still had 18 months left on that particular phone. In order to remove that phone from my contract, Verizon was going to charge me $175, even though I have been with them for four years and have no intention of taking the other two phones off the contract.  I reminded them of my status as a loyal customer, but the service rep politely told me that was their policy.

Soon enough, though, some carrier is going to offer to buy me out of this contract. For the cell phone providers, these early cancellation fees are a barrier to recruiting customers from the competition.  Every carrier is probably trying not to be the first one, but it is inevitable.  I am sure the carriers will find some way to pass the extra expense on to the consumer – they will just try not to make it look like that. 

Stand by. The real cell phone wars have yet to begin. If you are a smart consumer, you will benefit from the fallout.

Where to Find the Info on Podcasting

            A little more than a week ago, Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1, was the second annual Podcast & Portable Media Expo at the Ontario Convention Center. I heard about the event because the promoter, Tim Bourquin, founder and CEO of TNC New Media, Inc., had recently spoke at the lunch program of CICAMA, the California Inland Counties Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

            By the way, Bourquin gave a great presentation – many attendees thought it was one of the better events they had attended.

            There were about 80 exhibitors and the show advertising more than 3,000 attendees.  What really amazed me, however, was the number of attendees I saw from out –of-state. I ran into one fellow from Florida who had a travel agency specializing in booking Disney vacations.  He was about my age (51).  We were looking at the same piece of software at a booth and I asked him his opinion.

            He quickly admitted that the amount of information was overwhelming.

            “There is just such a lack of information out there about podcasting,” he said.  “I am in sensory overload here.  I’m just trying to take it in.  We’ve been doing a podcast for six months and we barely know what we are doing.  When I found out about this show, I booked travel arrangements for myself and four employees.  We had to come!”

            The audience at the show was interesting, too.  It trended towards young and fringe – a lot of blue hair, tattoos and facial piercings.  This all attests to where a lot of podcasting is at this time.  Although many, many mainstream companies are doing podcasting (I hear that even the AARP has a podcast), some of the real innovative podcasting is being done out there on the fringe. 

            By the time I left, I could see podcasting possibilities for a few of my clients.  Certainly worth checking out.  More on podcasting in my next post. 

Walgreen's Response to Wal-Mart

            I was in the last ten minutes of the treadmill yesterday and watching reruns of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit on Bravo when they broke for commercial.  It was a shot of a man walking through a HUGE parking lot pushing a shopping cart, trying to find his car and obviously having no luck.  Then it starts to rain, then it starts to pour, and he is not looking like he is having any fun.

            He gets back to the store, presumably looking for shelter.  The store sports a large sign that identifies it as XL-Mart. The doors are closing and locking and there he is, stuck in the rain.  The spot then goes to voiceover, suggesting that at Walgreens you can get in and out, often through drive-up, and often at a store that offers 24-hour service.            

            This was such an obvious shot at Wal-Mart's recent ploy to lower prices on generic prescriptions.  What amazed me is that this commercial hit the airwaves six days after Wal-Mart made their announcement.  I only saw the spot that one time, but looking back, I can recall that it looks as if there was a lot of digital work to create the parking lot and other effects.  Nonetheless, Walgreens was able to get the spot produced, strealine the approval process (that was the toughest part of all!), and get it on the air in six days.  The spot could have already been in the works, but it was so specific that I think it came after this past Thursday's announcement.

            Once again, Wal-Mart forces us all to be a little bit better.

Wal-Mart Forces All to be Better Retailers and Businesspeople

            Sometimes the serendipity of how things come together amazes me.  I have been busy the last few weeks with the activity of current clients, as well as some new clients, and have not been able to visit all the blogs and other sources of information so that I could transform them into the message of this blog. 

As the result of a client meeting on Wednesday, I returned to the office and promptly enrolled in the listserve of a pharmaceutical publication – the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding – a scientific journal that addresses retail and hospital-based pharmacies and other operations that compound or mix some of the medications delivered to patients.  (I should note that not all pharmacies perform compounding, but those that do perform these services within certain industry guidelines. This listserve caters to those pharmacists.) A day later my email box was quickly filling with the ramblings of pharmacists talking about various side effects, methodologies and other concerns.  But among those emails was another chain of messages, all relating to one of my favorite topics – Wal-Mart.

The messages concerned a statement Wal-Mart made on Thursday that the discount retailer was going to lower the price on a 30-day supply of selected generic drugs to a flat $4.00 (click here for an article that reported on it the next day in The Wall Street Journal).  The program is starting in the Tampa, FL, market, and Wal-Mart claims they will roll it out nationwide in 2007.

As was expected, the reaction to this depended on how the price drop affected you. Seniors are understandably happy about it, as are others with limited or no medical insurance.

            The first few listserve messages that came across my email box concerning the Wal-Mart issue assailed the discount retailer for once again planning a coordinated effort aimed at ultimately putting the local retailers – the mom & pops – out of business. 

            But then the emails started taking a different turn.

            One pharmacist noted: “I don't think [the] community pharmacy's business model was sustainable BEFORE the Wal-Mart action …  New grads, take heed:  You need a new paradigm when you open up your pharmacies … I am not everybody's pharmacist.  And I don't want to be.  I only want to work with people who want to learn to take care of themselves and are willing to pay me to learn.  These aren't the same people who go to WalMart for $ 4.00 generics … Pick your niche, serve them well and you will be rewarded.”

Another commented: “… we all have to continually expand and redefine our own business models … be proactive – don’t sit back.  Develop a way to do clinical reviews, sit down with your patients, save them money, introduce generics and become more financially sound as a pharmacy … we had a Wal-Mart open ½ a mile from me 2 plus years ago and we’ve grown 35% since they’ve opened versus 25% before they opened.  Use your talents and take advantage of the traffic Wal-Mart brings to the neighborhood.

And a third: “I am fortunate to have an ‘out of the box thinker’ for a boss. We have taken our vitamins and herbal sales from $700 a month to $8,000 to $10,000 a month. My boss got certified as a C-Ped so we can sell diabetic shoes to Medicaid. We are constantly thinking and brainstorming ideas. We have bi-weekly managers meetings that are a tremendous help …”

The Wal-Mart related messages fell into three categories:  Those that were wringing their hands in despair, those that were concerned but just wanted to complain about Wal-Mart, and the third contingent that basically said, “Fine, let them have those customers --- we will continue to work smarter and more profitably.”

A few years back I was asked to speak to speak to a local chamber group about marketing, and I chose to talk about a local nursery that, after twenty-five years, looked across the street to see Wal-Mart break ground, complete with a full-blown flower and garden department.  Five years later the nursery owner confided to me that business had never been better.  What was interesting was that this man was not a MBA or active in a lot of industry groups for nursery retailers – but he knows his customers, he cares about them, and he listened to his son, who had some good ideas for keeping business coming in the front door.

Bottom line:  There are those retailers who moan and groan about Wal-Mart coming to town, and then there are those who welcome the competition. 

They know what Wal-Mart forces everyone to be better at what they do.