Since the application process to to the first day of my MBA program at Notre Dame, the typical questions have been the same, "what do you want to do?, "what are your plans for the future?" "What are you doing after graduation?" In interview preparation we practice the answers to common questions, such as "where do you plan to be in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years." When someone has a new boyfriend or girlfriend, it is likely that someone will ask, "Is he the one?" It seems that as a culture, we (Americans) have an obsession on the future.
Eckart Tolle wrote one of the most successful books of our time, "The Power of Now." This book speaks to the ability to separate ourselves from our forward and past thinking and focus on the present moment to achieve true happiness. Per the Power of Now official website, "If we are able to be fully present and take each step in the Now; if we are able to feel the reality of such things as the inner-body, surrender, forgiveness, and the Unmanifested, we will be opening ourselves to the transforming experience of The Power of Now."
Upon realizing the "future fixation" it is extremely hard to begin to shift one's time paradigm. As an example, my Dad had read the book, shared his learnings and suggested with all read the book. After a few of us read the book, we would catch ourselves in conversation at dinner, talking about the next time we'd be together at dinner. In other words, we were enjoying the moment we were sharing together, we were focused on what was coming next.
Next, Next, Next is what Americans focus on. A friend had purchased a car, and shared with me what car he was going to buy next. My sister accepted a job, with the hopes and dreams to land the next job. I believe the future orientation concept is one of the reasons why job turnover is so high and prevalent in our society. I believe the average CEO is in office for less than 2 years, with the Chief Marketing Officer not in office much longer.
For marketers it is important to note that product evolution, brand evolution and relevance is a must. With a vital quality of branding being consistency, this is often a challenge for companies and becomes the Achilles heel of many organizations. This concept also gives way to the "good, better, best" three tiered approach to the market.
On the consumer side, it is vital to understand our tendency as a culture to focus on the future. Such tools as "The Power of Now," allow us to take a step back and focus on the present. Doing so can be a freeing experience, as an individual does not have the weight of the future on his or her shoulders every day.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Spell Check
In re-reading and printing my blog in preparation for my final exam in Culture, Consumption and Marketing, I noticed all of the spelling errors in my blog. I'm embarrassed to say that I am a terrible speller and without Spell Check would not be where I am today. I apologize to my readers for my poor spelling. I guess I always knew that I was not good at spelling, but I never knew I was this bad.
It seems that without a squiggly underline in red underneath a word, I do not know that it is spelled wrong. In other words, not only I have lost my ability to proof read for spelling, but I've also lost my ability to spell. In all fairness I was never good at spelling, which is apparently genetic as my sisters and parents are not good spellers either.
If for whatever reason Microsoft Word cannot figure out what I am trying to say, I type the word I'm attempting to spell into Google. I not only spell typical, everyday words wrong, but I a also misspell company names. A friend told me yesterday, that I should add company names that I use often to my Spell Check. I guess I was always afraid of adding words to a dictionary in case I spelled them wrong.
It is interesting to note that I rely solely on technology for this basic skill I use everyday. From a marketing perspective, it is important to understand that a feature in technology can be so powerful that it can allow its users to forget how to do a basic, seemingly menial task. Not sure if this is specific to millennials or if this crosses generational boundaries. However, I grew up with Spell Check and typically do all of my writing on a computer.
From a consumer perspective, why isn't Spell Check everywhere? I often have wondered why blogspot.com doesn't automatically spell check using a little red squiggly line. For me and possibly other consumers, it is sort of a wake up call to see what other elements of technology I rely solely upon, and have therefore, lost an everyday skill. Some may argue that we have lost the ability to communicate; however, I like to think, I have just lost my ability to spell.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Price Quote: 1 Child, Year 1- $10,158
At the Baby Cost Calculator website, you can calculate how much your baby's first year with cost you. I chose the default responses and will supposedly spend $10,158 on my first child. The quote included the basic items. For example, a stroller was included, the jogging stroller, the "Snap On" stroller frame, and the double stroller was not included in the estimate.With the birth of a child as one of the most life changing events in a persons life, parents take great pride in their children. Parents, especially new parents, have a tendency to equate quality with price tags and believe their children should have "only the best."
Gregory Karp recently wrote an article on the topic of baby spending and says,"The things that people are led to believe they need, when they really don't, just amazes me. There's a little gadget for everything. About 90 percent of that stuff you don't need."
To the left is a picture of Nicole Richie with the Orbit Travel System. "Travel System" is a fancy way of saying a $900 stroller. After researching reviews etc, I see that it is marketed as a car seat, stroller, and toddler seat, and therefore, is considered a deal by some. However, I would argue the Orbit Travel System is more of a status symbol than a combo car seat and stroller.
One of my friends had her first baby last year, and is pregnant again with baby number 2. In preparation for her first baby, she did a baby registry. Although it was the first baby registry I'd seen, baby registries are common and are available at countless retailers, including Pottery Barn Kids, Target, Babies R Us, and even Amazon.com. Hundreds and hundreds of products are available including Diaper Genie's, bottle warmers, etc. With a blog posting saying 176 items is "not too many."
My observations sum up to the business of babies, or the enormous market created around baby products. For marketers, this is some sort of dream. Consumer spending more money on products to not only provide for the child, but give them the very best on the market.
For consumers, it is important to do one's best to made decisions as rational as possible for a new, nervous parent. There are many consumer guides out there to help with such purchase decisions. I would recommend, however, that it is important to separate a consumer guide from an advertiser's recommendation. In other words, I believe that the best consumer guides are not sponsored or affiliated in any way by corporations doing their best to sell more products.
Talk to Animated Chuck
Today for the first time since I can remember I saw a commerical for Charles Schwab. Surprisingly the commerical made a lasting impression on me. Not only was the message powerful, but the medium used in the commerical was not typical of the average commercial.Since 2005 Charles Schwab has used animation in commericals. Although I vaguely remember discussing this campaign a few years back, the campaign stood out to me as impactful and new after 4 years of using animation in their commercials.
Ben Stuart the VP of Brand Strategy and Advertising believes the cartoons force us to focus on what we're hearing. Seth Stevenson comments saying, "I think he's right. Somehow, washing out the real-world details present in a live actor's face, and in an actual background set, lets us move past what we're seeing and shifts our attention onto the dialogue."
My experience was very similar to Stevenson. I was first caught by the medium used, and then hooked to the message. The current messages in the animated campaign are messages of "starting over" and "moving on," following the financial crisis in the US. In a bizarre way, they had a somber yet hopeful message for those who have lost their retirement savings and net worth.
For marketers it is important to note that medium matters. New technologies have given way to new mediums available for advertising. Animation, for example, has allowed Charles Schwab to break through the clutter of commericials, as well as clutter in the financial services industry. In addition to the choice of medium, this campaign shows fellow marketers how important content is to the campaign. The campaign caught the attention of the consumer through the animation, but were able to keep their attention through the message. In order for a company to maximize the potential of the campaign the foundation or key messaging must be top notch. The medium has the potential to be "icing on the cake" or disastrous thanks to the messaging.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Anti-Valentine's Day
In a basic Google search 1,900,000 links come up for searching "Anti-Valentine's Day." In one of the articles written regarding the anti-holiday is quoted as saying, "One of the several online anti-Valentine's Day groups, with over 1,900 members, even has an 'official anti-Valentine's Day poem'. The anthem starts with, "Hearts and roses and kisses galore...What the hell is all that s**t for? People get mushy and start acting queer. It is definitely the most annoying day of the year". The group makes repeated suggestions to replace 'Valentine' with vodka."It has come to my attention over the past few years that there is a strong anti-valentine's day movement. This week the student body at Notre Dame received an invitation to Legends, the on-campus bar for a Singles Valentine's Day event, which is in effect an Anti-Valentine's Day celebration. There are websites dedicated to the "How to" of throwing an Anti Valentine's Day party.
This phoneme is interesting as Valentine's Day is the traditional day where lovers give each other tokens of their love. However, consumers have taken the traditional meaning and adapted it to their lifestyles. With Valentine's Day comes the celebration of love, and for those without a significant other, it has become a day to either celebrate one's single hood (Anti Valentine's Day) or celebrate friendships.
As we've learned that "marketers can never only do one thing," it is important to note that there is the potential for the anti version of a product, concept etc. The anti version can be a case of more marketing, as in the case of Valentine's Day. However, for the brand of Valentine's Day it is important to understand how consumers are transforming the holiday. Such role reversal is vital to the long term success of the brand. Companies and holidays alike must evolve to be relevant to the changing needs of consumers to stay alive.
Job Search 2009- LinkedIn
Similar to most MBA students graduating in May, I am currently looking for a job. As I network, interview, meet with companies, talk to recruiters, and share stories with my classmates I have noticed how important websites, specifically LinkedIn have become to the job search.
On LinkedIn users post their resumes, connect with long lost co-workers, join Alumni Networks and look for job opportunities. A user can not only see their "friends" otherwise known as "connections," but they also have the ability to see the friends of their friends.
Let's say for example that I am interested in a particular company, General Mills, for example. At the top of the user interface users have the ability to search for people, jobs, networks, etc. I can also enter in company names to discover who on LinkedIn works for General Mills. The search results are ranked according to my connections and groups. In other words, if there is a Notre Dame Alum, who works for General Mills, he or she will come up first.
Through the group opportunities, one can join a group of an association, university, interest group, etc. Once in the group, a member can post messages to all of the members which then sends an email to each member with the particular message. Messages for recent grads looking for opportunities are prevalent, along with messages of older grads looking to relocate from let's say Chicago to San Francisco.
LinkedIn has become a means of networking, and therefore, has become vital to the thousands of graduates, as well as those professionals who are out of a job. It is vital that markerts understand such systems of networking as LinkedIn. The relevant advertising opportunities are deemed as hot ad space for some websites.
Featured on LinkedIn there are ads for theladders.com, a website featuring job opportunities for above 100K per year. Following a recommendation coupled with hundreds of ad impressions seen on LinkedIn, I along with some classmates joined theladders.com in search of our post-graduation job.
In addition to ad space there are ramifications for corporations as well. Human Resource departments currently use LinkedIn as sort of a background check for candidates; however, I would also suggest that opportunities available within a certain company be "announced" to the friends of those employees of the corporation. A sort of LinkedIn referral system has the potential to provide corporations with strong candidates, without the fees and unqualified applications associated with a posting on such a website as monster.com.
Better get back to LinkedIn!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Straight Hair vs. Curly Hair
A few weeks ago, I decided to straighten my hair before going out to one of our classic MBA social events deemed Thank Goodness Its Thursday, commonly refereed to TGIT. I have naturally curly hair and wear my hair curly about 99.9% of the time. Typically I straighten my hair once or twice per year following a hair cut, or for a special event. For some reason, on a random T.G.I.T. my best friend straightened my hair.
The reaction to my hair straightened is comical. Often my friends, mostly guys, don't recognize me. Following the shock there are a series of questions, from why I don't straighten my hair daily, to will I always have straight hair from now on? In talking about culture and beauty in reading the book, "The Culture Code," I've been thinking about the code for American beauty and straight vs. curly hair.
I've often been told that curly hair is "unprofessional" and that straight hair is more acceptable in a business setting. Due to the "unprofessional" look, it has been suggested that I straighten my hair, or pull it back to resemble straight hair. In or out of the business world, I know countless women with curly hair, who straighten their hair every day or ever other day and claim they straighten it "because its frizzy."
My experience with straight vs. curly hair seems to be a common one. As quoted on jezebel.com the topic of curly made pretty was discussed as follows, "On Oprah's "Great American Haircut" special, curly-haired women were made "better" by being given straight hair. "In case after case, beautiful waves, curls and kinks were beaten into submission with blow dryers, flatirons and extensions. In one of the most curious cases, a beautiful woman — who was wearing a gorgeous and undoubtedly hard-won afro — was given stick-straight extensions," write Breyer and Heber. They continue: "Oprah, you are well loved the world over, due in no small part to your uplifting gospel of self-acceptance. Yet, in the eyes of curlies, these makeovers send an unmistakable - and most disheartening - message that one's natural hair isn't acceptable."
With the word transformation, as a factor in the perception of American beauty, this concept is not surprising. American women look to transform themselves using certain beauty products, services, etc.
As a marketing manager, the line is fine regarding beauty perceptions. On one hand American women respect natural beauty (whether that means curly or straight hair), as seen in the response to the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. On the other hand, women are looking for their own transformation and expect to see airbrushed, anorexic looking models. Obviously the marketing plan and surrounding decisions depend on the product/service at hand, but it is important to understand the current dichotomy in the marketplace. In understanding, I'd recommend a hybrid of the strategy of the two, pulling transformational elements into a natural campaign, or vice versa. Obviously, easier said than done.
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