UAW and the Automakers

On Feb. 11, 1937, thousands of sit-down strikers paraded out of General Motors' plants to celebrate in the streets of Flint, having won an difficult 44-day standoff that ended with a contract recognizing the UAW as the bargaining unit for GM workers.
The Sit-Down Strike of 1936-37 gave credence to the fledgling union and created better working conditions for generations who would have better lives and staid, blue-collar jobs. It also generated strong emotions about unions -- positive and negative. This is an event that changed the way labor and management relate. This was a very dramatic event, and you just can't overstate its importance.

Start Here, Go Anywhere!

Ups and Downs of the Year

What will you remember from 2008? What will you want to forget? There is a lot to choose from in the list of highlights, lowlights; Olympian achievements, presidential election and PR prowess, at least two wars and a global economic meltdown of historic proportions. Life in our world of advertising, marketing and media has also been a wild ride. So, what would you want to remember, and what would you want to forget?

You've been blogged

I hope my blog has enlightened you on the Marketing and Advertising world, it's history and current events. I have certainly gained a lot from this project, which has allowed me the tools needed to survive the clutter caused by marketing which continues to flood the consumer world. The most interesting thing I've learned about marketing is: The psychological impact on consumers. Marketing today has succeeded in penetrating that force field which existed in the times when people seemed immune to advertising and selling. The consumers' moral values were high, and there was little to no cultural penetration taking place. But today, cultures and sub-cultures have taken a turn for the worse, and no one has any regard for tradition anymore. This has therefore left enough room for those with something to sell, an open pass to the target consumers wallets. Every aspect of marketing has changed, and from cultures evolved sub-cultures, and from these sub-cultures, other sub-sub-cultures were born. Hence the birth if Clutter. Marketing has single handedly taken over the world. So instead of building some mind control devise, simply advertise. Pinky and the Brain didn't think of this one huh. By the way, this cup of coffee is for me....for closers only :) You've been blogged!!!

5 Very Important Words in Marketing

1 - YOU!
That is, your marketing needs to convey very clearly, what's in it for the client or the consumer.

2 - WHY!
It is much better to communicate WHY you are original, special or unique, or WHY you are better, different or superior than competitors

3 - COMMITMENT!
It is something that also fuels your credibility. When people see that you are maintaining consistency in your marketing, they'll assume you're just as committed to quality and service."

4 - NEW!
New is probably the strongest word in marketing. People are attracted to new products like a magnet. Introducing new products on a constant basis is the best way to get attention and invaluable free publicity for your business.

5 - FREE!
FREE was, is, and will always be the most powerful word in marketing. Most viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention. FREE will usually get results and responses much faster.

The Power of Color in Marketing

Which colors raise your pulse? Red and Yellow
Which color makes you hungry? Red
which color is the happiest color? Yellow
Which color is the most popular in the United States? Blue
Which color represents dependability? Brown
Which color is used most often in one-color logos? Blue
Which color, when added, makes other colors appear sweeter? White

- Red is the color of love, passion and romance. Red is daring, expressive, competitive and aggressive
- Yellow represents joy and happiness. Yellow demands attention, and products packaged in yellow are often noticed first.
- Blue symbolizes stability, reliability, establishment, trust, confidence, constancy and truth. This is why many financial
institutions use blue in their logos.
- Orange is the color of harvest and is one of the most edible colors.
_ Green depicts nature, freshness and health. It immediately reminds you of the fresh outdoors.
- Purple denotes royalty, nobility, spirituality, mysticism and sensuality. It is also known to depict loneliness.

Marketers have been hoping that these colors will live up to their meanings and sell their products for them.

Cell phone vs Bible

Technology has caused people to stray from their values and beliefs so much that they have become totally dependent on it and forgotten about other important things.
So have you ever wondered what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

- What if we carried it around all day in our purses or pockets?
- What if we flipped through it several time a day?
- What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
- What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
- What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
- What if we gave it to kids as gifts?
- What if we used it when we traveled?
- What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing.
Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected, because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think, "where are my priorities"?

Walmart Is Set to Sell a $99 iPhone

Apple's iPhone is headed for Walmart. According to Bloomberg, the retail giant is set to sell a 4GB iPhone for $99. The current 8GB entry-level model is $199 plus a two-year AT&T-service subscription.
The right venue?
Having Walmart move your products is a no-fail proposition for most brands. But if you're a brand with high aspirational appeal such as Apple, do you want your wares showcased an aisle away from laundry detergent and 10-packs of boxer shorts?
Anything to increase sales I guess.

Execs at Friday's Meeting

Representative David Scott, left, with Rick Wagoner, the chief executive of General Motors, Friday in Washington.

16-year-old sets to make internet marketing history!

A young man by the name of Stanley Tang set out on a mission of historical proportions to interview some of the worlds’ most richest online marketers.
Stanley got all of them to reveal their deepest aspirations…their most innermost secrets… and their die-hard stories of ups and downs in this world we call “Internet Marketing!”



I’m talking about folks like:
-Mark Joyner
-Yanik Silver
-Willie Crawford
-Michel Fortin
-Rosalind Gardner
-Gary Ambrose
-Joel Christopher
-Jermaine Griggs
-Jason james
-Jeremy “Shoemoney” Schoemaker
-Rob Cowie (the guy who did Blair Witch Project) and many-many more!
Not only did he get all these big shots to reveal hours worth of priceless content, he took those interviews and turned them into a BESTSELLING BOOK!

8 Tips to Marketing Your Company in a Recession

1. Research the customer - You need to know more than ever how consumers are redefining value and responding to the recession.
2. Focus on family values - When economic hard times loom, we tend to retreat to our village. Look for cozy hearth-and-home family scenes in advertising to replace images of extreme sports, adventure, and rugged individualism.
3. Maintain marketing spending - This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.
4. Adjust product portfolios - Marketers must reforecast demand for each item in their product lines as consumers trade down to models that stress good value, such as cars with fewer options.
5. Support distributors - In uncertain times, no one wants to tie up working capital in excess inventories. Early-buy allowances, extended financing, and generous return policies motivate distributors to stock your full product line.
6. Adjust pricing tactics - Customers will be shopping around for the best deals. You do not necessarily have to cut list prices, but you may need to offer more temporary price promotions, reduce thresholds for quantity discounts, extend credit to long-standing customers, and price smaller pack sizes more aggressively.
7. Stress market share - In all but a few technology categories where growth prospects are strong, companies are in a battle for market share and, in some cases, survival. Knowing your cost structure can ensure that any cuts or consolidation initiatives will save the most money with minimum customer impact.
8. Emphasize core values. Although most companies are making employees redundant, chief executives can cement the loyalty of those who remain by assuring employees that the company has survived difficult times before, maintaining quality rather than cutting corners, and servicing existing customers rather than trying to be all things to all people.

What TiVo is doing to Advertising

We all get annoyed with the myriad of advertisements that interrupt our favorite TV shows, and it's just suspense we don't need. We wanna see what happens next and we wanna see it NOW!!! I don't care which ditzy celeb Macy's is trying to market--they're the ones getting paid a bundle--not me!! That stuff may work on kids watching Cartoon network, because an advert will show the hottest new toy, and you know mom's gonna hear about it later. But for grown folks who like drama, it's gotta stop. But then there was a silver lining on the dark cloud of advertising----TiVo: a Digital Recorder, which records your favorite shows without the ads. Now because of TiVo, the majority of television ads in homes with DVR simply won't be seen. It's going to be incredibly painful for advertisers, and for the whole television industry. Now TiVo is trying to change its image as being unfriendly to advertisers, therefore, over the past year, it has started to more aggressively embed advertising throughout its navigation menus in much the same way as internet ads are sewn into a website. At least they give you the freedom to view ads as you wish, and not forced on you.

Jameson "Speaks" out to the public

If you take the subway, most likely you've noticed Jameson whiskey ads. They're not very flashy, but they seem to be having a conversation with you. Jameson, like many advertisers know that most people sitting in subway cars try not to look directly at other people, so they divert their eyes to where the ads are placed. Those Jameson ads are quite funny as they make you feel like you are the only one in the train car at that moment, and what's even funnier is to see people smiling at Jamesons mental games.
Well, its the holidays and for some reason, people think it's a time to get wasted, so ads that speak to you and cause you to smile even if you're not in the mood, and well, you know what's gonna happen. So you've had a bad day and decide to go to a bar to get a drink. You spot a Jameson bottle and ask the bartender to pour you a huge glass, and you think to yourself, "it talked to me earlier, so at least I know it understands me." I'm sure there are AA meeting being held year round. Like Jameson cares anyway. They tell you to drink responsibly. Oh please! Alcohol messes up your thinking--so being responsible will be the last thing on your drunken mind.

Anything to get people off their wallets

What to Expect When You're in a Recession

When the economy takes a fall, advertising tends to fall right along beside it. That's what happened during the last recession back in 2001. Now, seven years later, despite ad bonanzas like the Olympics and the Presidential race, the sputtering of the country's economic engine are already sending tremors through the ad industry. The current circumstances of the economy—including a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry and the possible bankruptcies of one or more of the Big Three U.S. automakers—have led many to believe that the next recession will be a particularly deep and long one. As sales falter, marketers will begin making changes for changes' sake, executives who run advertising search firms say that, if anything, ad-search activity slows down during a recession. The reason? Such searches can be expensive, and companies often find their energies are better spent looking at other aspects of the business.