Winning By Giving Up

She let me down gently but it felt like a gut punch.

I've sang to each of my two daughters before bedtime since they were toddlers.  Tonight my youngest who turned 13 in September, informed me that my services were no longer desired.  And, although a part of me wanted to protest, I realized at the moment she let it be known that any resistance I might attempt was as futile as asking her to pause growing up.

I could have been the one to take the initiative.   Maybe on her last birthday I should have explained that she was old enough now to put herself to bed.  Some tears would be shed, but deep down she would have understood the logic of my reasoning.  She would know that the time had come for her to take the next step in her young adulthood and leave one of the last vestiges of her childhood behind, another fond memory to recall at some future moment.

I could have.  But I don't think that I ever would have.  It took her to turn the tables and explain it to me.  And she did it without saying a word.  As I had done each night of her life we were together, tonight when I told her to get ready for bed and call me in to her room when she was ready, she looked me in the eyes with the tender gaze of the sensitive young woman she has become and subtly shook her head.  I immediately knew what she meant and realized the implication on our relationship.

As a father I worry about protecting my children from the pain inherent in reaching adulthood.  I need not be concerned.   My daughter taught me that by trying to keep the routines of her childhood, I am preventing her from developing the maturity necessary to successfully manage her own life.

Tonight the student surpassed the master.   I am slightly bruised, but very proud.

Ellen, Rangers and Miley: Marketing Gender Confusion Or Confusing Gender Marketing

Ellen, Rangers and Miley: Marketing Gender Confusion Or Confusing Gender Marketing

Recent news developments are increasing public discourse about gender equality, sexual identity and personal empowerment.  Marketers are taking notice and developing strategies to capitalize on this opportunity.  They should consider some form of protection to minimize significant risk.

Two women graduated from the demanding Army Ranger school  last week, the first females to pass the course recognized as the most grueling physical and psychological challenge in the service.  Although the women performed the same tasks as their male counterparts in the program and may wear the Ranger patch on their uniforms, they are still barred from serving in a Ranger unit.

The public release of user email addresses and other details from the Ashley Madison infidelity website database by the Impact Team hacker collective provided a counterpoint to the positive story about the female Rangers.  Although sympathy in the media for the victims of this breach was in short supply, some point out that most men on the site were using it mostly to chat with each other and that there are many other reasons besides betraying a spouse why men and women would seek out the service.

The third related issue is the explosion of opinion and confusion surrounding gender and sexual orientation that began with the Caitlyn Jenner story.  Gender identity and sexual orientation are separate issues as Jenner states "like apples and oranges."  Propelling the conversation are gender-neutral personas of celebrities including Miley Cyrus who do not affiliate with either gender.   

Good marketing operations have the foresight to recognize the tipping point where public attention meets marketing opportunity.  The GapKids brand  recently teamed with media personality Ellen DeGeneres to create x ED, a collaboration between the children's label and DeGeneres' ED line.  The collection promotes a 'non gender specific' style that encourages girls "to be themselves and take pride in who you are" according to a Gap statement.  Six girls between ages seven and twelve act as spokeswomen and models for the brand.  But a non-gender specific fashion collection marketed to girls lacks authenticity when it is not inclusive of boys and exacerbates the same problem that DeGeneres and Gap claim to address.

These situations are complex and fluid.  The triumph of the female Army Rangers is blunted by them being barred from serving in a Ranger unit.  The targets of the Ashley Madison data breach do not all fall into the same morally bankrupt category.  The focus on the transgender community has increased awareness but not necessarily understanding or acceptance.  The social benefit of marketing a non-gender specific line of clothes to girls and not to boys speaks more to market research than it does to gender(less) equality.  

Successful marketing initiatives take early advantage of shifts in societal perceptions about controversial issues.  As x ED illustrates, the consequences may include unintended results that are as polarizing, mis-characterized, hypocritical and confusing as the ideas that inspired them.

Let me know your thoughts.

Publishers Trample Authors' Rights; Marketing Capitulates

HarperCollins Hurting Atticus Finch More Than Robert Ewell Ever Dreamed

Greed is everywhere, but somehow it comes as a surprise to many when it rears it's ugly head in the rarefied world of book publishing and literature.  Although marketing efforts have made valiant attempts to shape public perception regarding two recent stories, they have proven unsuccessful.

Go Set A Watchman, promoted as a new novel by acclaimed author Harper Lee who penned To Kill A Mockingbird, was published last month.  There was a steady crescendo in media coverage prior to the launch because Lee had approved release of Watchman in 2011, having published no works since the publication of Mockingbird in 1960.  Billed as a second novel that takes place several years after the events in To Kill A Mockingbird, the work has come under scrutiny that included a legal issue regarding Lee's current mental capacity as well as controversy surrounding the book's classification as a 'second novel' or a 'first draft'  never meant for publication.   Although still circling at the top of The New York Times Bestseller list, one independent bookstore is offering refunds to their customers who purchased the book "because of the marketing of the book."

Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, published 46 books, many of them children's classics, before his death in 1991.  The publishing world was excited when an unfinished manuscript of "What Pet Should I Get," including full text and drawings, was discovered in 2013 by his wife and secretary.  Likely written between 1958 and 1962, the book was published last month and is breaking sales records.  Many of the sketches were not full drawings and had to have colors added by Random House Art Director Cathy Goldsmith, who worked with Geisel on several books. Geisel published 16 books prior to 1958 and 26 others after 1962.  He never completed What Pet Should I Get because, I assume, he decided not to publish it.  However, on July 28, 2015, it became available wherever books are sold.

The market for fully realized novels and completed children's books is larger than the market for first drafts of famous novels or for unfinished manuscripts.  With full understanding of the issues, the marketing arms of Random House (Geisel) and HarperCollins (Lee) chose greed over good.  To act with character over cash, they would have promoted these works for what they are:  a Lee first draft of a classic American novel; and for Geisel, an unfinished idea offering a glimpse into the prolific mind of a beloved children's author.

What Does PR Stand For? Not What You Think.

"I got nowhere else to go!"  Richard Gere saddened and angered about the future of PR

The practice of public relations is in a state of desperation.  PR agencies must re-focus their mission to meet client expectations increasingly linking programs to profits. Otherwise, like Richard Gere's character in An Officer and a Gentleman, PR will have 'nowhere else to go!"

When I started working as a PR Director at Donna Karan in 1991, the department -- all six of us -- took up a single large office beside the showroom.  Our jobs, working with the fashion media and celebrities with some special event organization, were narrowly focused and therefore performance was easy to measure.  Communication with consumers was not in the PR job description.  That function was controlled exclusively by the advertising department.  

This siloed approach to the marketing process was the accepted common practice among many companies until the advent of 'integrated marketing' firms about a decade ago that increased client confusion instead of clarity.  Two factors from the recent past have permanently blurred the boundaries between advertising and public relations:  market segmentation and real-time consumer engagement.  

Market segmentation is a by-product of online activity, with Google Analytics and other services making it possible to dissect consumer behavior into razor-thin markets based on an individual's online preferences and surfing habits.Developments in market segmentation enable PR agencies to take on many roles of traditional advertising agencies:

• This data is available to everyone at no cost or minimal cost, significantly reducing the historic leverage that advertising firms held over client companies.  
• Second, market segmentation enables more efficient advertising spending.  Instead of buying high-priced print and broadcast campaigns, firms today target the precise market they want to reach and avoid wasteful spending.  
• Third, the advertising process has become de-mystified, with online campaigns conceived, created and implemented within hours compared with the army of graphic designers, copywriters, production and traffic departments and other administrative and creative functions that make up a traditional advertising agency.

Real-time consumer engagement is a direct function of social media participation.Developments in consumer engagement enable advertising agencies to incorporate functions of traditional PR agencies into their strategies and campaigns:

• Every social media user, whether multi-national corporation or individual has equal access to the entire network with the same potential to influence that audience based on their experience.  
• Access to influential editorial reporters, television producers and celebrities was previously the domain exclusively of public relations firms.  Social media enables advertising agencies to incorporate access to 'influencers' into their strategies and campaigns for clients.

Market segmentation and real-time consumer engagement are prompting a continual refinement about the mission and services of PR and advertising firms. Increased sophistication of acquiring relevant data combined with the simplification of the means to reach target markets and a surgical approach to campaign investment create opportunities for agencies to expand their services.  One common element motivating this discussion is the client's single-minded focus on results, which has broadened its definition for PR purposes beyond raising awareness and has come to mean the ability of advertising and public relations campaigns to verify a positive cost/benefit relationship.

Whether any PR agency decides to incorporate non-traditional services, quality of work and results measurement remain the key to a successful practice. Contemporary agencies must take a page from hospital marketing and envision themselves as a unified group of separate specialities, charged with creating successful patient (client) outcomes. 

Then, as PR practitioners, we'll truly be Up Where We Belong...

MINORITIES WILL BE THE MAJORITY IN U.S. BY 2050

Blink and you'll miss it...the biggest change in marketing history is underway...

According to US Census data, the identity of the United States is undergoing a seismic shift.   A national stereotype that has lasted since the country's founding -- that the United States is predominantly white -- began to change in 2011, when census data showed that births of children considered minorities - Hispanics, blacks, Asians and other minority groups - outpaced births of white children for the first time on record.

Projected over the next 40 years, white population will decline six percent while 'new' minority population (Hispanics, Asian and mixed race peoples) will more than double.  The bottom line - the white population will become the minority in the U.S. sometime before 2050.

This pivotal adjustment in the traditional underpinnings of society is already occurring in political and socio-economic spheres.  The trend from a marketing perspective will be equally significant. The economic sphere that was among the first to register the increased power of minority consumers was the grocery business where, for the past ten years or so, foods once thought to be exotic and relegated to a few specialty shops are now part of mainstream grocery isles.  Umami, jalapeno, Japanese 7 Spice and sriracha are commonplace on chain restaurant menus as condiments, as a fried chicken wing flavor along with traditional barbecue sauce, or featured on other menu items.

The future of race in America directly affects diversity in the workplace. As a reflection of current mores and attitudes, the entertainment industry holds up the traditional white power position in direct opposition to the most recent census data and, without change, will regress even further as minority populations increase. For example, a recent UCLA study about diversity revealed that, in the Hollywood film industry, minorities are underrepresented by a factor of three to one among lead roles in film and by a factor of five to one among film writers. There is evidence that gender bias is being addressed more publicly than ethnic minority representation: for the first time since 1987, a film by a female director will open the 68th Cannes Film Festival this year.

By contrast, minorities were much better represented compared with films in broadcast television dramas and comedies but the gains were not as positive in cable dramas and comedies.  The outcome of these statistics highlights that commercial advertising on broadcast networks affects programming choices.  As minority populations increase and overall consumer spending within this group increases proportionally, consumer products companies react quickly to their research verifying these findings and then generate advertising that reflects minority tastes.

Whether in Hollywood films or grocery store shelves, in a few decades, marketing to minorities will mean marketing to whites.  The brands and industries that develop products and services in anticipation of these developments will be in the best position to benefit financially.  The next few years are an historic opportunity for business to further the cause of cultural diversity and create an unprecedented opportunity for positive social change, if the traditional white power structure recognizes the writing on the wall.

Blurred Lines: Inspiration or Infringement in Popular Music

Marvin Gaye Looking Over Robin Thicke's Shoulder

A jury this week awarded the estate of Marvin Gaye a $7.3 million judgement against Robin Thicke and Pharrell for unauthorized use of Gaye's 1977 hit "Got To Give It Up" in their song "Blurred Lines."

You be the judge. Listen to Gaye's classic riff compared with Robin Thicke's work.

This situation sheds light on two incendiary issues confronting the entertainment industry that will create further problems if not addressed and corrected.

The first issue involves the artists themselves and their casual attitudes to ownership rights of other artists. Contemporary recording artists grew up after the age of 'sampling' which began in the late 1970's and early '80s when DJs started interacting with and manipulating the vinyl records they played. The practice became accepted because sampling used song portions of limited duration and in many cases the sample was changed by altering turntable speeds and by spinning records manually.  Common use of sampling created a tacit approval for the practice that artists today take for granted.  Pharrell and Thicke may not have been malicious in their use of Gaye's work. It's just as likely that they had no idea that what they were doing was wrong.

That raises the second issue. Legal protection is central to any creative endeavor and recording companies have their fair share of legal brains in their offices. Even casual listeners of Sam Smith's Grammy-winning song "Stay With Me"  recognize  the similarity to Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne's "I Won't Back Down."  Capital Records, Smith's recording company, employs Clearance and Permissions lawyers to pre-empt situations where there is clear evidence of creative precedence. In his comments about the song, Petty said the problem slipped through the cracks at Smith's record label.  In this particular case, Smith and Petty worked out an amicable agreement recognizing Petty as co-writer of "Stay With Me."  Not every artist is as magnanimous as Petty.

But the "Blurred Lines" case raises another concern about the legal practice at play. The Gaye family in their suit accused EMI, the publisher of Marvin Gaye's music, of not aggressively pursuing their concerns because the EMI music catalog had been absorbed by Sony ATV which manages Thicke's music. With consolidation of the music industry, these conflicts are bound to re-appear.

To address our current culture's increasingly ambiguous detachment from the concepts of privacy and intellectual property ownership, musicians who profess respect for another artist's work that becomes inspiration for new material should accept that their respect may need to be recognized financially. In a related entertainment field, the National Football League, respect is equated with money by many players.   This concept should be the litmus test for artists to help avoid future legal problems.

The breakdown of legal protections are creating an environment where artists who use other artist's work without permission may not be protected and where claims of the original artist are not aggressively pursued. A solution to these costly dilemmas may be for major record labels to push artists to reveal more in future about their inspirations and thought processes for their music than they required in the past. And, it may help for labels to hire at least one music history-aware lawyer who is familiar with artist catalogs from the 70's and 80's.

Look for more of the same in the immediate future, as some current hits bear uncanny resemblances to past singles: Suzanne Vega, have you heard Centuries by Fallout Boy? They may have conceived it in Tom's Diner. And Kelly Clarkson's Heartbeat Song may raise her blood pressure if it's too similar to The Middle by Jimmy Eat World.

What's old is new again. It just might cost a lot more.

Newcastle Creates A Super Bowl Ad With A Pre-Season Budget

Newcastle Scores Extra Points At Super Bowl With "Band of Brands" ad featuring Will Wheaton

The Patriots won the Super Bowl last Sunday but there's another big winner.

At $4.5 million per 30-second spot, the Big Game commands a lot of attention for the commercials.  And after the game, there is as much commentary about the commercials as there is about the game itself.

There were 61 national spots that aired between the kick-off and the final gun, but the most disruptive and forward-thinking of them all was an online spot that ran on television during the Super Bowl in a single market -- Palm Springs, CA.  It was here that viewers were treated to the "Band of Brands" crowdfunded commercial spearheaded by Newcastle Brown Ale.

A division of Heineken, Newcastle cannot advertise nationally during the Super Bowl due to competitive restrictions imposed by Anheuser-Busch InBev  which advertises Bud heavily during the program.   Although parent company Heineken can certainly afford it, the annual advertising budget for Newcastle is around $1 million in the U.S.  Translated into market share, Newcastle controls just 0.3 percent of the $100 billion beer market in the United States compared to 7.5% for Bud and 18% for Bud Light according to Beer Marketer’s Insights, an information provider to the industry. 

So the Band of Brands idea was conceived by Newcastle and creative partner Droga5.  The campaign launched January 12 with a call to action video by Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza for brands to participate in the experiment.  Plaza reasons in the video that “Instead of blowing Newcastle’s marketing budget, let’s team up to blow all of our marketing budgets,” immediately creating a sense of community striving to achieve a goal.

Initially expecting 20-30 brands to participate, the final spot includes 37 brands mentioning nationally recognized marks like match.com all the way to a Detroit pickle maker and local Pittsburgh dental practice.  (Tip for pickle company -- update your home page!)

The excellence of this spot is not in the production values but rather in capturing the zeitgeist of today's desirable consumers which match the qualities of the Newcastle brand -- engaged forward-thinking risk-takers who are interested in the sharing economy, value for investment, a little rebelliousness, a sense of individuality and hopefully, buying beer.  

The goal for this well-executed program is increased brand awarenesss primarily from online viewing.  The television broadcast provided the kickstart to build buzz.  “You don’t need the dinosaur channels like television anymore,” states Charles van Es, head of marketing for Heineken. “We’re in a new age. You can use digital and get the same buzz.”     

Check out the Band of Brands commercial here and congratulations to the participants who took a chance and together created something special.