this and that

Why wasn’t this iconic picture of “Rosie the Riveter” in the book? It’s not in my 16th edition, maybe it’s in the 17th edition that I was supposed to get, that I paid for, but got gyped on from a certain seller in amazon.com that will get their’s, but that’s another gripe. So, back to the question, I think this is such a familiar, and probably the most moving, piece of advertisement in history- and it’s not in the book. Go figure, maybe because it’s so played out, I dunno. This picture stood for so much, the American woman doing a man’s job because our men were off fighting in a world war, fighting for the well being of our country. ”We” put on our rationed mascara and rolled up our sleeves and built airplanes and other stuff. I can’t think of another piece of advertising that was so truly motivating to the masses. How would we deal with this now? Where’s our motivating advertisement from the government now, during the recession? um..hello???? I don’t see any ad compaigns by the government, just reports on what they are trying to do.

Oh, silly me, there’s the  Bob the Builder Obama slogan “Yes we can“. “Yes we can” vs. “We can do it?”….How could I forget that?? Sooooo motivating, isn’t it? Allegedly rehashed phrases, funky music, what the? I’m not into politics, and I prefer metal ,so maybe it’s just not my cup of tea. Frankly, there’s far better, more interesting video out there. Maybe if they got Jason behind the campaign we would see a difference. Hey, it’s my blog, and I’ll do with it as I see fit.

I made that name up. It’s an amalgamation of all the prescription drug names that I see advertised on TV commercials. I watch these and can’t figure out what they are selling. There’s butterflies, a woman looking around like she’s lost, and a man riding a bike. The possibilities are endless for what this could be a cure-all for. Maybe allergies, “enhancement”, heart disease, back pain, or depression. Maybe not. They’re not saying. But, they are telling you the horrendous side effects that are possible. Geez, I think I’d rather live with the disease (whatever it may be), rather than what the drug will do to me. Just read the first line here and see if don’t feel anxious! I guess this is why the companies camouflage what they are selling.

Too bad Mt. Vesuvius took out Pompeii. According to the book, they kept it short and sweet with advertising, assuming everyone was illiterate. You wanna you shoe fixed? Go to the place with a sign with a picture of a shoe on it. You wanna some milk? Go to the place with a picture of a cow on it. I suppose it wouldn’t be possible to follow this mode of advertising present day on TV. A certain segment of drug companies wouldn’t be able to legally advertise under that mode, but it sure would be funny.

     Every country wants to make money. One country has the materials at a lower price, another has the manpower at a lower price. Put it together and as Tim Gunn says “make it work”. I’d say for the most part, it works. Of course we can all complain about us Americans losing jobs, and compare stories of calling about your cell phone bill and getting someone in India that is of no help, and makes you think murderous thoughts. It’s not going to be perfect considering the bottom line here. Politicians. Not just from one country, but from many. Funny how there were animal food recalls, and lead paint in children’s toys (that seems redundant, what other toys are there? …Well, that would leave you in a real pickle). What was the common denominator? Made in China. As of recent, I am now reading the labels and trying to buy just from the U.S. of A. only. Or at least from a neutral country.

     What a confounded issue of global marketing, given the current economy, exchange rates, and the problems with contract manufacturing to name a few. It seems as though our government has many programsto entice us to export our business to other countries. As for the marketing aspect, it seems any college course will tell you repeatedly that you must know the country and their customs, least you offend them. Oh, how hilarious, that the Ford “Pinto” was a big joke in Mexico. That one never gets old. (sarcasm) If I had a product and wanted to go globally with it, I’d do my just research, then to sell it I think I would stick to the internet. Are they still calling it that?

     Food and drink sampling for me is a fine-tuned skill. When practiced correctly, I feel like I beat “The Man”.  Hey, it’s the small things in life, right?The way to do it is to first pick your better stores, I find they are more liberal with the samples, and they try to appeal to a finer palate. (Albertson’s can go shove it with their free crackers and Cheez Whizz, and don’t get me started with the community dog bowl filled with flavored potato chips). One thing to look out for at the sample stations is the use of any tupperware type of containers. This may mean the stranger who is giving out the free food may have prepared this in their strange home. My expert opinion is that Central Market is fine, but their less expensive partner store, Market Street is where you can really fill up. I find Saturday at noon is a good time to hit the store. Last time I went I had a free coffee sample, fruit, several fine cheeses, a good helping of almond crusted salmon, and some sort of steak. Of course I told them the usual “Oh, this is great, I’ll pick some up on the way out!” The wide loads next to me more than make up for my samples, throwing canisters of fish seasoning, and 10 lbs. of fish into their carts, whilst trying to get directions to the oil aisle.

     Relationship selling when it pertains to personal fitness trainers is one annoyance I vehemently avoid. They just don’t give up. You sign up to a new gym, and included in the package, they are so wonderful as to give you an absolutely free training session. But it doesn’t end there. The cookie cutter “expert” takes you around the circuit proclaiming how they are sent by God, and if you pay $50 a session, in a few months you’re going to look perfect. You take the free session, then every time you go back to the gym, there’s Mr. Gymbo leaning on a machine as you’re working on some other machine that has you in an awkward position asking how you are. Sampling, yes…but free training sessions “just say no”.

     I awoke from my marketing daze when I read about shopping bots. Hey, that’s great. How exciting and useful. Now I can hunt a lot faster for bargains on books and cd’s at bookfinder.com and CDpricecompare.com. I’ve got 14 minutes to get this post in for the noon cutoff. What to write next. Ok- ebay is super. Love it, how else can I get my friends and family to get me stuff I want for Christmas in an easy fashion?    

     One caveat about ebay is that as Forrest Gump would say “you nevah know whut you gunna git”. I bought some sports bras stating they were “Victoria Secret anti shock”. I spent $10 each for 2, but when I got them, they were dollar store crappy ripoffs that I immediately donated. What was my recourse? I could have given a bad comment in the feedback. But what would be the possible outcome of that? That seller had my name and address, could have been a freakazoid that would flip out, drug me and make me eat my own brains ala the Silence of the Lambs prequel, Hannibal Rising. So I took the hit on that one, and sent them bad luck telepathically. Overall, the internet has saved me lots of money on comparison shopping, the aggravation of going to a loud mall, plus I love getting stuff mailed to me.

     I say this because I’ve called it with local businesses not understanding the market, and folding soon after opening. Once such occasion that I made a bet on with a friend, and won, involved a pizzeria around the corner from me. I won’t use the real name, I’ll call them Ding Dong Pizza. So, I see a new shopping strip open with a sign saying “Ding Dong Pizza coming soon”. Alright! I’m stoked, can’t wait, seeing how I can live on pizza. I must correct that- good pizza. Finally the joint opens up, everything is nice and new, and all the menu items look super. I order a personal size pizza with jalapeno extra topping. My friend and I were the only customers, there were 6 employees standing around staring at each other, but it took 15 minutes to make the pizza. I take one look at this tiny pizza that cost $7. The jalapenos cost an extra dollar. There were exactly 2 pieces of jalapenos, one of them being the end piece. I told my friend, “I bet you 50 bucks these *&%$ers will be closed in 3 months, at a huge loss to the owner”. What went wrong here? Looking around the place, they had way too much supply, no customers ( no demand), and obviously the price point was incorrect. They should have gone for “penetration pricing” at least to get things going, not to mention, no adverstising. Anything related to marketing, they did it wrong. Almost 3 months to the day, there was a “for lease” sign in the window and the lights were off.

     The following month, a new pizzeria moved in, selling New York style pizza. 2 slices and a fountain soda for $8. I’ll give it to them, it’s real NY pizza, but charging NY prices in the vicinity of horse farms. I couldn’t help myself- I told the owner (another NY’er) “these prices are too high for Texan’s, at lease start off at $5 to get them in here, and show them real pizza”.  They are still open, but appear to be hanging on by their fingernails. I know the elasticity of demand would skyrocket if he dropped the prices at least for a bit.

     Dunkin’ Donuts is coming to Texas, Y’all! Get ready for guaranteed proper coffee, not that liquid muck they sell to bandwagon riders at Starbucks. Not to mention incredible donuts (which will be available to those whose enjoy a good donut after the customary cut off time here in Texas of noon for most donut shops). Then, you’ve got a low fat egg white sandwich that is delish. How can all us fine Americans from coast to coast enjoy all these fine products with little deviation? Franchising!

     Another great aspect of retailing, is being able to shop at the same store coast to coast knowing you’ll find your favorite beauty and clothing brands. This is quite helpful for traveling. I recently went to a wedding in Maryland, and had noticed the night before that the zipper on my gown was broken. I was able to exchange the dress a the local Macy’s, saving the day. The store was 10 minutes from the hotel, and to add to my customer experience- they steam ironed the dress right there for me. Just another bonus for me, and customer loyalty for them. Well, at least while they are still in business, they still have me.

     OMG! Chapter 12 is the cure for insomnia. I can’t find a single thing to relate to in this chapter. I understand the necessity of it. “Marketing channels and supply chain management”? How about- “how to get your stuff out there, and the problems that come up when you don’t know what’s going on with your stuff”. I felt like I was being punished by having to read this. Actually, read and re-read it between lapsing into mini-comas. The minutiae of these issues, combined with “The Big Bang Theory” replaying the time travelling machine ebay purchase episode for the 6th time, can only mean one thing. I am not meant to be having fun tonight.

   Okay, I guess I need to write something to show I read this. Supply chain management- managing all of the activities by supply chain managers to ensure the product gets to the consumers. Then what channels are the most successful to get to who wants them. Ug. Common sense people, hire people for your business that are awake, and have a working brain. If it’s not selling, backtrack, find the problem and fix it. Snow boots not selling in Key West, you don’t say! I find this all unbearable. Now where do I put my requisite links? Let’s see here, nepotism- that could throw a monkey wrench into marketing if they’re there because of name alone, and other areas of commerce. Need help with your channel marketing, you don’t even need to speak to your employees, hit the internet for guidance, buy the complete breakdown, and hand them out. I’m going to eat some chocolate cake now, I feel like I deserve it.

     Thank God for specialty products. Sometimes you really do get what you pay for. I don’t usually spend a lot of money on clothes or shoes, but I certainly made an exception for my Uggs, and my feet are glad of it. When Uggs first started getting popular, I wrote them off as just a trend that would be over soon. Their website tells you the high quality sheep skin boots are designed to “keep your bare feet close to your natural body temperature regardless of the temperature outside”. Seeing how my feet are frozen solid from November through February, I decided to prove them wrong. So far, they’re right.

     It’s funny how Payless will sell boots for literally a tenth of the price, but with the entire boot being synthetic, you’ll probably wind up with a good case of “swamp foot”.  I have to admit, they are not the hottest looking footwear, so why would I trapse around in a sub-par version? From what I hear the Australians only wear Uggs as slippers inside their homes, and find it silly that us Americans wear them outdoors. God bless America, I say. Crikey, I’ve been wearing these suckers outside, inside, summer, winter, you name it. I’ll keep wearing them long past they’re stylish until they fall apart. Put that on your barbie, mate.

     What is the mental hang-up with people that choose not to purchase a functionally modified product? One example of this that boggles my mind is when people don’t buy products that have a squeeze bottle, instead of the old-school jar nonsense. It just makes for a quicker, cleaner existence. I was once at my friend Bill’s house, and attempted to make a sandwich. I opened the jar of mayo, and there were chunks of tuna festering in it. My next attempt was thwarted when I opened a jar of ranch sauce, and there were bits of broccoli hanging out in there. “Your condiments are atrocious! Haven’t you heard of a squeeze bottle for both of these?” I demanded. To which he replied, “I can’t handle change.”

     Shortly after that, the U.S. Postal service came out with self-stick stamps (replacing the “lick ‘um and stick ‘um” ones). When the lady behind the counter asked me which type I wanted, I was astonished that people would actually prefer the older ones. She told me some people were irate with the change, and would not buy the new and improved stamps adding “stay away from those people if you can”. In marketing “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” has been replaced with “let’s shoot for new and improved, at least we’ll get some attention”. If it doesn’t work, they can pretend it never happened. What’s the worse that could go wrong with introducing something new to the masses?