Thursday, November 27, 2008

Owning the holidays

MACY's 2008 windows shows how even if the consumer is going to spend less, just get them to come to your store which in return will allow you to get them to spend. I am suprised that more stores do not do this. Although Target is going to own downtown Minneapolis this winter with the Holidazzle Parade. What retailers do you think need to take this type of approach? What should they try to own?

Monday, November 24, 2008

TIger and Buick = No More



General Motors Corp. is ending its relationship with its most visible endorser, golf superstar Tiger Woods, citing the difficult economy as well as Mr. Woods' desire for more family time as he and his wife prepare for the birth of their second child. The automaker had a nine-year relationship with Mr. Woods, arguably the biggest sports endorser in the world. Mr. Woods made several commercials on behalf of GM products and also played as often as he could in the Buick Open tournament each season in Grand Blanc, Mich.




Beyond this, it has been noted that since Tiger became the spokesperson for GM the average age of customers buying Buicks dropped 10 years in the short period that he has endorsed them.


If the GM is truly hurting why would they drop a celebrity such as Tiger who stands for performance, quality and status. Isn't this what every type of car dreams to be?


In my opinion just another poor decision for a very complacent, status quo company / industru

Michael Phelps and Subway...huh?


Below is an article regarding Michael Phelps and a new sponsorship / endorsement. Do you think Subways campaign will be a success or failure? I think they have a major credibilty issue since Phelps pronounced his love for McD's in August. Let me know what you think.

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If there was one thing Americans learned about Michael Phelps during his history-making eight-gold-medal run at the Beijing Olympics -- other than that he can swim really, really fast -- it was that he really, really likes McDonald's.

With the Phelps deal, Subway intends to use one of McDonald's most famous admirers to steal its market share.

At a press event before the games, the in-training Olympian revealed he'd been on a double-cheeseburger kick. Newspapers all over the world noted his Arches-fueled 10,000-calorie-a-day diet. Then, in an interview with CNBC, his agent, Peter Carlisle, said: "If there's one deal [he's wanted], he's always said it'd be McDonald's. ... The truth of the matter is you can't stop the guy from eating the food." So, how, then, did Mr. Phelps wind up signing a major, long-term endorsement deal for Subway, one of McDonald's fiercest and fastest-growing rivals? It makes about as much sense as Nike's Michael Jordan professing a love for Reebok. Mr. Carlisle begs to differ. "The difference is that Michael Jordan only played in one brand of shoes, while Michael [Phelps] has consistently been forthcoming about his love for a variety of different foods and a variety of different quick-service restaurants," he said. "There was tremendous interest in that category well beyond McDonald's and Subway." 'More of a partnership'Subway prevailed, Mr. Carlisle said, because it offered "more of a partnership and less of an Olympic program," and also because its fast-growing presence and ambitions in Europe and the U.K. dovetail with Mr. Phelps' own ambitions to promote the sport of swimming in advance of the 2012 London games.

Also a factor, Mr. Carlisle said, was the Subway brand's more-healthful image. While Mr. Phelps could have "easily" done a deal with McDonald's that focused on its more-healthful offerings, Mr. Carlisle said, "there are differences between the brands [regarding perceptions of healthfulness], and they were taken into consideration." Those considerations appear to have become more pronounced after Mr. Phelps was criticized following a major deal with Kellogg that put his face on Frosted Flakes boxes. (Wrote MarketWatch: "Suddenly a newly minted celebrity had betrayed America's impressionable and overweight kids, who will doubtless now line up at the local Wal-Mart to buy pallet-loads of sugary non-fibrous crud.") Mr. Phelps may have been reluctant to take on the similar barrage that inevitably would have accompanied any McDonald's deal, though Mr. Carlisle said that was not a factor in his decision.

Whatever the reason, Subway now intends to use one of McDonald's most famous admirers to steal its market share. "McDonald's is Goliath, and we're David," said Tony Pace, chief marketing officer for the Subway Advertising Fund Trust. "Fortunately I have a pretty good slingshot." Mr. Pace said he expects ads starring Mr. Phelps to subtly refer to the swimmer's well-known burger habit. Mr. Pace said he could forsee a commercial with pitchman Jared Fogle and Mr. Phelps together, one with a healthful foot-long and the other with several foot-long sandwiches. "And Michael might say, 'I need to eat more than you do, Jared,' and Jared could say, 'But at least I've got you eating right.'" A McDonald's spokeswoman declined to comment on the extent of its attempt to strike a deal with Mr. Phelps. In a statement, she said: "We enjoyed a very positive working relationship with Michael, particularly at the Summer Games in Beijing. As a top Olympics sponsor, we wish Michael and all the Olympics athletes the best in their future endeavors."

Friday, November 21, 2008

The "BEG" Three

I have a real hard time believing that we need to save the automobile industry. First, would you go to a bank and ask for a loan but not have a dollar amount rather say it is substantial? Second when you go to a bank for a loan would you spend $20K for your trip to the bank instead of paying a much lower amount which gets you there just as conveniently?

Here is my two cents on what should happen. First of all the automotive industry should not be bailed out. This will do two things 1. It will bust the union which will ultimately shift the supply curve to the right for the BEG three. Second it will force the BEG's to develop a more competitive product. Sure there will be job losses from suppliers but that will only make them create a more competitive product. As for the union, it needs to be broke and the union members need to find a way to make them more competitive instead of being complacent and inefficient. I never wish anyone the fortune of being laid off but if you are you need to realize there is no difference between selling brake pads and selling your self to a potential employer. I agree Unions in the past were good but now in this economy do nothing but protect the weak and hurt business practices...think about is Wal-Mart asking for a bail out?

Finally another note, why did (the US Government) act so quick on the banking industry? Even with the bail out they are still failing with stock falling 20 some percent yesterday.Shouldn't they be required to make a more competitive product?