Ben Bennett: Content and Dreaming I Have Been

Pathetic Marketing Ploy

I get home today, check the mail and I find a letter that says its from the US Treasury giving me an update on those handy dandy stimulus checks due us taxpayers. I get in, open up to see where that check is and low and behold its a local Nissan dealer sending me a "Guaranteed Loan" and telling me that they are the place to spend that stimulus check. From this direct mail piece, I have decided that the very moment I get this check, I am going to cash that puppy and use the $600 to $1200 to go further in debt on an automobile that I really don't need, as I am paying off an automobile currently that fulfills my needs fully.

I then take a deep breath and think... "What idiot of a marketer thought this is the best way to spend a client's precious capital on getting new consumers in the lot." This violates the new trend of authenticity in marketing that really wins consumers and keeps them for the long term.

Local Car Dealership Advert Trends

I have noticed here locally in Tulsa, OK that in the course of a year and a half that our car sales industry has changed their schema of advertising. They are trying to "Humanize" the industry. They have quit the screaming and yelling, the last weekend - going out of business, tax sale and whatever knee jerk reactionary templates that have been prevalent for years. The only issue I have with the new move is that most are not being honest, or real in the advertising, some are just being creepy and a couple have been spot on.

Diluting a Brand

In keeping with the political train of thought. I have been somewhat watching the efforts behind the Clinton campaign. Now I want to make it clear that I am not looking at it from a partisan, political view, but just as a marketing/branding vantage point.

Diluting a Brand is a negative that can kill companies (or campaigns). The Clinton campaign has been on a runaway train wreck from a marketing stand point. I say this in only the views of the actions taken by the campaign, not just the spin. I find it poor taste that they would place Hillary in a pub doing shots and drinking beer with a media circus in tote. It is just yet another (most recent) example of an insincere attempt to connect with average American, blue collar people. The humorous part is that in looking back at the moment, it was just a positioning tactic to back up the "Elitist" comments she shot at Obama. I think it would have been far more believable and much more news worthy if she would have done it without the media knowledge. just show up. Buy some rounds, toast and make an exit. The word of mouth would have spread viral and media would have interviewed all those patrons, owners and bartenders. Their testimony to the event would have given the much, much need testimonial and credibility she needs.

Sincerity is key to any marketing efforts in this age. Traditional campaigns do not work anymore. Media is too prevalent to hide or slide things by. From Fox News, MSNBC, CNN to YouTube, you will be outed if your are not sincere. Be open, completely honest and transparent and the consumers will trust you. Trust is the new sales pitch. Without it, you won't succeed.

Charlie Black on MSNBC

Just saw great interview on MSNBC with Charlie Black, Senior Advisor to McCain. Discussed recent NY Times Article. Check out the article. Surprising for a liberal paper to be positive on a conservative. Very interesting how this campaign is playing out.

Oil's Tipping Point

Watching MSNBC, watching for me is in the background of my office with it muted and catching passing glimpses of what's going on today, I saw that oil did a big jump today. $115 a barrel. That's a lot of price for the product. It got me to thinking once again of what the tipping point for oil will be. Not the positive, but for the opposite. What or where is the pricing going to hit before consumers reject it, make actual lifestyle changes and thus oil prices tip or begin falling?

This is a tough call based on the fact that American life is spread out. There is a specific distance that people HAVE to travel in order to get to work. They have to make money, no doubt and the majority of Americans do not have the luxury of a telecommute. Even in my line of business, I have that luxury, but I choose to also have an office. I have to, to keep family and work separate. To have a battle room to concept all the ideas I have to develop. To have quiet for finishing projects. Again, this is a luxury of sorts, but I have to travel to my office in order to make a living to pay bills and Uncle Sam's cut.

Back on the point...I am not an analyst or an expert by any means, but my thought has been for a while now that it will be around $120 to $125 a barrel. I think this is the tipping point.

What do you think it will be?

Great Gift

I recently had a client give me a gift after coming back from a long business trip. Quite unexpected and very gracious. The gift is actually quite cool. It is a necklace with a 2GB mini jump drive built in it. You can check it out at Olinari's Web Site. Thank you to my client for the thoughtfulness. Great item, as I will actually put it to use and be reminded every time.

All About The Story

Great little post from Seth Godin on Which comes first (why stories matter).

Enjoy!

Apple Buys Universal... (April Fools)

April fools joke via email from Bob Lefsetz:

With the Net ablaze with talk of Jim Griffin's P2P licensing scheme, Steve Jobs has worked in secret to pull off the staggering, mind-bending, game-changing acquisition of Universal Music.

Despite Vivendi's public vote of confidence in its music operation, the brass of the conglomerate has been trying to unload its music asset for years.  The constant acquisitions, of Sanctuary and publishing companies, was only window dressing.  A paint job to make Universal appear to be a Goliath, when really it's a shrinking operation completely unprepared for the twenty first century.

More Sirius/XM Merger

This is an interesting take from the musician's voice of the music industry, Bob Lefsetz. Here is his take on the Sirius/XM merger. Delivered from a vantage point of the true musician/hard core music fan. Cheers!

Sirius/XM Merger is Approved

The long awaited merger of the satellite radio companies Sirius and XM has come to fruition, at least through the courts (now on to the FCC). Being a Sirius subscriber, I was hopeful that this would transpire. I found it to be a no brainer as there really was no monopoly concerns involved. This is absolutely no different of a situation than that of HBO to ABC. Subscriber Based versus Free.

There of course were great protests from terrestrial radio giants. Irrelevant as they were, they spent millions upon millions of dollars to lobby against this. The competition has become now a place of terrestrial radio, satellite radio, CD players and iPods, not just the terrestrial radio aspect that was so touted. Seems to be a pretty fair playing field to me. I personally think the money would have been better spent invested into on air talent and bettering the overall company health than trying to kill something that was going to happen eventually anyways. No one really gripped when Clear Channel was cleared on their shopping spree, now did they.