Obama talks about Change. He talks about avoiding conflict and leaving lands where some people may not want us there.

If there is a fight for a country, Obama will surrender.

On all fronts.

Obama can then take the Stars off the American Flag he won't salute; the Flag pin he won't wear.

Obama's only Absolut .

Thank you (foot)notes:

mymanmitt has alternatives to Absolut Vodka.

Before Obama surrenders, maybe we can get a refund on the Gadsden Purchase?,

In return for this vast territory, the United States gave [Mexico] $15,000,000 and assumed responsibility for paying $3,000,000 in claims of American citizens against the Mexican Government. A large body of public opinion in the United States had opposed the war against Mexico and felt that the Southern republic had been treated badly. The territory desired by Gadsden and his group was then a sort of no man's land, experiencing frequent Indian raids. The United States wanted to make certain "boundary adjustments"; Mexico needed money and wanted a settlement of her Indian claims against the United States; and Gadsden and his friends wanted a route for their railroad. In 1852 Gadsden agreed to pay Santa Anna $10,000,000 for a strip of territory south of the Gila River and lying in what is now southwestern New Mexico and southern Arizona. Many Americans were not especially proud of the Guadalupe-Hidalgo Treaty and considered the price of the Gadsden Purchase as "conscience money." The Gadsden Purchase has an area of 45,535 square miles and is almost as large as Pennsylvania.

Mexico reconquers California? Absolut drinks to that!,

The latest advertising campaign in Mexico from Swedish vodka maker Absolut promises to push all the right buttons south of the U.S. border, but it could ruffle a few feathers in El Norte.

The billboard and press campaign, created by advertising agency Teran\TBWA and now running in Mexico, is a colorful map depicting what the Americas might look like in an "Absolut" -- i.e., perfect -- world.

The U.S.-Mexico border lies where it was before the Mexican-American war of 1848 when California, as we now know it, was Mexican territory and known as Alta California.

Following the war, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo saw the Mexican territories of Alta California and Santa Fé de Nuevo México ceded to the United States to become modern-day California, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. (Texas actually split from Mexico several years earlier to form a breakaway republic, and was voluntarily annexed by the United States in 1846.)

The campaign taps into the national pride of Mexicans, according to Favio Ucedo, creative director of leading Latino advertising agency Grupo Gallegos in the U.S.
...

Full Disclosure: Charmaine, the wife of Your Business Blogger(R), served as Senior Advisor to the Huckabee for President Campaign.

UPDATE: Read a first-hand account of John McCain on the campaign trail in Pensacola, Fl, Service to America Tour, courtesy, John Howland, USNA-AT-Large, at the jump.

Terry Pruitt, former military, has more on rendering a salute and respect for the Flag at Obama Seems to Get It Wrong.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 6:45 AM | Permalink
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Jingo-Jihadists Cheerfully Surrendering Mike Jingozian, candidate for president (of the United States) has begun his political campaign.

With a surrender.

Using the banner "Jingo-Jihadists for Surrender Soonest" the JJ for SS hopes to mobilize the America-Firster voting public into surrendering, a la French, to Al Qaeda.

However. It might be a mistake for a politician to throw his hands into the air and cry "Surrender Now!" This makes for a compelling picture message, that didn't even work for Cindy Sheehan.

The first rule of politics, as in medicine is First Do No Harm.

Which is close to a motto in our household: Don't screw up.

(Alert Readers understand well that Your Business Blogger rather enjoys a [calculated] risk. Don't Screw Up is not a retreat from trying, but an invective to be smart.)

Smart politics has yet to be found in the Jingo-Jihad Surrender presidential campaign. The first item on which Your Business Blogger advises clients is to get the big, simple things right.

Like your name.

And the domain. This being the internet age and all.

Which makes the Jingo-Jihad Surrender campaign so sad. Mike Jingozian claims a degree from Harvard and various technology awards.

You'd think he'd get the basics right. Him running a super-duper tech company as he is wont to remind us voters. And running for President (of the United States!).

Basics like:

www.MikeJingozian.com

Mike Jingozian
visionary on a pedestal The Jingo-Jihadists might also reconsider the Reset photo shooting. It is very difficult to get a good publicity shot of a client where the audience is looking up his nose holes. Even assuming excellent nose-hair-hygiene.

So, we start with three minor campaign criticisms:

1) Surrender is bad bannering
2) Claim your name domain
3) Make your picture perfect

Yes, there's more. Continue reading the Jingozium Erratum at the jump.

Reset American banner

Thankyou (foot)notes,

See "First, do no harm": Not in the Hippocratic Oath sans abortion.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 8:23 AM | Permalink
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Mike Jingozian
founder of AngelVision
announces political ambitions "You will hear more about my political plans in the months ahead. For now, I wish you peace and harmony. Be well, Jingo."

A number of Alert Readers have been following our case study of AngelVision. The founder, Mike "Jingo" Jingozian has been most unhappy with Your Business Blogger's analysis and has hired (at least two) lawyers and a private investigator in response to the critique and the comments.

(A private investigator??!! I'm honored.)

Jingo will be running for an elected or appointed public office -- but has taken some time off the campaign trail and his business to address Reasoned Audacity's review of the unusual AngelVision management style.

Jingozium Erratum
Your Business Blogger at
Oxford's circular library
May 1995Over the next few weeks we will discuss the challenges of crisis management in dealing with the blogosphere.

AngelVision continues to be an outstanding case study -- on a "distinctive" reaction to public criticism.

Meanwhile Jingo should consider CampaignSiteBuilder.com to help him launch his political career. (See compensated link on sidebar.)

Continue reading at the jump. Hint: Don't hire expensive private investigators to spy on bloggers.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Be sure to visit AngelVision and take the Jingo on-line poll on what to do with Your Business Blogger. Here's how I voted:

Number three: Don’t be a wimp! Kick some @ss! Sue the b@stard out of principle! [Expletives modified]

The vote results will surprise you.

(Charmaine voted for "ignore him." She's no fun.)

Here's my advice and bumper sticker for his political world view.

UPDATE: 16 May 2007, Mike Jingozian claims that Your Business Blogger is a Washington government insider. Very flattering, but I must not be much of a political insider because I just now noticed that Jingo Jingozian is really, really running for public office. No, not town council. Not for congress. Nope. Jingo is going the Full Monty. Mike Jingozian is running for President. Goodness.

Blue state Oregon is now in play for the GOP.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 12:20 PM | Permalink
Comments (8)

A picture is worth a thousand words.

We are updating Charmaine's pub shots. Following are two. We need to pick one.

Please send me an email or comment and let us know which one you'd pick and why.

leaning forward, or

sitting straight up.

The is the raw work of branding and image. You will notice that most portraits will have the subject facing toward his or her right -- showing the left side of the face.

Unseen would be the subject's feet. They will both be flat on the ground -- but not together, not parallel. But one foot would be slightly ahead of the other. If standing, this would be an Hellenic pose as Alert Reader Pat Patterson comments about the Rocky statue.

A picture is worth a thousand words is so Chinese, so exotic -- so like Confucius. And so wrong.

The thousand words is actually an American marketing campaign from the 1920's.

Posted at 2:33 PM | Permalink
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Britney Spears AP Britney Spears did it again. Making headlines with her antics. She followed up a round of headlines about her under-bare partying a few months back with a New Year's eve round of parties that culminated in her handlers physically carrying her out.

Some marketers and commentators believe the dirty stunts will hurt Britney's brands.

New Auction Sites Alternative & General News writes in The Business of Britney: Spears' Latest Oops May Cost Her

Photos of a pantyless, glassy-eyed Britney Spears may prove "Toxic" to sales of her perfumes, albums and DVDs ... or they could make her business even "Stronger."

Family values advocates, business experts and Hollywood gossip gurus alike have been speculating on the impact, if any, that the bare-under-there shots will have on the Britney empire, especially among her younger fans.

FoxNewsFoxNews quoted Charmaine,

Charmaine Yoest, [Ph.D.] communications vice president for the conservative Family Research Council think tank and the mother of five children, said that if her kids asked for Spears' fragrances, Curious and Fantasy, or a Britney album or DVD, she'd tell them, "You've got to be kidding!"

"We're not going to buy products from people who have such a flagrant disregard for moral values and who show no concern for their role as models for young people," Yoest said. "It's absolutely going to hurt her sales. She's really gone too far over the boundaries of good taste."

Yoest said her 13-year-old daughter "is not interested in Britney anymore, or Lindsay Lohan either."

Lohan has also been photographed in the past wearing nothing underneath.

"My daughter just looks at Britney and Lindsay and goes 'Ick,'" said Yoest. "I think these pop stars underestimate how smart young girls are."

Your Business Blogger disagrees. (No, not with Charmaine. Nope. Never.) I would suggest that the Britney goods will sell and sell well. As awful as Spears behaves, she appeals and is appealing to her clearly defined market segment: Sullen little girls.

Britney Spears
National Ledger

This is not judgmental. This is life. This is real. This is marketing.

Except that young girls can pick their own market segment. They can pick their own peer group.

Thank you (foot)notes:

And marketers should monitor the Roe Effect.

TimeCheese has pictures. Yes, those pictures. Not safe for work or families. Available only for scientific marketing analysis.

Kevin Federline has had little input.

Posted at 8:20 PM | Permalink
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The Army has a new slogan: Army Strong.

Army StrongThis replaces the Army of One nonsense we have endured for the last 5 years. Your Business Blogger/Old Soldier is delighted with the new verbiage.

Robert Burns, the AP Military Writer reports,

Army officials said the switch did not mean the "Army of One" slogan was a loser, but many have criticized it.

Loren Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute research group, said the previous slogan seemed to promote the notion that you could join the Army and preserve your individuality.

"If you want to be an 'Army of One' you probably want to join the Hell's Angels, not the U.S. Army," he said.

The new war chant is a better descriptor; more authentic as the academics say. And is guaranteed to win advertising awards as it should.

The Washington Post reports on the $200 million a year ad campaign where the,

New York advertising firm McCann Erickson designed the campaign after winning the two-year Army contract, which can be renewed for three additional years.

The ads were tested on hundreds of soldiers, although studies show that it is difficult for the military to gain an accurate measure of the effectiveness of advertising, which is relatively expensive compared with other recruiting tools such as educational benefits and bonuses.

All of marketing, including military, should be measured against a matrix of benchmarks for grading a return on investment.

[Goodness, look-it all those buzz phrases strung together. How impressive!...I'll have to raise my fees.]

The measure of success in this marketing campaign with the new catch-phrase is in the number of recruits as compared to a like-time frame with the old slogan.

I am not persuaded that the Army Strong campaign will increase the recruiting numbers of the Army.

Heartbeat of AmericaThe Army Strong marketing mirrors the marketing done by Chevrolet with the Heart Beat of America branding from 1987 to 1994.

The genius of Sean K. Fitzpatrick was recognized by a number of awards for Chevrolet's Heartbeat of America advertising effort.

Interestly, singer songwriter Robin Batteau wrote and sang both Chevrolet's "Heartbeat of America" and "Be All You Can Be" for the US Army.

Steve Coomes, writes in Pizza Marketplace Image isn’t everything,

The Heartbeat of America, Chevrolet.

It’s not only one of the most memorable ad slogans of the 1980s, it was an advertising industry award winner.

And yet it failed miserably....

"That’s a perfect example of image advertising," said Cavalloro, whose company, Performance Marketing, is based in Algonac, Mich. "Image advertising is the type of advertising that focuses more on the aesthetics and the artistic quality of an ad. It doesn’t get the reader to take action."

(Marketing: Pizza, Chevy, Army. Ain't America great or what.)

As it happens, I drove a Chevy Celebrity during the Heartbeat heyday. Not by choice. It was a company car. It was not, shall I say, reliable transportation.

So, Heartbeat of America won awards and cost millions of dollars. But Chevrolet sales dropped 17 percent in Heartbeat's first year.

Great slogan. Crappy cars.

My concern is that advertising history will be repeated: The Pentagon will have terrific, award winning eye-wash. But that the results of the slogan's effectiveness will be poor. Recruitment will remain a challenge.

Not because of a poor product. The Army output is outstanding. No. Recruitment will remain problematic -- not because the Army is a difficult lifestyle. Or there is a war and you might die. Not because the Army is too hard.

No. Recruitment will falter because the Army is now seen as being too easy. Too soft.

Even girls can do it.

Women Loving WeaponsRecruitment will be troublesome because the Army is using double standards -- different standards for men and women. For example,

Army men must do 75 push-ups...and run two miles in 13 minutes. Women soldiers must do 46 push-ups...and run two miles in 15:35.

The Army has soft, gentle, kinder standards for females. Double standards. New slogans will not fix this policy.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Management Training Tip: When recruiting new talent, don't make the job sound easy. Make the job a challenge.

See the Chevy icon in...China.

Posted at 9:44 PM | Permalink
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Antonin Scalia I lean over to Charmaine and say, "Hey, that guy looks like Scalia."

Antonin Scalia was sitting in the seminar like any other nobody at a American Political Science Association convention a few years ago in Your Nation's Capital. He even asked questions, deferring, as befitting an academic setting, to the august panel of experts. The room hushed as he spoke: We were in the presence of a gentleman.

We chatted him up after the panel. He had a firm handshake, direct eye contact, direct language. We love him.

Not everyone does.

Seth Godin Seth, the Master Marketing Guru doesn't care for Scalia. Him being all that is wrong with America. Scalia or Godin, your pick depending on your world view of politics.

But this is not a problem for Your Business Blogger: I am on all three sides of the debate. The country has no better Supreme Court justice than Antonin, no better marketer than Seth. And now no better elliptical trainer than Smooth Fitness.

On this, Seth and I would agree, I think.

Smooth Fitness I bought a Smooth Fitness piece of hardware last month. Recently, I received a follow-up phone call from the Smooth Fitness Director of Customer Experience, Keith Menear. We talk about the terrific Smooth Fitness CE 3.2 Elliptical Trainer machinery, my smooth on-line purchasing experience, the constant follow-up and Smooth Fitness touches. Actually, Keith let me do all the talking, which is how I prefer to do business anyway. I subtly let on how I am a world famous, very influential blogger.

Keith brightens audibly, I could see the light coming through the cell phone, "Are you the Purple Cow guy?"

I tense up, "What?"

"You know," says Keith, smiling. "The blogger who wrote Purple Cow?"

"Who?"

Keith is excited, "Yes, the staff let me know this author..."

"--Never heard of him--"

"...who just bought one of our ellipticals."

Time to surrender. "Oh, I guess you mean that struggling marketer, Seth Godin."

"Yes, that's him! The staff is psyched -- Seth Godin just placed an order."

"Well, I suppose he has some name recognition...would be great for your business, huh?"

Keith is floating off his Aeron, "Right, I hear he's quite a superstar."

"I suppose...well, this is nice Keith. Now, what can I do for you?"

"What was your name again...?"

[sigh]

Smooth Fitness
Some Assembly Required In any event, customer service was outstanding. The Dude, a pre-teen in my Penta-Posse, read the directions (something I've never done before), followed the directions (something I've never asked for) and completed the assembly and had me working out in an hour. Silent and smooth as silk.

Smooth Fitness
Under Construction by
The Diva & The Dude Your Business Blogger has very simple tastes -- the best in everything. I have noticed, however, a near fatal flaw in the Smooth Fitness product. Shared unfortunately, with my old Mercedes: no place for my coffee cup. (The only thing that ever had a cupholder was my computer...)

And please understand that Smooth Fitness products are frightfully expensive. And worth every dime.

And that's no lie.

Was this helpful? Do comment.
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Thank you (foot)notes:

This is an unpaid endorsement. So far. Smooth Fitness has a referral program -- drop my name (if you can remember it) (no one else does) when you order and I get a few bucks from Smooth Fitness. To buy a coffee cup holder for my ellipitcal trainer.

Posted at 7:03 AM | Permalink
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Tom McMahon's 4-Block World is proof that truth is simple as salt and sells.

Tom points us to the block to be in for us marketing guys positioning a brand: Love and Respect.

Love and Respect. Ying and Yang. Nuts and Bolts. Male and Female. Like Sex.

It has ancient Biblical proportions. Where each gender has a different directive from that Good Book: Men are commanded to Love their wives. Wives are commanded to Respect their husbands.

Together, the two become one. Eternal. Brand.

With children as dividends.

As a Lovemark.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Be sure to bookmark Tom McMahon for your daily reading enjoyment. You'll love it; I guarantee it. 4-Bock World. 4-Ever.

Posted at 12:11 AM | Permalink
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George Mason University A dozen years ago Your Business Blogger went school shopping.

To buy an MBA. Living in Northern Virginia, we were considering one of the three local Georges -- Washington, 'Town, Mason.

We were budgeting north of 40K. Self pay. So I was really, really interested in the cost.

So I ask GW, "How much?"

"Around $42,000 or so."

"Or so? So what does that mean?" I wondered.

"It might be a bit more." Said the major university big time recruiter smarty pants.

I was a sales manager at the time. I turned on the huffy sales manager voice, "Can you tell me the number it will cost me. The number I need to budget."

"We don't have the exact number," says the GWU MBA seat seller.

I pause. Why would I buy an MBA from a business school that can't even forecast their own costs? And they're supposed to teach me this stuff?

I would have thought this unusual. But Georgetown said the same thing.

So I go visit Peggy at George Mason. She had the exact cost. No hidden charges. I like her. I bought a seat. Two years later, another consultant is set loose on the world.

George Mason had long been known for two things.

1) Favorable mentions by Tom Clancy in his books. And,

2) A university with a conservative flavor. Walter Williams et. al.

Now GMU is in the NCAA final four. Set to beat Florida Saturday nite.

Which creates a business opportunity. Alan Merten, the GMU president is scrambling to take advantage in the serge of applications that follow winning basketball teams.

"A target rich opportunity," says Merten.

You can bet Mason will get the business branding of higher education right.

Mason can do the numbers. George Mason knows how to do business. Now basketball scores. Increased enrollment numbers are next.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

We should be hearing from Professor Starling Hunter, at The Business of America is Business. He teaches in the United Arab Emirates. George Mason has 31 students in an extension campus there. The UAE has Patriot fever, I understand.

My church pastor, David Wayne, the JollyBlogger, is a Gator guy. Can't wait for Sunday's sermon.

The Happy Booker has more.

Mudville Gazette has Open Post.

Jollyblogger is on the other side.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 5:45 PM | Permalink
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Chinese Snacks in Chengdu Your Business Blogger was looking for a bit to eat. Maybe some local flavor. In Chengdu, in the middle of China.

A traditional snack. I dropped into a small grocer and loaded up. Pringles, Oreos, washed down with a Coke. And Cheetos chaser.

Then I noticed something. As I looked down into my feed bag, I saw international brand names.

(Nothing escapes Your Business Blogger.)

Peter Drucker said that innovation and marketing were the only competitive advantages the USA needed.

The raw ingredients in Coke and Cheetos are commodities. Available anywhere. Cheap.

The real added value is in the marketing. From America.

Pepsi ad at The Temple of Heaven, Beijing

Wyeth formula ad in the Beijing subway

Starbucks at Beijing Airport

Coke bench ad in Chengdu, China

Narnia sidewalk poster, Chengdu Narnia? In the Middle Kingdom?

Narnia at a theater near you, Chongqing, China American marketing on the move.

Aslan's on the move.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Interested in Narnia? If you are near Glen Burnie, Maryland, be sure to come to the C S Lewis lecture Thursday nite.

More pics at The Travel Bug

See Snacking Across China.

Visit Basil's Blog for his pick of good posts.

Posted at 11:00 AM | Permalink
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"It's all fake," said the young man who lived in town.

We were looking at acres of a bazaar, that was, well, bazaar bizarre. Rolex, North Face, Mont Blanc, DVDs as far as the eye could see.

None of it was real.

There was a 'new' word that swept thru elite American campuses a few years ago: Authentic. Professors liked the word because it had three syllables instead of the single syllable 'real.'

Inauthentic for the academy was even better -- it has four syllables instead of single syllable 'fake.'

So.

In this (new) age of exploring our feelings, few ask any questions about the emotion of fake goods; stolen brand names.

How does the fake North Face make you feel?

Your Business Blogger owns a real Armani suit, purchased some time ago from a reputable establishment. (Yes, only one.) Every time I slip the coat on, I stand a bit taller.

Tragically, few people have ever recognized or identified the brand name suit on its smug owner. No one knows it's an Armani.

But I do.

And that is the difference. The suit is real. The emotion is real. Ergo I am real.

The feeling is authentic.

Not everyone is as shallow as Yours Truly. A fake brand, a fake suit would make me feel like... a fake.

And feelings are the only things that count.

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger did a little shopping in East Asia. And bought a North Face duffle bag to haul all the loot home. I was assured that it was real. A sign, in English!, said so.

The Carnival of the Capitalists is up at CaseySoftware.

Posted at 6:25 PM | Permalink
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...in the same sentence? Your Business Blogger is a-travelling in East Asia.

So I'm on a subway and studying local people.

And notice a two year-old little boy held safely by his mum and dad. I smile: The little guy has a US Army patch on his shoulder. As a brand name decoration.

And back in my hotel room, Spong Bob is on. In English.

It's just like being home.

Posted at 7:14 PM | Permalink
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GoogleIn Chinese there is no word for "privacy."

Google's business practices in China are under question. In having a different product for different counties. I am not so sure Google is departing from a sound business theory. I think Google's strategy deserves a case study. On doing business in different cultures.

Yoest, Faisal Alam in
New Delhi, IndiaYour Business Blogger was in India working with North American and Indian managers. Having thrown off our British rulers, we still shared a common English language.

But cultural communication was another matter.

American managers were frustrated that Indian executives and staff were not always truthful.

Or so it seemed.

If a supervisor (of any nationality) would ask an Indian subordinate a closed question such as "Does the report include the budget from Bangalore?" The Indian subordinate reply always would be 'yes.' Even if the answer was 'no.' Accompanied by a side-to-side movement of the head -- which corresponds to the up and down affirmative head nod in America.

Was the Indian employee lying to his superior?

It depends on cultural perspective.

(Yes, yes I know -- Alert Readers know well that Your Business Blogger subscribes to Timeless Truth: Truth is not relative.)

But the Indian culture is one of deference and respect for authority. It is not within the languages or culture to say "no" to the boss. Immediate compliance -- obedience -- is something every boss, in every culture really wants -- but American's seldom openly admit.

The culture is different. Where change to USA standards should not be forced.

Supervisors working with Indian subordinates should only ask open ended questions. A question allowing something other than 'yes' or 'no.' "Show me the line item for employee taxi expenses for Bangalore."

The USA manager should understand also that the Indian manager will seldom say 'please' or 'thank you' to a subordinate.

Additional questions are time consuming. But necessary to do business across cultures. And to respect differences in culture and tradition.

I think we should ask more questions. And take the first step.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." says China's Confucius.

A single step from a single person. Countries don't do business. People do business.

President Nixon meets with
China's Community Party Leader,
Mao Tse-Tung on
February 29, 1972

Nixon went to China. Google went to China.

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Thank you (foot)notes:

In Chinese, in The Common Language (Mandarin) there are no words for "private" or "privacy" as we understand in English.

Mark at Mark My Words has commentary.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 7:31 AM | Permalink
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Merry Christmas
from The White HouseThis year's Christmas controversy continues with the Presidential Holiday Card omitting Merry Christmas.

Instead the First Family included a verse from Psalms. From the Bible.

No, no, the endorsement is not of Bush for the Bible.

Well, actually it is. But permit me another observation.

Not Scripture, but a secular endorsement.

Your Business Blogger looked at the card cover and read the inside content. But was most interested in the back of the card. See the bottom.

The Hallmark card company was selected the fifth year in a row to be the supplier for the season.

The Christmas card was mailed to 1.4 million of Bush's closest friends.

Hallmark is making a lot of good impressions.

Congratulations to Hallmark on receiving The Year's Best Product Endorsement.

Continue Reading »

Posted at 8:42 AM | Permalink
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Ipso Facto

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Thank you (foot)notes:

Blog roll or bookmark Ipso Facto.

Posted at 9:43 AM | Permalink
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President Reagan with Charmaine Crouse, (her maiden name)
from Reasoned Audacity

Reasoned Audacity is a finalist in the 2005 Weblog Awards! She's in the Best of the Top 501 - 1000 Blogs category.

Please Vote! You can vote once a day through December 15th. This is a case where voting early and often counts...much like voting in Chicago.

Charmaine is honored to be in such great company in this category -- and a bit sad to be competing against some of our favorite blogs: Willisms, American Princess, Armies of Liberation, Vince aut Morire and MacStansbury.

However. Not sad enough to not ask for your vote: Reasoned Audacity!! Those are great blogs -- go read them, and then go vote for Reasoned Audacity. That's the good thing about being a conservative: we like competition.

Go VOTE!!

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Thank you (foot)notes:

7:00 UPDATE: The Poll is open!! We so appreciate your vote. . . and most of all, We appreciate you reading Reasoned Audacity!

Full Disclosure: Your Business Blogger married a-way over his head.

Mudville Gazette has Weblog Awards post.

Mudville Gazette has Open Post.

Jo's Cafe has open trackbacks.

Posted at 8:01 AM | Permalink
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Your audience can laugh with you. Or at you. Today's case study has the blog Reasoned Audacity as the subject of both.

First, the gentle, genteel example:

Mike Wallster at Ipso Facto uses the subjects as props to generate chuckles. To laugh with all involved. A pro can pull this off. Do not attempt without professional advice. Comedy is hard work. Humour doesn't have to hurt.

Sometimes.

The second example is somewhat brutal. Marketing expert Seth Godin explains.

Seth Godin's
Purple Cow
In his bestseller, Purple Cow, Seth says that your marketing campaign must stand out from the herd of common "brown cows" to be noticed.

A "Purple Cow" would be eye-catching.

Today's products and services must "be different, remarkable, extraordinary, exciting...challenging" to standout. To succeed.

So how would you know if you got it right?

Seth reminds us that:

For decades, mass marketing through television worked wonders and it sold billions of dollars worth of products. It even worked for the internet...for awhile.

But no longer. Seth, once the President of Direct Marketing for Yahoo, gives a number of benchmarks for success today. One that caught my attention was parody.

An advertising and marketing program might be labeled a success when it is cited as comedy or satire. If Saturday Night Live makes fun of your brand -- you've got a winner. Seth writes:

If you can show up in a parody, it means you've got something unique, something worth poking fun at.

It means there's a Purple Cow at work.

By this parody definition, Your Business Blogger has become a "success." And wife Charmaine. We got hit by Tbogg.

Quite an honor. I think.

Tbogg, was the winner of the 2003 Koufax Most Humorous Award for left/liberal blogs. He gets over 7,900 visits daily. (And to his credit he unmasks his sitemeter.)

A link from Tbogg is almost as good as an insta-launch from Glenn Reynolds in the blogosphere.

The anonymous Tbogg described one of my posts as paste-eating stupid and Charmaine as a fat drunken cow. Funny.

It'd be funnier if Tbogg called her a purple fat cow.

Later, Tbogg criticises Charmaine's spelling. For comparison, Michelle Malkin is merely a crazy-a** bi*ch.

Parody, as I think Seth would correctly describe, is a bit different from being the butt of a joke.

But it sure feels the same. In any event, Seth is right: Sales and marketing and advertising these days requires being a Purple Cow, with a thick hide.

Thank you (foot)notes:

The reader will note that Mike Wallster publishes under his own name. Tbogg does not.

Our friend Mike (aka "Waco Kid") has made the code to his Ipso Facto cartoon available. Be sure to visit Ipso Facto headquarters to check out some past ones you might have missed. And, then, tell a friend.

Seth's Blog has more with his new book, The Big Moo. Good reviews from readers. I will be joining fellow Seth supporters and reviewing also.

Mudville Gazette is running a test on Open Post.

More Than Fire has more on Cow and Moo.

Outside the Beltway has Traffic Jam.

The Indepundit has Liberty Call.

This is an update from 24 October 2005.

Update 20 Dec 05: Don Surber is on TBogg's radar.

Posted at 6:54 AM | Permalink
Comments (0)

PC4MediaPete is hosting this week. Visit him and check out the best marketing ideas for the week.

Was this helpful? Do comment.
Consider a free eMail subscription for this site.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Carnival of the Capitalists.

Posted at 7:11 AM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Gwen Stefani
AP Photo
Stuart Ramson

Singer Gwen Stefani was a winner at the American Music Awards. Making her name even more valuable and more trusted. Continuing her celebrity as a platform for other markets.

Stefani has released a new line of clothes -- a line extension of her name as brand.

And Robin Givhan at The Washington Post doesn't like it:

...[T]he fashion industry ... is populated by corporate marketing teams ... It is overrun with celebrities working to increase their fame. . .

This is the downhill road to cultural hell... It is being pushed along by consumer demand, lowbrow tastes, society's obsession with celebrity, and the rising costs of doing business. Fashion has already ceded significant aesthetic authority to pop stars and actresses.

(She might be right about cultural hell, but let's keep in mind that this is the woman who wanted John Roberts' kids to wear clothing from the Gap to the White House.)

The business case is easy. In bringing any new product to market a company should identify thought and opinion leaders to champion the product or service.

I Want You All Over Me
Like L.A.M.B.

Robin Givhans' confusion continues:

And of course, there was exuberant use of her L.A.M.B. logo in its Gothic script. The logo (love, angel, music, baby) dates back to Stefani's collaboration with LeSportsac in 2003, a deal that essentially was the creative catalyst for the current business.

A singer as fashion model as business model. If the thought or opinion leader is the product, then whatever she wears and sells or sings is a simple line extension. And a low risk money maker.

Something business understands and journalism doesn't.

Co-opting symbols: lamb from JollyBlogger's Church. The image originator won't sue.

Basil's Blog has terrific Covered Dish.

This is an updated post from 19 September 2005

Basi's Blog has brunch for 27 Nov.

Posted at 1:19 AM | Permalink
Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Coming December 1st
Your Vote Counts

Was this helpful? Do comment.
Consider a bookmark for this site.

Thank you (foot)notes:

See the Weblog Awards site. Good reads.

Posted at 8:38 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

Seth Godin's
Purple Cow
In his bestseller, Purple Cow, Seth Godin says that your marketing campaign must stand out from the herd of common "brown cows" to be noticed.

A "Purple Cow" would be eye-catching.

Today's products and services must "be different, remarkable, extraordinary, exciting...challenging" to standout. To succeed.

So how would you know if you got it right?

Seth Godin reminds us that:

For decades, mass marketing through television worked wonders and it sold billions of dollars worth of products. It even worked for the internet...for awhile.

But no longer. Seth, once the President of Direct Marketing for Yahoo, gives a number of benchmarks for success today. One that caught my attention was parody.

An advertising and marketing program might be labeled a success when it is cited as comedy or satire. If Saturday Night Live makes fun of your brand -- you've got a winner. Seth writes:

If you can show up in a parody, it means you've got something unique, something worth poking fun at.

It means there's a Purple Cow at work.

By this parody definition, Your Business Blogger has become a "success." And wife Charmaine. We got hit by Tbogg.

Quite an honor. I think.

Tbogg, was the winner of the 2003 Koufax Most Humorous Award for left/liberal blogs. He gets over 7,900 visits daily. (And to his credit he unmasks his sitemeter.)

A link from Tbogg is almost as good as an insta-launch from Glenn Reynolds in the blogosphere.

The anonymous Tbogg described one of my posts as paste-eating stupid and Charmaine as a fat drunken cow. Funny.

It'd be funnier if Tbogg called her a purple fat cow.

Later, Tbogg criticises Charmaine's spelling. For comparison, Michelle Malkin is merely a crazy-a** bi*ch.

Parody, as I think Seth would correctly describe, is a bit different from being the butt of a joke.

But it sure feels the same. In any event, Seth is right: Sales and marketing and advertising these days requires being a Purple Cow, with a thick hide.

Thank you (foot)notes:

Seth's Blog has more with his new book, The Big Moo. Good reviews from readers. I will be joining fellow Seth supporters and reviewing also.

Mudville Gazette is running a test on Open Post.

More Than Fire has more on Cow and Moo.

Outside the Beltway has Traffic Jam.

The Indepundit has Liberty Call.

Posted at 7:59 AM | Permalink
Comments (1) | TrackBacks (6)

Pictured in
The Chronicle of Higher Education
To follow up yesterday's post, I was researching "Butt of Jokes" and got distracted. Alert readers will notice that this is not the post I promised.

Tomorrow, I will publish how to get off the laugh track when you become the butt of jokes, the challenge Harriet Miers now faces.

But for now let me observe that it is never good to have your name come up in a Google search that includes ladies with dollar bills lovingly inserted into a g-string. Go ahead: Look up 'Harriet Miers' and 'butt of jokes.' I'll take the hit(s).

Anyway, the pictures above and below are from a story in the newspaper of record for the Academy, the Chronicle of Higher Education.

From a sociologist. His academic research. I didn't read the article. I go to Playboy for the articles.

Better writing.

And today we learn that Daniel Drezner has been denied tenure by the University of Chicago. ProbablyMaybe because of his blog. He should have been doing work that Institutions of Higher Learning would appreciate. Advising students. Writing books. And advancing scholarship. . .

Like taking pictures of girls' derrieres.

Tomorrow I shall return to the serious business of advising on public relations disasters.

After I finish this stack of Chronicles.

The End

Thank you (foot)notes:

Full Disclosure: My wife has been quoted in The Chronicle, but never photographed.

[And she insists that I add this disclaimer: the Playboy line is a joke.]

Mudville Gazette with Open Post.

Brad DeLong has a Free Country.

Wizbang has Miers SlumLord report.

Point of Law has Miers and judicial activism.

Washington Post has Miers and abortion reporting.

Volokh has Drezner and tenure.

Disembedded has academic facade.

Capt Ed has Miers 2.0.

Patterico has predictions.

Brian's Study Breaks defends tenure.

A Typical Joe says it's not the Blog.

Cao's Blog has open trackbacks.

Mark My Words has an interesting poll.

Posted at 5:28 PM | Permalink
Comments (3)

Jimmy Durante
The fabled comedian Jimmy Durante once said, "I don't care if you're laughing with me or at me, as long as you're laughing. Conversely, Jack Welsh said, "Never be a victim."

Who's right?

Let's review three examples: Harriet Miers, Dan Quayle, and the Jihadists.

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers is now the butt of late night jokes.

The Washington Post reports:

"The tipping point in Washington is when you go from being a subject of caricature to the subject of laughter," said Bruce Fein, ...who served in the Reagan administration's Justice Department.... "She's in danger of becoming the subject of laughter."

Quayle's misspell, misstep
Vice President Dan Quayle, once one of the most promising senators on the GOP bench, was derided for misspelling potato in a classroom photo-op in 1992.

The Trentonian reports from Quayle's autobiography:

It was a defining moment of the worst kind imaginable. Politicians live and die by the symbolic sound bite.

And finally the Jihadists, whose only real weapon is strapping bombs under the garments of little girls and boys, are now the subject of jokes.

Short video clip: The Bomber and the Cafe

Why is this funny? Because we are winning. Underlying the laugh track is the sure knowledge that the good-guys are winning. Winners do the laughing.

Each of these examples show that laughter is a leading indicator of failure. No matter how good or effective the candidate, the person, or the method.

A reputation, a brand name, a cause, can survive many setbacks, but being a joke's punch line is the hardest.

Jack Welsh is right: Never be a victim.

Tomorrow's post will deal with what to do when you make it onto the Letterman show (in the top ten list).

Was this helpful? Do comment.

Thank you footnotes:

Captain Ed says the White House wants a do-over.

Betsy's Page has analysis on why conservatives are uneasy over Miers.

John Hawkins says no to Miers.

California Conservative is neutral on Miers.

Outside the Beltway has Traffic Jam.

Basil's Blog is doing dessert backtracks.

The Political Teen Has Tuesday Trackbacks.

Posted at 6:41 AM | Permalink
Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)

Charmaine Yoest at Reasoned Audacity has a graphic with the Penta-Posse a-top a USA tracked vehicle. Bottom of main page.

What is it?

Winners will be judged on accuracy and style.

Winners will receive a "I think, therefore I blog" T-shirt.

credit: JollyBlogger

click for larger image

Winners announced next week. Email your guesses.

Open trackbacks at Everyman's Chronicles.

The Political Teen has open trackbacks.

Cao's Blog has trackbacks.

Posted at 11:42 PM | Permalink
Comments (0)

It is well known that a good consultant can graph out a trend line using the random numbers from thrown dice. I have for you, Gentle Reader, still another data point in the continuing question of Pepsi Patriotism: The #24.

Your Business Blogger has allowed that Pepsi might, just might be able to get something right as Pepsi President, Indra Nooyi, gives America the Digitus Impudicus.

I thought her NASCAR sponsorship was an example of her loyalty to American Values.

But I was wrong.

Radio Blogger uses NASCAR teams to put blogs into neat discreet market segments. Radio Blogger puts them along his left sidebar as blogroll.

For example, under
Richard Petty Blogs, you have:

Hugh Hewitt
Instapundit
Michelle Malkin

Under Darrell Waltrip Oddblogs:

Lileks
The Corner
Virginia Postrel

And under Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wiseguy Blogs, one sees:

Fraters Libertas
Infinite Monkeys
Lucianne Goldberg
Shot In The Dark
Spitbull

However, the category that caught my attention was:

Jeff Gordon Dark Side Blogs:

Buzz Machine
Daily Kos
Matthew Yglesias
Press Think
Princeton Progressive Review
TPM Cafe

So there you have it. Jeff Gordon, #24, is associated with very, very left of center anti-capitalists. And (gasp) Nooyi sponsors him.

The Finger, The Donation, and now, The Number.

(What all this has to do with Jeff Gordon is irrelevant. As long as I can draw a tight scatter diagram along a line.)

Pepsi President Indra Nooyi is consistent with her anti-American branding. Validated here in an unbiased third-party blog presentation uncovered by my crack research team. Nooyi continues to give America the finger.

Mere coincidence you say? Watch me prove it. On the next roll of the dice.

Like any good consultant.

Thank you (Foot)notes:

Chris Dickson is drinking only Coke.

Sepia Mutiny has Clout is Cool.

StlRecruiting says Pepsi should have a blog.

Gall and Wormwood points us to Chris Muir's cartoon.

Kerfuffles has concerns.

Roscoe's Blog has Saddam-Pepsico Connection. And a tax deduction.

Thanks to Mudville Gazette for Open Post.

Posted at 7:05 PM | Permalink
Comments (33)

Gwen Stefani
AP Photo
Stuart Ramson

Singer Gwen Stefani has released a new line of clothes -- a line extension of her name as brand.

And Robin Givhan at The Washington Post doesn't like it:

...[T]he fashion industry ... is populated by corporate marketing teams ... It is overrun with celebrities working to increase their fame. . .

This is the downhill road to cultural hell... It is being pushed along by consumer demand, lowbrow tastes, society's obsession with celebrity, and the rising costs of doing business. Fashion has already ceded significant aesthetic authority to pop stars and actresses.

(She might be right about cultural hell, but let's keep in mind that this is the woman who wanted John Roberts' kids to wear clothing from the Gap to the White House.)

The business case is easy. In bringing any new product to market a company should identify thought and opinion leaders to champion the product or service.

I Want You All Over Me
Like L.A.M.B.