Having spent a few days now digesting the unveiling of the ipad, it’s time to look away from the beautiful device to analyze what its release really means. Is it truly the savior for print? The Kindle killer? The must have gadget of the century that we’ve all been waiting for? The end of the world as we know it? So far, the consensus seems to be that while the ipad is a pretty damn fine machine, none of the above is true.

For newspaper and magazine publishers, there is still the small problem of consumers not wanting to pay for content that is otherwise free. So no matter how dazzling The Times may look on the ipad, I still don’t know if I’m willing to pay for it when I can get it for free online or on my smart phone.

For consumers, the problem is how to justify the purchase of yet another gadget. No one doubts that this “large ipod touch” will be a joy to interact with. But if you’ve got a sleek laptop at home already and a nifty smart phone for on-the-go consumption, where does the ipad fit in? What need does it satisfy? Its size and lack of so many features, such as: a camera, a phone, 3G coverage (unless you spring for yet another data contract) and a keyboard for hearty content creation, clearly indicates that the device was not meant as a replacement for any of your other digital tools.

For marketers the same challenges that apply to other mobile and “third screen” devices are still present. While consumer penetration remains relatively low, it’s clear that the future is now. Brand builders must adapt to the new medium immediately or risk extinction. Unfortunately, they also must deal with the reality that no one wants them to join us in this brave new world. These mediums are made for glorious content consumption and advertisers have not been invited to the party.

In order not to make a complete nuisance of themselves, three rules must be followed. Marketers must Integrate, Entertain, and Add Value:

If all else fails, just try to stay out of the way. Leverage the platform and technology to cleverly tell us something about your product that would be useful to know right here at this moment. Then beat it. I want to enjoy my new toy without commercial interruption, even if I don’t really need it.

With His Brand Of Insightful Humor, Stephen Colbert (along with Partner-In-Crime, Jon Stewart) Continues to Outsmart Traditional News Outlets

Newsflash: Stephen Colbert is funny. For evidence check out his dead on send up of the suburbs on this remix of Alicia Keys and Jay-Z’s “Empire State Of Mind” from a December episode of The Colbert Report. As usual, Colbert’s humor is peppered with whip smart insight. In this case, he nails the dorky perks that make living in the suburbs more than bearable. The message is clear, Jay-Z is cool, Alicia Keys is hot, but being a geek is where the real action is.

It is this insightful humor that has made Colbert and his more famous partner in crime, Jon Stewart such a formidable team over at Comedy Central. The geeks know exactly what’s really going on and increasingly, the world turns to them for their interpretation of the facts. These guys can effortlessly relate to the trendiest hip hoppers, challenge or chat up the most important thinkers of our time, and simplify the most complex problems the world faces today. All while hilariously skewering hapless politicians, pundits and business leaders on a nightly basis. That’s power.

As smart marketers direct more of their media dollars towards Colbert, Stewart and other non-traditional news outlets who just seem to “get it”, the big networks are starting to push the panic button. The line between comedy, gossip, entertainment and news has been hopelessly blurred and there’s no turning back. When it comes to reaching the next generation of news seekers (i.e., “young adults”), they are getting clobbered at the low end by the speed and audacity of outlets like TMZ while being unable to match Colbert and Stewart’s fearless, winking charm.

It’s obvious that Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Brian Williams and their plundering broadcasts are toast. But even CNN, FOX and MSNBC, with their 24 hour parade of often photogenic, wildly opinionated personalities, seem to be caught in no man’s land. Move too fast and risk losing credibility, move too slow and come off as dinosaurs. They seem to constantly be re-assessing their place in the world. Are we hip or smart or serious or courageously devoted to our respective audiences? No one knows and increasingly no one cares. One thing that is certain however, is that the geeks have got them on the run. We’ll just keep watching Colbert and Stewart while they take all the time they need to sort themselves out.

On a recent trip to JFK airport in New York City, I was thrilled to see JetBlue’s latest advertising campaign: The Flyer’s Collection.  It aims at making the things we travelers put up with while flying into humorous digs at other airlines.  The premise is offering products to help deal with air travels headaches.  From the Knee Jockey for help with the lack of legroom to Leather in a Jar to cover those scratchy leather seats, JetBlue’s catalog has it all. (Disclaimer: none of these items are actually for sale) By far, my favorite product is the Extrago Sherpa Shirt. . .

Description: “The Extrago Sherpa Shirt can hold an entire trip’s worth of necessities, including the $20 bill you’ll save by not checking a bag. Granted, this isn’t the most comfortable shirt. But since you didn’t book with JetBlue, perhaps comfort isn’t your main concern.”

Price: “$99”

(Description, price and image taken from www.theflyerscollection.com)

After reading each and every ad in the subway car – and recovering from the good laugh I had – I started thinking that JetBlue really knows its customers.  You are probably asking why I came to this conclusion.  First, loyal JetBlue customers tend to think of themselves as different from the average air traveler.  They value all the perks that flying JetBlue gives them and they LOVE making fun of other airlines and travelers who are unfortunate enough to be on those flights.  Second, JetBlue customers always have a sense of humor.  Looking at the past few ad campaigns all of them have had a humorous take on travel.

I highly enjoyed these ads on my way to JFK and enjoyed my flight on JetBlue that day even more after being reminded of all the things I didn’t have to deal with on “the other guys.”  Good job JetBlue! Can’t wait for your next set of ads.

The Annoying Use Of “Dropping” As A Self-Branding Technique

Let’s face it, nobody likes a name dropper. These people have been around since the beginning of time and they’ve always been a nuisance. The good news is that most of us are quick to spot name droppers and to call them out on it. Sometimes we do it to their faces: “Do you have to mention how you and Steve Jobs go way back every time someone pulls out an iphone?” And even if we are too polite to embarrass them in public, we never forfeit an opportunity to ridicule these idiots behind their backs.

However, I’m struck by the fact that we too often let other “Droppers” off the hook. These individuals can be just as grating, but for some reason we put up with their blatant attempts to impress us. Like Name Droppers, these folks are opportunistic, and none-too-subtle in seeking opportunities to remind us of the places they’ve gone, the things they’ve seen, the degrees they’ve attained, and so on.

In fairness, Dropping is just another form of self-branding, a practice that is thriving these days. It used to be that only celebrities were interested in cultivating their personal brand by creating just the right image for themselves in the minds of consumers. The goal was to become more admired and revered for their unique talents and thus more attractive to advertisers, movie producers, record executives and the buying public. But these days, everyone from CEO’s to college students are in the business of self-branding. Whether the objective is to enhance one’s corporate reputation or land the next job interview, business is booming. Armies of Image Consultants and Executive Coaches have emerged to inform us that an impressive Linkedin profile and clever tweets are now of critical importance in this brand building exercise. Other critical factors range from the jeans you wear to your hair style to even the smart phone you carry. It all matters. And Dropping is viewed as just another handy tool for reminding people that you are worthy, based on where you’ve been, what you consume and even where you work out.

Despite its many justifications, the practice of Dropping still annoys me. It lacks genuineness and forces us all into a sorry game of one-ups-man-ship that ruins social interactions. In order to put a stop to this growing phenomenon immediately, I have compiled a list of offenders described below. My hope is that from now on, these Droppers will be flogged every time they cross-the-line. I urge you to join me in ending this plague, in cleaning up our Facebook News Feeds, and in making conversation civil again.

The Lamont’s List Of Offensive Droppers

Place Droppers – These jetsetters never pass up a chance to remind us of all the places they’ve visited. Mention rice and they’ll say that you’ve reminded them of “that time when they were in Hong Kong”. If it’s a tad chili outside, they’ll tell you that’s nothing compared to that winter they spent in Moscow. Joberg has the best clubs, Japan the best Denim, London the tastiest Indian food, etc, etc, There is nothing you can mention that won’t be met with a story about a trip to an exotic destination. Stop it.

School Droppers – Have you ever met anyone who went to a “small liberal arts school outside of Boston?” Aren’t they fun to hang out with? At least the Harvard guys try to be subtle about it. My wife is lovely, but she is kind of a blatant school dropper. Within 10 minutes of meeting her she somehow manages to work in the fact that she went to Wharton. If she’s not in the mood for waiting for an opening, she’ll randomly bring up cheese steaks, just to bring the conversation around to Philadelphia and ultimately to, you guessed it…Wharton.

Festival Droppers – Why does attending a sweaty rock music festival make people feel so good about themselves that they have to constantly rub it in your face? The next time some skinny jeans wearing moron interrupts my enjoyment of a song to point out that “these dudes totally killed it at South By South West,” he’s gonna get decked. Related to:

• Obscure Band Name Droppers – I swear these guys make up band names when I ask them who they are listening to, just to make me feel out of touch.
• Obscure Underground Mix Tape Droppers – No as a matter of fact, I haven’t heard Lil Wayne’s “The Block Is Hot Volume 99”. Yes, I am aware that it’s been out for 2 whole days on freemixtapesforyourbrokeass.com. What can I say; I’m a sad excuse for a hip hop fan.

Previous Employer Droppers – I’ve been told that I’m guilty of this offense myself (maybe I’ve mentioned once or twice that I was a brand manager at Coke) so I will go easy on this group. You know the types however, who used to work for cool companies or important brands. They rely heavily on this ancient experience to build their credibility in new work environments. It goes a little something like this: “Well, when I was at Coke/Nike/P&G/Target/NASA/etc., this is how we did things.” Related to:

• Previous Agency Droppers – Exclusive to the advertising industry, these individuals, who for whatever reason now work at less glamorous agencies, feel compelled to let us know that they used to work at Crispin.
• Previous Client Droppers – Along the same lines, these madmen who now work on lame accounts (say Dr. Scholl’s Foot Powder), feel compelled to drone on about those edgy campaigns they use to do for Nike.

Book Droppers – There is a long history of pretentiousness with this bunch. Seriously, there must be at least 1 movie that is better than the book right? And yes, it’s impressive, but don’t you have to have a bit too much time on your hands to be able to consume every important work of fiction and every business book on the NY Times Best Sellers list? And finally, stop hating on Dan Brown and John Grisham. Not all pop novels suck (The Firm is a classic). Not all of us can pretend to love Tolstoy. Related to:

• Newspaper/Magazine/Blog Droppers – These are the showoffs who make us feel bad by constantly referencing high brow publications such as “The Economist” and “The Harvard Business Review”. They also inhale all major news sources by 8AM everyday so that they can quote from them condescendingly in meetings with our bosses while shaking their heads in disgust at us for being clueless slackers.

Green Droppers – These are the crunchy types who gloat about how much money they are saving on gas in their hybrid cars. It’s one thing to frown upon SUV’s, but it’s wholly unacceptable to give me dirty looks for drinking bottled water and wearing leather shoes. Step off. Related to:

• Gym/Workout Droppers – These guys always seem to mention their 5AM Boot Camp class just as I am about to bite into a cheeseburger.

Neighborhood Droppers – Whether Tribeca, Cobble Hill or Montclair, NJ, these references by yuppies with too much money are always nauseating. It’s not enough for your neighborhood to be expensive; it also has to be super hip. Related to:

• Vacation Home Droppers – The Hamptons, the Vineyard and The Cape are ok, but the International locales take it to another level
• Club Droppers – These party-goers frequent fab night spots we’ve never heard of and pay $25 for drinks just so they can complain about it to us the next day.
• Restaurant Droppers – These foodies love to bang on about how Chef So And So’s New-American-Asian-Fusion dishes have become more innovative since moving to restaurant bla bla bla. Whatever. I don’t care.
• Kid’s Private School Droppers – Good for your boy that he made the fencing squad at Super Rich Prep. But that’s not really relevant to the discussion we are having right now is it?
• Golf Course Droppers – No man who has ever played Pebble Beach or Beth Page Black or any other PGA course can resist the temptation to let us know about this uninteresting fact.

Twitter Droppers – I don’t even know why anyone would think people would be impressed by this. But people who are on Twitter just love to talk about the crap they talk about on Twitter.

Market research technologies are constantly improving and evolving to provide better information to research consumers.  Here at Luminosity Marketing, we love using the latest technologies to find the best research solutions for our clients.  Below is a brief on an emerging research technology that is showing great promise for gaining additional insight into consumer’s lives.

Mobile Research is using a participants mobile device (cell phone, tablet PC, PDA, etc) as the hardware to participate in market research. Mobile research started over 10 years ago, but due to the limits of SMS technology has not gained full functionality until now.  Given the increasing rate of cell phone only household (up to 23% according to NHIS)  and the increasing usage of Smartphones (currently at 15% according to Nielson),  mobile research technology has the potential to reach populations that are becoming increasingly difficult to include in research studies. 

Mobile Research benefits:

• Ability to include respondent populations that are currently missed by traditional phone and web studies
• High variety of question types, logic options and user interfaces
• Possibility of having qualitative elements embedded within a quantitative study
• Software packages and vendors available to serve nearly all types of Smartphones and web enables phones

Mobile Research drawbacks:

• Costs are still relatively high due to low usage by MR professionals
• Only valid for populations who have high Smartphone or web enabled phone penetration
• Could have high learning curve for those not familiar with mobile technologies

Mobile research works best for companies that have a customer base that is very technologically savvy and are difficult to research through more traditional research methodologies.  Mobile research can be of particular usefulness to companies that already have a high mobile presence through advertising, cell phone apps or by being in the telecom sector itself. 

For more information on how Mobile Research could help your company focus your research strategy, contact us at info@luminositymarketing.com.

Decadently smooth on the inside with the perfect silky chocolate crunch on the outside, its matchless taste lingers on my tongue and imprints on my mind for hours after consumption. The Godiva Open Oyster is one of my little luxuries.  Sure $2.45 is expensive for something that can be eaten, though shouldn’t, in a single bite. Many people get a charge out of more plebian pleasures: Hershey’s chocolate, Twizzlers, the unlimited rainbow of Jelly Belly flavors. With my discerning palate and penchant for being an unbearable foodie nothing compares to an Open Oyster. And no amount of horrific shellfish allergy seems to diminish the joy of consuming something that’s supposedly would put me in anaphylactic shock. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed better chocolates, but when something consumable is a little luxury there is a certain amount of accessibility to factor in. (It is, after all, a high-end chocolate sold in malls . . . ) Also, for me, a luxury is something that is an experience rather than a product. It is in that creation of experience that the soul of the product lies. There is the memory of staying up all night in college working on a paper and stopping to consume an Open Oyster that I bought instead of practical nourishing food. With milk and cocoa butter only increasing in price, it’s almost guaranteed that the next time I go to the counter I’ll have to pay a little more for my indulgence. It’s a little extra I’m more than willing to expend.

Hey! You! With the Y chromosome! You’re a MAN, right? You wear KHAKIS, right? You don’t? Oh, well…you should.

Well, that’s what Dockers is hoping for. The brand is still the category leader for khaki pants, but the category is dropping (12% this year alone). So what is the leading brand to do when its category is faltering? Reinvigorate! Push the category and reestablish leadership all in one go!

This is actually a good idea. Dockers could, in well fell swoop, make khakis more desirable and position itself as the khaki. The key word here, though, is “could.” Because Dockers is not succeeding.

Rather, it’s pushing its khakis like this: I have to ask: REALLY, Dockers? This is really the best way to shill your pants? I, for one, say no.

The way I see it, the failures of this campaign are manifold.  But let’s lay a few out here, just for funsies.

1) Blatant Sexism

The phrase “wear the pants” does, and probably always will, refer to the question of “who wears the pants” in a given household. As Jami Bernard of WalletPop writes:

Just because the Docker ads are tongue in cheek does not mean they’re not sexist. It’s one thing to encourage men to man up, another to tell them to “wear the pants” — an expression that taps directly into the old question: “Who wears the pants in this family?” There are only two possible answers: the man of the house, or the woman who has been stealing his thunder. “Wear the pants” is a call to arms, even when used jokingly, that says the only way to be a man is to put women in their place. That’s right, women are too weak to open doors for themselves!

I could elabortate, but it’s not necessary. This is pretty clearly sexist. Claims that it’s just a joke don’t change the underlying context.

2) Missing the Boat on Social Media

There’s a lot of talk about how this campaign–which is print, radio, and TV heavy (Dockers is running its first Superbowl ad in 8 years)–is going to capitalize on social media to establish Dockers as “a new brand for a new era” (from the NYTimes).  It’s going to do this by using Facebook and Twitter. This is absurd.

A brand as large as Dockers should have been using these two vehicles extensively by now. All this back-patting for finally delving into social media (in the broadest sense of the term) just serves to make Dockers look even more out of touch.

3. Terrible, Stereotype-Based Copy

Aside from the wild hyperbole employed throughout the text in the ad shown earlier (“cities crumble?”…c’mon), there’s one particular gripe I’d like to air: non-fat lattes and salad bars are not anti-masculine. They are beverages and they are food, and they are NOT gendered.

Dockers’ global marketing VP Jennifer Sey claims, in this article, that this campaign is designed in part to appeal to younger, more style-conscious men.  Going on the assumption that a great deal of younger, style-conscious men are also heath-conscious and watch calories from time to time, this sort of “salads are GIRLY” rhetoric is pretty alienating.

—–

SO, to sum things up, this is what I’m seeing:  A brand (Dockers) in a flagging category (khaki pants) is trying to inject new life into both itself and its category.

To this end, it’s trying to position itself as:

1. Younger and cooler
2. More up-to-date and in touch with the new
3. More desirable

In attempting to do this it has actually positioned itself as:

1. Sexist – Not cool, typically considered old-fashioned and outdated
2. Out of Touch with new technology and communication – ’nuff said
3. Alienating to a key segment of its target audience – not particularly desirable

Way to go, Dockers! You’ve effectively acheived the exact opposite of all of your goals!

Yeesh. I’m gonna go buy some jeans.

Market research technologies are constantly improving and evolving to provide better information to research consumers.  Here at Luminosity Marketing, we love using the latest technologies to find the best research solutions for our clients.  Below is a brief on a research technology that is being used by organizations to gain faster and more insightful qualitative data from their customers.

Market Research Online Communities (MROC) are private online communities that target a particular group of consumers to participate in a larger breadth of research activities.  MROCs can include many elements of Custom Online Consumer Panels but have the added feature of member to member communication and qualitative research options.  MROCs are still in their infancy but have been used with various amounts of success.  They are generally focused around a particular objective (e.g. new product development, ad testing, general customer understanding, etc).

MROC benefits:

• Specific recruiting of targeted consumers
• Group can be active for any amount of time — from 1 week to a year or more
• Usually cheaper and faster than normal qualitative research methods
• Deeper understanding of community member’s opinions and profiles
• Only needs to be big enough to support the project type – from 25 to 250+ members
• Can internally manage or source a vendor to manage
• Can provide members with extra features – forums, photo sharing, games, etc.

MROC drawbacks:

• Initial planning and set-up stage before community can be launched could be more complicated than general qualitative studies
• Must have constant oversight of members interactions
• Complexity of development and management

MROCs work best for companies that have a need for more in-depth knowledge about a particular topic.  Good topic choices usually require that a specific group of customers need to be engaged in an on-going basis to gain a full understanding of the customer response to the topic.  MROCs can be of particular usefulness to companies that have a qualitative and quantitative need on a particular topic and have customers who are willing to engage on an on-going basis.

For more information on how Market Research Online Communities could help your company focus your research strategy, contact us at info@luminositymarketing.com.

The clouds of the recession are stubbornly refusing to clear. In such an economy marketers and product developers are rushing to create the perfect product at an even more perfect price. Take the Coach Poppy line for example, it takes a well established brand that has marketed itself in the mid-luxury range and takes the average price point down about a third.

Launched in the fall, Coach Poppy is aimed at a younger trendier woman. Their decision to choose a younger target combined with their decision to sell the new line at a  reduced cost fared well for Coach. They turned around a decline in earnings coming out more profitable in third quarter 2009 than the previous few quarters.

The bright colors of Coach Poppy

They’ve now teamed up with Michelle Trachtenberg to increase the prep pop quotient. Early numbers are indicating that this is continuing to boost sales. It seems that the Coach Poppy line truly is a recession Goldilocks, and the profit increase is just right.

Dark, stormy weather makes me yearn for malt and I’m not talking about milkshakes. Instead I want deeply hoppy and malty beer. None quenches this urge quite like Brooklyn’s Winter Ale. Brewed in nearby Williamsburg, the wintery ale is made in the Scottish tradition and is just the thing to liven up the dreary endless cloudy days that constitute winter in New York.

 I could drink a cheaper beer, or a beer with more cache, but what makes Brooklyn Brewery’s Winter Ale my top choice is a very specific recipe: One part freshness and one part that goody-goody feeling you get from buying a locally produced ale. (I’m helping to employ Willamsburgerians!) This is the beauty of all Brooklyn Brewery’s fine products: Amazing taste and that emotional connection to their product. But for a dreary stretch of days give me winter ale to match my dark mood.