Marketing Campaign Development: Buy this Book

24 May
Marketing Campaign Development

Marketing Campaign Development

Several months ago, I was pleased to preview some several chapters from a forthcoming book on marketing from a former marketing professor, Mike Gospe.  As someone new to the marketing world, I found his course on “Essentials of Integrated Marketing” very helpful in providing a framework for understanding how to market. I think that before you can map out a marketing campaign, or send out a variety of marketing materials, you have to get down to basics.

Gospe’s new book,  “Marketing Campaign Development: What Marketing Executives Need to Know About Architecting Global Integrated Marketing Campaigns”, outlines in detail the ideas of personas, positioning statements and the message box.  Simply stated, the persona is the client, and all of their attributes.  Example: I’m selling handbags and my persona is Lisa, an 18 year old student who loves fashion but is cost-conscious.  Next, a positioning statement is crafted to better state the brand’s position among its competitors.  So, X  handbags are the stylish, affordable handbag for the young girl who wants to look good while not caring about designer labels. Lastly is the message box, where it is all put together. So, “For the style maven who wants it all without breaking the bank- X  handbags”.

The book goes further into detail and provides real-life case studies so that the reader can see how these exercises have helped Silicon Valley’s top companies succeed in marketing. I gave the book a positive capsule review that appears in the back, but I have yet to read the finished copy. I look forward to doing so very soon.

The Next Few Days in U.S. Israel Relations

23 May
Israel

Israel

Tomorrow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address both houses of the U.S. Congress in a rare joint session. This honor is not granted to many foreign heads of state, and Netanyahu is speaking to Congress at a critical juncture in Middle Eastern history. The popular uprisings in the Arab world began in Tunisia, moved west of Israel to Egypt, and are now roiling that other large player in the region, Syria, among others (one could argue that the uprisings really began in Iran in 2009, but let’s focus on the most recent uprisings).

Israel faces the prospect of no longer being the only democracy in the region when Egypt holds elections later this year.  Hopefully, Bashar Assad, the Michael Corleone of the Arab World, will step aside soon and Syria will also begin the process of holding truly democratic elections. When the Palestinian territories held elections in 2006, Fatah won control of the West Bank, and a majority of Gazan voters elected…Hamas. The recent alliance between the two parties simply adds to the momentous occurrences in the Middle East this year, paving the way for a peace agreement between Israel and a united Palestinian leadership.

And yet. President Obama’s statement last week that any peace process must include Hamas’ recognition of Israel’s right to exist received little fanfare. His admonition of Palestine’s efforts to receive recognition as a state at the U.N., thus sparing Israel global embarrassment, went similarly unnoticed.  It was the President’s suggestion that negotiations be based on borders based on the land seized in the 1967 war- with “mutually agreed land swaps”- that proved so contentious.  Never mind that this was the policy of the previous two administrations, as well as former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

So what is Netanyahu’s goal as he addresses Congress? I will be watching with interest.  And I have to say that I agree with the writer Jeffrey Goldberg when he wrote, “Dear Mr. Netanyahu, Please Don’t Speak to My President That Way”.  Netanyahu was quoted as saying that he “expected” the President to walk back the 1967 remarks. These are strong words coming from an ally that relies heavily on the U.S. for aid. I will be curious what tone the Israeli Prime Minister takes with Congress.  Hopefully a more respectful one.

It Always Gets Better

22 May
It Gets Better

It Gets Better

I am a great admirer of Dan Savage’s “It Gets Better” campaign.  It is the purest form of social change.  It is grassroots, initiated by a concerned advocate in response to the increased news reports of gay teens committing suicide in response to intense bullying.  I previously wrote my thoughts on the case of poor young Tyler Clementi, who threw himself off the George Washington Bridge during his first semester of college, after his roommate broadcast video of him making out with another man. Tyler Clementi was a gifted violinist- he could have done so much.
At age 18, right when his life was starting, he cut things short.

When you’re 18, do you know who you are? Do you have any idea who you will become, or what you will want out of life?  To a certain degree you do.  You have lived almost 20 years, and you have a range of experiences, you have made friends, begun to develop an outlook on the world, and have perhaps had a romantic relationship or two. But life is still wide open, and your future is a blank slate.  You could still be anything.  I know that I felt that I only truly felt that I had grown comfortable in my own skin during my four years of college. And even now, at age 30, I realize that I was still incredibly young in college.  I feel that I’ve matured a lot.

I am not gay.  But I wish every adolescent and teenager could know deep down that life gets better. In middle school and high school, I had a really difficult time. In middle school, there was a guy who pretended to throw up in disgust every time he saw me in the hallway. During my first two years of high school- a private one, where I knew almost no one on my first day- I had virtually no friends, eating many lunches alone. Junior and senior years were somewhat easier, because I found a group of fellow freaks and geeks to hang out with. But at a school were football and cheerleading dominated, acting in the fall play and writing for the school newspaper were not activities that were lauded by the whole community.  Are school rallies EVER held for the arts department, or the yearbook committee? I suffered from severe acne, and was insecure about boys.  All in all, it was an awkward time, and I ached to start a new life in college.  College started, and things got better.

Age thirty isn’t necessarily a magic line in the sand where full wisdom and maturity are reached and we stop growing.  I know I am not done growing.  Life has ups and downs; at least now I have lived enough to know this.  During my happiest moments I remember that sadness has crept into my life.  In the depth of my saddest times, I remember that happiness returns.  There is a quote by Albert Camus that I love: “In the depths of winter I learned there was in me an invincible summer”.

Which is all a long way of saying that it gets better.  And yes, the “it” is life.  I am an optimistic person- I believe that without hope, life is not worth living.  So we must believe that it gets better.  Because it does.

Black in Latin America

21 May
Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

If you ever had any interest in seeing Henry Louis Gates Jr. gaze admiringly at statues of Latin American leaders, then the Black in Latin America series is for you (just see the image above for a representative example).

I admire the venerable professor, and have a longstanding interest in Latin American history, so I watched the series with interest, in order to broaden my knowledge of the black experience in Latin America.  The first episode was promising.  Haiti and the Dominican Republic, which share an island but have had a contentious history, were profiled.  I found it interesting to see why Haiti identified more strongly with its African heritage, but it did seem that the comparison between racial identity in the two countries was a little too pat.  Haitians=African and Dominicans=Spanish.  I think a more nuanced picture of Dominican racial identity could have been portrayed.

The more complicated racial histories of Cuba and Brazil are highlighted next in the series, and I was pleased that Cuba was shown neither as a racial paradise nor as a racial hellhole for its dark-skinned citizens.  The story is complicated, and I was glad that Gates talked with both veterans of the Cuban revolution and young Cubans who have known nothing but the current regime.  Brazil was also a fascinating study.  We always hear that Brazil is a diverse, rainbow society, but I was surprised to learn that the influx of European immigrants in the mid 20th century was the direct result of a government program to whiten the country.  It has only been fairly recently that the country has begun to embrace its diverse heritage.

Black in Latin America

Black in Latin America

The episode that left me the most puzzled was the last one, on Mexico and Peru. On the one hand, I thought it was the most necessary, because I’ll admit, though I am knowledgeable about Mexican history, I had no idea the extent of the African slave trade in Mexico, nor the African heritage of some of Mexico’s national heroes, such as Morelos and Guerrero.  The Mexican national narrative of “la raza cósmica”, the mixing of the Spanish and the indigenous, is thrown for a loop.  Looking at the faces of Mexicans featured in the show- everyday Mexicans, young and old, male and female- the discerning eye begins to see African features.

And yet it is in this episode that it is most glaringly obvious that Gates brings to the whole venture his own perspective as an African-American.  He looks at Mexican racial history through an American lens, and I admit that I winced when he called the residents of a mostly black town in Mexico “brother”.  The racial history of the U.S. is so different from that of Mexico that you can’t travel to one country with the perspective of another.

Welcome, Al Madrigal, to the Daily Show

20 May
Al Madrigal

Al Madrigal

Unfortunately, I didn’t catch it on TV a few days ago, but The Daily Show has a new correspondent– and no, it is not the awful Olivia Munn. Veteran Bay Area comic Al Madrigal debuted on the show Tuesday night to a pretty well-written bit about the lack of diversity on The Daily Show.  Madrigal noted that the show had two Canadian correspondents before it had its first Latino.

This is one of those cases of a glaring mistake only being noticed once its pointed out.  Yes, The Daily Show has never been a place for diversity. In Living Color it ain’t.  The Daily Show is a bastion of in-joke whiteness, and you just sort of accept that going in. The one omission I always noticed on the show was female correspondents.  Samantha Bee stood out in a sea of dudes like Aasif Mandvi, Rob Riggle, Wyatt Cenac, Jason Jones, Ed Helms, Larry Wilmore, Steve Carrell, Stephen Colbert…well, you get it.  This issue was only exacerbated by pretty face Olivia Munn.  The fact that a coveted spot on The Daily Show was going to an unfunny lady who was mostly hired for sex appeal.  So the intended audience of the show was revealed: young middle-class dudes.

Make that young, middle-class white dudes.  I would be curious to know if there is some informal or formal data on Latino viewership of The Daily Show.  I can say that just from my own observation, white friends love The Daily Show, and Latino friends are indifferent.  Maybe more Latinos will tune in to see the genial Madrigal on Jon Stewart’s show.  Or more likely the existing fan base of The Daily Show will get increased exposure to a Latino point of view.  To this I say, bravo.

Alumni Events

19 May
Alumni

Alumni

I attended an alumni event tonight for my graduate school.  I hesitated whether or not to go- these sorts of things can be awkward.  The last one I attended was mostly populated with alums I didn’t know.  At that point I was unemployed and looking at the occasion as a way to network, and I remember feeling self-conscious when people asked what I did and if they could have a business card.

It’s funny how life changes in just a couple of short years. Some people who seemed invincible with their impressive jobs are now anxiously looking for work.  Although I was once in their shoes, I now have a job I enjoy.  It is nice to attend these events and see people with whom I shared two great years of study.  At this particular event, I didn’t talk to any new people, which was fine. I got caught up with some dear old friends, and got a free Anchor Steam in the process.

What Does an American Look Like?

18 May
American

American

No joke- when I am looking for an image for my blog posts, I just type the topic into google images and see what comes up. “End of the world”. “Latinas”. It’s interesting to see what images come up.  So the image at left is what you see when you type in American. It’s the first image, anyway.  Thanks, Google, for proving my point.

Which is that when non-Americans think of what an American looks like…they think of something resembling that image.  I was thinking about this today because last night I talked at length with a friend who had just spent 5 weeks in India.  She told me about the natural camaraderie among Westerners, whether expats or travelers, and the way that Indians of all ages would constantly ask to take pictures with her.  And somehow I thought to myself, if you’re an Asian-American, say, or a Black Brit, or a Brazilian, and you’re traveling through India, are you welcomed into the coterie of well-travelled Westerners? And are Indians clamoring to have their pictures taken with dark-skinned Westerners?

I recall several Olympics ago when MSNBC infamously included a headline on its website, “American Beats Out Kwan”. Figure skating champ Michelle Kwan’s nationality was put in question, even though she’s from Torrance (you L.A. natives out there know Torrance). Would we expect to see a headline like “American Beats Out Roddick at Wimbledon”? or “American Loses to Woods at Masters Tournament”?  Hardly.  The old Michelle Kwan headline is, well, old, but among foreigners I can tell you anecdotally that Americans are expected to be blond-haired, blue-eyed, and white.  Anyone who veers from the norm just makes people’s heads explode. Granted, I haven’t travelled abroad since Obama’s election.  Perhaps things have changed.  And perhaps a black or brown Westerner traveling in the Indian subcontinent will be asked to be in the photo albums of the locals. Maybe when we think American, we can think of this:

Typical American

Typical American

Rickhouse on a Tuesday

17 May
Rickhouse

Rickhouse

Do I normally go out on a Tuesday? No.  Do I normally go out on a stormy night?  No way.  But when a friend is in town from Washington D.C. , and there is a lot of catching up to do, you stand at a bar for 3 hours and talk.  And talk. And talk. I know what she is up to because I see the pictures and I read the status updates on her Facebook page, but seeing her and talking over drinks, I got the rare joy of hearing the full story of her life in person, to hear the details of what I only see outlines of online.

It was also nice to get to know her better- we’ve been friends, but never very close. She is someone I have always liked and wanted to know better- now I’m glad I do.

May it Rain

16 May
Rain

Rain

After several days of good inspiration for blogging- art and movies and books and politics and the end of the world- tonight I feel like I’ve momentarily run out of steam. What to say? The rain is lashing against my window, and the heater is on.  It feels quite nice to feel warm and cozy and safe from the cold, wet weather. I am thinking of a friend who emailed tonight.  We used to be close, but I don’t hear from her much any more.  Her heart was broken, and she was reaching out.  It felt good to chat with her online, if only briefly. If just for a brief moment, I felt like I had helped a friend who has helped me so many times.

It’s a comforting thought on a cold spring night.

Bridesmaids: Girls Being Funny Part II

15 May
Best Scene in Bridesmaids

Best Scene in Bridesmaids

This morning I finally went to see Bridesmaids (matinee price=$6, woo hoo)! While many of the scenes in the commercials are not in the movie, this is also not a movie where the best scenes are all in the trailer.  There is plenty of funny from beginning to end, and the serious stuff of female frenemies and the pain of seeing a friendship fade are also worthwhile.  Seeing the movie is not uncomfortable if you’re an unwed woman of a certain age; it IS a bit uncomfortable to watch if you’ve ever experienced a falling out with an old friend.

As I expressed before, it is heartening to see that Hollywood is throwing its weight behind a cast featuring women being funny, and also focusing on a woman and her relationships (it also helps that this woman is played by neither Kate Hudson or Katherine Heigl). The script was very well-written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, expertly balancing humor and pathos while developing great comic characters (special mention has to be made of Melissa McCarthy, who nearly steals the movie as Megan, the future sister-in-law of Maya Rudolph’s character Lillian) and allowing a love interest for Kristen Wiig’s Annie to blossom (every girl’s a sucker for an Irish accent.  Chris O’Dowd proves to be quite charming).  And yes, there is some tension between Annie, Lillian’s oldest friend, and Helen, a newer friend of Lillian’s who tries to bogart her way into the Maid of Honor job. The photo above is of a great scene where the two women vie to give the most heartfelt toast ever. Hilarious.

Congratulations to the makers of this great comedy made by and for women. I can’t wait to laugh my way through more movies like this one.

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