Marketing Joint

Don't Be A Rock. Don't Be An Island.

A winter's day
In a deep and dark
December;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

U.S. Auto Industry Bailout

I am totally opposed to the current government bailout of U.S. automakers. I’m against it because the government is not forcing these manufacturers to make any meaningful changes. A lot of the media coverage centers around the labor costs, design, and even healthcare issues but not enough attention is being placed on the real problem. The real problem is that U.S. automakers are asking customers to make a very bad choice. The problem stems from decades of mismanagement around business and marketing strategy – or lack of it. Bean counters and financial types have run U.S. automakers into the ground. Now, we’re hoping that bean counters will rescue the automakers?

They say “if GM fails, the economy will go down with it.” Really? I don’t buy it for a second. I’d only believe the argument if there was a persuasive case made for how the current bailout will ensure that GM won’t fail in the future. But, I haven’t heard any compelling argument other than some sweeping generalizations loaded with threats of doom. I have a feeling that we’re head down the road of government subsidizing the U.S. auto industry or prolonging the inevitable Chapter 11 anyway. If it’s Chapter 11, we’re basically burning money. If it’s subsidized, I can’t envision a future where the companies are incented to become competitive – so, money is being wasted in this scenario, as well.

Obama Is Favorite Over McCain?

If you put any weight into predictive markets and betting lines, Obama is the clear cut favorite to win the election.

Vegas betting line HERE. You basically have to bet $230 to win $100 on Obama while a $100 bet on McCain will win $160. Predictive market sample is HERE. Democrats get a 60% probability score ... which isn't that strong actually. Lots of good press articles about the NewsFutures crew are available.

- John

Teacher Accused of Branding

A teacher in a small town in Ohio gets accused of branding his students with an image of a cross. Clearly, not our idea of branding ... STORY HERE.

If a teacher tried to burn something on my forearm, I think I'd say "no thanks, try it on yourself."

- John

Money Making Idea: Mexican Gasoline

Ok, if gas is so cheap in Mexico, maybe someone should figure out a way to go buy as much as humanly possible and bring it back to Silicon Valley.

Doubtful Newspapers Will Thank Google

Reports of what Google CEO said at Syracuse U made me laugh today. Saving newspapers by taking $billions of their ad revenue and tossing back a few coins doesn't sound like "aiding" to me. The so-called financial incentive that Google claims to have to see that newspapers are bolstered makes little sense, also. If newspapers go under, all of those professional journalists are going to continue creating content somewhere else. Google doesn't care where that content comes from ... only that it's created and put out.

Google: If you really want to aid newspapers, buy Craigslist then put it out of business. Classified ads are where newspapers are bleeding profusely and Craigslist's success is largely the cause. Craigslist is a cheaper and more effective middleman for classifieds. I don't think we're going back ...

- John

Showtime Hits a Brick Wall

Now, I'm a bit worried that the Lakers are going to lose the trophy to the Celtics. It's not the series score that has me worried. It's the lack of adjustments on the part of the Lakers that has me perplexed.

Memo to Phil "Zen" Jackson: Get your team out of the triangle offense. The Celtics are defending against it. You eliminated a 24-pt. deficit when you abandoned it in Game Two. As the saying goes ... when you're in a hole, stop digging. Thanks buddy.

- John

Super Sperm

I ran across this snippet on sperm-powered nanobots. And I always thought my sperm was almighty ...

- John

Showtime Hits Tiny Speed Bump

Celtics played a valiant game. I thought the little green leprechauns were going to sink upon hitting the Lake(ers) but that'll have to wait. Pierce showed some lionheart drive. KG stepped up and delivered an intense performance albeit with a rather flat final quarter. PJ Brown contributed more than was expected of him. I thought PJ's hustle made a huge difference in the game. He was frustrating Gasol on both boards tonight. Sam Cassell was the only Celtic who played poorly. I was hoping for Sam to singlehandedly give Game One to the Lakers. On at least three occasions Sam sped down the court and threw up a long range jumper with no help underneath.

It's Showtime

This has nothing to do with startups or marketing. This is about the greatest sports dynasty in the modern era of pro sports. Yes, I'm entirely biased and darn proud of it. This is about the Los Angeles Lakers. Now that I think about it, no sports team has ever been marketed better than the Lakers. Ha!

Later tonight, the 2008 NBA Finals kicks off in Boston. My beloved Lakers are going to be playing the Celtics in enemy territory (6pm Pacific Daylight Time on ABC). 

There are many rivalries in sports. UNC vs. Duke. Cal vs. Stanford. Michigan vs. Ohio State. Dodgers vs. Giants. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Cowboys vs. Redskins. Arsenal vs. Manchester United. Ali vs. Frazier. McEnroe vs. Connors. Tiger Woods vs. Tiger Woods. Nothing beats Lakers vs. Celtics. Nothing.

Farewell Iomega, Hello EMC

I have Iomega on my mind. Anyone remember Iomega?

I still use the Iomega external hard disk drive I purchased a few years ago. It’s a horrible product. If I weren’t so lazy, I would’ve replaced it months ago. The adapter plug is designed poorly. I’ve had to do all sorts of things to prop up the casing to make sure that the drive powers on.

A Letter for Mark Zuckerberg

A Letter to Facebook's Founder by The Deal Professor in the NY Times is a good read.

That's it ... just wanted to point you there.

- John

Overcoming Limitations

Let me ask you a question. Your son or daughter is a basketball player. There's only one problem - he or she is short. Being a short basketball player is a big limitation. Speed, coordination, stamina, and the rest are surely other potential limitations. But, if you're short, basketball is not a smart sport to pursue. What's the best way to overcome this limitation?

Let's just say that you can only do one of three things:

The Million Dollar Idea

Infrastructure startups are difficult to fund. Most infrastrucuture startups require a significant amount of upfront VC investment. Web 2.0 startups are much easier to fund although it's becoming clear that as most of these sites head into the end of year two (i.e., running out of money), finding Series B investors is getting pretty tough. So, I have a bright idea. And, my idea is worth a million dollars ... minus $999,999.99. Just promise me that you won't share it with others because this is my one and only plan to become the next Mark Cuban. Why shouldn't I be the one who Carl Icahn pushes down Yahoo's throat? Mark's busy micromanaging his new Dallas Mavericks head coach anyway.

Which Brand Will Be Our Next President?

Like many others, I often spend my Sunday mornings watching the parade of discussions (more like sparring) on politics on the major television networks. Lately, both the Republican and Democratic Parties have been talking about themselves as brands. One pollster said this morning, "... because the Republican brand is damaged right now." Oh boy ...

Republican brand. Democratic brand. Nope, I still don't like it. Sounds silly.

It could be fun to compare the parties to actual brands though. Republicans are like Wal-Mart. Democrats are like Target. Obama is like Google. McCain is like Microsoft. I shop at Target and buy Microsoft. You can see why this year's election has me all confused.

- John

Mother's Day and Hallmark

Tomorrow is Mother's Day! I've been thinking a lot about my mother lately. Every day of the year is really Mother's Day, isn't it? But, we still go to stores and take our our wallets to buy a card. Most of the time, we pay Hallmark, the card company.

I had no clue that Mother's Day actually got it's start around the time of our (U.S.) Civil War. Before President Woodrow Wilson made it a holiday, a mother who wanted to speak out against wars tried to unite mothers against sending their sons off to war. I always thought Hallmark was somehow behind Mother's Day. Tells you how clueless I can be ...

The Psychology of Twitter

I thought about Twitter this afternoon because I was reading some stuff on communications theory and psychology - not marketing or media. I love what Twitter potentially represents, not what it is today. But, I still cannot get myself to use Twitter – at least not yet. There’s been enough ranting by anti-Twitter people on the web so let me share some positive light on the whole thing.