Barrie Bramley, our resident creativity, talent and diversity expert, was quoted this past week in The Times, in an article entitled: “International experience is vital for MBA students”. Read it here.
Archive for the 'Media tidbits' Category
The world’s worst products, as voted for by Consumers International.
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Coca-Cola – for continuing the international marketing of its bottled water, Dasani, despite admitting it comes from the same sources as local tap water.
- Kellogg’s – for the worldwide use of cartoon-type characters and product tie-ins aimed at children, despite high levels of sugar and salt in their food products.
- Mattel – for stonewalling US congressional investigations and avoiding overall responsibility for the global recall of 21 million products.
- With the overall prize going to: Takeda Pharmaceuticals – for taking advantage of poor US regulation and advertising sleeping pills to children, despite health warnings about pediatric use.
Richard Lloyd, Director General of Consumers International, said:
“These multi-billion dollar companies are global brands with a responsibility to be honest, accountable and responsible. In highlighting their short-comings Consumers International and its 220 member organisations are holding corporations to account and demanding businesses take social responsibility seriously.”
See a newspaper report with some details and commentary here.
I picked this up recently. I think it is a year old, but still good info.
My reference says it is by Peter Clark (co-author, The Loyalty Guide) and was sourced from The Wise Marketer
While we must look into the past to find out why customers defect, stay loyal, or advocate a brand, we also need to see changes coming. Here we detail the 22 major factors that are set to shape the future of customer loyalty programmes around the world…
In this article, we’ve drawn guidance and data from the 36 chapters of The Loyalty Guide Volume II (May 2006, Wise Research), to offer practical insights into the technological developments, market trends, business strategies, and behavioural shifts that will define and shape successful loyalty initiatives up to 2010. We have purposely kept our focus on practical developments rather than merely expounding theory.
Paradigm shifts have a nasty habit of turning up just when they’re least expected… The most obvious way of predicting future trends is to examine what has happened so far and then make projections from that. But that is fraught with danger because paradigm shifts have a nasty habit of turning up just when they’re least expected. Who would have predicted even ten years ago that the mail and the fax would have been relegated to the extent that they have by e-mail? And with the rapid growth of spam and online fraud, e-mail is already getting much harder to use for reliable customer contact. Another shift is already overdue.
Some of these factors we discuss here are already known to loyalty marketers, but their importance in shaping the industry means they shouldn’t be dismissed from our attention when planning ahead. But others are new and perhaps even surprising, and are likely to become the key points of differentiation between loyalty programmes that succeed and those that don’t.
Continue reading ‘The 22 major factors that will shape the future of customer loyalty’
I am sitting watching a documentary series on CNN, by Anderson Cooper and Sanjay Cupta, called “Planet in Peril”. See the related website here.
It starts as a list of climate change issues, from melting ice caps to rising sea levels, disappearing lakes to heating islands and malaria. It’s a great litany of the disaster awaiting us, and spans the globe. It would be tough to argue that we are in midst of a climate change crisis.
The question remains, though - are we causing it? Can we change it? What must we do? These questions are dealt with in the show, too.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN sponsored largest scientific report on climate change ever published, was released earlier this year. This is the group that won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Check out their website here. It’s tough to argue with the evidence presented in their reports. But some do, of course, especially those funded by big energy companies that have the most to lose from a global backlash against companies causing climate change.
This is a good documentary. Check it out.
Their website also gives great resources for students.
At least, that’s what my favourite Talk Radio station (Radio 702) said during their half hourly news reports throughout today. As a regular facebook user (see my profile here, and challenge me to Rock, Paper, Scissors here, if you have nerves of steel), I was intrigued. Read the story here (not sure how long their archives last, so I have copied it in full below).
Now the story itself is a fairly newsworthy one - especially at this time of year, when final year High School students are writing final exams, and some are trying to find illegal shortcuts to success. BUT, to headline the piece, and add commentary to it, indicating that this is a Facebook problem is ridiculous. And that’s what the news readers did this morning.
What a load of rubbish!! This is such typical media hype. The type that breeds dangerous attitudes in parents, and really does more harm than good.
There was a great little piece in The Economist on language and cliche’s. Not quite world changing, but fun.
Plus ça change? Not quite
Aug 9th 2007, From The Economist (subscription needed)
Clichés are always tired. Increasingly, they are also wrong
TECHNOLOGY constantly overtakes language. Recent additions to the Oxford English Dictionary have included po-faced entries for “Google” (the verb), “wiki” and “mash-up”. But most clichés are stubbornly indifferent to such concerns. Indeed, they often act as a linguistic fossil record, preserving objects and behaviour that have long since fallen into petrified obsolescence. Industrious sorts no longer burn the midnight oil. Flashes in the pan are common even if the flintlock muskets that gave rise to them are museum pieces. Colours are still nailed to masts, metal though they now usually are.
On the lighter side of life…
As part of the marketing campaign for the new Simpson’s Movie, the promoters drew a massive Homer Simpson on the hillside in Dorset, right next to the the Cerne Abbas giant - an ancient fertility symbol. See picture. As a Simpson’s fan, I thought it was genius.
UK-based pagan groups were incensed, though, and promised to do “rain magic” to bring the rains to wash away Homer (read Sky News report here). This all happened a few days before the most devastating rainfall and flooding in recorded history in Britain. Hhhmmm? Makes you think, doesn’t it?
It’s official. After 800 years of being Catholic church policy, the theological construct of “limbo” has been abolished (read the International Herald Tribune on this). This was a place were unbaptised babies were said to go, awaiting some kind of final judgement at the end of times. It was “created” over 800 years ago, as a way of dealing with two competing theological factions in the Catholic Church. Last week, after a 3 year theological review, the Pope agreed that it was an error in judgement, and officially “abolished” it as a concept in Catholic dogma.
Good for him!
I suppose the lesson for us all is to ask what long held beliefs we each have that we need to be prepared to give up - no matter how embarrassing or life-changing it might be to do so. You can criticise the Vatican for this change. But you can’t argue with their guts to do something!
What do you need to change? And do you have the guts to do so?
A few months ago, Keith Coats wrote about his disappointment at Ryk Neethling, the South Africa swimming superstar, and his lack of respect for the etiquette and rules of competition when competing in an event in Durban (read his post here). Now the other 3 members of the Olympic gold winning relay team have fallen foul of Swmming South Africa, but not bothering to pitch up for the National trials. Read the story in today’s Saturday Star.
The online version doesn’t give the same detail the actual front page article did. Apparently Swimming SA gives overseas swimmers money for travel and accommodation to the trials and competitions in SA. Sponsors have agreed to pay additional funds. Roland Schoeman wanted to fly business class - Swimming SA only gives enough to fly economy, and apparently the sponsors didn’t come through with extra money. Now, I fully understand that an athlete of Schoeman’s ability has the right to earn a good income from his sport. I also can understand that as “Top Talent” he probably feels he has the right to be a prima donna. He refused to fly economy. He has spoken to the media saying Swimming SA would not pay for him to come. And now SSA has booted off the national team. He will therefore not be eligible to swim in the FINA World Cup next year, which is due to be held in Durban, South Africa. So, home fans will be disappointed!! He can still qualify for the Olympics in 2008.
There will probably be some deal done soon. But, although that may be good for the FINA champs, it will not be good for swimming in SA. The problem with top talent is that they often feel they live outside the system and can play by their own rules. Whilst this is sometimes healthy - as it can be the basis of them pushing the boundaries, being creative, and generating innovatioon - it can also be extremely unhealthy and produce a destructive vibe and culture. As a manager of talent, a critical skill is knowing where to draw the line, and knowing when to use the heavy hand, and even get rid of people who “bring in the numbers but don’t have the values” (to quote Jack Welch).
If you don’t know what Second Life is, check it out here first. Its an online, virtual reality game that has created a completely online world. You select a character, buy into the game, and start “living” a life in the game. You can run a shop, be an explorer, run for political office, or do anything you could do in “real life”. There are some people who have made Second Life a profession, selling “land”, “clothes” for characters (called avatars) and just living this “second life”.
At TomorrowToday.biz, we’re really interested in game theory, and how gamer culture is influencing the world and business culture. See some of our previous blog entries: Lessons from the gamer generation, and The Gamers are coming.
But, I stumbled on a magnificent site recently. Its mainly a bit of fun, but there’s a very important and serious message behind the site. Its “Get a First Life” - http://www.getafirstlife.com/. Its a brilliant parody of the Second Life site, and you’ll laugh out loud at the cleverness of the look alike site. Great message, too — some gamers need to get out more!!
Enjoy. And, PS, get a first life!
I’ll be honest - I think David Beckham was (is?) a great football player (for my American readers, that’s soccer player). His ability with the dead ball is breathtaking. So is his salary package. And he did marry the prettiest Spice.
But, the hoopla over his move to LA is nauseating. Enough already. Who cares that Victoria has arrived in LA to look for a house? Really, is that the headline on the world’s top 24 hour news channels? For the last week? When last did the fact that a sportsman was NOT playing for his club this newsworthy?
Then, watching a Daily Show segment with Ted Koppel on Iran (on YouTube), he explained it in one simple sentence:
“The nature of especially 24/7 cable news is a focus on what is most recent, rather than on what is most important”. He was lamenting the lack of real insight, historical reflection and real journalism on CNN, Sky, BBC and other 24 hour news channels, who’s focus is ratings, entertainment, and viewership, rather than news, analysis and insights.
I concur.
This is too good to be true… It was reported in London newspapers last week, and is just unbelievable. It’s an anti-talent story. The story of a young web designer looking for a job in Dubai. He applies by email, and gets a favourable response. And, then… well, its hard to describe, but the guy has a complete mental breakdown.
The reason I’m giving you this link is to show you how powerful blogging is, how important understanding the Connection Economy can be, and how NOT to get ahead in advertising. It’s worth reading the whole thing through. My best is the last line: Congratulations, you’re famous. Read this great story here.
YouTube for many is very old news (almost 12 months now). But I keep getting pleasantly surprised, hence this post. I first clicked on over while in the US reading about a debate as to whether some teenage girl posting her videos to YouTube was for real, or had a crew backing her? It really ended up being a silly but interesting first visit/investigation. But as time has marched on I’m spending more and more time on the site.
For those still not in the know, YouTube describes itself as:
YouTube is a free online video streaming service that allows users to view and share videos that have been uploaded by our members.
And while there’s a lot of ‘citizen media’ being posted that’s quite personal and useless outside of a touch of voyeur-ing I’ve found a truck load of useful stuff as well. It helps that I have a mate who’s addicted to ‘Comedy Central‘ and sends copious links through to me, keeping me amused listening to mostly Dubya bashing by John Stewart on the Daily Show. On a more relevant (to me) level, I’m reading a book by Richard Dawkins at the moment, and on a recent visit found many short interviews with Dawkins on all kinds of issues.
Gary Larson, creator and cartoonist of The Far Side © recently sent me an email. Now, under normal circumstances, I would have been ecstatically thrilled at this. The man is one of my heroes, and his self-imposed retirement from drawing Far Side cartoons a few years ago left my world that little bit emptier. I’ll be honest and say that I am still kept up at night trying to figure out a few of his cartoons I still don’t get. Before I die, I’ll work them out. But this obsession is testament to his skill! I have all his books, and most of the reprints and best of’s as well. I have had numerous desk calendars, bought a veritable pile of Far Side greeting cards, and may have even had Far Side branded underpants at some stage…
My point - I not only am a fan, I have also contributed to what I assume is a fairly wealthy man’s fortune.
So, it surprised me to receive a letter from him. Or, more precisely, from his lawyer (see the letter below). A website I own hosts a number of talks that can be used in youth groups. The site hasn’t been updated in about 7 years. One of the talks was about how to use Gary Larson’s cartoons to teach young people about God. It was a fun talk, and it included some examples of his cartoons. It was written by a friend of mine.
Now, Gary Larson, in a nice enough way, has asked us to remove the page. What I don’t get is his logic. His argument is all about his emotional attachment to his cartoons, his desire to exercise control over their usage and the fact that they are “his children”. Sure. But what about the 20 Larson books I have in my library? Why isn’t he concerned about them? I’ll be honest and say I don’t think I’ve dusted them in over a year, and one or two may have torn pages. Does that make him sad?
Why can’t he just be honest and say, “Hey punk, if you didn’t pay for the pictures, you can’t use them”. I did actually pay for them - the pics on the site were all scanned from legal copies of his books that I own.
Anyway, you read his letter, and let me know if I am being unreasonable to be just a little bit disappointed. If he had said, “Go to PayPal and make a donation”, I would have done that immediately. But I must say there is a slightly bitter taste in my mouth. But maybe I am just too much of an Internet idealist that believes there comes a time when what you’ve put “out there” just has to be trusted to the universe. As an author and presenter myself, I accept that people use my work, and I don’t pursue the copyright I own and am entitled to. Is that just me? I’d like your opinion.
Continue reading ‘Larson not laughing’
Issued by: UCT Unilever Institute of Strategic Marketing
Fascinating new research shows that an alarming percentage of Black Diamonds - South Africa’s fast-growing and affluent black middle class - feel that marketing communication often misses the mark when it comes to connecting with them. 
A hot-off-the-press study by the UCT Unilever Institute and Research Surveys has found that 49% of Black Diamonds feel that they are misrepresented in the media by local marketers and advertisers. One respondent summed up the feeling of almost half of the respondents by saying: “South Africa has had the political revolution, we’re in the midst of the economic revolution, but we have yet to see a media revolution!”
UCT Unilever Institute and Research Surveys coined the term ‘Black Diamond’ earlier this year after undertaking the first comprehensive marketing study on SA’s black middle class. The term refers to South Africa’s two million-strong black middle class which is growing at an estimated rate of 50% a year, and currently has an annual spending power of R130-billion.
Continue reading ‘New study shows how marketers can better connect with SA’s black middle class’
News broke this past week that HP board chairperson, Patricia Dunn, had ordered a probe into how information was being leaked to the press. This investigation led to the obtaining of personal phone records of some directors, and at least two reporters covering HP. The investigation conducted by a company hired by HP used a controversial technique called “pretexting” to obtain the personal phone records of silicon.com sister site CNET News.com reporters Dawn Kawamoto and Tom Krazit, California state prosecutors said. Pretexting is an illegal method of obtaining personal records through misrepresentation of someone’s identity.
Dunn has resigned as chair of the Board, although she will remain on as a director. Another director has been forced to resign. The issue was raised by a non-executive director who resigned earlier this year in protest over the investigation, and took his complaint to the AG.
Right now, this story is simply proof that the connection economy exists. Its not just what you sell anymore, its who you are that people are worried about. How HP responds will be critical, and interesting to watch. An unanswered question for me is: “who was leaking the information, and did the inquiry come to any conclusions?” The answer to that question may be HP’s rescue boat. But, in this new era of transparency, its not just what you do, but how you do it that counts. HP are finding this out the tough way.
Just in case you still needed proof that Boomers are not just going to slip into retirement quietly, proof comes from the world of Hollywood. A flurry of movies is expected over the next few months - all of them remakes of classic Boomer TV shows. Right now on circuit, we have “Miami Vice“, but expect “The A-team” (2006), “Dallas” (2007), “Magnum PI” (2007), and “Knight Rider” (2008) to hit the circuits soon.
Personally, I can think of nothing worse, and this is proof that Hollywood is running out of ideas. But feeding the Boomer machine will make money, so expect more of this kind of quasi-nostalgia from every industry…
By Nick Roddick, in the Scotsman - read it here.
NEXT time you go to the movies, ask yourself the following questions. Does the cinema have (a) a bar that wouldn’t look out of place in a posh hotel, or (b) an easy-wipe counter with hot-dog and popcorn machines? Is there (a) lots of glass, chrome and recessed lighting, or (b) miles of stained carpet beneath acres of polystyrene roof panels? And, finally, do your fellow movie-goers look (a) as if they’ve just left a Virgin Megastore with an armful of classic rock albums, or (b) like all their music comes from downloads?
If the answer to all questions is a, then welcome to the world of the MBA - the Movie Buff Adult, the fastest-growing section of the cinemagoing audience.
The Hollywood trade paper Variety recently noted a major surge in the number of 40 to 60-year-olds going to the cinema. But Michael Barker of Sony Pictures Classics thinks Variety is understating things: “I’d say 40 and upwards - no upper limit,” he insists. “Senior citizens are now going back to the movies in big numbers.”
Geoff Gilmore, the director of the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, agrees. “These are the people who have made our kind of movies possible,” he says.
Last night, Dr Graeme Codrington was on Carte Blanche (a South African investigative TV show), talking about Great Companies to Work For. A lot of the information came from TomorrowToday’s presentations on Talent, especially “Bright Young Things“.
It was also great to have some of our top clients profiled, including SA Breweries, Net#work BBDO, Avovision and Citadel.
A transcript appears below.
Continue reading ‘Best Business (Graeme Codrington on Carte Blanche)’
John Cusack is one of my favourite movie stars, and he turned 40 on 28 June. OK, so’s he’s not quite A-list, and I don’t think he’s ever got a big payday role ($ 10 million or more). But he’s an amazing presence in the psyche of Generation X. His roles have mirrored our lives and our own development. You can see his bio and entire 51 credit filmography at his IMDB page (that include 5 unreleased movies that he’s working on or in post production now).
Cusack has been a steadfast presence in movies that my generation has used to define itself. He’s probably the defining Generation X actor, and his onscreen development, with passages from teen angst into young adulthood and now looming middle age have just slightly pre-empted our own journeys, and even been somewhat prophetic, or at least echoed our fears and desires.
Think about it. John Cusack has a defining film, or two, for every era of our lives:
Its true, Bill Gates, probably one of the most famous and richest boomers has announced his resignation from Microsoft Corporation. Whilst this will only take place in the next two years, it certainly is a significant time in the life of Microsoft and the computer and software world. In a Fast Company article, a Microsoft employee is quoted as saying it is the end of an era and this is certainly very true considering the impact Microsoft and more particularly Bill Gates has had on the industry. The article states that Bill will be focusing on being more involved in his Foundation, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and using its $29 Billion to accelerate vaccine development to combat malaria. So, who knows what Bill Gates will be better known for in 50 years from now.
This article was posted on www.iol.co.za sourced from Ananova.com
These people were frozen while they waited for medical science to discover two things:
1) How to cure the disease that killed them.
2) How to resuscitate people who have been cryogenically frozen.
As I read the article I wondered if the son ever thought that by the time they had discovered the solutions to these two things they will probably also be able to deal will a little temporary defrosting. And as he realised that….how much of a prat did he feel like for pushing the ‘Ignite’ button
The latest edition of New Scientist magazine has an article [read it online here] on glasses that have been invented by MIT that allow lovers to drink together from remote locations.
The glasses are fitted our with LED’s, liquid sensors, and wi-fi connectivity. When one person picks up their glass, or fills it, the LED on the other person’s glows a particular colour. When they drink, another LED indicates this activity. Besides the various other applications in fields like medicine the scientists say the ‘wireless’ glasses “help people feel as if they are sharing a drinking experience together”.
In a recent Business Week podcast the journalists were talking about the advent of ‘Post-Geographic Man’. They spoke of global virtual teams where members had never met personally. What struck me in reading the New Scientist article was the reality that this type of tool becomes a real technology enabler of post-geographic connectivity….bring on the Connection Economy!!!
And finally…
Today is the 100th birthday of the humble cornflake. William and John Kellogg had started the sanitas Food Company to provide America with whole grained cereals in the 1800s. They stumbled across the cornflake after leaving some dough out overnight by mistake. They served the first bowl of their experimental breakfast on March 7, 1897. The Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company (later to become Kellogg Company), founded by William, started selling them in 1906, on 19 Feb. John (a medical doctor) was appalled to discover his brother had added sugar to them. They had an argument, a falling out and parted ways, never to speak to each other again (Hence, I believe “Kellogg”, rather than “Kelloggs” as it has become known).
So, now you know.
James Frey is the author of A Million Little Pieces. This was one of Oprah’s book club books, and was supposed to be a true life memoir. But, some of the facts in the book were in fact made up. For more info, read the follow up interview with Oprah here. The original “Smoking Gun” report is available here.
I haven’t read the book, and probably won’t. I also don’t care if someone makes up stuff to put in books, if they sell it as fiction (I realise that Frey passed it off as nonfiction, and that was a lie). My comment is not about the book or the author. What amazed me was reports that within days of the revelation of the lies, lawyers had filed the first of at least three lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages from allegedly defrauded consumers. The class action suits claim that customers were defrauded. But at least one goes further to request compensation for the time they spent reading the book (Read more info on the lawsuits here). Sure, he duped people. But he also entertained them, and that was the point, wasn’t it?
This is further proof of the bankruptcy of the American way. I suppose the people who sat in McDonald’s reading the book also joined the class action suit to sue the Golden Arches for making them fat. My memory brings to mind one series of Survivor where a competitor lied about a dying grandmother, and advanced in the game. The same happened in Big Brother in the UK. The people who did this were treated like criminals by the public and media. All they were doing was playing the game! “Reality” shows (and “reality” books, and shows “based on true life”) are symptoms of a voyeuristic society. And the lawsuits prove that people don’t like to be caught out in their voyeurism.
The line between reality and fantasy seems to be increasingly blurred. This can’t be a good thing.
