Harry Reid & His Smart Obama Statement

How many times have we seen this? Someone makes a statement that's so offensive it creates a tremendous splash in the press. They then apologize for it. Everyone forgives everyone. The world moves on. But the original person has made a mint from the media shock. Well, Harry Reid did it in his book, and has done it well. He'll do the talk show circuit, make headlines across the country and around the world, and in the end, he will save millions of advertising budget for five key words entwined in his comment of "Barack Obama could become the country’s first black president because he was “light-skinned” and had “no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.” If you haven't seen it, take a look at the New York Times.

Now, I'm not even going to go into my thoughts on this - whether it is accurate or not, whether it is true or not, or how incredibly distateful it was. After all, he has been friends of President Obama for quite some time. But has Harry hurt his brand in this? Not really. Those in the know, know about his relatioship with the President. His core followers will continue to follow him. Those that already dispise him will contine to do so. And, those in the middle will draw sides, then forget about this as the media cycle moves on. Harry has apologized for his comment in the past (it was accepted by the Rev. Al Sharpton). He is also apologizing for it now, but I would hasten to guess his current apology is more about the media than taking real blame. Besides, he knows exactly what he's doing with this. He is creating a media frenzy FOR HIMSELF.

Once again, the world of music [think Kanye West and Taylor Swift] and the world of politics have come to align themselves by using the same tactics of "Smash & Grab" to get whatever they're pitching sold. I'm hardly surprised that Harry Reid did this. I'm just surprised that the media is falling for it ONCE AGAIN!!!!!

Content Marketing - It's My Facebook And I'll Do What I Want To

Not sure if everyone's been following the latest with the Manhattan Borough President's press secretary Lee Lander. Apparently Lee went off on a bit of a rant about Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. It wasn't the nicest of rants either, with the racist epithet coming up on a number of occassions.

I'm not going to delve into what this aide said in his rant, but rather how absurd his idea that his facebook account shouldn't have been used against him, and that some things are "private." The idea that "hey, it's my facebook and I'll do what I want to," "free speech protects me no matter what I say," and "but, I did it on my own time," are played out. The idea that in this day of blogs, tweets, podcasts and mobile media, that anything you say is private is borderline absurd. No longer is it just Lindsay Lohan and Barack Obama who are being picked up. It is you, me, and eveyone else. Your work, your play, your life is all out there. For anyone and everyone to see and use as they wish. Whether that is fair or not is a whole other discussion. The fact is, we are all now public beings - public brands.

If you think about it, it's really not all that bad. It just means we're all being held accountable for being true to ourselves and our personal brands. No longer can we have secret lives. No longer can we lead double standards. If we deviate, in time we'll most assuridly get caught. Especailly if it is a big enough blunder - i.e., a rant that attaches your personal view of racism to a national event.

So how does this all come into the content marketing arena? Think about it. It's all content. A 140 character tweet, a uTube video, a blog entry. It's all content, which can be used to positively position a product or a person. Or negatively position them.

So next time, watch it. Take a step back before you publish your post. Think about what you're writing, speaking, videotaping, and ask yourself, is this something I can agree with, even if it's taken out of context? Is this true to your brand - personal or professional?

Louis Vuitton and 40 Years of Moon Travel

Talk about a brand that truly knows itself and its customers. Bravo Louis Vuitton.

Yes, LV is a luxury brand. Yes, their logo and products are the envy of any high-end shopper. But more important, it is a name and brand that knows who they are. It is a symbol that stands for travel and the journey. How big and how small one goes with the concept of the journey is up to the individual. From a small clutch and a trip for a latte, to the kind of baggage one only sees in vintage shots of ocean liners, to a trip to the moon. It is this last journey that they were smart enough to realize just how big it could be. Not because they could latch onto the 40th anniversary buzz, but because they could help to make the buzz. They went from being a product company that creates luggage, to a company that moves people.

When I first saw their print advertisement months ago, I thought, "Wow, now there's a company that understands what they are about, and isn't afraid to use real people that truly exemplify their brand, instead of just another pretty body or face." I never realized how big they were going to go with it though. From a store wrap that attracts gawkers and, more important, shoppers, to today's reproduction of The New York Times July 21st, 1969 headline, complete with, yes you guessed it, their ad on the back, they not only captured the excitement, they built upon it by honoring the astronauts. Best of all, when I saw President Obama with the astronauts - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins - I couldn't help but think about the ad by Louis Vuitton.

To the other brands out there - first find out what is at the heart of your product and your company. Cull it down to one word. Then find a way to take that word off the drawing board and bring it to life. For Louis Vuitton, it was journey. For the rest of us, it was the Apollo 11 moon shot from 40 years ago.

Party First, Country Second

I'm confused. Very confused. How can a Rush Limbaugh say he hopes the President fails, in the same breath he speaks about being a patriot? How can he even begin to think it's okay to put the success of his political party above the success of the President of the United States, and of the United States itself?

Without delving into politics too much, it is unconscionable that any pundit, newscaster, or even shock radio/tv host [whether it's Rachel Maddow or Rush Limbaugh] who calls themselves a patriot or true American, can wish that the President fails. "I deal in principles, not polls," wash Rush's response. So I ask, what principles are they, that he holds so dear? Is his principle and brand about "Damn America as a democratic state, and win at all costs?" If so, then his message is right on target.

Giving Your Addicted Child An Allowance

"Mom, dad, can I have another sixteen billion dollars?"

"Hmmmmm, well honey, what did you do with the thirteen billion we just gave you?"

"Uh, spent it?"

"Spent it? On what?"

"Things...."

Well, you get the idea. GM is addicted to doing business the same old way it has always done business. It hasn't developed new products that consumers are actually looking for. It hasn't opened its eyes to the resource problem we and the rest of the world are having with oil. It hasn't, in the face of failure, shown an ability to get off its addiction to antiquated thinking and given anyone the least bit of assurance that it can, in fact, change.

Aside from the fact that General Motors can't seem to manage its business. It's definately not carrying through on its brand promise for being an innovative, forward thinking company. Instead, it's showing itself as a tired, old company, set in its ways, and groaning about how bad things are. Hmmmmm, would you buy a tired old man on a porch?

Perhaps I'm being overly harsh on this. After all, they did just shed Hummer. Okay, not quite forward thinking, but it's a step. And they did create the Saturn concept. Which while admittedly was innovative in the 80s, their decision to hide it in the closet in the 90s, leads me to think more of a [once again] tired old man too embarassed when his kid dyed her hair green and started listening to Kurt Cobain.

So even if they do survive, what will their brand be remembered for? Have they already tarnished it so badly with their management [or lack thereof]? Or do they have to hire someone under 50 who can truly reinvent the company.

Hmmmmm, wait a minute, isn't that what we're doing with Barack Obama and the United States?

Well, perhaps both brands can be saved after all. It will be an interesting year...

Keeping One's Personal Brand Strong

As John Stewart said "If you ever wondered what Barack's 'Shut the F**k up' face looks like, just watch him when Joe Biden started to joke about the slip up with the oath of office."

It's also one of the best examples of someone protecting his personal brand. In effect, by taking the initiative to repeat the oath, by reigning in his second in command, and by maintaining a no-joke demeanor throughout his campaign and the initial days of his presidency, he has sent a solid message out to the world - "we do not take this job lightly, we understand how serious this office is, and we are not going to allow anyone to undermine us in tackling the tasks ahead."

It is refreshing to see, and is a lesson to everyone out there in terms of what it takes to protect one's brand in today's media world.

Just glad we could help you live out the recession in ease....

Speaking at the FBR Capital Markets conference in New York in December, Walter M. Pressey, president of Boston Private Wealth Management, a healthy bank with a mostly affluent clientele, said there were no immediate plans to do much with the $154 million it received from the Treasury.

“With that capital in hand, not only do we feel comfortable that we can ride out the recession,” he said, “but we also feel that we’ll be in a position to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves once this recession is sorted out.”

Well, ain't that wonderful? I mean, it must be nice to have all these kind people help you out, and ensure you could ride out the storm in comfort.

And don't think he's alone. At the Palm Beach Ritz-Carlton last November, John C. Hope III, the chairman of Whitney National Bank in New Orleans, stood before a ballroom full of Wall Street analysts and explained how his bank intended to use its $300 million in federal bailout money.

“Make more loans?” Mr. Hope said. “We’re not going to change our business model or our credit policies to accommodate the needs of the public sector as they see it to have us make more loans.”

I truly can't even comment on these two statements - on a human level, on a brand level, or on a "never in a million years...." level.

I ask, if We the people can give the money away, can't we call the loan in early? Why not put it up for vote?

How Much Time.....

Well, now that Barack Obama has become President of these United States, how much time does he have? How much time is the American public going to give him until they start ripping him apart for not returning us to pre-depression and pre-disaster times?

At this point, he's got a great approval rating. His numbers are up, which means the Obama brand is flying strong. As of January 14th, most American's throught he was the Man. Which is good. But he hasn't done anything yet. Which means he's been able to convince most of us that he is capable of incredible feats of governance and management merely on his presence and his words.

Don't get me wrong. I love the guy. I think he's the only hope for America now, and well into the future. This is less a commentary on him and his capabilities, and more a comment on We, the people...

Does his strong brand and strong position buy him the two or more years he's going to need to turn America around and show some results? Will it buy him the 4 years that's far more likely to be needed? Or will most Americans give up after 6 months, when it's time to hit the 4th of July celebrations?

American's love two things - praising the underdog, and ripping apart the leaddog. We do it all the time. So now that Obama's not the underdog any more. Now that he's transitioning to the leaddog position, at what point will we start doubting his ability? How long until we start doubting? Will we have the presence to support him when things don't instantly come up sunny? Or will we go back to our usual and look for someone to blame?

The brand is a strong and powerful force. It's done very well for Mr. Obama and his team. But how long will the brand survive without AMPLE actions to take it, and him, to the next level?

I Pity The President - or Truth in Advertising

It's election night, and no matter who wins this election, I pity the fool. Why? Because each has made promises that they simply can't keep. I do promise this. Somewhere in the first months of their presidency will come the message "It's much worse that I had thought. That SOB George W. lied to us, and now I can't do everything I wanted to. Even worse, I'm going to need each of you to work even harder in order for us to get back on track."

Why do I say this? Well, let's just look at the larger picture - of what's going on with this country. And no, this isn't a bash on the country. I love it deeply and feel it is still the greatest country on this planet. However, our January 1st is coming up quickly and we are already waking up with one hell of a hangover.

The fact is simple, for the most part our lifestyle is based on a level of consumption we simply cannot continue to maintain. We have larger refridgerators that most of the world can even dream of. We drive larger vehicles than most of us can afford, and that far exceed our fuel resources. We are demanding greater benefits from employers, but we have fewer jobs available to us. The worst part is, none of this is a result of the credit meltdown. It is due to our maintaining a lifestyle that is far out of touch from the rest of the world - and none of us are changing our way of life to fit the resources at hand.

The sad part is, as a nation, we are rapidly finding our horizon point where we will be forced to fall closer in line with the rest of the world. The next President will be the first one that will not have much of a choice but to wake us up to a rather nasty hangover. And no, I don't think he will have a large enough aspirin to ease the sunrise...

Sarah Palin/Barack Obama - Brand USA

Okay, so after seeing the Democratic National Convention [DNC] and the Republican National Convention [RNC], I guess it has all come to this. No matter who runs, we inevitably fall into the same thing - a popularity contest where the presidential candidates try their best to stay above the fray, while hiring Vice President's who, as Sarah Palin hinted at, act more like pitbulls than humans.

So much for the issues of the Iraq war, so much for drilling and oil consumption, so much for wiretapping becoming legal, abortion, alternative fuels, global warming, half truths and mis-truths. So much for presenting a sound foriegn policy and having the chops to back it up. So much for running a campaign about what each candidate can do or can't do.


How quickly has it dropped to the same politics I saw in highschool when elected the King and Queen of the prom. Only now it's about Sarah Palin in a bikini [yes, it's a photoshop job]. But hey, that's about as real as it's going to get for us from here on out. Or so it seems from the fallout I've been reading online. While all this goes on, so much for brand USA. Instead of being a beacon for how a free election is handled, we end up being no better off than the elections we laugh at from third world nations. Chads, election fraud, uncounted primaries - what must our founding fathers think.

So let's just cut to the chase and take a look at what really matters for voters of both candidates. To heck with politics and issues, let's talk about brand USA. Better yet, let's do what everyone else is doing and forget about trying to answer a higher calling and find a way to leverage the whole mess to our own benefit.

As my brother once said about politics "Now Jeff, why would you want to go wrestle with the pig? You're not going to win. You're only going to get dirty. And frankly, I think the pig kind of likes it."


So to heck with trying to respect our candidates. Instead, I'll post it to google, and see what it does for my ranking.

After all, this blog is about branding and marketing.

CNN - The Un-News

Did I miss something? When did CNN change from reporting the news to thinking they are the news? While watching the Democratic Convention last night, I kept changing channels back and forth between CNN and the McNeil Leherer Report - that's right good old PBS. While PBS showed the entire convention and let us make our own decisions on how well or how badly it went, I noticed CNN avoided showing any of the speeches until Hillary came close to appearing that is.

While Wolf Blitzer was trying to stir up coverage for an alleged plot against Barack Obama - something that even the reporter on the ground sounded confused about - former Denver Mayor and Obama Campaign Co-Chair Federico Peña wasa giving one of the more insightful speeches about his energy policy. While CNN ran endless "what if" scenarios, Lilly Ledbetter gave a speech that was one of the most compelling insights into women's rights and inequal pay. While Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, shared his American story to an astounded audience, CNN ran commercials.

Now, I'm not saying the Democrats know how to put on a great show, but shouldn't a new organization report the news? I mean, it was truly astounding to see how CNN failed to cover the speakers and the event, when they touted themselves as the "best coverage available." Instead, they opted to fill the screen with a badly operated red/blue map, and with endless scenarios of how the final election could go. So many in fact, that it became more confusing than insightful.

Which is where CNN's brand is beginning to suffer. It's a great brand if you only watch the placards that swing up between commercial breaks. But when it times to turn all that brand messaging into something real, they are failing miserably - Lou Dobbs excepting.

When will they realize, the more the reporters think that "they are the news," the less they will be viewed as reporters "of the news." There's nothing wrong with taking a network, or a brand, in this direction. But it's not the direction of a great news station. With Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper reporting, CNN might think about joining with E!. It would fit their format better, it would be far more entertaining, and at least their brand would be true to their reporting.

Paris - looking for your next new thing?