This is not your grandfather’s China

Posted on September 13, 2010 by markkolier

It isn’t even the China I grew up learning about. China is a country with a more than 5,000 year old history. Americans (and Westerners in general) older than 30 grew up with the idea of ‘Red China’. The advancing Communist menace was to be feared and defenders of Democracy like Joe McCarthy in the 1950’s did all they could to protect the American way of life.

I’ve only been in Shanghai for 48 hours and this shiny, modern city does not give any outward appearance of having any relation to the China we were taught to fear. There’s so much energy here in Shanghai and in much of Asia that I find infectious and exhilarating. The days are longer and the action is non-stop.
This morning we met at 6:50 AM to head over to crash the Shanghai American Chamber of Commerce breakfast featuring California Governor Schwarzenegger who is in Shanghai for a week-long trade mission promoting green energy initiatives and partnerships with China for California. The business cards were being passed fast and furious.

By the time we returned to the hotel by taxi in the pouring rain we had barely enough time to regroup and head over to an early lunch meeting. We then went to three more afternoon meetings, an early dinner, now to be followed by a 9:30PM meeting for drinks. All that in one day and tomorrow two meetings then we head on a plane for Beijing for and afternoon and then dinner meeting. This is Asia folks and I guarantee that you are going to be tired if you stop for even fifteen minutes.

My not speaking Mandarin has already become frustrating. While English is spoken in the big hotels and restaurants, taxicab drivers and shopkeepers can barely speak English. When you get in a taxi you have to have the exact address and place written down in Mandarin and then you hope the taxi driver know where he is going. Google maps helps in letting you know where you are at a moment. It even offers directions to the place you are going but without speaking the language I’m hardly any use to the driver anyway.

Even after only two days it is obvious that China is where it’s at. The notion that this is the Chinese century is more evident to me now than ever before. I am very interested in what I will think of Beijing as I have heard mixed reviews – pollution galore but nice people (Shanghaiese have a reputation of being a bit snooty).

After we return from Beijing we have a few meetings in Shanghai Thursday morning and then head out that afternoon to Wuxi (a 2 hour train ride) for a reception and then we head back that night.

A week in China seems like a month in most other places.

You could do it right?

Posted in Living in the World Today | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heading to China to see what I can see

Posted on September 10, 2010 by markkolier

Some time ago I posted that I wanted our company to be more global in scope – http://wp.me/pJX7l-Q. This afternoon I leave on an 8 day trip to China to meet people and learn a great many things about how our agency can help Chinese companies market their goods and services.

It’s my feeling that Americans have a lot of knowledge and experience that can be shared with new and emerging economies. Perhaps our most exportable commodity is the knowledge of business practices, tactics and approaches. I’ve always been fascinated by China and Asia in general (I’ve made four trips to Japan, one to Singapore, and one recent trip to Hong Kong).

Many American companies are eager to push their products into China. And why not? The Chinese economy continues to expand at a substantial rate, people in tier 1 and tier 2 cities in China are becoming more consumer-oriented, and the population in general is more and more educated every day. A population of 1.4 billion people means that if you are one in a million in China you are one in 1,400 out of a million.

We’ve all read about some horrendous working conditions at some factories in China. It does concern me and the situation will have to get better. The Chinese government is well aware of the world view of these types of situations. But I remain undeterred and still fascinated by Chinese culture, the emerging of an economic powerhouse and our agency’s opportunity to be a part of it.

Our current client Rosetta Stone offers a language learning software product in Mandarin (among many others). I received one from them and have been sporadically attempting to learn some Mandarin. The Rosetta Stone program is interesting and helpful but learning Mandarin is difficult – really difficult. I am not prepared to carry on any conversations in Mandarin at this point. Provided the trip works out the way I hope and we uncover a host of opportunities (as I anticipate) I will engage a tutor upon my return so I can be better prepared for future trips.

My wife made me promise to not visit the Great Wall since she wants to be there with me so we can visit it together for the first time. I am going to be in both Shanghai and Beijing and hope to at least view the Great Wall from a plane if nothing else. Something I find interesting – China is the third largest country by land mass on the planet. And it has one time zone. That’s like New York and L.A. having the same time. All the time.

I’m an adventurous and curious eater and despite my 83 year-old father’s concern am not worried about being served dog or cat. I truly look forward to the opportunity to sample various cuisines while in China – after all I often look at life as time spent between meals.

I’m primed and ready and will offer my observations from the other side of the planet. Here’s a question, if I could bring back something from China that would be of interest to you what would that be?

Zai jian for now!

Posted in Living in the World Today, Marketing stuff | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

When did a double dip stop being an ice cream cone?

Posted on September 9, 2010 by markkolier

Note: Since I am in no way any kind of economist my perspective is that of a layman.

It seems to me that economists and some people are almost resigned to accepting that a double dip recession is likely if not already on the way. I liked it much better when a ‘double dip’ conjured up images of gooey chocolate covering on vanilla ice cream cones at Dairy Queen. The question I have is, are people wishing this to happen?

The thing about negative news and information is that people seem to pile on and at times almost revel in what I call the ‘Eeyore’ syndrome (my apologies to A.A. Milne and the aforementioned character who could find that black cloud on even the sunniest of days). To me it’s possible this might become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Economists try to predict trends all the time in some sort of bizarre contest of ‘I was right – first’. There is no real penalty for being wrong. The more outlandish the prediction the more attention it gets. If that outlandish prediction actually turns out to be correct then years from when it was made the predictor can smugly say ‘I got it right – and I was first’. Oh boy. What a big help, thanks.

I don’t pretend to be that naïve, nor am I attempting to whistle through the graveyard (although the current economic climate has that appearance at times). Things remain tough for many Americans, and for so many people in the world economy. The economic fixes proposed by the current administration while well-intentioned, seem indecisive and they appear to be uncertain on what to do next. Nobody said fixing a broken American economy was going to be easy.

And that’s the point isn’t it? When the ‘Great Recession’ began sometime in 2008 (or 2007 depending on who is talking), the economic experts did not see it right away (they actually called the time of the beginning recession in late 2009 – isn’t hindsight great?), and when they did see it we were told it was going to be a long, hard, road to recovery.

We’ve been on that road for quite some time. Yet people act surprised that it is taking so long. Workers need to be retrained in the new economy and associated technologies. People over 55 are more than a little aggravated (o.k. pissed off) hat thoughts of retirement at 65 – something they have been thinking about for more than 30 years, is out the window.

This retraining takes time and it is happening right now. But is it possible that maintaining a positive attitude is such a bad thing? One of my favorite days of the year is the winter solstice which in the northern hemisphere is the shortest day of the year. Why? Every day after that the sun stays up just a bit longer – all the way until June and our reward is summer.

The American and world economy will eventually improve – hopefully sooner than later. But if you want to wish for a double dip I suggest heading to your favorite ice cream store.

Am I crazy to think that people’s attitude can shape an economic climate?

Posted in Living in the World Today | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Promotional and direct mail advertising – only for expensive products and services?

Posted on September 7, 2010 by markkolier

The United States Postal Service (USPS) actually has a magazine it puts out somewhat regularly called Deliver. I don’t know if they give themselves a discount on their periodical rate. Quite often there are articles regarding the viability of mail; adjectives like enduring are used in conjunction with the description of the tangible advantages of the touch and feel of a mail piece.

Recently, advertising mail supplanted first class mail in total pieces delivered. Yet the USPS lost money last quarter – in fact the USPS has lost money in 12 out of the last 14 quarters. This year the USPS recommended cutting Saturday service as well as eliminating prepaid retiree health benefits.

We all know the reasons why – online bill paying being one of the big reasons first class mail volume has dropped so dramatically. To counter the ongoing trend downward the USPS has filed for a rate increase which will impact both first class and standard A (or advertising mail). Standard A or direct mail advertising continues to grow in revenue but some interesting changes are taking place as prices go up and mail volume overall declines. I can’t understand why squeezing the only area of the USPS that is growing seems like a good idea to the USPS.

Mail is becoming the channel for luxury and expensive brands. It’s nearly impossible to prospect through the mail for products and services that are inexpensive. The metrics simply do not work anymore. Magazine subscription offers used to flood the mail box but no more. The decline in magazine subscription mailings has a great deal to do with the decline of magazine circulation in general, but it has more to do with the fact that prospecting for new readers or renewals for existing readers is too expensive to be done through the mail.

It seems to me that less expensive products also have given up on mail as an acquisition channel. However the luxury marketers are using mail effectively as a channel to an increasing degree. Particularly once a prospect inquiry has been made for a luxury product, (whether it comes from a television, radio or magazine ad), that prospect is nurtured and analyzed, and then the prospect will be mailed to on a regular basis.

This tactic is very effective and works for several reasons.

1) Mailing to a self-selected lead/name is highly effective and very profitable for luxury or expensive products.

2) Consumer mailboxes have become more and more empty. Mail messages can penetrate the clutter much more so than in recent years.

3) People under thirty actually are not as tired of direct mail and the message penetrates much more than email which is fast becoming irrelevant to them – especially advertising email.

The tide has turned and direct mail is now on its way to being the bastion of luxury and expensive products and services. Maybe it’s there already.

What do you think?

Posted in Marketing stuff | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Do you use red dot laser like focus?

Posted on September 3, 2010 by markkolier

I was having lunch with a business friend yesterday and we were talking about people who lack the ability to focus on the task at hand. These days it seems more difficult than ever given the unending flow of information and distractions. I noted that what people really need to do is narrow the scope down – no unlike the red dot laser targeting we see on television and movies when someone points a weapon at something or someone.

In fact when a television or movie notices the red dot laser is focused on them, they often raise their hands and simply give up. The jig is up and they are beaten.

How can people use this red dot laser metaphor in their professional lives? First and foremost, use it to help drown out all the white noise that gets in the way of focusing on THE most important thing that is at hand. Identify what that most important thing is and narrow the target by aiming that red dot laser right into the heart of the matter.

Close your email inbox, close your internet browser, put your phone on do not disturb, turn your mobile to silent. Take time every day to shut out the distractions and use your red dot laser focus to move on the most critical thing facing you and your business. Try it for fifteen minutes or longer. If you can do this regularly you will be that much closer to accomplishing that critical mission.

So are you using your red dot laser like focus already? If not will you give it a try?

Posted in Living in the World Today | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

American Express Platinum card and Delta Sky Lounge – a fine pairing

Posted on September 1, 2010 by markkolier

I carry an Amex Platinum card for several reasons not the least of which is free access to several airline clubs (I wish there were more included but as you will read below the Delta Sky Lounge access is was a great thing for me this week). I also use the Platinum card for reservations in hard to get-in restaurants as they have a few tables every day and night in all the top places.

Amex Platinum also offers 2 for 1 business or first class tickets if purchased on the card – no other discount applies but still it can be a very good value. So it’s worth the high yearly fee since I get a lot of use out of it.

On Monday I was at LaGuardia and as I went through security the TSA agents asked to look through my bag. This was the second time in my last two flights. Last time they said it was random. This time they saw something which turned out to be a cigar lighter that I had forgotten was in the bag (and I have been looking all over my house for it – I just knew it would turn up). My Dad gave me that lighter and it has a lot of sentimental value to me as well as the fact that it works really well.

When something like this happens normally TSA takes it and it goes into the great abyss never to be seen again. This has happened with a cigar cutter I had (right after 9/11) in my luggage that was confiscated. (Apparently a then overzealous TSA agent felt I could pressure the pilot or flight attendant to put their finger through the cigar cutting hole and I would then threaten to cut it off – this policy has changed from what I am told).

So what to do? I remembered the Delta Sky Lounge was right next door so I asked the TSA agent to wait and quickly went into the Delta Sky Lounge to see if could get one of the attendants to come out to pick up the lighter and hold it for me until I returned. I walked in, explained my situation, the lovely attendant Marilyn was ready to help and walked right out, to pick up the lighter from the Agent Eric whom she said she knew. (We forget sometimes that the TSA agents are people with names, families and yes, personalities).

Marilyn came back in smiled and said she had it and would hold it for me and would be there when I returned since she was working that today. She was, I picked it up from her she escorted me out as per the TSA policy. This was a great example of a Delta Sky Club employee representing the brand as well as it can be done. I have had my issues with Delta Airlines http://wp.me/pJX7l-6a but they should be credited with having a class act like Marilyn as a part of their team.

Wish I had taken a photo of her – thanks Marilyn!

Posted in Customer Experiences, Marketing stuff | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Where are the ads for McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s?

Posted on August 30, 2010 by markkolier

I don’t watch a lot of network television (or television in general) and even less in the summer. When I do watch it is to relax and aside from a couple of favorite shows on cable, I primarily watch sports on networks and local and national cable channels. I do read a few national magazines and am an inveterate reader of newspapers (yes I know SO old school).

Over the weekend when I was flipping through the channels before heading out I saw the network baseball game and golf tournament. For some reason my thoughts drifted to fast food and realized that I had not seen an ad on television for McDonald’s, Burger King, or Wendy’s for a long time. Thinking more about it I don’t recall seeing them on page in magazines either or even hearing any of them on the radio. And by the way I watched a good amount of the Primetime Emmy’s last night and did not see one ad for any of them.

The last I recall hearing about any of them was the cheeky McDonald’s ad about the dollar that is hungry and what you can do with it. That might have been earlier this month so it’s likely that I just have not been listening to radio all that much lately.

I asked around to a couple of people if they were familiar with any ad campaigns for any of the big three burger leaders (actually McDonald’s is way far out in here so putting them in the same conversation would thrill Burger King and Wendy’s). Nobody I talked to could name any campaign.

Could the targeting be THAT good? Are the big three running ads in places of which I am not aware? I’m not one to eat in fast food restaurants any more than a handful of times a year. And I understand that I am far from the target audience in age or demographics. But I cannot remember any time where I had no idea of any of the campaigns run by the fast food outlets. Maybe they scale back campaigns in a big way in the summer time and are readying a deluge for the fall? With football season around the corner I could see that.

But what gives here? Am I missing the boat entirely? Are you aware of current ad campaigns run by McDonald’s, Burger King or Wendy’s? Oh and I don’t miss Jared at all thank you very much….

Posted in Marketing stuff | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tequila Avion – product placement at its very best

Posted on August 27, 2010 by markkolier

I’ve been a fan of the HBO show ‘Entourage’ since it debuted more than 5 years ago. It’s a half hour fun respite which offers a view into how things might be in Hollywood. There are thirteen episodes per year and next year is the last season and there apparently will only be 6 episodes made or so. It’s gotten so popular that it is being moved to syndication although I have trouble seeing how that will work since the language and content both appear to be not ready for broadcast television.

This season one of the story lines has Turtle helping his now girlfriend Alex promote her Uncle’s tequila brand made in Mexico called Tequila Avion http://www.tequilaavion.com . A good and interesting story line that branches out into nearly all the characters (not the Ari Gold character brilliantly played by Jeremy Piven, but I’d love to see Ari getting blotto on Avion).

What I did not realize until this week is that Tequila Avion is an actual product sold in stores. I saw a billboard promoting the brand and my jaw kind of dropped. A story in the New York Post this month http://bit.ly/bQ2tnb offered background on the founders of Avion and how they did not pay a penny for all the ‘priceless publicity’ for the new brand.

I had noticed that ‘Entourage’ does promote a number of brands at various times during the show. Johnnie Walker Blue, Belvedere Vodka, Skyy Vodka, (lots of alcohol), Bluetooth, Victoria’s Secret to name just a few all have been featured.

What makes it work so well is that the placements are seamlessly integrated into the story and they feel appropriate and right such that I really don’t notice that this is an obvious marketing tactic during the context of the show itself.

This is a trend that is growing and will continue to grow. Nobody likes a cheesy come-on but Tequila Avion is one of the first brands I can recall to be introduced within the context of a television program. I have no problem with it when it is done right as it is in the case of Tequila Avion

What do you think – is this a good trend? Bad trend? Does it offend you?

Posted in Marketing stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’m just a guy with a desk and a phone

Posted on August 25, 2010 by markkolier

I started and have piloted CGSM Inc. for more than 14 years. The changes we’ve undergone over those years are both necessary and remarkable. The changes are continuing (exciting and fun!) and I know that won’t ever stop.

My management style is not a yelling one. Maybe a couple of times over the fourteen years I have raised my voice – not to team members. I remember one particular occasion as if it was yesterday but it actually was more than 11 years ago. A merchant with whom we were about to purchase a substantial amount of paper was asking about credit. We had run the business very successfully for several years and took discounts on all of our paper bills (you could look it up as the saying goes).

A then-young representative was giving me a bad time about issuing credit for several hundred thousand dollars worth of paper. At the time we had 5 employees 5 desks and 5 computers on those desks in a small office. After a back and forth discussion he offered ‘Hey, no offense but really you’re just a guy with a desk and a phone’.

I leapt at him through the phone line. I went ballistic. There was, shall we say some colorful language used and I’m not terribly proud to admit that. Over the ensuing years I’ve thought about why it bothered me so much. I took it as a huge insult. I still feel that way to a degree but wonder if what really was bothering me was that he was right! After all, what was I really but a guy with some ideas, some employees, and an approach to doing business that was successful (at least I thought it was).

I’m older now and with a little luck a bit wiser. And I would not react the same way today if I were to be in the same situation (we’ve been meeting with lenders lately so that’s what brought these thoughts to mind).

Today, our team is bigger, consequently the responsibilities to those people is even greater, as is the risk. Correspondingly our responsibilities to our clients are also bigger and wider. But at the root of it all nothing has changed. I am still a guy with a desk and a phone -and a computer, and a PDA and a laptop and a bunch of other things to aid in being more productive. We’re all about new and better ideas and procedures and that is our greatest asset – and I am truly proud of that more than anything else.

Epilogue – a couple of years later the same young representative called me to tell me that he was starting a paper brokerage with an associate. I tried to hold back but just could not do it. ‘Hey Charlie – I guess that means you’re just a guy with a desk and a phone’. Good moment for me.

Sometimes what goes around comes around.

Are you just a guy (or gal) with a desk and a phone?

Posted in Customer Experiences, Living in the World Today, Marketing stuff | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Groupon had a very good week

Posted on August 23, 2010 by markkolier

Facebook launched its new location based service ‘Places’ last week. Like many things with new Facebook products invasion of privacy was an issue. In the case of Facebook places it allows your friends to broadcast where you are and they can do this even if you are not there.

This can be dangerous if you are having a spat with a friend and he or she ‘broadcasts’ that you are playing hooky or golf bar during the work day (when you were not there) and your boss finds out. The default settings allow this intrusion and you have to go into the application to change this in order to stop it from happening.

Meanwhile the folks at Foursquare whose location based service allows you to check in and send that update to Facebook are trying to figure out if FB is out to have their lunch. Since Foursquare has no revenue model, it would be a light lunch at best. I’ve been checking in and using Foursquare for almost six months thinking that they would figure something out but it’s taking far too long. The message I am getting from most of my friends on my check-ins is – why?

So in my view neither Facebook nor Foursquare accomplished much last week. But couponing site Groupon (www.groupon.com) had a GREAT week (see the article in Forbes) http://tcrn.ch/bLhcxt . Groupon launched its first nationwide deal – at $ 25.00 off discount on a $ 50.00 purchase at Gap. It became so popular so fast that it actually crashed Groupon’s servers for a time. In total it looks like more than 400,000 coupons will be sold (Figure more than $ 11,000,000 in total). Groupon won’t disclose the specifics of the deal regarding profit margins. Since Gap offered such a steep discount I’m not completely certain what they accomplished besides some pretty expensive brand buzz.

Groupon’s ‘deal of the day’ is gaining momentum and the company is actually making money (yes they have a revenue model – how about that?!). From Wikipedia – The company offers one “Groupon” per day in each of the markets it serves. The Groupon works as an assurance contract using ThePoint’s platform: if a certain number of people sign up for the offer, then the deal becomes available to all, if the predetermined minimum is not met, no one gets the deal that day. This reduces risk for retailers, who can treat the coupons as quantity discounts as well as sales promotion tools. Groupon makes money by getting a cut of the deal from the retailers. There are certain businesses that Groupon will not offer its services to, including shooting ranges, abortion clinics, plastic surgeons and strip clubs.

There are other couponing sites – Thrillist, Woot, Living Social, MyCityDeal, but Groupon is the current first round leader.

So while Facebook frets about the new movie (Social Network,)coming out that has less than flattering portrayals of Marc Zuckerberg and the team that got it started, Foursquare continues to try to figure out how it could actually make some money, Groupon is coming on strong and I think they may have one of the strongest new revenue models out there.

Are you going to give Groupon a try?

Posted in Customer Experiences, Living in the World Today, Marketing stuff, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment