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. With Flickr Interlude
Flickr photo by Mamish
Workplace trends
I’ve been meaning to plug my friend
Not surprisingly, layoffs have a staggering effect not just on the laid off but on everybody in the workplace. It affects our performance (just count all the tired old metaphors I’ve used so far in this posting). It affects our families (my husband jokes that his nascent small business will provide us with all the instrument cases we can eat). It knocks about our emotional equilibrium, hobbles our confidence, widens our chasm of self doubt….
The remaining workers–the so-called survivors–suffer too. They can experience decreased productivity, increased stress, depression, anxiety, lowered morale and job dissatisfaction. A decrease in organizational commitment–loyalty to the employer–is common, adds [management professor Rainer] Seitz. “There’s also survivor guilt: Why was I spared?”
Research has found that the manner in which a layoff occurs can rile workers just as much, if not more than, the actual firing. For instance, a lack of advance notice can really rub workers the wrong way. Failing to adequately and thoroughly explain the reason for the job elimination–even if it’s a macro reason like an industry downturn–can also tick us off.
She concludes with links to a variety of layoff-related material. Here’s the whole post. The blog will likely be interesting to follow in the weeks ahead, as the layoffs play out — even if this isn’t quite the workplace trend Lisa wanted to be thinking about quite so much.
Earth Cover
In Consumed: Bare Escentuals: How a cosmetics company replaced romance with the glow of rationality.
For a glimpse of what cosmetics marketing used to look like, flip through the recent book “Hello Gorgeous!” a collection of beauty-product advertising images from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. “Glamour for You!” squeals one such ad for something called Stadium Girl Cake Makeup, featuring an apple-cheeked young woman and a promise to make the user’s complexion “more romantic than ever.” Elsewhere, a presumably satisfied cosmetics customer in a bridal gown is literally hauled off by a handsome man.
Whether you see such images as being shot through with optimism or just naïvete, it seems a long way from the sort of pitch used by Bare Escentuals, a cosmetics brand whose revenues for 2006 topped $300 million — more than double the figure from 2004.
Continue reading at the NYT Magazine site via this no-registration-required link.
Flickr Interlude
Flickr photo by mikebeauchamp
Business of rap
This WFMU’s Beware of the Blog post asks: “who’s got the best rapper for their corporate video?,” and links to three soul-crushing examples of rapping in training films and so on, attributed to Microsoft, Wendy’s, and the Software Publishing Association. Each is depressing for different reasons, and I couldn’t finish any of them. But still.
Regarding menthols
Radar Online has an interesting look at why menthol cigarettes are popular with African-American smokers. An excerpt:
By the 1960s, magazines like Ebony and Jet were packed with cigarette advertisements that featured African-American models and referenced black culture, like Lorillard’s “Newport is a whole new bag of menthol smoking” (after James Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”) and R.J. Reynold’s “Different Smokes for Different Folks” (a nod to a Sly Stone hit) campaign for Salem Extra. Some of the ads seemed almost progressive, encouraging the era’s burgeoning black middle class to “Come Up to the Kool Taste,” and promising them that smoking a Kool was “Like riding a Rolls Royce.”
To make further inroads, the tobacco companies loudly supported the Civil Rights Movement and later made regular and significant contributions to organizations like the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. By the early ’80s, when a young Kool G Rap (neé Nathaniel Wilson) was growing up in Queens, mentholated cigarettes had become so ingrained in the black community they were widely considered the Official Cigarettes of Black Folks….
The rest is here.
Prada ideas
In the WSJ today, there’s an interview with Miuccia Prada, on the subject of why so many women are “squeamish about fashion.” Prada claims that at one time she thought fashion was “stupid” but eventually changed her mind.
Ms. Prada has come to terms with her profession only of late. “I’ve recently re-evaluated my job,” she said. “I’ve realized that fashion is a very powerful instrument that…allows you to transmit ideas and shape opinion.” ….
Ms. Prada doesn’t have a signature style, like Tom Ford’s dripping-in-sex-appeal look or Valentino Garavani’s Oscar-night elegance. But her attitude is clear: I think therefore I wear.
That’s why she scoffs at those who fall victim to logos instead of developing their own styles. “Buying a $5,000 handbag just because it’s a status symbol is a sign of weakness,” Ms. Prada said. “Daring to wear something different takes effort. And being elegant isn’t easy. You have to study it, like cuisine, music and art.”
Well, a couple of things. I’ve read this point before, that fashion can “transmit ideas.” I wish the interviewer would have asked what seems like the obvious follow-up question: Like what?
At one point there’s some discussion of ideas about beauty (“I want to reintroduce the concept of beauty — a new sense of beauty”), which is fine, but is that it?
I’m prepared to accept that beauty is a reasonable thing about which to have ideas. But the implication that there’s some kind of intellectual bravery in this, and that somehow beauty is a concept that society just doesn’t think about enough, strikes me as absurd. But I guess the whole premise of the interview strikes me as absurd. I don’t see a big crisis out there in fashion being underrated, and not being focused on enough. As you go through your day today, see if anything makes you think, “Wow, this society is just way too focused on science, economic policy, and civic engagement. People really should spend more time thinking about fashion.” See how often it strikes you that fashion is really underrated.
To be clear, I’m not attacking anybody for thinking about fashion. What I’m questioning is whether, say, Prada fans are some kind of embattled underdogs who need defending.
Finally, I’m amused by Prada’s comment that: “Buying a $5,000 handbag just because it’s a status symbol is a sign of weakness.” Keep that in mind next time you’re spending $5,000 on a Prada handbag (or perhaps buying a brand-new Prada phone). Make sure you’re not doing it because you’re a brand weakling. Make sure you’re doing it because of how hard you’re thinking.
5950 X 10061 = ?
Jeff Staple posted some images of a new brand-collaboration limited-edition product the other day. New collaborations are a dime a dozen, but this one interested me because of the collaborators: New Era, and Timberland. Usually, one big mainstream brand collaborates with a brand-underground-type brand (see this old column on an Alife/Levi’s project, or this one about New Era collaborating with Gabriel Urist, under the auspices of Jeff Staple, in fact), swapping financial resources for downtown cachet.
But here we have two mainstream brands collaborating with each other. Granted, both brands have unusual relationships with the hipster (or trend-setting, or whatever, you know what I mean) consumer. Each has “authentic” “street” “credibilty” etc. etc. But still, it’s pretty unusual for something like this to happen, and I’m not quite sure what to make of it.
What’s next, an Adidas X Nike sneaker?
Local news
One of the things that’s really different about living in Savannah is that it’s not unusual to see uniformed soldiers — at the grocery store, the Best Buy, in the next car over on the street, whatever — just going about their off-hours business. There are big military bases nearby, and as a result the war is very much covered as a local story in the newspaper here, which has been running stories almost every day about members of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning. The 3rd ID, as they call it, was actually part of the initial invasion of Iraq, and is the first Army division to go for a third tour of duty there. That’s what’s happening right now.
The other night we watched a PBS show called When Parents Are Deployed (basically about how young miltary families deal with explaining to the childredn what’s going on) and I don’t think that’s something we would have done before the move. It’s not like we were unaware of the war, or the sacrifices military people make, or we didn’t have opinions about it all before. But it’s interesting how much more tangible it all is here.
In this morning’s paper, there were interviews with a few family members of re-deploying troops, openly wondering what was the point of it all when it would end. I’ve read articles like that before, of course, and you probably have, too.
Possiblly it’s weird for me to bring all this up here, since I don’t have an obvious point, and it’s totally “off topic.” But I guess that is the point. I spend so much of my professional life dwelling in a world where nobody really acknowledges that, you know, there’s a war going on. So I just wanted to acknoweldge it. If America made up of multiple mainstreams now, maybe we’re sort of living in a different one than we used to.
Pillow fighting
Well, other people often know about this sort of thing long before I do, but:
The Pillow Fight League (PFL) leads the way as the most exciting and innovative new wave in sports entertainment. Featuring strong female combatants, the PFL is engaged in the unprecedented whip-action attack of pillow fighting. Not just for the slumber-party sleepover anymore, these women are serious brawlers – armed with beauty, brains and a nasty disposition.
They’re on tour now, and it almost goes without saying that the opening matches are in Williamsburg. The multimedia clips, blog, Myspace link, and merchandise you’re looking for are all here. I like the logo.
Department of department-store fandom
This NYT article today looks at Chicago “superfans” of the department store Marshall Field’s, who are upset over its “demise” since its corporate parent was bought by Federated Department Stores (best known as the owner of Macy’s).
The most fervent, and the most vocal, of the believers are determined to send Macy’s and its little red stars packing. The arrival of Macy’s, they say, wiped out a landmark store founded by a retail giant who was also a benefactor to many of the city’s cultural and educational institutions.
Fueled by a mix of nostalgia and civic pride, 60,000 or so people signed an online petition last year urging executives at Federated — which in 2005 bought out Marshall Field’s parent, the May Company — to keep the name Marshall Field’s for all the stores.
Some Field’s loyalists have printed T-shirts, sweatshirts, lapel stickers and bumper stickers reading “Boycott Macy’s” and “Forever Marshall Field’s.”
Cursory Googling indicates that this has been going on for a while, and I can’t quite tell whether it’s really a big deal or just a handful of noisy zealots. Either way, it’s always interesting to come across retail loyalty that extends quite this far. Clearly in this case, there’s a kind of regional issue going on, with Marshall Field apparently serving as an icon of Chicago. (And Macy’s representing the annoying New York City.) This site is pretty explicit about the landmarkiness of the store: “For over 150 years, Marshall Field’s defined Chicago as an international city.” That’s quite a claim! And remember they aren’t knocking down a building, so this isn’t about architecture. It’s about a retail brand. And about the “Chicago-style quality” the store had, according to this person, anyway.
Is there a more modern retail palace today that people will eventually feel that kind of attachment to? Will people in Minneapolis get emotional about the Mall of America some day?
Oh goodie
I guess I missed the Golden Globes. I hope all your favorite stars won, or whatever. Anyway, a company called Backstage Creations that I dealt with indirectly in Consumed a while back sent me a press release about what was going into the stars’ “goodie bags” this year, and while I think this sort of thing gets reported in the entertainment press, I pass along the full list (well, I cut out the travel and spa packages) below.
Most of what was on the list was either stuff that’s very obvious, or that I’d never heard of — like high-end baby products and so on, which I asume are following the well-trod path of getting their wares into the hands of celebrities, and then riding the free publicity in US Weekly and so on. Even Christopher Moltisanti has grasped the unpleasantness of wildly successful rich people getting all the latest cool stuff for free (and if you’ve seen that episode of The Sopranos, you already know what he did about it), so I won’t dwell on that.
The most surprising thing on the list: Lladro figures. That seems kind of weird. Next time you’re at Chloë Sevigny’s house, ask to see her Lladro collection. Anyway, the list follows (the language is the press release’s, not mine). You see anything interesting, you let me know. Read more
Holiday
St. Louis / Flickr photo by urbanreviewstl.com
Basically, I worked today. But to acknowledge the holiday somehow or other, I’ll link to Urban Review STL, which has a five-part look MLK Drive in St. Louis. Many of the issues explored are the same in other cities. (None of this is really within the purview of Murketing.com, but as an example, his caption for the above image: “In the triangle formed by MLK, Page and Grand are these fine old warehouses and a gas station (behind these buildings). It would be nice to see these renovated into retail & housing but I’m afraid a lack of vision and leadership in this area will lead to their demolition for something suburban.”)
Some of you know, because I’ve mentioned it before, that I have a little side Flickr project called MLK BLVD. (Explanation here.) Below, if you choose to proceed, are a few highlight images from that project, which is ongoing, seeks your help and participation, and will (I hope) get more attention from me in 2007. Read more
Biker Chic
In Consumed: Timbuk2: A blue-collar profession attains hipster status — and so does its paraphernalia.
To be a bike messenger, a former member of that profession explains in the documentary “Pedal,” is to be part of a “whole different culture.” The messenger feels free, envied and looked down on all at once. “Bike messengers fall into the realm of outlaw,” he explains. It’s not clear exactly when people delivering things by way of a bike came to be thought of as a “culture,” but in recent years it has become clear that this image is widespread and probably marketable….
Continue reading at the NYT site via this no-registration-required link.
Additional links: Peter Sutherland; Mash SF.
“Death threats and hate mail:” More pizza politics
The previously mentioned Pizza Patrón pesos stunt continues to attract attention. In fact, the 59-location chain has “been hit with death threats and hate mail,” according to this A.P. story.
Pizza Patrón spokesman Andy Gamm said the company is just trying to sell more pizza to its customers, 60 percent of whom are Hispanic. But the move has drawn some heated reaction.
“This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico,” one e-mail read. “Quit catering to the damn illegal Mexicans,” demanded another.
The version of the story published in the Fort Worth Star Telegram has some quotes from a store manager in nearby Arlington, who says he’s from “a lot of people, calling in English — not in Spanish — cursing at me, and just saying a lot of racial stuff.” But he also says: “Even bad publicity is really good publicity, when you’re mentioning a pizza place that two weeks ago no one knew about.”
What I want to know is, does Pizza Patrón’s Hispanic-customer focus simply translate to a location strategy? Did it simply locate in places that, say, Pizza Hut hadn’t — either because the Pizza Hut number-crunchers overlooked them, or didn’t think that Hispanics liked pizza? Or do they compete with Pizza Hut on price? Or, is the menu tweaked in some Hispanic-friendly way that makes it different than Pizza Hut?
And by extension, are there chains of burger places and Chinese restaurants and KFC alternatives “serving the Hispanic community”? Or does this model only work for pizza for some reason?
I checked with a longtime Friend of Murketing, Fort Worth-based Chow, Baby, whose coverage of area restaurants is a highlight of the Fort Worth Weekly. Chow, Baby hadn’t eaten at Pizza Patrón lately, but recalled the fare as “decent chain pizza,” although not with any memorable Hispanic accent. And also:
Chow, Baby’s position would be that as a restaurant critic it doesn’t take a public stand on political immigration issues, but as a food lover it wishes more people would come here and open little taquerias. So whatever supports that, Chow, Baby supports. Also it has tons of leftover pesos from its last “fact-finding mission” to southern Mexico, so this sounds like a great idea.
I may have piqued Chow, Baby’s curiousity on this matter enough to convince it to go spend those pesos and write it up. (After all, maybe it was scoping out the best pizza options in southern Mexico when it acquired them.) If so, I’ll pass that along when the time comes.
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Kim Fellner's book 
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