From The Wa*ll Street Journal:
The roller-coaster stock market and plunging housing prices have left many consumers afraid. In response, marketers are adopting a softer approach to peddling their wares, playing up comforting images in their ads and focusing on family and the warmth and safety of home.
Some marketers are even reviving old advertising to remind consumers of happier times.
On Monday, Pillsbury, a unit of General Mills, launched a brand campaign about the pleasures of staying in. Dubbed "Home Is Calling," the campaign includes television, print, online and other ads. They feature a variety of characters -- a businessman, a young boy in a library and a woman at a train station -- who click their heels, envisioning a way to get home and eat with their friends and loved ones.
"The economy is so frightening," says Juliana Chugg, president of Pillsbury. "This campaign is an opportunity for us to represent hope in a time when people are feeling scared. To be able to connect home and values like safety, security, warmth and love at home really resonates."
Amid wide-spread economic woes, marketers are ratcheting up images of family and the warmth and safety of home.
I watch trends in the marketing part of my job. This new focus on HOME is a bit ironic. Give the nation everything it's ever wanted and more, then turn the economy upside down, and now sell with a focus on home. Home IS where the heart is - always has been. Perhaps we're catching up with ourselves.
Now to find an article on the trend of turning to God...
Showing posts with label the working world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the working world. Show all posts
5.27.2009
10.03.2008
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Last week I was in Green Bay again, a week after the famous Favre gift. At this conference, mainly education devoted to the administrators of senior living facilities, they had an American Idol contest. Actually what it was was a demonstration of a sound system being marketed for the senior living environment. It was a glorified karaoke. (Vendors of services and products aimed at the senior population sponsor the whole conference. We were there as designers of senior living communities)
When someone sang Elvis, actual clips of The King were shown afterward, a few moments that truly would enamor the senior population. When a gentleman sang Frank Sinatra, he opted to sing along with Frank rather than solo with just instrumentation. The Chicken Dance was played complete with a video showing the movements, and Lawrence Welk himself showed up in a clip of another golden oldie. It was a cool system and a VERY large projection screen.
When I sang, I sang Judy Garland's Somewhere Over the Rainbow. No movie. No Dorothy. Just me. It was low, and it was s-l-o-w, but it went well, and I won $300 cash in second place. Another amazing gift.
The next day I had my moments of fame when people congratulated me. The best was during a morning session. Behind me sat a group of five nuns, one of whom tapped me on the shoulder. "We all thought you should have won," she said, "We prayed you would."
That cracked me up and still makes me smile. The Sisters liked me. What more do I need?
When someone sang Elvis, actual clips of The King were shown afterward, a few moments that truly would enamor the senior population. When a gentleman sang Frank Sinatra, he opted to sing along with Frank rather than solo with just instrumentation. The Chicken Dance was played complete with a video showing the movements, and Lawrence Welk himself showed up in a clip of another golden oldie. It was a cool system and a VERY large projection screen.
When I sang, I sang Judy Garland's Somewhere Over the Rainbow. No movie. No Dorothy. Just me. It was low, and it was s-l-o-w, but it went well, and I won $300 cash in second place. Another amazing gift.
The next day I had my moments of fame when people congratulated me. The best was during a morning session. Behind me sat a group of five nuns, one of whom tapped me on the shoulder. "We all thought you should have won," she said, "We prayed you would."
That cracked me up and still makes me smile. The Sisters liked me. What more do I need?
10.01.2008
Shoulda taken a picture...
So much to write. Another whirlwind week...and it's only Wednesday.
On Monday I was at a hospital in Illinois. We went to meet with new clients, and to take measurements of some shell space (built space with no drywall etc...just the *shell* built when the rest of the building was erected). The architectural firm where I work is going to design some medical suites to fill the space. (Many facilities plan in "shell space" when they build new buildings, and suite them out as space is needed)(There's your architectural lesson for today)
A few women were setting up a buffet of sorts as we stepped off the elevator on this nearly empty floor. They were taping some paper onto a gurney of sorts...those rolls of paper that you cover tables with at church dinners...well...that's what they were using. Evidently a staff luncheon was being held in this empty part of the facility. (Two conference rooms are finished, with thousands of feet of empty space behind closed doors) The *table* they were covering was a cross between a folding table and a hospital bed.
As we stepped out of the conference room and into the empty room, my boss leaned in to me and said...that was a morgue cart. Ewww. A morgue table to hold their buffet?
And yes, when we went back to the elevator, the Dominoe's pizza boxes were indeed open on the paper covered...morgue table. EWWWWWW. I guess it's just another flat surface to the nurses gathered there. I really wish I had snapped a photo of that particular moment in time. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
On Monday I was at a hospital in Illinois. We went to meet with new clients, and to take measurements of some shell space (built space with no drywall etc...just the *shell* built when the rest of the building was erected). The architectural firm where I work is going to design some medical suites to fill the space. (Many facilities plan in "shell space" when they build new buildings, and suite them out as space is needed)(There's your architectural lesson for today)
A few women were setting up a buffet of sorts as we stepped off the elevator on this nearly empty floor. They were taping some paper onto a gurney of sorts...those rolls of paper that you cover tables with at church dinners...well...that's what they were using. Evidently a staff luncheon was being held in this empty part of the facility. (Two conference rooms are finished, with thousands of feet of empty space behind closed doors) The *table* they were covering was a cross between a folding table and a hospital bed.
As we stepped out of the conference room and into the empty room, my boss leaned in to me and said...that was a morgue cart. Ewww. A morgue table to hold their buffet?
And yes, when we went back to the elevator, the Dominoe's pizza boxes were indeed open on the paper covered...morgue table. EWWWWWW. I guess it's just another flat surface to the nurses gathered there. I really wish I had snapped a photo of that particular moment in time. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.
1.25.2008
Role Models
One of the weekly columns I read at work is Jeffrey Gitomer's Sales Caffeine. (yes, yet another reference to coffee) In this week's column, he salutes a friend and mentor. I loved the list of why he admires Charlie Jones. Here it is:
1. He’s so likable that he’s lovable.
2. He makes you laugh and think at the same time.
3. His presentation skills are so excellent, that you’re compelled to listen.
4. His concepts are transferable, so you can use them the minute you listen to them.
5. He reads to you, and talks to you, kind of like your mom or dad did -- only better.
6. His spirit is ever present. His spirit comes from his spirituality.
7. His honesty and integrity are silent, but evident.
8. He always has a song in his heart and on his lips.
9. He’s not just smart, he’s not just knowledgeable -- he’s wise. And his wisdom has come from the books he has read and the people he has met.
10. He has learned that by giving one he receives ten. He looks at it as returning some of what you owe for the blessings you have received.
11. His loyalty to others – including Gloria, his wife of more than 50 years -- is as genuine as his loyalty to himself.
11.5 He doesn’t just teach it, he lives it.
1. He’s so likable that he’s lovable.
2. He makes you laugh and think at the same time.
3. His presentation skills are so excellent, that you’re compelled to listen.
4. His concepts are transferable, so you can use them the minute you listen to them.
5. He reads to you, and talks to you, kind of like your mom or dad did -- only better.
6. His spirit is ever present. His spirit comes from his spirituality.
7. His honesty and integrity are silent, but evident.
8. He always has a song in his heart and on his lips.
9. He’s not just smart, he’s not just knowledgeable -- he’s wise. And his wisdom has come from the books he has read and the people he has met.
10. He has learned that by giving one he receives ten. He looks at it as returning some of what you owe for the blessings you have received.
11. His loyalty to others – including Gloria, his wife of more than 50 years -- is as genuine as his loyalty to himself.
11.5 He doesn’t just teach it, he lives it.
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