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Bud suffers from a geezer mentality.

By
Steve Poppe
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I grew up on Budweiser beer. Clean, crisp beer. Clydesdales. American colors. No after-taste. Man, it was a great beer on a hot day. Still is.
 
Today, Budweiser and the Anheuser Busch Company are being pursued by InBev, a Belgium company, and number 3 brewer worldwide.   It didn’t have to come to this.  Over the last 15 years Anheuser Busch took its eye off the ball.
 
The latest generation of Buschs let the master brand Budweiser diminish in importance, while building up Bud Lite.  The assumption was the old boys would keep drinking Bud and live forever, so they focused their resources on Bud Light but got in a slug fest with Coors Light. Budweiser sales waned. Moreover, they never understood how to create a brand extension in the craft category. And every year AB spent millions and millions in Super Bowl commercials and thought they were innovating, reading all their great advertising press.  Finally realizing their folly, AB attempted to get younger with Bud.TV, but it was too late and way out of touch. Geezer mentality.
 
If they can bring this thing back, and I dearly hope they do, AB really needs to understand the next generation beer consumer. It’s a BIG market they don’t want to cede to InBev.
 
 
 

Smart. And not so.

By
Steve Poppe
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I’m planning a personal boycott against products with the word Smart in the name. No Smart Car for me. No Smart Phone. No Smart Food (butter? popcorn?) No, no and no. And even though the new Hewlett-Parkard touch screen computer seems pretty cool, it’s part of my boycott. 
 
Naming is not an easy business. There are two ways to go: descriptive and non. When introducing a category-breaker product, I tend to recommend the descriptive approach — words and word assemblages that explain function. If the descriptive approach implies benefits, that’s cool, but for this approach I tend to stay away from benefit. 
 
Today HP introduced the HP TouchSmart IQ500PC, an overgrown iPhone-like desktop computer that lets users stroke and palpate the screen for navigation. But couldn’t they have been equally creative with the name?  I can live with the “Touch” part, but “Smart?”  It’s just lazy. And to add a model number that begins with IQ?
 
Invent? I don’t think so.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

McDonald’s Lost Opportunity. On a sesame seed bun.

By
Steve Poppe
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If you are a student of marketing, fast food is a very exciting category.  It responds immediately to advertising.  Burger King is on its way back for the zillionth time and it looks as Crispin Porter Bogusky’s work is finally paying off.  Never a big fan of all the “king” advertising, I do appreciate how he is weaved into the core (youth) customer message of “eat big , eat tasty.”
 
On a roll since “I’m loving’ it” and especially so since the launch of salads, McDonald’s is currently pursing a pretty smart beverage strategy and has a winner on its hands with the new Southern Style Chicken sandwich. Maybe the new chicken sandwich will help win back some share lost to Burger King. And you can tell Mickey Dees is feeling a little Whopper pain because they’re launching a new promo for the Big Mac. But here’s the rub: to get younger customers interested in this dated sandwich, McDonald’s is hosting a consumer generated contest. Dohhhh!
 
According to an Ad Age interview: “Customers will be able to go online, create or mix their own version of the two all-beef patties jingle through MySpace,”  the best of which will be aired on TV. For those who don’t know the old Big Mac jingle it went something like this: Two all beef-patties, cheese, onions, pickles, lettuce, special sauce on a sesame seed bun. (Does it get any “funner” than that?)
 
This is an example of a marketing meeting gone wrong where the alpha fe/male says, “We need a promo, let’s do something with consumer generated content.” and the rest of the room does the account executive nod.
 
They’ll get lots of entries, I know. They’ll sell some incremental Big Macs, I know. And it may be worth a quarter’s worth of improved sales, but it’s still a lazy tactic for a fast food juggernaut.
 
 

Props to Rupert.

By
Steve Poppe
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Okay, okay I think I’m becoming a Rupert Murdoch fan. I wouldn’t want him as my CEO in a new internet start-up, but I like how he is going about learning what’s next. I’ve dinged him for what he’s doing to the Wall Street Journal, but must give him credit for putting money into a lot of different new media properties in an effort to learn. It is the wild west don’t forget.
 
Mr. Murdoch has shown some restraint when it comes to DRM (digital rights management) and he believes in the newspaper business, so long as the writing is great and germane. His take on MySpace vs. Facebook is also interesting. He feels MySpace is for those who want to express themselves and Facebook is a utility. Nice boil down. It also makes me feel good about our online property, Zude, which is poised to be the best of all individual expression platforms. After shelter, sustenance and procreation, personal expression is the most important human need. The online world is a  brand new canvas for personal expression and Mr. Murdoch sees that. 

50-50 edit to ads is crazy

By
Steve Poppe
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In an effort to bail his sinking ship, Samuel Zell, new owner of the Tribune Company, has decided that all Tribune Company newspapers must aim for a 50-50 split between editorial and advertising (notwithstanding classifieds and supplements.) Are you kiddng me? 
 
A real estate guy, Mr. Zell may understand this loose analogy: It’s like dictating that all buildings rented must be 50% business and 50% residential.  It’s crazy and arbitrary. His decision is not based on newspaper reality, it’s based on money. 
 
Mr. Zell’s idea will kill his papers. (I hope Charles and Jim Dolan aren’t listening.)
 
Two points for Mr. Zell: This decision is being made during an economic down turn while ad revenue is eroding; so he will erode editorial strength as a tactic not a strategy. Secondly, as the economy softens, people are going to read more newspapers. Newspapers are one of the world’s most amazing values. As people conserve, they become more thoughtful and analytical. Reading a newspaper from cover to cover is an inexpensive way to get smarter, kill a couple of hours, and not spend money.  My head hurts.
 

Tough Questions for HSBC

By
Steve Poppe
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I have applauded HSBC Bank and ad agency JWT for its advertising campaign before.  Particularly of note is their meaty business strategy which asks the question “When was the last time your bank asked you the right questions about your business?”
 
Advertising that asks a question is often lazy advertising but when it strikes a nerve it can be very effective. This is one such case. HSBC knows bankers don’t proactively do anything other than lend you money, take your money, and take their fees. So this strategy is a good one. 
 
But here’s the “but.” They had better start asking some smart questions. And I don’t mean “How’s business?”  The questions have to be the “right” questions. Thoughtful questions. Questions that make you feel a little uneasy perhaps. Actually asking customers smart question is going to take what we called in the 90s a “sea change.”  If HSBC can create a culture of relationship managers asking business-sensitive questions, they can differentiate themselves and steal some serious share. It’s easy to advertise, but hard to execute. I like it.
 

Flippin’ off feature creep.

By
Steve Poppe
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One of my technology heroes is Pure Digital CEO Jonathan Kaplan. Yesterday Mr. Kaplan introduced the new Flip Video Minio (nice name,) an evolution of the smash hit pocket video recorder the Flip.
 
Why is Mr. Kaplan a hero? Here is what he had to say about his company’s technology approach. “We resist ‘feature creep’ like no other company in the world today. When our products get more complicated, they get less easy to use and less fun.” 
 
The Flip is so called because a USB port pops out of the side of the device for easy plugging into a PC.  A click or two later (after a software install) and your video is on YouTube. I wrote an earlier post about how the Flip will change the world 

http://spoppe.livejournal.com/61926.html , but the real kicker here is that the Flip and its new sibling the Minio are bringing video recording to the people. Simplicity creates ubiquity, and ubiquity creates markets. 

 
Usability is big business. Why? Because too many devices suffer from feature creep. And think of all the money Pure is saving on their toll-free customer care call center. Good job!
 
 

Honk if you see an empty SUV.

By
Steve Poppe
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Throughout history revolutions have been started between the haves and have nots due to conspicuous consumption. One glaring example of conspicuous consumption today is the SUV. Now I know it’s America and everyone is free to do what they like but when I see one of these huge death stars rolling down Rodeo (sorry Zach de la Rocha) with only a driver I go a bit batty. 
 
We need to make it so that SUV owners feel dirty when driving around town with no passengers. Hell, they shouldn’t be driving them with 3 passengers. Get a car! And don’t talk to me about safety. When all the SUVs are gone, we’ll all be safer.
 
Here’s a bumper stick for you: “Honk if you see an empty SUV.” Take that soccer mom! Have some derision with your morning coffee. Start having to park in the back corner of the parking lot for a change. See how that feels.  We can turn this thing around people. Start honking.
 
 

Conant the non-barbarian.

By
Steve Poppe
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If you have the fortitude to read this blog now and again you’ll know I often go on about rearview mirror brand planners – those who spend a great deal of time looking behind, looking to the past, to them plot brand strategy. Well today I’d like to introduce Douglas Conant, CEO of Campbell Soup Co. He’s a real forward looker.  Here he is (from the Wall Street Journal, May 30th,) on his next billion dollar brand. Perhaps the world’s next billion dollar brand. 
 
 “American’s don’t eat enough vegetables. Our scientists were able to come up with a fruit and vegetable blend, which doesn’t have any of the taste of vegetables but delivers a full-serving of vegetables in every eight-ounce serving. Wellness is the No. 1 trend, by far, in consumer foods right now and this is the sweet spot. V8 will be our next billion dollar brand.”
 
This leader tells the truth. He takes responsibility for his missteps and he sees the future. He’s going places.
 

The power of a simple idea.

By
Steve Poppe
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A couple of months ago a person in Texas had a simple idea that had an amazing impact on our country. One person, one simple idea. A young women placed a telephone call to local authorities suggesting she was being sexually abused at the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, TX. Whether the caller was being truthful as to her identity we do not know – she was never found – but we do know her call set off an amazing set of events. 
 
468 children were removed from the ranch. Many Texas families stepped up, altering their lives to take in these children. The story, broken by the national news media, captured the public’s attention and created indignant debate and discussion across the land. Innocent lives were thrown into chaos. Innocent lives were saved. The reverberations have been felt all around the world, most recently in the Texas Supreme Court. 
 
One idea. One phone call. See what happens when your idea hits a nerve?
 
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