About sales [events]

12-18-2011- 3

 This is my mother, Julia in 2011 at age 90. She’d be 102 now. At Christmas she gave us money because she didn’t understand how her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren navigated life. The price of things astounded her. As did the new technology, and the speed at which things come into and go out of fashion. It all became too much for her towards the end. Interestingly, when she asks her children what she should get their children, they were not so sure either; they too are amazed, but in a different way, by the changes, and the speed of the changes, in their lives.

The children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren have one thing in common: they all enjoy the money my mother gives them because they can do what-ever they want with it. 

My mother doesn’t think giving money is a gift because it takes no thought or insight. She believed that a good gift should be a creative revelation for the recipient.

Segue to Frank Wehrmann on the subject of Creative Design and Branding.

When I’m asked to design an advertising campaign or comment on one, I ask to see the consumer U&A research first. 

If the client doesn’t have any but is prepared to do some, great! 

There’s hope. 

If not, odds are that I can’t really help the client.

Like my mother, the people at the top are not in touch with what’s going on at street level. They just pretend to be. They see people shopping and see lots of stores having sales. And when some stupid ad agency tells them they need to do a sale as well, they’re more than willing to blindly jump on the band wagon and run one as well. Follow the leader – like little lemmings into the sea.

Like my mother, I don’t think giving away money or margin is creative or smart. Actually, I think it’s a pretty stupid [race to the bottom invented by short sighted marketers]. If they were smart, they would add to, rather than chip away, at their brand’s fragile value proposition and use their profits to make brand improvements that increase their brand's quality, loyalty and sales.