The Drive Of Innovation

Not sure if any of the folks reading this blog live near a college or university that issues annual awards for the best marketing programs. 

Here in Atlanta, Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business issues what they call the MAX Awards.

It would not surprise me if those of you located in the Atlanta had not heard of the MAX Awards.

To be honest, I am not a big follower either.

However, the MAX Awards and the 2013 nominees are featured in this week’s Atlanta Business Chronicle.  The pub even allocated an entire sectional insert dedicated to the nominees and background of the event.

Now I want to say right upfront before I go any further in this blog that the firms nominated are probably all staffed with genuinely good people and that they work hard doing their work.

Six Georgia companies are finalists. 

They were selected by the Georgia State University Roundtable that according to the press release sent out by the college, “is comprised of senior marketing executives from top Atlanta companies.”

The release also goes on to say that “the MAX Awards program is considered the most prestigious marketing awards event in Georgia” and that the award “honors the best in new products, services and marketing innovations.”

Wow. 

When I first saw the front-page teaser in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, I thought there must be some astounding stories to read about in the insert section.

I could not wait to read about brands that were embracing those trends highlighted in the EXPERIENCE 2013 TRENDCAST Report like the reign of the Millennials, the rebirth of Americana, the rise of the Working Class and the anchoring of Kitchen-Central.

Shoot, there are probably some very innovative, truly “out-of-the-box,” internet and social media embracing brand stories that would make it to the final six. 

Here are the six finalists:

·      AirWatch and the AirWatchSecure Content Locker

·      FLIR Integrated Systems and the Mobile Surveillance Capability

·      The Georgia Conservancy and the Gamification-based Non-Profit Membership Drive

·      Georgia-Pacific and the Brawny Paper Towel’s Wounded Warriors Project

·      Kimberley-Clark and The Healthy Schools Project

·      Southwire and the Southwire Engineering Academy

Bestill my heart. 

If you visit the MAX Awards website, the home page features the MAX Award brand line “Never stop thinking.”

Note the left-brain nature of the brand line.

Guess “Never stop innovating” or “Never stop imagining” or “Never stop challenging” made it past that Atlanta senior marketing executive roundtable.

There is also a play off of the Best Buy logo and tag line that is re-scripted to read “Good Buy” with the tagline “Thank God they kept thinking.”

I am not making this up.

The speaker at the awards event might happen to be the best actress on stage.  The speaker is Spanx new CEO Laurie Ann Goldman. 

I have to give Ms. Goldman some due credit. 

There was a news story in the WSJ about two weeks ago that Spanx is coming out (no pun intended!) with a new line of products for men.

A product line like that deserves an applause.

The reason why I showcase the MAX Awareds in the blog is because its a great illustration of the business marketplace innovation headset.

There are two television commercials have emerged in the last two weeks that I must admit, I find rather depressing.

One is for Fidelity Investments that Arnold Worldwide created. 

For a while, Fidelity kind of abandoned the “green line follow it like a brainless Zombie” Arnold television ads.

But now… THEY ARE BACK. 

The second one is almost a near rip-off of the “green line” campaign that I call the “Start line follow it like a brainless Zombie” television campaign.

Its CarMax's latest campaign series. 

In fact, the one airing right now features one of the bride’s maids that leaves a wedding even before it starts and follows the line across the beach and down the streets until she arrives at a CarMax retail center. 

My bet is that girl will remain single for most of her life.

A new Change Wave is unfortunately surfacing and I am afraid to say is likely here to stay.

There is a mindlessness that no longer is kept in the closet. 

Conventional business leadership champions it.

The shallow suit stereotype of corporate marketing teams is not really much of a stereotype today.

The techie nerd of the past is hip and cool.  

The MBA marketing executive nerd of today cannot claim the same fame of the techie nerd, but rather mirrors the brainless green-line Zombie being led down the Fidelity path of corporate BIG Business.

I am committed to staying optimistic and help client-partners view the glass as half full.

Because in reality it is.

Thanks to the showcase examples of the MAX Awards, we can see first hand why innovation and the courage to truly do is a mandate to drive brands forward.   

It's All About Discovery

My New Year could not have started any better than it did this week.

While there might be a new account assignment taking place, it was not related to sales.

 Yesterday morning, I met with a creative director that works with one of my firm’s agency-partners.

Just before Christmas, this creative guy and I got on a Delta flight to the basking, resort town of Iowa City, Iowa.  (pssst… he’s making light of the destination)

The trip was a quick one. 

Both he and I had a host of other clients we had to meet with before Santa came down the chimney. 

Perhaps even more important, there was a true blizzard brewing out west that was scheduled to arrive the day our flights departed back to the sunny South.

The purpose of our trip was to do a set of roundtable focus groups to evaluate three creative concept approaches for the University of Iowa Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

All kidding aside, Iowa City is actually a pretty cool place.  Reminded me a little bit of Athens, Georgia where I have my weekend get-away…even a little feel of Austin, Texas. 

The Cancer Center is a designated National Cancer Institute facility… NCI as the healthcare gurus call it.

I simple terms, if the facility is NCI-designated, the team there is doing some great stuff in not only treating cancer, but also they are involved in some break-through research to find the cure.

Two of the concepts we tested were nice, positive, good-feel story spots. 

The third concept we tested pushed the bar on what a medical center might conventionally consider doing.

While I try to remain very neutral in facilitating the discussion groups, I must admit that when I saw the third concept, I knew that the concept was going to garner discussion. 

I also knew that the concept would be memorable… and for many, not in a warm and fuzzy way.

When we did the groups, participants were just as my hunch was telling me… they found the other two spots to be “nice,” “positive,” and “interesting.”

But they also quickly said that the spots were very similar to other messages they see and hear about cancer.

The third concept generated commentary… both positive and negative… and the commentary started before I even asked for it.

Uniformly, the participants found the concept to be very different from most anything that they had seen.

By the time we were done with the third focus group, I was eager to hit the road and get back to the airport because the winter weather storm was moving eastward quicker than originally predicted.

Just as I was packing up, I was informed that we were going to do a fourth discussion group. 

Being snowed in for Christmas in Iowa was not something I would even begin to entertain.

I was not the happiest of campers.

Not only was there a fourth group, but we had to drive and then walk through a maze to get across campus to a room in the hospital itself to conduct it.

The fourth group was among cancer survivors and cancer patients undergoing treatment.

As soon as the participants entered the room, my perspective of life was altered. 

These folks really were battling cancer and surviving another day.

When we shared with them the different concepts, they became very focused on that third concept idea. 

They didn’t get excited about it. 

Instead they very quietly, but very personally related their own experiences of battling cancer within the context and the format of the idea.

It was one of those few times while facilitating a focus group that I had to actively hold back tears.

After we completed the group, that creative guy and I got back into the car and drove an hour east back to Moline, Illinois to board the plane back to Atlanta.

Over the course of the next couple of days, I received a string of phone calls from the creative guy. 

The client was just not sure what to do. 

The first two spots tested okay, but they were certainly the comfortable approach to take.

The creative guy was challenged.  Did he need to start over from scratch?  Did he need to combine the approaches and produce a hybrid idea? 

When I wrote up the report, I was very honest about what people said and how the spots were evaluated. 

But I also added a POV – Point-of-View – at the end of the report.

I was very direct and said that the third concept was decisively different and unique, but it hit the cord – that coveted nugget of emotional engagement – that would move their brand not only forward, but would elevate their brand to a new level of perception.

Now getting back to yesterday morning.

When I met for coffee with the creative guy, he shared with me two modified concept approaches the he had crafted around that third idea. 

He captured everything that participants and the client commented on along, but had preserved that nugget of emotional engagement.

Then he shared with me two more concept ideas in which her raised the bar on more tier. 

These two concept ideas took that nugget of emotional engagement and actually translated it directly into the context of a cancer survivor experiencing it.

I commented that all four of the “revised” concept ideas would move the client’s brand forward and emotionally capture audience engagement.

When I left that meeting, I realized very quickly why the stuff we do is of value to clients and prospects. 

How much a client spends is not what drives us in doing our job, nor what drives audience groups to seek out a brand.

It’s not about being cute and creative.  It’s not about buying media cheaper.

It’s all about discovery.

Discovering those “nuggets” … what I term the “EIP” of the brand experience – the Emotional Ignition Point … is what branding is all about.

My next blog is going to be about the drivers of discovery. 

I know that the University of Iowa is going to journey far this year. 

I am very appreciative of the opportunity to participate in part of that journey and very privileged to have the chance to team up with cool folks like that creative guy! 

ONWARD into 2013

I am writing this blog as I fly first class on a Delta Airlines flight on a Sunday afternoon. 

I am en route to Iowa… the University of Iowa… to facilitate and listen to individuals talk about cancer and the battle to be a cancer survivor.

I always applaud groups that take the time to hear how consumers perceive things before they go spend a bunch of money attempting to drive their brand forward.

As we are soon off to celebrate the Holidays with family, friends and pets, I want to take a moment and reflect some on 2012 and even more importantly, project out what will be some of the dynamics we are likely to encounter in 2013.

This past year has been an interesting year to be sure.

The U.S. re-elected its president and yet is now more divided than ever.

The Canadian economy is predicted to stall as consumer debt hits one of the highest levels on the maple leaf state’s record.

Europe struggles to unify with working economies footing the bill for the leisure economies. 

China is no longer a silent economy.  While China’s economy quickly becomes part of the global community as a whole, no one can overlook the fact that China is a major global economic agent.

Mexico and Latin America can be both a supply resource of labor along with an energy resource provider if the governments ever take a moment to rise up and see the opportunity.

Perhaps more important than the economic and political landscape are the generational changes taking place… and the lack of many businesses to fully wrap their hands around the emerging opportunities.

Perhaps the #1 force that will be driving 2013 forward is the trend I refer to as the “Millennial Springboard” in the 2013 TRENDCAST report. 

In some ways, I feel like a broken record when I get on the pulpit and preach to businesses and clients that the Millennials are not only here, but they are now crafting the world around us just as the Boomers did in the ‘60’s and the ‘70’s. 

The U.S. Census has now embraced a slightly wider age range defining the Millennial Generation (or GenYers as parts of the press and academia still refers to them) of adults (note “adults”) age 19-34 in 2013.

The leading edge of Millennials is driving business strategy and the trailing edge is soon to be out of college. 

Colleges and Universities are quickly facing the reality that the market of applicants is now on the decline… and the predicted resurgence of Millennials birthing kids gets delayed even more, thanks, in large part to the cost of raising a kid in today’s economy.

In 2013, Millennials will drive the housing market and their lifestyles will drive the crafting of home layouts and design.

They will be impacting the media world and what we interactively engage in whether it might be social, entertainment or function. 

Back in 2010, I crafted a set of what I referred to as Change Waves… trends that were not simply affecting a segment or two of the marketplace, but rather re-shaping the marketplace at large.

“Rethink and Refocus” was cited as one of the Change Waves that will drive change in how we have conventionally modeled business and personal pursuit.

Whether we individually participated in the re-election of President Obama or not, the drive to “Rethink and Refocus” will affect the outcomes of pursuit even more in the next 4-5 years ahead.

The ways in which individuals personally pursue their dreams and visions will be even less crafted around convention.

Businesses that elect to venture forward with past models will at best, see little-to-no change in their sales… and perhaps even more likely, will file Chapter 11.

In this morning’s WSJ, there is an article about Simon Malls and their “overhaul strategy” to combat declining mall shopping and vacant storefronts.

The article even notes “after decades of retail construction, the era of new-mall development in the U.S. is drawing to a close with much of the U.S. overbuilt and online shopping crimping many retailers’ grand opening plans.”

Here are a couple of sideline observations… and remember, I am writing this aboard an airplane so its not like I am spending time pursuing quantitative statistical support for these observations…

#1 -- Most of the Simon Malls are located in aging suburban neighborhoods posting little-to- no growth in the next 5 years

#2 -- Most of the population around the malls is aging with kids leaving the neighborhoods in pursuit of jobs

#3 -- Most of the brand names found in the malls are brand names that have been around for at least 25 years and are seeking out ways to "recharge" their brand platforms

#4 -- All of the malls' marketing directors that state events continue to fashion their strategy around the "mom and dad with two kids and a dog" 

Malls are a great example of a business that is facing profound challenges, but at the same time, opportunity to “Rethink and Refocus” and craft their brand experiences around the new, emerging Millennial Generation.

If Simon Malls picked up the phone and called my group today, I would welcome the chance to team up with them in crafting strategy to Rethink and Refocus…

BUT…

I would confront leadership in that phone call and ask them if they are fully ready to embrace the change and let go of convention that no longer works.

Otherwise, all of the time and energy spent would be for naught.

Many of my friends this time of year are placing their bets on what team will be winning which one of the bowl games so I will end this blog with another opportunity for readers to put some money on the table relative to Simon Malls and the challenge they face in 2013.

Here is what the president of Simon Malls said in the article about how Simon Malls is planning to move their brand forward…

“There are very few markets that aren’t already served by sophisticated retail… making what you already have as good as it can be is the best way to go.  We are planning to spend $300 million in the next two years to improve the shopping centers with expanded dining choices and movie theaters.”

Whether its “11” or “13”… I know where I am placing my money on the betting table!

ONWARD into 2013!

ONWARD... Post Election Insights!

I have taken about a week to truly get out from behind my desk and talk with real people about the presidential election results.

I physically got into my car and chatted with folks and also went online and chatted with both friends and chat group companions.

I will be right up front and share with all, that the person I voted for did not win the election. 

But I am not here to preach.

Here are some key take-aways of the election.

Emotion drives us more than facts and truth.

Personality, passion and relateable experiences drive us more than factual “truths” and rational argument.

Say what you want to say about Obama and his past history, but clearly the guy was able to distinguish himself on a much more connectable level than Romney.

However one may dislike Biden’s commentaries, he presented himself as much more relatable and connected than the Generation X personality of Ryan. 

Whether you connected with “Forward” or not, the Dems had a campaign “tagline” that conveyed emotional movement vs. the Republican’s who listed out the last names of their candidates.

Diversity is more American than Unity.

Some view diversity as the ignition valve of separate camps.  Some see each of the individual groups as an individual minority.

Fact is, the generational group I highlight in the next key take-away has been raised in the midst of it and for them, diversity is part of what unifies their peers as distinctively them than divides.

I have written blogs in the past about the hybrid combinations of foods, fashion and entertainment that are driving product innovation.  For example, I wrote one of the blogs a couple of years ago about the Asian tacos that two guys made famous in LA with their mobile “restaurant” truck. 

In some ways, these hybrids are the result of what truly lead to Obama getting re-elected.

The Millennials are the springboard of major market changes.

The Millennials got Obama elected to his first four years.  The Millennials are now re-crafting how we as a multi-generational America interact and see ourselves.

No question that we can thank the Boomers for catapulting the EPA.  We can also thank the Boomers for bringing music into our daily beats. 

The Millennials are re-defining our own notions of personal goals and achievement.

How Millennials view personal financial responsibility is distinctively different from the not too distant past.

The achievement of a goal may actually be second-class to the personality and perceived values of attempting to get there.

When we once viewed success as the driver of our pocket book and bank accounts, Millennials are re-focusing around the here and now of our own sense of self… and the inter-connectivity of ourselves with the higher good.

The marketplace is ADHD.

The Ritalin really never worked. 

What is here today is gone tomorrow… quickly. 

The hype of a critical event or point-of-perspective quickly is forgotten by something new, novel and different.

Brand equity is becoming redefined… and, in some ways, perhaps more easy to construct if it emotionally connects versus left-brain rationalizes.

The good news to many marketers is that a brand might be able survive PR challenges if indeed the brand has an established emotional following.

As much as a brand connects emotionally, there is even more of a need for the marketing to be driven by very smart, rifle-targeted strategy.

The DEMs are famous for their grass-roots, micro-targeted, well-crafted, emotionally-charged marketing strategy. 

The GOP is not.

The GOP still believes that if they bang on the headset of the electorate enough with rational facts, that it will passionately rally its troops and vote for their candidate of choice.

The next four years are likely to be difficult years. 

The economy is not going to jump quickly nor will businesses implement large budgets to simply spend money and build brand awareness.

For brands to grow, marketing can no longer be driven by “build it and they will buy it” rationale and perspective.

Personal final note.

Over the years in the business, I have personally met times of change and challenge. 

I have learned in many ways to adapt and refine.

I personally believe that the America I knew growing up will probably not be back on stage ever again.

I not only believe that the approach I preach to my clients, businesses, entrepreneurs and cohorts could not be more on target today, but is truly what will move brands FORWARD. 

Okay… since I did not vote for the guy that is still in the White House, I will borrow perhaps the more applicable “charge” from one of the guys I do truly admire…

As Howard Schultz coined in the title of his most recent book about the brand adaption and change at Starbucks…

ONWARD. 

The Discruption of Insight & Change

Over the course of the last several weeks, I have once again, come to a reality-check of what can be changed and what can’t.

I am writing this on the Sunday morning before the national elections. 

Politics perhaps showcases the naked truth of the human element.

Politicians seek a win while many voters wonder just how real the political promises will ever be.

Over the summer, I go to know a preacher turned human resource consultant.  In a three-hour sit-down meeting, I could see that this person’s real calling was to be the preacher.

Below all the new packaging of the business consultant was a conviction of how human behaviors worked and the calling of obedience to the higher, supreme being.  

I could quickly see how some top management players could identify with the approach.

When I started out in marketing, I served for about two and a half years in the role of the ad agency account executive.

I learned quickly how the account executive becomes protective in their style and management. 

The account executive faces the challenge of really never being on the home team.  When in front of the client, they are there to represent the agency… and when they are at the agency, they are there to represent the client.

One of the agencies that I worked with essentially removed account executives from the mix.  I am not too sure that this is the best approach.  Many of the creative agency folks are not linier in their workflow and style versus many left-brain client managers.

Whatever the case, when I realized that my calling was marketing trend forecasting and consumer insight, I also had to come to terms with the fact that much of my interaction with clients would be centered around disruption.

Disruption of perceived fact.

Disruption of personal roles.

Disruption of conventional approaches and processes.

I am very honest.  Three of the ad agencies and at least half a dozen clients literally threw me out the door because they felt very uncomfortable with the perspective being brought to the table.

Two of those agencies and a couple of those clients eventually called me back to assist.

Over the last couple of weeks, one of my client-partners has literally been beside themselves.

Market insight has engaged team members to begin to approach their business differently. 

Some of the members are digesting the insights and seeking out ways to incorporate them more directly in their day-to-day tasks.  Others are asking questions that require more than an easy answer.   

The account executive is building a protective approach. Some of the agency management is shooting the messenger.  Other agency management is digging deeper in the trench.

What I cannot personally change boils down to the depth of insight and how players around the table react.  I can offer perspective and further details, but ultimately, I cannot personally lead them players to the water and make them drink.

In less than 60 days, 2013 will be upon us. 

I started my firm 10 years ago in 2003. 

Much of the insight we provided to clients back then have come to pass.

And in more cases than not, the insights caused disruption, fear, defensive rationalization, dennial and attempts to lay claim to whatever of the past might appear to remain.

In two weeks, I will be speaking to a group of aspiring marketing students. 

I plan to share with them some of the very cool things that brand teams have embraced and experienced very positive results along the way.

Students get energized by those stories.

And to be honest, those stories not only energize me, but reinforce that what I bring to the table for Big Brands, entrepreneurs, ad agencies and fellow peers is indeed something of value.

A Glimpse Into The 2013 Emerging Trends

Its not easy writing a business blog right now.

I’ve actually sat down to write an update several times over the past couple of weeks… but it’s really not that easy to do.

Here is the U.S., many of us trendcasters and blogging soothsayers are awaiting the results of the upcoming November election.  There is no question that the outcome of this election will be a market game-changer one way or the other.

However, no matter the outcome, there are some trends emerging that will be market changers over the course of the next several years.

Not to give away the full EXPERIENCE 2013 TRENDCAST, the following are a few of the trends that are hitting us right now.

The Emergence of The Working Class

Forget all the political hoopla and the politicians’ fixation on the middle class.  The real group of identification emerging is what is being termed the “Working Class.” 

Having a real job today is not only an asset, but it is quickly becoming a distinguishable point of difference.  Thanks, in part to neutralizing brands like Target, Taco Bell, Kia and Verizon, socio-economic class cultures are fading in many ways. 

What’s emerging is the unification of a group of folks that get up every morning, take a shower and go off to earn a living.  They work hard and pay taxes.  Their lives evolve around ensuring that the work gets done to secure that paycheck. 

They are retailers, plumbers and managers.  They work in fast food restaurants, office towers and delivery trucks.

They exist in contrast to a set of other groups who do not work to survive.  Some are retired, some are in search of work and some have elected to live off of monies granted to them by Uncle Sam… directly in a Federal job or off of the monthly checks and EBT cards. 

If you doubt that The Working Class is emerging, check out the latest new fall programming on the broadcast nets. 

The Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious (BGO) is that financial institutions are looking at one heck of an opportunity.

But if brands think that the way to grab onto this trend is simply to resurrect the beer, cigarette and CPG ads of the ‘70s, they will quickly see that what’s taking place today is something different.

Hand Made Values

The writing has been on the wall for a while that this trend would soon be hitting the streets.

With technology and automation, the marketplace quickly emerged with what many brands thought was going to save their shrinking shares… customer service. 

With everything from the cars we drive to the smartphones we use to the credit cards we slide to the insurance we click to online…  large brands believed that real people versus automated voice recognition would be true counter culture of our high tech society.

Not so.

What’s emerging is a return to actual real people, hands-on product engineering, manufacturing and retailing.

What we see hitting the air-waves of HGTV, History Channel, Food Network and TLC are hits like Holmes on Homes, Counting Cars, Restaurant Impossible and Cake Boss that brings true hands-on assembly center-stage.

Wendy’s and Burger Kings are re-introducing the hand-shaped burgers and Taco Bell is showcasing its newest fresh prepared salads.

“Hand-Built,” “Hand-picked,” “Hand-Assembled” and “Hand-Crafted” are emerging as brand differentiation descriptors.

Watch for the 2013 emergence of Hand Made Value-adds in everything from automotive to clothing to home décor.

Kitchen Central

The return of home-cooking might have been triggered in part by the Great Recession and the emergence of “close-to-completed” pre-prepared food offerings, but everything from tearing down the dividing walls to the emergence of the kitchen dining table will explode in 2013.

The showcase of the kitchen in home floor plans certainly is a post-2005 design feature.

And if true Mid-Century architecture wasn’t real-time-adapted, the kitchen would be relegated to the back of the home next to the garage.

But what’s emerging in 2013 is much more than just where kitchens are located on the floor plans.

Home-cooking is back in style… and with the convenience of the Saturday morning in-town farmer’s market, a lot of what’s happening is literally happening from scratch.

From Whole-foods to WalMart, expansion of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits and home baking products is requiring shifting display plans.

Dining room tables, seasonal place settings, silverware sets, name cards, cloth napkins and tablecloths are hot.

While Starbucks is now part of many commute-routes, home coffee makers are carving out a place on the counter top for that home gathering time with friends and family.  Even the old perks are appearing as hot grabs on E-Bay among the new Millennial homeowners.

With the inventory of bank-owned homes quickly diminishing and home construction rebounding, watch as kitchens emerge as home-central as Millennials begin their homesteading.

More Trend To Come!

This week I am heading down to South Georgia to meet up with a new client.  They run a blueberry juice farm that sits on the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.

We are teamed up to tap into the changing face of the American marketplace.

If you are in the midst of planning for 2013 right now, you might want to wait until after Mrs. Smith and Mr. Jones hit the polling booths on November 6^th. 

As we say every year… what is, is changing and what was, is history… for now!

The EXPERIENCE 2012 TRENDCAST will be posted on 12/1/2012.  These three market changers will be in that release with more to come!

The Evolution Of The Middle Class

It seems to have become the mantra of the press. 

“The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer” and “The middle-class is shrinking.”

And let there be no question about it, if you tune into MSNBC, the finger pointing is all at the filthy rich and the Bush years. 

I don’t know about you, but the broadcast news media is more motivated by the ratings than the truth. 

And the politicians use the new media to “engineer the facts.”

I am fortunate.  The last couple of years, my clients have been good to EXPERIENCE and me.

Fact… my income has grown. 

Fact… I shop more today at Walmart, Target, and Old Navy and dine more at QSRs and mom & pops. I shop less at Bloomingdale, Macy’s, and Banana Republic and dine at less at four course restaurants.

Though, I must admit that I do grocery shop more at Whole Foods.

This weekend, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial titled, “Negative $4,019.”

As it kicks off… “The presidential race is boiling down to one dominant issue: which political party will do more to help the financially stressed American Middle Class.”

Well… what are the stats of the U.S. middle class?

The article notes that “in June 2009, the median income was $53,508 and by June 2012, it stumbled to $50,964.“

If that’s the mean (note not the “average”), then let’s say for blog-sake, that the middle class then runs the spectrum from Household incomes of $35K up to $74.9K. 

In 2009, the percentage of households in the U.S. making an income in that range was 35.4% according to the U.S. Census. 

This year, the percentage of households making an income in that same range is 34.8% according to the U.S. Census.

The WSJ article notes…

“Real median household income is down about 8% from $55,470 in 2000 before the dot-com bubble burst.”

Is that the result of just economic down-turn?

No.

Some of this decline is due to the continuation of a trend of smaller size families, lower fertility rates, postponed baby-making, increasing empty nesters and more singles… not households making less income-wise.

Remember that many Baby Boomers are now empty nesters and their Millennial kids are more single than hitched… the two biggest generational groups in the U.S.

More individual households have disposable income today than they did 10 years ago because the individual households in America are shrinking.

I often will say that business leadership today makes more crazy decisions that I remember back when I started in the biz. 

And then I remind myself that the parameters of the marketplace are in constant flux and what might have been the market of the past is no longer the market of today.

The U.S. is indeed in constant flux and change. 

The middle class of America today has changed.

·      It is more diverse

·      It is less middle-aged

·      It is more educated

·      It is comprised of more childless households

·      It is continues to be fueled by households emerging from lower income levels

There is no question that the U.S. has experienced the worst of economic times since the Great Depression. 

But before I would jump on the political bandwagon and declare that the middle class is shrinking because the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, I would ask that simple mathematical question… 

“How is that possible?”

Maybe the banning of sugared colas by the NYC mayor will help New York kids grow taller without the bellies to match… but you cannot statistically grow on the ends without also growing proportionately in the middle.

Is the American middle class changing? YES.

Do the changes suggest adjustments in marketing strategy?  YES.

Are the changes necessarily ones around economic constraint?  NO.

Perhaps my best advice to marketers out there is starting at the end of next week when the politicians are out in their campaign bandwagons… get out from behind your iPod, television set and texting screen…

And go travel over to the nearest Walmart, Target and Old Navy and take a stroll through the retail racks and watch the shoppers do their shopping.

You just might be surprised by their brand choices and how full those shopping carts get!

Remember that politicians are out to win…not necessarily to win based on proven facts!