Its Time To Start Digging Below The News Dirt

Digging below the surface and unraveling the sub-merged.

In some ways that line is really what drives me to get out of bed every morning.

I am surprised by just how many folks claiming to be in the business of business fail to do any digging.

But then again, it’s good because the failure to do it keeps my company in business!

With all the snow that has hit the Southeast in the last several weeks, I’ve had the chance to delve more into the news reports. 

For example, here in front of me is today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal with a major news story posting the headline: Household Debt Jumps as Banks Loosen Up. 

I am always amazed how the writers on Wall Street see the world through their green colored glasses.

Last week I received a great project working with a financial group located in the Great Northwest and got the chance to hear some Oregon and Washington folks talk about banks and the process of “doing banking.”

Maybe its because the Northwest is not within a short car ride from Wall Street that the world over in the Northwest fails to perceive much “loosening up.”

Before I get into some digging, I want to share another interesting news story.

While unemployment posted by the Washington Politico continues to decline… so too does the percentage of folks out there claiming to work.

The percentage of population of our workforce has been declining in recent years.

The political left fails to even acknowledge the decline in the active American workforce.  The political right dashes quickly to showcase how many Americans have left the work force because of limited employment opportunity.

Again… the writers on Wall Street see the world through their green colored glasses and quickly attempt to engineer economic and business models to explain the decline.

The last Blog-post (and you can read it below if you haven’t) highlighted Generation X and their perspective of the world around them.

The generational architecture of a society… or the marketplace… is very telling indeed.

While Generation X is small and not too happy about being overlooked and dismissed, Boomers and Millennials are a whole different story.

Both generational groups are social, cultural and economic driving forces.

Those two generations combined represent about half of all human beings breathing in the U.S.

Let’s take a look for a moment at the Millennials.

This year – 2014 – Millennials will occupy the age 20-35 year old age group with the mass of the generational bell-curve falling in their mid-to-late 20s.

Over-nurtured by their Boomer parents, the U.S. marketplace is experiencing a seismic tremor as many are finally leaving the parental nest.

When the amount of debt is reviewed on an average across all households, Wall Street is correct that the average overall amount is on an increase…

BUT… if you simply view the debt by generational group, it’s a BGO of what’s driving it… (BGO = Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious).

It’s the Millennials who are finally forming their nests and accruing debt as they purchase everything from homes to furniture to appliances to electronics.

Yes… debt is on the increase, but the driver of it is the new generation now forming their nests.

And the drop in the percent of who all makes up the active American workforce?

Enter the Boomers.

What I am about to post is something to which, I can personally relate.

In a couple of weeks, I turn 55 years old. I am a trailing Baby Boomer.

If you asked me 10-15 years ago, at what age I would see retiring or starting up a second career, I probably would have said close to the age I will celebrate in a couple of weeks.

Baby Boomers long thought that they would enjoy an early retirement.

While the economy has shattered those dreams for many, we cannot let go of the fact that many, many businesses and corporations have extended early retirement packages and that many Boomers have quickly said, “Okay.”

Every day, about 12,000 Boomers turn age 65 and that will be taking place every day of every year for close to the next 10 years.

Part of the economic model is based on the drive that as people retire, the younger generations will have jobs.

Problem is that technology and the web have exploded in the midst of that transition.  Technology can do things that previously took 3-4 people to do.  And I am not just talking about technology on manufacturing lines.

Sooooo…. When we hear statistics of individuals exiting the labor pool, we have to be careful not to lay all the blame on lukewarm economics.

Lastly, the big news on Wall Street is the sale of WhatsApp for $19 billion dollars… the most paid ever or a new venture start-up. 

There’s a picture of the fWhatsApp founder on the NY Times website. He’s wearing a T-shirt, suit jacket (note: not a blazer), jeans and flip-flops. 

The article highlights why the deal makes sense and cites the fact that 55% of its users are age 18-24.  It highlights that young people use it.

Here at EXPERIENCE, we have coined the term ZOOMERS to describe those born between 2000 and 2014.  Their parents are GenXers.  Leading-edge ZOOMERS are just entering into the adolescent years.

Individuals age 18-24 are riding the very tail end of the Millennial Generation that this year spans the age spectrum of 20-35 years old.

Part of the rationale behind Facebook’s acquisition of WhatsApp is that it could be a tool to help Facebook open up China. 

Perhaps.

Here’s where I will place the bet.

One interesting characteristic of Millennials that they very rarely lay claim to the fact that they are a generational group.  Many believe that youth is immortal and that their group is comprised of boundless youth.

Just as the BIG BUSINESS clients I work with have great difficulty seeing the world beyond their corporate walls, Millennials have difficulty understanding constraint… for the most part, any constraint. 

Reading the article and further reading an editorial about the founder in the Wall Street Journal, it quickly becomes apparent that he… like Mark Zuckerberg… believes that the age 18-24 year old group will be the commanding force forever.

Problem with this perception is the bubble is bursting as I write this blog.

Starting this year and going forward for at least the next 10 years, the U.S. population of those age 18-24 will decline dramatically as the 76 million strong Millennials age and the 1-2 average kids per household of the 52 million GenXer parents cruise through their late teens and 20’s.

That’s the U.S. stats.  If you don’t think its rattling the population globally, check out the latest of how China is finally loosening the “only one kid per household allowed” dictate from Beijing.

I'm not planning to purchase any Facebook stock anytime soon.

What amazes me most out of the observations I post on this blog is how much the business community looks at the surface stats and surface news and crafts their overall strategy around it.

Yesterday I watched how a past corporate client of mine continues to move forward with some rather naïve actions that in the long-term make no sense.

I also had a chance to sit down with a financial service entrepreneur. It was a very enjoyable time listening to the entrepreneur react to market dynamics and strategic options.

By the way, the entrepreneur was older than these geek-tech 20-somethings!

My advice... don't react to the surface level of news reports... better yet, call us and bring us in to dig below the surface and unravel the insights!

GenXers... An Angry Group Of Breeders

Every morning that I get up, I give a big hug to my dog. 

Miss Georgia is her name and she is the best companion any person could have. When folks ask if I am single, I quickly reply… well, I don’t have a human partner right now, but I do have my dog.

Nearly all of my friends – many without any kids running around in their homes – have either a dog or a cat. 

The Humane Society estimates that 62% of American households own a dog or a cat or both in 2014.

Now, before I go any further in this Blog-louge, I want to make the statement right up front… I do not dislike kids.  In many cases, I actually can relate to kids a bunch better than I can relate to their parents.

Okay…

The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2014 population stats a few weeks ago.  It estimates that exactly a third… 33% of American households have a kid under the age of 18 living in the house. 

If you got out of the office and walked up to the average Joe on the street and asked them what percentage of American households have a kid under the age of 18 living in the house, the majority share will guesstimate in the 50-70% range.

Sometimes when I hear folks say this, I wonder if this is a by-product of all those Viagra ads.

Quickly, here are a couple more stats just to anchor this blog-lougue. Just shy of two-thirds of all the households in American that have a kid under the age of 18 living in the house, two-thirds are married or coupled. 

The remaining third of the kid-present households are single parents and 75% of those are made up of a single female and at least one kid… the remaining 25% is made up of a single male and at least one kid.

In 2014, the U.S. Bureau estimates that there are 120 million households – not individual people – that make up the U.S.   And of 120 million households, 40 million have kids and 80 million do not.

Not all those 40 million households with kids in them are made up of Generation X parents, but a large share – over 75% are.  By the way, in 2014, Generation X will officially fall in the age 38-49 year old range. 

The rest of the 40 million households with kids are trailing Boomers or that Millennial who elected to have a child in their late-teens and twenty-something years.

I posted a blog back in 2012 about how Millennials were electing to put off having a kid and if they did, they often elected to only have one or maybe two.  This was driven by the cost of raising a kid from age 0 through college graduation. 

That cost back in 2012 was estimated to be about $600,000.  Today, that cost has risen closer to $750,000.

Writing about kids and the 2014 family household today is driven by one very profound factor: Most of the parents wear the label of Generation X.

Generation X is a very odd group of adults… and in many ways, their oddity really is the result of factors beyond their control.

Nearly half of GenXers were raised in households of divorced parents. 

They are the valley of 52 million stuck between 78 million Boomers and 76 million Millennials.

They vowed to remain married and they cocooned as a result. 

They harbor feelings of resentment because they wore second-hand brands passed down by the Boomers and watch as new brands emerge customized for Millennials and old brands are re-engineered around Millennials.

A couple years back, the Associated Press released an article tabout how GenXers feel shortchanged universally across parties – employers, marketers and local community groups.

In the local community where I live, families with kids represent less than 20% of the neighborhood households. 

Yet, the Gen X parents stake their claim.  They bring strollers into coffee houses, put up “slow down” signs on the streets and bring their kids along with them to the wine bars and pubs.

PTAs and PTOs post record high Gen X parent involvement, but decreasing community-wide support.

In survey after survey that I do, I find that Gen X parents perceive the world around them nearly exclusively through their family-anchored lens.

From Wall Street to Main Street, unless the news content has an impact on their child-anchored co-cooning day-to-day life, there is limited storage of the news in their awareness set.

How is this impacting marketing?

Well… right now, a significant portion of many marketing teams is made up of the GenXer mom and dad… especially in conventional industries that have been slow in merging in interactive, mobile and social media. 

These GenXer mom and dads are the same marketers who, with little thought… assume that the product promoted in the setting of mom, dad, two kids, a dog and cat is a marketing standard.

When you ask them why… they very quickly respond…”Well, more than half of our market is made up of families with kids” and “everyone out there can identify with a family of kids.”

And from a media standpoint… Women 25-54 continues to be the coveted audience group of the GenXer marketing teams.  This past week, a national radio talk show literally said… “marketers love the 25-54 age group because its made up with all those families that represent the bedrock of the American marketplace.”

The radio host is in his mid-30s, married with two kids, a dog and a cat.

A grass-roots backlash is emerging.

A pub in a neighborhood here in Buckhead which posts no more than 14% neighborhood residents with kids age 17 or less has a sign on their door that reads: “No Smoking. No Breeders With Kids.”

By the way… the pub is run by a smart business guy… dogs are allowed on the deck out back – something owned by twice as many folks touting a kid!

As the family unit becomes redefined around single parents, extended families and same-sex partners with kids, marketers intentionally reaching out to families will need to chuck their stereotype, "All American Family" portraits.

Some brands do get it and showcase singles, childless couples and empty-nesters as Main Street America.  Other brands embrace the parents sans the kids. And a few brands embrace the mom as a career professional.

The last perspective I leave with readers is that Generation X will continue to be an angry group of folks feeling slighted as they move from having the kids at home to empty-nester-dom in the next five-to-ten years.

The big question remain unanswered in terms of whether they will embrace their independence or give new meaning and value to the baby boomer “helicopter parents.”

Last night, HGTV’s House Hunters Show featured a young couple who just got married and the bride’s parents who were buying a home together that they were going to live in all together. 

I turned the show off.

Then I wondered if what I was watching was not HGTV, but a new show on TLC that might have been the newest in their series of everything from the Utah polygamists to the cougar affairs.

Wendy's... Popeyes... and My 2014 New Year's Resolution

Part of my New Year’s Eve celebration involved stopping off at a new Wendy’s to grab a quick soft drink.

The Wendy’s I went to was enlightening. 

Not sure how many folks out there have been to a Wendy’s recently. 

Back in the late summer of 2013, I actually did a blog about Wendy’s and their new pretzel burger that was a big hit and posted gains for the QSR chain way ahead of their competition.

I noted in that blog that the vast array of Wendy’s facilities are like time machines that jut you back into the mid-80s… maybe into the late-70s.  A look and feel that is in no way, mid-century, “retro-cool.”

Wendy’s is not alone in this dated environment scenario. 

Many of the QSR brands that have historically been scattered across a wide expanse of individual franchisees take you back in time.  Burger King, Hardees, DQs… they are all in need of an appearance on TLC’s “What Not To Wear” show.

The Wendy’s that I visited is apparently, “the new Wendy’s brand design.”  Those are the exact words used by the concierge hostess that greets you at the door and channels you over to the spot to place your order.

I was pleasantly surprised by the style and décor.  It’s somewhat “Dwell Magazine – Urban – Loft – Contemporary.”  Not at all the 1980s Wendy’s footprint.

There was a “sitting area” of four overstuffed chairs in front of a large flat-screen television right where customers walk in the front door.

My gut wasn’t too sure how long that area would last.  I’m not too sure how many people think about going to Wendy’s to relax and “hang” like they do at Starbucks.

When I asked the concierge hostess if this was a prototype, she quickly corrected me and said this is the new Wendy’s. 

I asked her how many area stores were going to be retro-fitted and she replied that as far as she know, none.  Only new stores that being built will look like it.

Interesting.

I asked a couple of the people eating in the Wendy’s what they thought about the design and nearly all of them said the same thing…

“Boy, it will be nice when they convert over all those other Wendy’s and have them looking like this... right now they are very dated.”

While the inconsistent Wendy’s “brand footprint" was problematic, there was something else that was much more disturbing. 

So much so that I immediately concluded I would showcase Wendy's in the next Blog post.

On the wall as you enter, showcased on the large wall by the tables, above the order stations, on the staff shirts and on the cups and food wraps is apparently the new brand line.

“Quality is our recipe.”

Readers… I am not making this up.

Wendy’s is not the only QSR out there that kills their brand.

When Burger King kicked out the King, they anchored their brand around the line, “Exciting things are happening at Burger King.”

Ahhh... I am sure that just rings the bell with those 20-something, single, hourly-paid dudes that represented Burger King's core brand loyalists. 

I hammer away at my clients that many product attributes are core deliverables just to be able to sit at the competitive market table.  

I often use fast food restaurants as an example with attributes like “good food” and “clean restaurants.”

When I see the leadership of large consumer brands doing what Wendy’s is now doing, I quickly come to the conclusion that there is some rather narcissistic leadership out there living in a self-created fantasyland.

The fact that the large vast number of Wendy’s look like the “before” décor on HGTV’s before-and-after “Property Brothers” hit show does not seem to even enter top management’s– and their “kiss the client butt” ad agency’s – headset. 

Is this just the way that companies are now operating and the days of emotional connections with the brand experience are now fading away?

No. 

Even in the QSR category, there are a couple of good examples of brands that live in reality and find ways to drive a brand experience that connects on the emotional -- and not the rational -- level.

I am the first to admit that I actually crave Popeyes spicy chicken.

When I travel on the road, I often will go online and scope out just where there might be a Popeyes not too far from the Interstate.

AFC is the corporate firm that owns Popeyes.  They also used to own Church’s Chicken.  

To be honest, when AFC purchased Church’s Chicken, the intent was to convert the brand over to Popeyes.

Unfortunately, there was a majority share of the Church’s restaurants that were located in some very “worn and torn” buildings and neighborhood areas to match.

For a long time, Popeyes conveyed a very mixed up and fragmented brand image. 

The Church’s brand might have even had a more defined brand image than Popeye’s.  

Church’s was the cheap, in-the-hood, good ‘n greasy, lick-those-lips tummy pleaser.  And they even accepted those EBT cards as a method of pay!  

Popeyes BGO (Blinding Glimpse of the Obvious) was simple. 

Popeyes had Cajun roots and tasted like what your mama used to make and reinvented itself based on its long-standing Louisiana-inspired home cooking complete with the Louisiana “Gen X” – but authentically-rooted, helicopter mom.

Brand sales are growing and the restaurant is opening up more restaurants.

Best yet?  The brand strums the chords of the heartstring and the more rooted the décor of the restaurant, the more believable the brand experience... i.e. the buildings don't have to be much revamped.

I don’t know about you, but “quality is our recipe” not only doesn’t make my mouth water, it doesn’t do much to strum my heartstrings either!

My 2014 New Year’s resolution is simple… 

I have lost all interest in bringing in clients that cling to the dysfunctional, rational models of the past and live in an internal corporate la-la-land with no sense that they are in dire need of help.

It's Very Easy To Get Lost

It’s very easy to get lost.

While the three martini lunch that the Madison Avenue ad agency and media maven craze made famous is long-gone, it’s not difficult to get lost in the pages of Town & Country Magazine and think that everyone, everywhere lives the fashion life.

Madison Avenue and the corporate boardrooms still promote that the fashion live is all alive and well.

This past week, I sipped coffee and read the Wall Street Journal at a local Virginia-Highland coffee house. Two Emory University MBA students at the table next to mine.

The two guys were very professionally outfitted in their blazers, button-downs and ties. 

They chatted about their expectations of their first management job touting the great cities they were aiming to move to like San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Boston. 

They spoke about their ideal career that as far as they were concerned was going to be their first job out of school. 

They spoke about their ideal home and cars, again, things that they would gain access to shortly.

They spoke about the marketplace. 

Not surprisingly, a dialogue filled with perceptions of people and cultures they imagine to exist... at least, the culture painted in their MBA case discussions.

It took a lot out of me to stay focused on the Wall Street Journal. 

I wanted to put them in my car and go on a journey into what really makes up America.

It’s very easy to get lost.

So far, the best part of my Thanksgiving break was going to a McDonald’s on Black Friday. 

I got there early… Just after 7:00am.

Next to where I sat was a table filled with women.  They were using their iPhones to check just what was going on sale, where and when.

I started up a conversation with them. 

I asked them if they were just beginning their shopping spree or had already been to stores.

They replied that they had been shopping since 7pm on Thanksgiving Day … all night … all over the place.

They went on to tell me about the deals they found and how they found some online and some instore.

They were planning to head about 30 miles west toward the “Big City” and then on from there back to their home town. 

As I listened to them share their stories, I could not help but quickly put them into target group “buckets” I am in the process of building for two new clients. 

Both of my clients have businesses located in smaller town America. 

There is a target group I coin as “Blue Sky Homesteaders” and another one termed “Heartland Seniors.”  These two groups make up about three out of every ten U.S. Households.

After I had breakfast, I went to a couple stores myself -- more to watch people than to shop. Later in the afternoon, I was back in the city of Atlanta and had a chance to chat with some folks shopping in the city.

I know what many of you are thinking. 

There are masses out there shopping the Wal-Marts of the America that might represent a share of our population, but really only a small share.  All the rest of the population is much more educated, professional and aspiring. 

Last week, I conducted a discussion group with homeowners who reside in a relatively nice, fashionable, Atlanta neighborhood.  One of my clients is going to be opening up a home design store in first quarter of 2014 and we are putting together their marketing program.

Going into the group, I was convinced that I was going to sit in on a group of women who truly lived in House Beautiful set-designed homes.

No question that the group was upscale. 

Most of the attendees were in their late 30s or 40s. 

When I asked the group to visualize their ideal home space, I was surprised.  The words, “Simple,” “Warm.” and “Clean” were used a bunch to describe the space.  “Fashionable,” “Trendy,” “Luxurious” and “Designer” were not used at all.

In fact, the group voiced how they used HGTV and Home Depot to get ideas more and custom interior designers less.

My client was surprised. 

The high-brow ‘hoods of the past are becoming “more commonplace.”

Lastly, there was an article this past week in the Wall Street Journal that I found very intriguing. 

I actually read the article during that morning coffee in which the MBAs were sitting next to my table.

The article talks about what is driving the new teenage shopping market.

The article has a sub-title that reads, “It’s Goodbye to Big Brand Names, Hello to Cheap Fast Fashion.”

Forever 21, H&M, Target and Wal-Mart are in and Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle, Aeropostale and designer labels are out. 

Going into 2014, I encourage my clients and marketers alike to take time out.  Get a breakfast at a McDonald’s and forego the Starbucks. Go to the nearby Wal-Mart and Forever 21.  Spend the afternoon in a Home Depot and chain grocery store.

Do it before your corporate marketing team meets or the ad agency comes in with a presentation.

Its very easy to get lost. 

Oh Canada...Keep Innovating And Carry On!

I am writing this blog post from the Toronto airport.  In a couple of hours I will be bound back to Atlanta… and the U.S. 

Yesterday, I participated in a conference of Canadian marketing leadership that crafts business, marketing and interactive strategy around neighborhood lifestyle groups.

Environics Analytics was the conference host and is the top Canadian provider of market segmentation modeling tools including Canada PRIZM.  Environics Analytics celebrated their 10^th anniversary yesterday, something that I could identify with since EXPERIENCE celebrated its 10^th anniversary last month.

I know that many of you are probably wondering if a conference built around segmentation modeling was boring “with a bunch of numbers and stats.” 

I applaud the Environics Analytics team.  Their corporate “mascot” is actually a real live tech nerd that has a very interesting… even engaging… personality.

To answer what some might be thinking … was this a boring event?… the answer is a flat out… NO.

Not only was the day not boring… it was actually very inspirational.  Yes… I said inspirational.

There were more than 400 people at the event.  There were around a dozen different presentations made available to attendees during the day.  The individuals presenting shared hands-on experience using the Environics tools in their marketing programs.

I was one of the presenters. 

No question that a share of the individuals presenting matched up against the statistical nerd stereotype.  Their presentation charts had lots of tables, graphs and numbers.

My presentation did not have many detailed tables, numbers and charts. Some folks said I might have been the most animated up on stage.

I enjoyed interacting with the group and I heard more people laugh and less people snore.  When you make a presentation, that’s good feedback.

What struck me about half way through the day was that this group of marketing leadership truly placed value on understanding the human dynamics of the marketplace. 

They talked about the emotional character of their markets versus rational attributes and benefit deliverables.

Those human dynamics provided deep insight on how the product service experience needs to connect and reinforce brand relationships, dialogue and exchange.

While my presentation was in part about my history of working with neighborhood lifestyle groups over the last 30 years; the main focus of my presentation highlighted how its currently being used by my client, Shaw Floors and affiliated retailers.

One of the Shaw Canadian retailers came up and presented part of the story with me.

Carl French, part owner of a flooring store called Speers Road Broadloom is a peer I continue to learn from and admire.

He is passionate about his business.  He is passionate about adopting new ways to drive sales. 

He is innovative in how he uses marketing insight like lifestyle-crafted target groups to craft his marketing and sales strategy.

Any one who has read a number of these blog posts knows well that I have not found too many corporate leadership groups that are brave enough to reach beyond the drone of conventional marketing practices. 

It’s unfortunate when a business gets absorbed with stats and numbers to the point that innovation ceases and even the most basic understanding of human behavior gets tabled.

I found it very interesting how other presentations at this conference addressed interactive and social media and how they spoke more about the human relationship dynamics and less about how many “friends” were part of the groups.

SEO mechanics were downplayed and more dialogue focused around the character of the interactive relationship.

Times have changed radically since I first started working with neighborhood lifestyle groups… and it’s not just the advent of the Internet.

As I sit at the airport and soon will be back in Atlanta, I leave with a much stronger sense that what I post on this blog and what I share with clients and partners is right on track. 

Perhaps what I enjoyed most during the time with the group yesterday is that I can count on one hand how many times I heard the word, “research” used by attendees and presenters.

Perhaps what I found most entertaining was a presentation on comparative political mindset found in Canada versus those in the U.S.

The Canadians found it very amusing that they were much more focused on a shared vision of better good than the Americans… who, in turn, were much more focused on this essence of what is the right thing to do and a government of rules.

They also found it amusing that the Canadians post higher incomes than the Americans.

As I board the plane back to Atlanta, I look forward to hosting the Canadians some time soon in the ATL and get a chance to show them a glimpse into our country of nearly 300 million folks compared to their just less than 30 million.

Onward into 2014… Keep Innovating and Carry On!

For A Good Lesson On Business Management Go To healthcare.gov

Right up front I have to admit that I am often perceived as a supporter of the Health Reform Act… at least among my business peers that are married to voting Red.

My commentary that the healthcare industry lacks coordination of costs, organization and accountability that are common in other comparative industries is what makes many think I am a supporter.  

Part of my commentary is driven by years working with hospitals, providers, physicians and insurance groups; the other part driven from a patient perspective following my wreck in the MINI five years ago.

As many of you know, I produce and co-host a roundtable radio show every week on health and wellness.   So to stay on top of the news stories and to be relevant on the shows, I have been attempting to … and finally this past Sunday morning… get a first-hand experience with the October 1 premiere of healthcare.gov.

(For those of you who have no idea… healthcare.gov is Uncle Sam’s website where folks can go and purchase health insurance.)

We all have heard in the news about how the vast majority including the then-Speaker of the House did not read the health reform bill before casting a vote.

I contend the same thing is true about the same crew… and add to it the vast lot of news journalists … who have not actually seen nor trafficked through healthcare.gov.

Putting politics aside for a minute…

My expectation would be that the website is pretty similar to the travel sites like Expedia and Priceline where you can quickly key in what you want to do, click on the best options and then click to pay for the ticket and book the trip.

When I go to Expedia to book a hotel or to Delta.com to book an airline ticket, the average time it takes me start-to-finish is about 5 minutes.

After more than two-dozen attempts before Sunday morning to get into healthcare.gov, I thought it would be a breeze to see what my options would be under what the healthcare reform advocates claim is the greatest thing launched in the U.S. since we landed on the moon.

When I finally got into the website, I was quickly greeted with a screen of text. 

Lot’s of text.

Multiple syllable text.

I clicked on what appeared to be the button to press… but I have to admit I had to ponder first if it really was the “click” button.

Next came up a series of questions about me.

I filled them out.

Click to the next page.

Read the text.

Click to the next page.

Yet more text.

Click… and then a host of questions that I had to put in answers so that the system knew it was really me when I came back to the site again.

Okay… I downloaded in my favorite color… and my mother’s maiden name… and my first pet’s name… and my favorite clothes to wear… and my favorite television show… and the best dessert I ever made.

Click.

More questions.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Then the system asked me if I wanted to see if I might be eligible for health insurance credits.

Six clicks and lines of text later I got to a point where I would finally see what plan options were available and the cost...

Nope.

I was told that the system was still “processing.”

I looked at my watch.  I had been on healthcare.gov now for more than 45 minutes.

I got up and grabbed a can of Red Bull from my refrigerator.

When I sat down in front of my MacBook Pro, the screen still posted that it was “processing.”

10 minutes later after taking my dog out for a quick walk, the screen still said,  “processing.”

I picked up my iPhone and called the 1-800-number posted on the page for the help desk.

A nice older woman answered the call.  She was like that grandmother sitting on the front porch of that older house in the farm fields of South Georgia.

I told her what I was trying to do.

She responded by saying… 

“Now darlin’ all I can tell you is that there are lot’s of glitches in this website right now and they have a bunch of repairs to make. My suggestion is you go and enjoy this nice Sunday morning and take a walk and come back to healthcare.gov a couple weeks from now and, the good Lord willing, it will be a bunch quicker.”

I could not have staged this experience nor scripted her response any better.

While many of my friends think that I am this big supporter of healthcare reform, I hope that they take a moment and read this blog post.

Most anything that the government touches is not likely to function efficiently… nor is the government going to be accountable for it if its not working.

Observation.

Those who are party loyalists actually believe that their politico can do no wrong.

Happens with those on the left.  Happens with those on the right.

No question that moving forward I will promote the heck out of Obama and his team and showcasing what was created and launched under the banner of healthcare.gov.

I want both supporters and critics to experience it first-hand.

I would not be surprised if much of anyone on the outside of Obama loyalists actually came in and were asked for counsel and perspective.

Probably never considered actually “beta testing” the product.

Sure that any thought of having those who were most critical should be invited into a focus group and exposed to the system and the way it was designed to work to hear commentary and suggestions. 

Oh there is no question that who ever got the contract to do the site design, pick out the pictures to post and the fonts to use delivered on their end of the deal. 

The pictures are pretty and nice.

The fonts are also pretty and nice. 

Function?

Well shoot… I can hear it now… that’s not in my job description.

If the website healthcare.gov is a clue as to what awaits us all with the operational mechanics of the Health Reform Act, I will borrow the Obama campaign tagline… Forward!

And I hope that smart businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs-alike… and especially the clients I work with now and at least in the next ten years… watch and jot down key insights about what to avoid doing and what to ensure is done.

What I’ve learned over the years is that if my clients are facing a lack of cost control, organization and accountability that are common in other comparative industries… I should start generating some leads because that client will not be my roster long.  

History Repeats Itself

Over the weekend, I got a chance to have coffee with a guy I got to know back in my High School days. 

For those of you who are reading this, that was more than 35 years ago… for me.  My friend, Steven is a couple of years older.

When we met up for coffee, he gave me a gift.  He said he found it in one of the antique stores down in what is now his “hometown,” Jackson, Mississippi.

The name of the book is Advertising published by The Alexander Hamilton Institute in New York back 1914.  That’s now 100 years ago.

The author is a Mr. Harry Tipper who was the advertising manager of the Texas Company, president of the Association of National Advertisers and a lecturer of the Men’s League of New York.

The first chapter gives a recount of the history of advertising.  It’s eleven pages long.  Back then, there was no television, no radio, limited outdoor and Lord only knows… no Internet or social media.

What I find fascinating about the book is its length…430 pages. 

There are very intriguing chapters. 

The first chapter of a section titled “Planning The Campaign” is named “Preliminary Investigation” and it talks about things like “important considerations” and the “consumption capacity of territory.”

Sounds a lot like what I do now 100 years later. 

My bet is here in the midst of the information age, it’s just as important for businesses to read that chapter as it was back in 1914.

Times might change, but the human element does not. 

There’s also a chapter titled “Advertising Agencies” with part of the chapter dedicated to “where the agency sometimes error” and the “weaknesses of agency services.”

As the author writes… “Although the advertising agency is generally able to furnish the manufacturer with valuable ideas, it will not as a rule afford much help with regard to marketing methods.”

Sounds like something I often relay to clients.

The author concludes the chapter with this… “Nor must it be forgotten that the interests of the advertising agent as advertising counsel, on the one hand, and commission man, on the other, are always diametrically opposed to each other.”

As I share with many clients, you can call it retainer fee or project fee, but if you don’t think that agency is working with 15% commission on the media and 20% mark-up on the production, run those numbers and see how close they are to what that annual retainer totals at the end of 12 months.

There’s a chapter on “Reason-Why Copy” followed by “Human-Interest Copy” as well as a chapter on “Copy As Affected By Display: and “Copy As Affected By Mediums.”

I share with clients something similar to the latter when I say, “the medium is the message and the message is the medium.”

There’s even a chapter on Advertising Research and the tracking of results including keeping a tally on who responds to the advertising and where they are residing. 

Back in those high school days, I had no idea that I would one day end up doing what I am doing today from a business perspective, but I was very much centered around understanding creativity and how it could be generated and developed.

I know what many of you are thinking.

When you think of your high school days, I would wager few share that common ground of remembrance.

Update time.

This past couple weeks, my very first client that I landed, an academic healthcare medical center, is breaking with a new campaign created by a New York ad agency.

Over the course of the five years in which we worked together, we moved their brand forward with a super brand platform that was anchored around the emotional experience of medical advancement and innovative options that patients had who came to their centers for disease treatment.

Just like the Advertising book addresses in what it terms “Human-Interest Copy,” the brand platform raised the mechanics of research and academic perspectives into a context that the “man-on-the-street” got excited about and desired to learn more.

Perhaps its because my second home is now a country get-away located adjacent to a town that is totally driven by a university campus, I can say what I next will say… or, its because I have taken the time to teach a few courses myself…

…But academics live in a very separate world than the rest of us.

Its one where ad agencies seem to intrigue many, and there are limited control points in place to avoid agencies coming in with limited perspectives of the dynamics of the market and “selling in the sizzle.”

I can see it now. 

The posh, well-scripted ad agency flew down from their New York City digs and spoke with a few of the academics and became intrigued with the academic perspective of the impending changes of the Health Reform Act.

Those New York ad slicks probably also were very much taken back by some patient perspectives that the Medical Center team might even be perceived as aloft… even arrogant… in their personality and bedside manor.

Something they concluded as bad for the brand image.

So… out of their New York offices, they produced the new campaign that replaced “Advancing The Possibilities” with “We’re All In This Together.”

A campaign that is driven by “Fixing Healthcare,” “Family” and “Big City Healthcare.”  All nice, warm scenes of extended families, smiling doctors and pretty pictures of the countryside. 

Be still my heart.

Be still the market too. 

Be still that person diagnosed with cancer and told that conventional avenues are not likely going to work.

Be still that person diagnosed with advanced heart disease in which future activity will be severely limited.

And be still that physician that after 20 hours of surgery has found a way to get a person put back together again.

Ahhhh… but those new ads are all anchored is the Shangri-La of feel-good… the beautiful filming and the thrill of the New York ad agency.

They say that age does breed wisdom. 

While I might want to scream when I see clients do really, really dumb stupid things, it seldom means much to the business with the bucks… at least for now.

When I read the pages of a book written 100 years ago, I quickly realize that I am not alone in the observations.

Sometimes, looking back in time and re-connecting… like I was lucky to do with my friend Steven… helps to anchor us in our trials of surviving the here and now. 

I will elect to stay positive. 

Another good friend of mine who is a psychologist said to me one night... trust me, they will come back.