The Mature Generation Is Still Driving... Both Their Cars And The Marketplace!

I take a break from work and clients most every day from 6pm until 8pm during the week.  It’s a time when I sit back with a light dinner and drink and prop my feet up on the ottoman. 

It’s not time allocated to grabbing the evening news.  Instead it’s a chance to tune into the re-runs of Seinfeld on TBS.

I remember watching Seinfeld back when it premiered.  It was fun to watch because I could identify with like guys and gals that also called New York City home.

However, today when I watch the show, I am much more entertained by Jerry and George’s parents… and their parents’ friends.

What I find most entertaining about the parents is that I now live and breathe my parents, their friends and even a few of my own personal friends who embody that same Mature Generation lifestyle today.

Yelling and screaming and saying whatever is on their mind is less constrained today by the defined parameters of their past.

We don’t really hear too much about the Mature Generation in the news and media world.  Shoot, the Millennials now have the spotlight and their Boomer parents stand just to the side. 

But the very simple fact that the Mature Generation is living longer than any other generation to-date is rattling a lot of changes and serving as the catalyst of many factors influencing the market.

Anchoring readers quickly… here are a few factors that I think are particularly interesting factoids about the Mature Generation…

(1)  Statistically, Matures span the age range of 74-91 years of age in 2016 and total about 55 million members here in the U.S…. the group is not dying off at the pace initially projected… they are living longer and staying healthy

(2)  Born and raised in the midst of the Great Depression, Matures post the highest levels of wealth of any other generational group, are the most financially stable and post the lowest levels of debt and bad credit…. Matures understand some financial fundamentals especially related to savings and budget spending

(3)  Not only are Matures living longer, but they are also the healthiest generation with the lowest levels of obesity and dietary problems… Matures grew up in a work environment in which pay, promotion and recognition was drive by performance and they are translating the same dynamics to their health and process of aging

(4)  Matures are the largest voting block… not necessarily in generational size, but in showing up at the polling booths and capitalizing on their right to vote… we all hear about the Millennials electing Obama, but we rarely hear about Matures driving local, state and non-presidential candidates.  LOL… while the news media elects to highlight HRC, Black Lives Matter, AFL-CIO  and NOW as the top lobbyist groups in the America, the AARP founded by the Mature Generation is actually the largest lobbyist group in the U.S.

(5)  Matures divorced more than any other generational group and have been married more times over than any other generational group.  While Boomers and Millennials are often showcased for their sexual promiscuity… just remember that Matures have spent the most time ever in divorce courts. 

The Mature Generation remains cemented in their values of authority and rules, logic and order, right and wrong… loyalty and respect. 

In a marketplace driven by the physics of balance and co-existence of opposites perhaps made most famous by the dynamics of High Tech and High Touch, the Mature Generation is matching up more with kids less than 8-9 years old than any other Generational group. 

As I have shared many times in this Blog, where I reside in Atlanta is an area of the city where many Millennials have since also settled… a share of which are now having a baby or two. 

What I find most interesting is how Millennials and their babies and young kiddies are bypassing the Boomer grandparents and connecting more instead with the local Matures. 

Parents of the young kiddies today are becoming much more anchored with high touch icons ranging from real, natural foods to actual stuffed toys to real books – shoot even coloring books and Crayons.

Boomer grandparents are still trying to integrate in technology and, in many cases, fail to connect to the high touch. 

But the Matures???... well it’s a natural connection.

And unlike the Boomers who are still attempting to recover from their over-mortgaged debt, the Matures have the dollars to go shop at Whole Foods to purchase those great whole grain cereals and right-off-the-local-farm milks. 

Marketers need to take note.  Brand trendsetters need to refocus. 

Whether its walking the malls that they saw become hot and now not or walking the neighborhood streets to grab a print newspaper, the Matures are not going to be dying off any time soon.

Running, Coca Cola, Lands End and Politics

Yesterday morning was a Saturday morning.

Normally, I hang out with retired professors and corporate VPs.  Instead, I stayed in the city and went over to the Farmer’s Market – or a variation of a Farmer’s Market in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood in Atlanta.

Virginia-Highland is a neighborhood area that lies just to the East of Midtown Atlanta.  An historic eclectic mix of older folks, hippies and gay guys. Over the last 10-15 years, the ‘hood became gentrified and today, Virginia-Highland sports some of the highest incomes and home values found in greater Atlanta.

Before I journeyed over to the Farmer’s booths, I sipped a cup of basic medium roast coffee and read the Friday edition of the Wall Street Journal. 

There was an article buried on the back page of section “D” that caught my attention. The headline posted the statement that the running market is leveling off and further, that Millennials are not much into running any more.

More than 13 years ago, I actually teamed up with Jerry Cronin, the creative director from Wieden+Kennedy who drove Nike’s Just Do It campaign.

Then I quickly re-anchor that the Just Do It campaign back in 1988. Back when the Millennials were popping out.

The WSJ article went on to report that Millennials actually are much more involved today in non-competitive sports, self-defined goal achievement and group exercise programs. 

Walking today is much more hip than running.

Especially if you are sipping on your low-fat, medium-foam, lactose-free, double-espresso, cold-brewed, drip Venti Starbucks whole bean Latte.

The article went on to say that everyone from the running brands to the sporting good retailers to the community run organizers are scratching their heads in disbelief. 

What I found intriguing in the article is just the vast number of firms that believe they have their finger on the pulse when what they actually are reading is a micro beat of their own limited perspective world.

When I next journeyed over to the Virginia Highland Farmer’s Market, I ran into some Coke execs.  We talked a little bit about the major changes taking place at the corporate headquarters as Coke dramatically drops out of the bottling business and pares back its corporate staff.

Coke’s CEO was featured in the WSJ about three weeks ago. The article was all about further decline in Coke’s global sales as the population from China to India to Europe to Ohio shifts from colas to other options to quench their thirsts.

What struck me in the article was the CEO claim that better times were soon to hit with Coke’s newest ad campaign and increase in their ad spending.

Denial is a stage that many combating an addiction face.

Coca Cola is a mature brand facing declining demand.  And its Baby Boomer leadership believes that a re-birth is right around the corner.

Moving On.

As I was sipping coffee this morning, I read another interesting story in the weekend edition of the WSJ.  This article appears right on the front page.

Title of the article: “Land’s End Gets Refashioned.”

While some leadership stands in denial, there’s another pack of leadership that jumps right in and makes radical change. 

Now I am not necessarily critiquing radical change.  Sometimes radical change is what’s needed to move a brand forward. 

I read the article about Land’s End with great interest.

A struggling Land’s End board hired a new CEO about 18 months ago. 

Land’s End slept in the bed with Sears for about ten years and then was spun off as a separate company back in 2013. 

The CEO hired back in February 2015 is a young lady named Federica Marchionni.  She came on board from having served in top management at Ferrari and Dolce & Gabbana.

While I attempt that vast majority of time not to make gender discriminating remarks, I must speculate that some older members of the Land’s End board found the Italian dame to be rather charming. 

The article goes on to talk about how Ms. Marchionni essentially runs the company based up in Dodgeville Wisconsin, a little dinky city due west of Madison Wisconsin, from her Manhattan pier-de-tier CEO office.

I cannot see top management of Ferrari driving a Subaru across the Wisconsin country-side.

The article goes on to talk about how Ms. Marchionni has “strategically” attempted to move Lands End into the upper Westside fashion scene.  Out are the baggy flannels and in are new signature high heels.

As I read the article, I had to ponder if Ms. Marchionni just might be from the same lineage as Robbie Johnson, the past CEO of JCPenney that was hired away from Apple. 

Similar to Robbie, Ms. Marchionni made the front page of the WSJ because sales at Lands End continue to slide. 

Not too unlike Coke, I bet Ms. Marchionni has seldom, if ever, actually hung out and shared a cup of coffee with the Midwestern Boomers and GenXers who long sought out the those flannel shirts and baggy pants to balance the daily grind of their 24/7 work.

Similar to Robbie, Ms. Marchionni will likely not be CEO too much longer.  If any one wants to take a $50 bet that she will be job seeking next February, please let me know.

There is no question that the marketplace is radically changing. 

There are those who chose to move forward blindly marching to the beat of a drummer hidden deep in the inter-sanctums of their mind.

There are those who simply chose to ponder and expect that increasing the ad dollars will cause their Zombie perception of the market place to change.

Then there are those who decide to side step the historic framework of the marketplace and elect to craft a Madison Avenue (or Fifth Avenue) brand culture. 

And then there are those who get out from behind the desk and venture out and chat with people.  Listen to what people have to say.  Ask people to be a bit visionary themselves.  And listen… really listen to what people say… and people do not say. 

Over the weekend, I also heard that some ad agency folks are now living the resort-life of retirement.  These are the folks that worked at the high-brow, high-rise, higher-than-the-masses ad agencies. 

Not joking, a number actually worked at one of Coke’s ad agencies and apparently raked in the dough when the money was flowing.

God love them and I hope that they have a relaxing retirement. 

I am very glad that they are now gone.  It just clears the field for folks like me that actually do what we do because we actually thrive on getting out and dwelling with real people who make up the marketplace.

Ad agencies and the high-brow marketing teams are sitting there right now pondering just what next is going to rattle the marketplace.

They are not too unlike the political hierarchy that is sitting back stunned at the results of the primaries soon to close. 

GOP leadership just cannot figure out what has taken place.  The Dems are puzzled as to really who can be more electable.

Back in the fall last year, I posted a blog some broad observations and predictions of just what might be taking place in this election.

I was smack on target. 

About two weeks ago, I went and reviewed the EXPERIENCE website to make sure that it wasn’t dated and no longer capturing the true essence of what sets us apart from others. 

I wanted to make sure that it reflected what I write about in this blog and what I say when I am out representing the team.

Whether its tracking trends for categories like running or managing brands like Coke or Lands End or observing the political outcomes of candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, what we do at EXPERIENCE can actually be a blast.

Now in my late-50s, I have no plans to retire any time soon.  I also am not into kissing ass for the sake of securing sales.

In where we find business and brands today, sitting behind the walls of the high-rises and corporate campus locations is really not too productive. 

Shoot, even if I had been a member of the Ferrari executive team, I would have ditched the valet and gotten into a Subaru and journeyed out across the U.S.  That woman needs to ditch that Perrier and high heels too and go get her some Red Bull and a flannel button-down.  

Suburban Cities Are Coming Back!

Love thy neighbor as thy self. 

Great calling for the Millennials… a generational group hooked on me-isms.

I know.  I know. 

Millennials are the we generation.  Social media and all that stuff.  They thrive in groups and seek self-confirmation through friends online and onsite.

Ahhhh… yes, but they quickly transform the we’s into the me. 

I live in the midst of one of the Millennial neighborhoods located “ITP” (inside the perimeter) in ATL-land (Atlanta).

Atlanta INtown is one of the neighborhood newspapers that both reports and crafts the Millennial neighborhoods here in-town. 

Skimming through it, there are real estate listings found on nearly every page.  Most are priced at $850K+.  Most are built where the older home became a “tear-down” and many fit the “McMansion” stereotype.

Shoot…even ads for apartment “loft” communities are advertising 500 square feet one-bedroom units starting at $1,900 per month.

I am not making this up.  And for those in NYC, LA, Chicago and DC… realize that this is Atlanta and not your city where costs are well-known to be “up there.”

Many of the Atlanta ad agencies are located in the in-town neighborhoods. Many of their day-to-day staff are Millennials.  Many live in the pre-Columbus world of thinking that the globe is actually flat and once one journeys out of the core base of in-town Atlanta, the world simply ends. 

But that perception might be changing as they desire to find their own fountain of youth!

In today’s Wall Street Journal, there’s a very interesting section devoted to city growth and development.  It highlights top cities to watch along with some very interesting articles about neighborhood culture. 

One of the assumptions I will make is that the journalist writing the articles is also a Millennial.  He or she probably has little knowledge of geo-demographics and systems like PRIZM, ACORN or ClusterPlus.

The article that caught my attention is titled, “Suburbs Hope To Be The New Cities” with the subtitle, “Some Places Think It’s The Way To Attract Young Workers.”

The article talks about how not-too-far out second-tier city centers and smaller bedroom-communities that faced years of decline as folks flocked back to live intown, are now seeing upturns in migration growth as intown real estate is breaking credit lines.

A few Millennial couples can afford that $1.4 Million three-bedroom-two-bath bungalow now... but as soon as the baby comes into the family with the $1 million conception-to-college graduation price tag, that home might no longer qualify for the new budget plan!

Authenticity of the intown ‘hoods is quickly getting lost too.  Architectural landmarks or soon-to-be-landmarks (mid-century!) are being torn down and replaced by the “new,” eco-green, Dwell Magazine new builds.

According to a study completed by researchers at University of California Berkley and University of Pennsylvania, the population of college-educated 25-34 year olds in downtown and intown neighborhoods grew more than 44%... three times as fast as in the suburban metro.

Historic mom & pops are replaced with indy, high-end retail.  Starbucks replaces the local cafes.  Whole Foods replaces the Saturday “farmer’s markets” and mom & pop grocery stores.

I share this because the stage set of temporary, high-end culture quickly becomes apparent and is replaced by the desire for a more “real” experience.

Millennials are known to quick “click” from websites where they fail to connect. They will ultimately do the same thing with aspects of where they live and what they identify with as home.

The Nielsen-PRIZM system that we have in-house at EXPERIENCE has a whole host of over 20 neighborhood lifestyle groups that reside in what Nielsen calls “second city” ‘hoods. 

No question about it, here in Atlanta we have Downtown Atlanta, but also the second cities of Midtown, Buckhead, Sandy Springs and Decatur – each with their clusters of high-rises and local transit systems.

New Rochelle, NY is featured in the Wall Street Journal article.

When I watch Bravo’s Million Dollar Listings LA, those boys shift from Beverley Hills to Anaheim to Santa Monica to Long Beach.

And Georgetown is nice, but there’s also Bethesda where Discovery Networks is based and Alexandria where some cool pubs are found.

Love they neighbor as thy self.  Better yet… Root they self in a real neighborhood vs. a lovely, but way too perfect stage-set.

No question that the high costs of intown ‘hoods are going to shift what many think is the unstoppable future.  

As many readers know, in addition to living smack in the heart of the trendy in-town Atlanta scene… in about 750 “affordable” square feet… I also own a “farm house” about an hour’s drive east from Atlanta in a smaller college town. 

I write a lot about shopping at the WalMart located near that “farm house.”  Shopping there is always a “grounding” experience for EXPERIENCE!

Just as the Boomers drove the shift from the “rust-belt” to the “sun belt,” I do not think that shift from the “burbs” to “Intown” is the Millennial signature population change yet. 

“Mom and Pop” is coming back… and reality TV is transitioning to reality ‘hoods as I write this. 

Now… hand me that popcorn and organic salt!

What Client Dollars Net At The Big Ad Agencies

Most evenings when I put the 24/7 work flow on hold, I sit back and click through the cable nets to grab some programming where I really don’t have to think.  

I end up on networks that run the spectrum from SPIKE, TLC, HGTV, USA, History Chanel, Discovery, ESPN and TBS.

Oh, I must admit that I do watch a good share of the news networks too.  I click back and forth between CNN, Bloomberg, HLN, FOX and FOX Business.

What amazes me the most are the broadcast commercials that run between the programming.

I even have a small framed quote up in the television cabinet that reads, “Remember, if they were all sane, the psychs would not have a job.”

I’ve voiced concerns about the Progressive Insurance ads in the past.  Flo was created by Arnold Worldwide.  Since 2010 when Progressive premiered Flo, they have produced 100+ commercials.

100+ commercials in about a five year time period.

Arnold Worldwide is based in Boston.  When you check out their website, you will see quickly that those Progressive ads are not likely produced for $50k.  Probably add at least one more digital point to that price figure.

The Progressive ad I saw last night was all about Flo.  It wasn’t until the logo came up on the screen at the very end of the spot that you realize its Progressive Insurance that the spot is attempting to sell.

Already this morning I went out and spoke to some Millennials as they were ordering their custom made Starbucks coffee.  I asked them if they had ever heard of Progressive Insurance Company and only one out of the 10 said yes.  When I asked if they had ever seen a character named Flo in any commercials, six of the 10 said yes. 

They went on to describe her as this character with “big hair that dresses mostly in white.”

 BTW… there’s some rumors out there that Progressive is replacing Flo with the animated insurance box.

I guess if I worked 24/7 dealing with insurance sales and claims, I would seek out something entertaining to break the doldrums. 

 

There’s another ad series that Chevy is running that showcases participants in a focus group with a facilitator.

In the first ad to premiere, the setting was actually a tad realistic in how it showed the facilitator revealing Chevy models.  Then came the second ad.  And now has come the third one this past week.   At least the third one in the series that I have seen.

The last time I did a conventional focus group was about ten years ago for a hospital.  It was the hospital marketing team that insisted we do a conventional focus group, randomly recruited and one in which they – the client – could sit behind the one way mirror and observe the discussion flow.

Big time corporate clients have long time been strong supporters of doing focus groups.  Not too sure that they fully understand the dynamics of the discussion, but they love the wine, mix drinks, shrimp cocktails and French pastries provided behind the one way mirror.

Back in 2003 when I started EXPERIENCE, I decided that it was way over time to create an alternative to the high cost, “pecking order” conversational flow of conventional focus groups.

They got to be expensive and contrived. 

Today, we do Coffee House and Pub Chats, On-the-Street experiential interviews, hosted neighborhood networking and online chat rooms and commentary boards.

Part of me is okay with the McCann creatives making fun of focus groups and using them as the commercial backdrop.  There’s another part of me that finds the use of focus groups by the corporations to be rather disturbing. 

In the third ad that I saw the other night, the facilitator is actually rattling the sales pitch.  If an EXPERIENCE staff member ever did that in any of the tools we use today, they would not be a part of the EXPERIENCE team long. 

I looked up the Nielsen PRIZM lifestyle groups that Chevy scores high on in ownership and sales. 

Here are the top PRIZM groups and their nicknames… “Kid Country USA,” “Campers & Camo,” Pickup Patriarchs,” “Toolbelt Traditionalists” and “Young and Rustic.” 

My bet is that these folks actually believe that they are watch a real live focus group when they watch those Chevy commercials.

Then last night I saw an ad that I still cannot figure out what was the product and brand behind it.

It opened with an office in a city-setting like New York with techies working at their computer pods.  The people quickly changed into animated human-like animals and as they were doing so, quick snippets of social media dialogue pop up on the screen, but the graphics are so small you really cannot read the text exchange. 

As the spot progresses, the focus shifts to the guys and gals that evolved into lion-like creatures and they appear to invent a quasi-digital umbrella that they send out of their 15^th floor office window and converts into umbrellas carried by the folks walking on the street below.

Ad the end of the spot a website address.  Part of me wants to say that a brand name like Slacker appears.

To be honest… when you read what I just wrote, it sounds like I was on my third round of bourbon plus toking for the night. 

I was not involved in anything like that when I saw the ad, but my hunch is that the ad team probably was when they created it.

No question, the ad was not cheap to produce.

Will be interesting to see if the ads pop up in the next few days.  If they do, I will write down just who the ad is suppose to be promoting and share it with blog readers.

NOTE:  Found out... the ad is for #Slack, which I still have no idea what they do.  Here is a link to their ads and an article about them... http://techcrunch.com/2015/12/30/slacks-new-tv-commercial-is-adorable-and-effective/  ... LOL... some techie brand.

This past week, I had lunch with a couple ad agency owners.  They run medium to smaller size shops.  They told me that they were laying off more creative staff and shifting over to building client teams with free-lancers. 

I quickly asked if cost was the driver… and they quickly admitted that overhead costs did play a partial role.

However, they added that free-lance teams could be kept fresh and that the product produced would not fall into the conventional ruts and commercials that seem to live in their own little worlds. 

I could not agree more.

Tearing Down The Walls And Digging Out Of The Minutia

This year is off and running… fast.  And for that, I am grateful.

Companies, politicians, brand leaders, ad agencies… my iPhone has been buzzing.

And if the Super Bowl ads were a sign of where marketing and advertising is at… my bet is that there will be more folks calling needing help.

Isn’t there a saying that flows something like… “What stupid sees, stupid does.”

If you have been following this blog over the years, I have posted a long stream of observations of how GenXers and Boomers – the older relics of brand management – are inwardly clustering in their self-woven cocoons. 

Many ad agencies and creative shops have turned inward too.

The past couple of weeks, I have worked with two firms struggling to unify their online strategies with their brand marketing strategies.

I had the chance to review four written proposals put together by the “digital agencies.” 

What struck me with all four was that there was no mention of just whom the programs were designed to reach, engage and interact.

No mention of their demographics.  No mention of the psyches.  No mention of their online behaviors.  No mention of how they interact with the product category. 

Nothing.

I remember in my early days in the business asking an outdoor billboard firm how a person could strategically use billboards to reach defined target groups.

The reply… “you don’t have to worry about targeting, everyone drives by the billboard in their daily travels.”

Believe it or not, that's not too different from a digital techie saying… “who cares about who it is that hits your website, we engineer it around their online behaviors to net the most engaged.”

Okay. 

In this weekend’s Wall Street Journal is a news story with the headline, “Kohl’s Eliminates Three Senior Roles.”

First sentence in the article goes on to say, “the department store chain is battling sluggish sales and a depressed share price.”

So the company and brand are in deep doodoo

Who are the three executives that Kohl’s eliminated?

The Chief Digital Officer. The VP of Store Environment.  The Senior VP of Communications and Public Relations.

Not sure about blog readers, but I gave up on going to Kohl’s about five years ago.  Personally, I could not really figure out just what made Kohl’s a differentiated brand other than their claims of discount pricing.

Shoot, if I shop where price is critical, I will journey over to Target and feel hip or Wal-Mart and feel patriotic.

By the way, a lot of corporate leadership should hang at Target and Wal-Mart at least once a week.

I spent a lot of time on the phone with a client yesterday afternoon attempting to elevate the discussion to the higher level of just what in the heck is the brand experience that drives sales revenue.

I could not get the client’s perspective raised beyond the mechanics of the website.

As I said right up front, I am grateful that many teams are calling right now.

Many are desperately in need of help. 

Many have got specialized specialists added to their team. 

Many have built up walls to shelter the specialized specialists as they look downward into the minutia of their specialized specialties.

Many give reinforcement for creative for the sake of original creative.

I remember a cartoon I saw one of that feature a set of Gen X parents debating the details of just how they were going to stage-set-up their child’s birthday among friends and relatives while the child was sitting on the sidelines staring at a wall.

Substitute the consumer for the child.

As I enter 2016 with the phone ringing, I have to keep in mind the mission of why EXPERIENCE exists… put the consumer in the center seat and look at the brand on the consumer’s experiential perspective with the goal to emotionally connect beyond rational thought and competitive options.

My advice is to corporate leadership is to tear down the walls of the corporate cocoons and go dwell with real people in their environments.

The Wall Street Journal article about Kohl’s goes on to say that Kohl’s board of directors is seriously considering selling the chain off to a private-equity firm.

We shall see if Kohl’s is sold to individuals with a passion to deliver a brand experience or individuals who acquire very screwed up corporations and milk the assets for what worth might remain.

Encountering Truth versus Attempting To Resurrect A Declining Mature Brand

I remember the day when Woolworth announced that they were closing down. 

As a young kid, my parents used to take me to the Woolworth located in Willoughby, Ohio to see what toys I wanted for Christmas. 

I also remember going over to the store and picking out whatever candies I wanted with the quarter my parents would give me.

In the late 1990s, Woolworth went out of business. Woolworth was once the only alternative to the department and catalogue stores.

By then Target, Kmart and Walmart had redefined the five and dime marketplace.

This past weekend, the Wall Street Journal wrote about two corporations that are in the process of plotting out how to survive from a similar impending decline.

One of those corporations is Yum Brands. The other corporation is Wal-Mart.

Corporations and marketing today is all geared around capitalizing on trends, diversifying and growing fast. 

It’s what Wall Street fosters and reinforces.  Its what executive management uses to drive their own personal portfolios and early retirement expectations.

But whether their management teams are willing to admit it, there are brands that have matured and operate today in the midst of very, very dated operational environments. 

One of those brands is Yum Brands. 

This corporation is not radically different than many of its aging peers like McDonalds, Burger King and Dairy Queen.

Yum Brands owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. 

The article highlights management “refocusing” on its brands with “new product development and digital expansion.”  Yum Brands management talks about the great success the breakfast tacos at Taco Bell.

Over the course of my time in business, I’ve worked with a number of mature brands – brands that have exhausted distribution expansion opportunities and now face declining market share.

Even after the announcement of the corporate priorities and focus, the Yum Brands stock share price continues to decline.

Fast food chick, tacos and pizza are no longer new, novel or different. 

Low cost, tummy fillers are also hard to manage from a cost standpoint let alone government oversight that is out to manage the health welfare of America.

Operational modifications like drive-thrus and 24/7 hours of access are “been there and done that” status.

Not too sure that selling fast food on the Internet is going to remedy the aging decline.

While I do not necessarily quest to visit Arby’s any time soon, I will give its management and marketing team credit because that brand platform has become much more focused and defined around a unique brand experience… Meat… We Have The Meats!

If Yum Brands called EXPERIENCE and asked what to do my advice would be direct.

Simplify your product delivery… model your menu boards after Chipotle in terms of simplicity and focus.

And start exploring the launch of new brands that embrace the next wave of where fast food is today and where it will likely be in 2020.

I already know that advice like that is not received well by the Boomers and GenXers sitting in the corporate towers.

It requires thinking beyond that corporate retirement package.

The other brand is Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has been in the news a lot over the last 6 months.  They are facing some rather difficult times ahead as they finally elected to pay their workforce more and re-engineer the layout of the stores. 

As I noted above, mature brands heading into decline embrace operational changes as part of the confrontation with reality process.

The news is that Wal-Mart hired Michael Francis as their new Chief Marketing Officer. 

For readers who do not know who Michael Francis, his bio will quickly give you a perceptual grounding. 

Michael is the marketing guy who helped craft the Target brand in the 90s and early 2000s.  He spent nearly 30 years client-side at Target. 

A lot of the cool stuff that Target is famous for was not bred internally at Target.  Wieden + Kennedy, the agency famous for doing cool stuff for brands like Nike and Apple, drove the cool that empowered Target.

When Michael left Target, he made history by being the marketing guy that attempted to convert JCPenney from a dying brand to a Target-look-alike.

From a sideline viewpoint, the fact that Michael Francis really never worked outside of retail helps to explain his passion – or limited scope. 

He did not explore other contexts of the brand experience.  He really has not even worked with an alternative media environment. 

My bet is that the team that hired Michael Francis at Wal-Mart is also very likely to have recently received a Viagra prescription.

The article quotes a Wal-Mart exec as saying, “If I was working at Target, my heart would sink… knowing that Michael is now working for the competition.”

Okay. Bet that Wal-Mart team already seeing similar ad copy, filming and websites.  They are probably already seeing their Wal-Mart graphic icon that mimics a flower in a similar context as the Target graphic icon.

The same management team at Wal-Mart is further quoted as saying… “Globally, we know growth [of Wal-Mart] will disproportionately come from middle- and upper- income households in the years ahead.”

OMG. Something says that they took a multiple dose of that Viagra!

I do not in any way make a mockery of Wal-Mart. 

In fact, I encourage clients and colleagues alike to once a month get in a car and drive out to a Wal-Mart and walk around.  Watch the shoppers.  Wal-Mart captures the best of what remains of the mass unwashed!

I like to say that if copy is not understood by the folks who shop at Wal-Mart, its not being scripted with the correct words.

If the cost of raising the average pay per employee by a couple of dollars an hour caused Wal-Mart to face Wall Street challenges, can you imagine what the cost of converting the Wal-Mart brand experience into something like Target to net more upper income households will do to the corporate stock value?

I am astounded how Wal-Mart management cannot digest the lessons that many learned by watching JCPenney make an attempt to change the fundamentals of its brand experience.

My bet is we will likely see some management changes at Wal-Mart in the next year as its corporate leadership comes into contact with some fundamental realities. 

If EXPERIENCE was hired to assist Wal-Mart in its marketing, I would very quickly recommend to keep a focus on its online sales and ways in which it can make that consumer “touch-point” more current with where its brand equity audience headset is at in the next several years.

I also think that Wal-Mart has an opportunity to tap “working class” and “first entry into the U.S.” Millennials as they begin to create their own home space and raise families. 

As we are closing out 2015, there are a lot of interesting challenges ahead. 

My advice to those who read the EXPERINCE blog is to get out from behind your desk.  Go out into the marketplace at large to watch, observe and converse with the groups out there that are getting even more diverse in who they are and what they define as their goals and desires.

When Woolworth turned its lights out, it was time to move on. 

In the next couple of years, there will be a host of other brands that need to follow the Woolworth example.

Observations of the Presidential Race And What's Likely Ahead

The blog I write after each year’s trend posts is always a dull one.

No question that part of the situation is being driven by the magnitude of the trends predicted. 

Since I posted the last two blogs, I have made more than a dozen presentations and many attending are also still pondering both the opportunities and challenges ahead.

So I write this post about the presidential election and what we are seeing transpiring in front of us.

Topline, here are a few interesting observations…

(1)  The number of candidates on the GOP side that threw their hat in the ring.

Market splintering often happens when new technology or new innovative thought initially hits the marketplace.  I remember the diversity of brands with the advent of personal computers… I remember the initial diversity of cell phone providers. 

Although I will quickly say that I do not think the same dynamic is driving what we are observing. 

Instead I think that the culture of social media and the belief that we are only a “click” away from influencing the change agent are more the drivers. 

Also… the culture of social media transcends beyond the Millennials who grew up within in it.  Old and young alike … even candidate specific… are addicted to the belief system right now.

(2)  The networking of the media. 

The consolidation of media and its conversion to 24/7 programming has culminated into what we now have before us. 

“Debates” that are really more Q&A “60 Minutes” news “shows.”

News nets attempting to “brand” their forums, formats, question sets and exchange dialogue.

The conversion of “grass roots” politicking to “media visibility” and “story bytes.”

Tracking public sediment not too unlike tracking television ratings.

(3)  The Dems riding a wave of assumptions vs. proactive strategy.

Whether you like her or not, you have to admit Hillary carries a lot of baggage.  So far to date, she has not necessarily performed well as a “unifier.” 

The Dems have historically way out performed the GOP in unifying divergent camps.  Single moms, union labor, 20-something Millennials and gay folks… not much shared, common ground. 

The Dems marketplace has changed.  Not too sure that their strategic approach has change much – if at all. 

I still believe that Joe Biden may still enter the race.  He just might be strategically staying behind the scenes… for now.

(4)  What might drive continued attention.

As I write this blog, global security and a flow of standard logic is being challenged.  Today’s headline story in the Wall Street Journal is that the economy is cooling… yet again. 

Many assert that the large media coverage of the election way in advance of the primaries will ultimately “burn out.”  That people will simply get tired of hearing about it and focus their attention on other things.

That assumption might have some supportive rationale to it if we were not in the midst or fluid, radical challenge and change.

From Islamic Terrorist to a struggling China to an erratic Wall Street, the future is not predictable… nor like any past models.

A number of the media channels showcased Jeb Bush and his third campaign theme born again experience.  They commented on the lack of “brand” equity. 

I agree to a large extent.  But I think that the campaign challenge for many will be to secure a brand strategy that can be extended over a course of radical change.

For all his craziness and lack of thought-out implementation strategy, I hate to say it, but Donald Trump might have the most adaptable strategic brand platform given what is likely to evolve in the next 12 months.

The election is always a very good read of marketplace thinking.  It also provides a rich understanding of how individuals align their viewpoints with others. 

Sad to say, but it also provides a rich perspective of the group, “The Unconnected Sub-Generation,” highlighted in the 2016 EXPERIENCE Trendcast report.

The next blog I post will showcase the changes that have evolved and produced a set of new 2016 PRIZM neighborhood lifestyle groups that wear a new set of nicknames that include “Generation Web,” “Metro Grads,” “Networked Neighborhoods,” “Second City Start-ups” and “Pick-up Patriarchs.”