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!

Helping The Helicopter Moms & Dads Let Go!

Here it is late-July… hotter than Hell.  Literally.

More than 35 years ago, I remember my marching band re-grouping and beginning another season. 

We would gather together early in the morning and practice no later than 9am to avoid the summer Georgia heat.

Back then the school year would begin around the third week of August. 

The newspapers right now are full of the Back-to-School ads.  The commercial breaks on cable nets from Cartoon Network to TLC to Nick at Night are filled with Back-to-School spots.

When I went over to Target to pick up some items the other day, the seasonal section of the shop had transformed from outdoor furniture and gardening supplies to notebooks, backpacks and iPad computer cases.

Soon school will be back in session and the morning rush hour traffic congestion will be back in full force… but at least the kids will be gone from the Starbucks I venture to for my morning coffee.

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal had a great article about how colleges are putting in programs to manage the “let go” point between new students and their helicopter parents.

The title of the article read: “Helping Mom and Dad Let Go”

It was fun reading it.

The article very directly quotes college leadership that the issue of the helicopter parents is rooted more deeply with the parent’s inability to let go than the student’s dependency on the parent.

The article features a picture of a young son smiling and a parent sobbing at an orientation gathering where the new students are being dismissed to go be students.

I would not be surprised if that son is not whistling, “free at last, free at last.” 

And if not that tune… then “100 bottles of beer on the walk, 100 bottles of beer…”

Rodney Johnson, executive director of parent services at George Washington University is quoted in the article about the challenge at-hand…

“Our job is to take the gas out of the helicopter, so that by the time their children become seniors, that helicopter is grounded, and the students can take care of themselves.”

Fascinating.

I will never forget how several students in the classes I have taught have shown up regularly with their moms tagging along. 

I also will never forget answering my cell phone one evening and having a parent demanding that I share their child’s test score before the child received the grades the next morning.

On more than a dozen occasions, I have had to explain to a parent that they have no right to know their child’s grades…their child is an adult and they have a right to privacy.

More than 90% of colleges and universities have specific staff teams designed around helping the helicopter parents cut those cords.

Twenty years ago, parent-specific programs were rare and hard-to-find.

I know for academic institutions there are little positive outcomes from this Boomer-Millennial co-dependency phenomenon.

BUT… marketers… there are opportunities for you!

(1)  Concierge service is an opportunity point of entry with Millennials groomed by their helicopter parents.  Without a question, W Hotels might have been the first ones to see the future unfold as their brand foundation support beam.

(2)  Personal, real, human assistance is driving Millennials to use travel agents.  Millennials post the highest use of travel agents of any generational group… even more than their grandparents.

(3)   Retailers should chuck the term “salesperson” and put on the hat of “personal assistant” to help the Millennials pick out everything from their wardrobe to new home décor… and just FYI… we are talking about the retail salesperson working at the Target-like retailers…not the custom tailor shops!

(4)  Healthcare players… everything from docs to doc-in-the-boxes to dieticians should be jumping at the chance to transform from care-givers to fitness coaches.  Obama-care pays for “proactive wellness” and healthcare players need to take hold of the Millennials whose helicopter moms are still making the lunches to take to work.

There are even more great opportunities and I would list them out… but then again, those ideas can be a great revenue source for EXPERIENCE over the course of the next several years!

Its hard to believe that it has now been close to 10 years ago, but my comrade Hope Schultz and I took on a project back then of a new bedding product that primarily was targeted to college students.

We went out and spoke with students at Northwestern, Vanderbilt and the University of Georgia.

While the key insight uncovered in the chat groups with the kids signaled great opportunity for our client… now that I think back about it, maybe that key insight could be used today in those university parent services program.

Those helicopter moms and dads just cannot let go. 

BUT alas, the bedding those kids sleep on each and every day and night on campus just might be a parental calling.

The key insight we uncovered?

The average male student changes the sheets on their bed… once a year.

The average female student changes the sheets on their bed… once a semester.

I am not making up what we heard.

If I were a helicopter mom right now… I would be dashing over to Target and buying up several sets of sheets, a 5 gallon jug of detergent, overnight shipping boxes and pre-paid return envelops…

Sounds like a great “back-to-school” promotional opportunity to me.

The Rise Of A New Change Wave

I post new blogs about once every 3-4 weeks now…

…But, I saw an editorial earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal and just had to carve out time this weekend and post what is the real story of what’s going on.

Just over two years ago as we were technically coming out of the Great Recession according to the Washington politicos, I cited five broad trends that I call “Change Waves” – very significant macro-trends that will challenge businesses and their brand dynamics over the course of the next 5-10 years.

One of the Change Waves is titled “High Tech And High Touch.” 

I cannot take full credit for the name.  John Naisbitt coined that phrase in his book Megatrends back in 1982. 

However with mobile media today, that change wave has taken on new meaning as technology truly goes mobile and the Cloud unites all of us together. 

I facilitated part of an off-site strategy planning session for a financial service client this past week and I highlighted the fact that technology advancement for the sake of technology advancement in and of itself, will not work.

Some of that group smiled… especially the VP of HR. 

BUT… back to why I am posting this in less than two weeks of the last posting…

There is a new “Change Wave” in the making that is surfacing quickly. 

It is something that is impacting the marketplace on a Global front… and certainly something that is influencing the Washington politicos in this election year.

The “Change Wave” is what I will title, “The Rise of the Working Class.”

Quickly, I have to qualify that this has NOTHING to do with UNIONS and ORGANIZED LABOR. 

In many ways, it also has NOTHING to do with SOCIO-ECONOMICS.

But it has A LOT to do with INDIVIDUALISM and SELF INITIATIVE.

In basic terms, the “Change Wave” is the rise of identity, mission, lifestyles and values of individuals who get up every day and go to work to earn a living… individuals taking charge and finding work… individuals placing values on earning versus taking… being active and not passive.

Yes… it shares some aspects of one of the “Change Waves” titled “Acquisition of Self”… but it moves the focus beyond “me” to “us” vs. “them”… note, not “we.”

Now to the editorial in the Wall Street Journal.

On Friday, July 13^th, an editorial ran titled, “The Middle Class Needs A Lifeline.”

The co-authors go by the names of Mr. Carville and Mr. Greenberg. 

Most of you reading this that are not part of the Millennial Generation, should know who these guys are… both were advisors to Clinton and they now have a “non-profit” group called, “Democracy Corps.”

At this point in time, I really could care less if you vote Blue or if you vote Red.

These two members of the Washington Politico simply don’t get what is rising up right in their midst.

As believers sitting high from their educational platforms, they look down upon the world beyond Manhattan and the world beyond DC and quickly conclude that those who have… not just wealth, but “educational perspective” and power… need to throw “a lifeline” of aid to keep the middle-class from drowning.

As “The Rise of the Working Class” takes shape, expertise and valued perspective will rapidly move from the halls of Harvard, Manhattan and Washington to “Joe the Plumber” and “Jean the Nurse.”

Trade organizations will evolve into a new format and what some might not even think is the same genre, but those organizations will command more power than the Senate Ways & Means Committee, the EPA and MBAs.

The Working Class will re-define “success,” “intellect” and “knowledge” with values centered around “initiative,” “dedication,” “just reward” and the simple phrase “I earned it.”

Icons of “success” are quickly moving away from import cars, private jets and hired help. 

And brands like Target, Starbucks, WalMart, KIA, Apple, Expedia and Facebook are unifying those that work to spend money wisely.

What I post in this blog is not just what I wake up in the morning expressing as opinion. 

What I post in this blog is what I observe when I get onto the elevator of my 9^th floor office in the chic shopping district of Buckhead-Atlanta and put away the keys to my Infiniti and pile in my Jeep Patriot to go out into Main Street USA and talk with people.

The “Aha” moment for me that indicated that what I describe is moving forward fast took place in a coffee house chat group I facilitated in Florence, South Carolina.

Florence, South Carolina is not only entrenched by what Carville and Greenberg term as the Middle Class, it is also populated by a true group of folks who have been tightly tied to the textile, distribution and manufacturing labor base.

In the coffee house chat group, we had a set of folks attend who currently use a credit union. 

Most of the participants were African-American and a share of the participants was not only made up of older Baby Boomers, but some were close to 70 years old.

Many of the individuals spoke about how they and their families were hit hard by the Great Recession.

But they quickly spoke about how much they valued the people working at the credit union because they took the time to sit down and put together plans with them so that they “could pull themselves out of the downturn and get back to saving money for better times.”

I was so intrigued; I probed their responses even more asking them to share more about what the credit union did for them.

One of the participants was just over 70 years old.  He was a veteran of the armed services and proudly wore a U.S. Veteran’s baseball cap. 

He shared with the group that he did not graduate from high school. 

Instead he enlisted into the army and served more than 20 years.

When he got out, he went to work in a manufacturing plant and he saved a significant share of his pay.

He literally said that he “pulled himself up by the boot straps” and worked to earn where he was today.

The rising Working Class is not comprised of just those working the 9-to-5 jobs.

It includes fast food workers, entrepreneurs, police and ER teams… it includes bank branch managers, quality control managers, accountants, attorneys, physicians and preachers.

It includes people that are standing up and saying “enough is enough” and if the government and corporate offices cannot do it, we will do it ourselves.

They not only run from any lifeline offered… and God forbid if it comes from the academic and political “elite”… they resent it.  

Brands that embrace them, recognize them, admire them, respect them, thank them and reward them will see their brand sales rise.

Here it is on a late Saturday afternoon and after saying I would NOT work this weekend, I did.

So once this posts, I will pour my Jack and Coke Zero and make a toast to my brothers, sisters and peers who strive hard, sweat a lot and stand proud… here is a toast to the Working Class…

Something tells me that Washington and academic elite are in for a wide awakening experience.

Cheers!