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See you there soon!

Have African Fashionista's finally caught the Nkrumah Bug?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/business/media/05magazine.html?_r=1

Is Winkreative out there or just honest?

Tyler Brule critiques the church-state divide between advertising and editorial.

Fire Your Columnists! Hire Your Subscribers!

I think there are a whole bunch of us standing on the sidelines, arms crossed giving our best 'Vince Lombardi' stares at the Magazine Publishers of America and the rest of the litany of journalism slash editorial guilds grappling with the future of news and magazine print.

By now isn't it clear that it's not about the vehicle, it's the content? I think it might just be this simple: the most essential, nuclear element of communications is the conversation between two or more people. Human beings talking. Around the fire. In the cave. On the riverbank. Under the tent. Everything else we do is or should be designed to facilitate that.

So what does this mean for the survival of your failing or flailing media company or partner? Stop talking at your subscribers and start talking with them again. Here are three ideas or 'quick fixes' for consideration:

1) Fire your columnists. Everyone has an opinion these days -- and everyone has access to the web to share it. As Color of Change is teaching FOX News, it's dangerous to build your brand around the cult of a personality anyway. Create the personality of your media brand through good, solid reporting of facts that the average reader doesn't have the time or resources to find, then listen to what they have to say about it.

2) Hire your readers. Google. YouTube. Get it? Share the wealth and ad revenue to build interest, traffic, loyalty etc. As a test, identify your top 1,000 subscribers and cut them in on a revenue sharing model to see what happens. Select some who are your most frequent viewers, some who are your most frequent contributors and some who best reflect your target demo.

3) A free press is crucial to the survival of our democracy...and your company. Don't charge for your content, charge for connectivity. I am making two points here. First, no one will pay you for what will be downloaded, copied, scanned or otherwise disaggregated and dispersed in about five seconds anyway. Second, one of the reasons the readership and loyalty to many 'newspapers' has declined I'll argue is that most publishers have forgotten their obligation to the rest of us as the Fourth Estate. Create or support media brands that publish with integrity, that fact-check, that go beyond the press release. Right now our world needs a free and honest press more than ever and will support it.

All About Me...The Biz Version!

Robert O. Quashie robertquashie@gmail.com
312.560.3475 (Chicago) http://www.linkedin.com/in/robertquashie

SUMMARY
I’m that problem-solving guy who helps you cut to the chase in pursuit of new insights, creativity, better relationships and profits.

EXPERIENCE
Automotive
• Oversaw consumer engagement programs for Toyota USA targeting African American women
• Developed and managed public affairs and recruitment strategies for Nissan North America and the Nissan Foundation

B2B
• Managed trade and business press campaigns for Harrah’s acquisition of Showboat Casinos in New Jersey and Illinois.
• Re-launched corporate sales strategy for National Black MBA Association
• Developed “Where Did It Hit You?” B2B ad campaign for Global Lead Consulting

Diversity
• Developed integrated strategy to address consumer, media and supplier diversity issues for NASCAR motor sports
• Managed and executed business and consumer media outreach for Strut, a new program targeting Asian-American young adults, launched by ABS-CBN International, a Philippines-based media conglomerate
• Rebranded the National Black MBA Association, repositioning the membership-based organization with MBA candidates, corporate partners and media
• Managed public affairs campaigns for Miller Brewing Public Affairs, Sears, The Home Depot

Financial Services
• Provided copy direction for award-winning campaign for Shore Bank, and promotional campaign for Wells Fargo African-American Business Services
• Developed marketing communications campaigns for Seaway National Bank, and Bethel New Life Community Savings Center and Allstate Insurance

Food & Beverage
• Provided team leadership, strategic planning and communications program execution for national brands including McDonald’s USA and Wendy’s quick service restaurants
• Managed media relations and field execution for sports, entertainment and public affairs properties for brands including Miller Lite, Miller Genuine Draft, and Kraft Foods.

Health & Beauty
• Developed and managed business and consumer media relations campaigns for L’Oreal’s acquisition of Soft Sheen/Carson and the launch of the L’Oreal Institute for Ethnic Hair and Skin Research.
• Managed launch of new cosmetic and beauty lines inside the Marshall Field’s Department stores

Media
• Managed the redesign and re-launch of BlackMBA Magazine, and BlackMBA Online
• Lead team that managed African-American engagement marketing strategy for Verizon
• Coordinated media campaigns for Midwest Living, Better Homes & Gardens and Successful Farming
• Wrote copy and developed the sales strategy for A Life’s Design www.alifesdesign.com

Retail
• Served as public relations manager for the Marshall Field’s Department store division of Dayton Hudson Corporation supporting new store openings in Illinois and Texas and revitalization of the brand in eleven states.
• Managed product placement strategies with regional and national fashion, lifestyle and entertainment magazines, Oprah Winfrey Show; In-store product launches and seasonal leads

Web/Social Networking
• Provided creative direction and analysis of the user interface experience for National Black MBA Association website, social networking groups and RSS products, increasing unique subscriber data base from 7,000 to 30,000
• Developed marketing strategies and creative for BlackVoices.com during its launch phase and growth as a consumer and passive recruiting strategy for the Tribune Company

EXPERTISE
• Strategy Planning
• Insights Generation (research, facilitation, analysis and brief development)
• Creative Development (ideation, concept, copy and production)
• Experiential Marketing
• Media Relations
• Diversity & Cross-Cultural Communications
• New Business Development

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
12/08 – Acting Director, Marketing and Corporate Partner Development, National Black MBA
Association, providing transitional support to client
04 – 08 Director, Client Services, Ibis, provided both strategic and creative direction for clients; helped drive agency growth and expansion
01 – 03 Senior Vice President, Engagement Marketing, Burrell Communications
99 – 01 Marketing Communications Consultant, L’Oreal, Tourist Board of Jamaica, Blackvoices.com (Tribune Company)
97 – 99 Vice President, Diversity, Edelman Worldwide
95 – 97 Manager, Public Relations, Dayton Hudson Department Store Division
87 – 94 Account Supervisor, Ketchum Public Relations
86 – 87 Coordinator, Public Relations, Meredith Corporation

EDUCATION & AFFILIATIONS
• Grinnell College, B.A. English Literature
• National Association of Black Journalists
• National Black MBA Association
• Community Advisory Board Member, NuGene Project, Northwestern University
• Marketing Committee Member, Muntu Dance Theatre of Chicago
• Past Member, Chicago Sister Cities – Accra Ghana
• Past President, Local School Council, Ray Elementary, Chicago
• News Intern, New York Times
• News Intern, Kansas City Star

# # #

I Want My Beer With Obama!

Okay, let's dumb this down. Cops versus Professors. I'm betting on the cops every time.

I am a black man whose had his share of run-ins with racists and the law and the convergence of the two. I've been stopped for driving while black. I have to admit, a couple of times it was for driving way over the speed limit while black. But that's not the point.

Every guy knows, regardless of color or pursuasion, even the President knows, you just don't do what the professor done did.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., scholar, intellectual and champion of the race, simply- broke one of the most cardinal of all cardinal man-laws: Don't pop off at the cops!

Then he goes and sprinkles pixy dust under the officer's nose by whipping out the realy big one -- his Harvard ID. K'mon. Man-up. Grow a pair. If not, at least have the smarts to do a Rodney King. Fall down, curl up in a ball, cover your jewels and take your lumps.

I am neither excusing nor making light of police brutality or racial profiling. I am from Chicago.

What I am saying is that branders like us can take this incident as an allagorical example of what it is important to remember: When times get tough, real men respect other men, who act like men. It's just that simple. It's like having a beer with the fellas.

MasterCard gets it with their "Break In Your Jeans" campaign. Watch the TV spot.

Hard Branding #2: Keep Your Head Up

By Robert Quashie

“Our financial markets have been tested in unprecedented ways.”
-- Vikram S. Pandit, CEO, Citibank

“While the tears are rolling down your cheeks
You’re steady hoping things don’t fall down this week”
-- Tupac Amaru Shakur, Demigod, Hip-Hop

With retail in a tailspin and luxury brands dropping like the Icelandic stock market, it’s tempting to let the element of aspiration within your brand’s make up give way to perspiration (shear terror and night sweats), even desperation (slash and burn sales tactics).

In my last post I lobbied for you to look beyond price point in evaluating how to toughen up your brand for these hard times. Debouched holiday parties swilled in sweat and gold dust aside (email to the cool people), cutting the crap in order to get tough doesn’t mean cutting the element of aspiration from your copy, creative or strategy.

Today is the day for you to think harder about what it really means to be a source of identity, connection and satisfaction to your consumer – especially now that the stakes have gotten higher for the both of you.

I Used to Get Mad at My School
During the Great Depression, Hollywood understood that consumers didn’t want movies to remind them of just how miserable life really can be. The Grapes of Wrath was released in theaters after the Great Depression, not during. In the 1930s – Hollywood’s Golden Age – you saw Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers flying down to Rio, not Grandma and Grandpa Joad scratching for life in the dust bowl. Things are bad enough, don’t pile on.

Another thing to consider: during hard times, people often to want to stick it to the man. Think about the movies of the recession-riddled seventies. Be careful not to set your brand up to be the man.

Hard Brand Tip: Strike a positive, upbeat tone to associate your brand with brighter days ahead for the average guy or gal. So strength, but also show some empathy for your consumer. Don’t spew false optimism, but do police your copy and creative for downers like cynicism, sharp attitudes, arrogance and aloofness. It might be time to replace that urbane scowl with a more hopeful, energetic and inviting smile.

Sound corny? Going out of business is real corny.

Ten Somersets On Solid GroundDon’t six-sigma yourself out of business. Even as a hardened brand, you need to wow and delight your customers. Make them feel smart, special, and rewarded for choosing to pay you their attention. When striving to make your process more cost-efficient, be careful not to cheapen your end product or user experience.

For her, getting a bargain means getting more quality or added value for less output – not less for less. Show her more car or computer at a better price. Not a cheaper car or desktop at a cheaper price. In fact, turn a few flips to inspire and surprise her while you are at it.

Hard Brand Home Work: Study the business model of Radiohead.



Orbiting Your Living Room…Social networking media like Ning, Yammer, and Facebook, shows like Idol, Dancing with the Stars, and promotions like the Barack Obama Yes We Can world tour, are proof that the consumer has evolved to a point at which she or he is no longer interested in just watching. Campaigns that place your customer in the position of voyeur on someone else’s good fortune are dead. The new aspiration is to do. In addition to asking yourself how any element makes your customer feel, you have to ask what each piece of creative or tactic allows your customer to do. If a component of your strategy doesn’t allow your customer to opt-in, upload, show up, buy, subscribe, return, upgrade, join, test, sample, renew, post, link, embed, gripe, contribute, co-mingle or commiserate – kill it. Kill it fast.

Robert Quashie

robertquashie@gmail.com

A little advice from Bruce for all the six-sigma black belts out there.