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[ Marketing news and other sick stuff ]

Baby books are now made to resemble Pepperidge Farm Goldfish, M&Ms, Sun-Maid Raisins, Hershey’s Kisses and other snacks. Some of the books—a joint effort between food companies and publishers—suggest kids sort, place, and count using the product. Anne Daniel, a child librarian in Maryland who favors titles such as The M&M’s Brand Counting Book explains: The number one criterion for a book, she says, should be that it will "make a child reach her hand out and pull the book off the shelf." The books are quite profitable. More than one million copies of The Cheerios Play Book and The Cheerios Animal Play Book have been sold since 1998, yet many parents avoid commercialized books "like the plague." (Washington Post, 2/15/00)

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Churches across the country are starting "martial-arts ministries" to lure teenagers to religious services. Emmanuel Baptist Church in Lewistown, Mont., which started teaching karate two years ago, has since baptized 24 of its karate students, and attendance at Sunday services has doubled to 130. According to Jim Garrett, youth pastor at Cathedral of Praise in Ohio, action movies are a big help. "Every time a new karate movie comes out, our class booms," he says. "Kids want to re-create their favorite scene."

Karate does, however, present practical problems for churches. Bryan Hebert, who heads Kicks for Christ Ministry in Archdale, N.C., has had to dismiss three students for using their Christian karate to beat up people. To avoid such conflicts, Sherry Brown at Mount Pleasant Christian Church requires her karate students to memorize three Bible verses a month. Other Christian teachers are less concerned with Jesus’s lessons of restraint. As Ken Jezek, who runs Warriors for Christ in Gilbert, Ariz., puts it, "When in doubt, take it out."

Dave Sutterfield, whose seven-year-old son studies karate at Mount Pleasant, has decided to explain Jesus’s stand on self-defense at a later date in order to avoid confusing the boy. "We just want them to get the basics about sin and Jesus’s love first," he says. (Wall Street Journal, 10/18/99)

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From a press release for "Play-Time, Snack-Time, Tot-Time: Targeting Preschoolers and Their Parents," a conference held at The Helmsley in New York City in March.

Creativity! Marketing Power! Brand Recognition! As marketers we strive to use our creativity, and marketing power to create brand recognition and consumer loyalty. How do we go about this when our products are for children age 2-5?

This is certainly a challenge. As we know, if the child doesn’t like the program he/she won’t watch it. If the tot doesn’t like the toy, he/she won’t play with it. And if the child doesn’t like the character he/she won’t snuggle with it.

Play-Time, Snack-Time, Tot-Time will show how companies have built products that the past five generations have used . . . and loved. Discover how newer characters, toys, books and programs have broken into the market and stole the hearts of our children.

8:45—Opening Remarks by Susan Royer, Sesame Street Research

9:00—Truths About KGOY (Kids Getting Older Younger). As technology takes over toy development, research shows how a child’s development is affected by his/her exposure to education. Families are developing a different way of life. Also, Preschoolers: The New Marketing Target.

9:45—Defining Today’s Mom. "Today’s Mom" research, commissioned by Parenting Magazine, provides a comprehensive profile of the attitudes held by moms with children under age 12. You will leave this session with insight into the motivations behind today’s mom’s behavior and how you, as marketers, can capitalize on these motivations.

11:30—Developing A Branded Theme. Be taken through a live Carter’s case study and learn how you can create fresh excitement through a new theme for an established brand. Learn about the tie-in with John Lennon Art Design and installation of Carter’s Imagination shop at Macy’s.

1:30—Facilitating Learning Through Play. The concept of electronic learning toys has evolved as we apply more research about how kids learn through products.

3:15—The Waterbabies ® Story. Hear how water balloons and condoms transformed into a multi-million dollar baby doll through creative marketing. Hear about:

Not Invented Here Syndrome: Your vision becomes myopic. Stop it!

Kissing Frogs: Effective ways to work with the outside creative community.

Does Anyone Care About Product Anymore? It is either a hot licensed item or price, how can you change that? Strategic Planning: Does your company really do it? Live it?

4:00—Coloring Outside The Lines; Thinking As Preschoolers Do.

Learn how to break the rules. We will manipulate your knowledge and experience for out-of-box extraordinary results.

1:15—Anthropological Research: Hands-On Training in The Latest Trend in Effective Toddler and Youth Research! Anthropological research is an ancient technique to learn the deep needs of individuals from all ages: infant/pre-verbal to elder individuals. This workshop will teach you how to use observational research techniques when trying to find out the desires of toddler age consumers. Moms, dads, and grandparents are often unaware of what they do and really need.

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In Beijing, a line of teenage cyclists advertise a furniture company by riding in formation around the city. In a country where billboards rent for as high as $8,000 per month and 15 seconds of airtime on local TV costs $2,800, people are cheap. The riders, all poor, rural migrants are paid the equivalent of $80 month each. (New York Times)

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Varsitybooks.com is among a number of companies hiring student armies on college campuses. At Florida State, Varsitybooks’s students have chalked the sidewalks with slogans such as "Smashing Savings." At the University of California at Los Angeles, they’ve greeted returning classmates with apple cider and granola bars. According to Robbie Wright, an alien at Texas Tech who oversees VarsityBooks.com marketers, "The most effective thing has been getting professors to let us speak to students during classes." (Wall Street Journal, 1/31/00)

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On the American Kennel Club’s list of the "hottest dogs" of 1999, chihuahuas remain in the top ten, propelled by the popularity of Taco Bell commercials. Meanwhile dog breeders search fervoursly for the "Next Dog." Tony Scandy, who doubled his sales of Scandifio Cane Corsos over a three-year period, considers the rare Italian mastiff "The Dog of the Future." A former car salesman, Mr. Scandy says, "[Corsos] are for people who have owned German shepherds, Dobermans and Rottweilers, and are ready for something different." Another seller promotes its big livestock guard dog the Caucasian Ovcharka as having "the stopping power of a .45-caliber pistol." On the other end of the fence, backers of the New Guinea singing dog say the dog’s high-pitch whine sounds like a tune. (Critics point out that the "singing" could be mistaken for the whimpering of a wounded animal.) With so many up and coming breeds, who can choose? Terri Murphy, a part-time breeder in North Carolina., has switched dogs three times in the past 20 years. "I evolved," she says. (Wall Street Journal, 2/3/00)

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Instead of endorsing products for annual fees, boxing legend George Foreman has opted to sell his name in perpetuity, thus becoming (eternally) George Foreman’s Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine. The manufacturer, Salton, paid $137.5 million for Mr. Foreman’s name and image after Foreman successfully transformed himself from the snarling ogre, who once pummeled Joe Frazier, into a bald, benevolent, burger-chomper. Salton—which also makes Juiceman, Breadman and Toastmaster products—has sold 10 million nonstick grillers since Foreman started endorsing them in 1995. "I’m learning to accept that the least part of me is about boxing," Foreman said. (New York Times, 1/21/00)

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Due to drastic cutbacks in government funding, schools in Alberta, Canada, are turning to a new way to pay for teaching materials: Casino Night. Spellathons and auctions, citrus fruit and sausage—none of them can match a good night of gambling. Unlike school fundraisers of the past, proceeds aren’t for band uniforms. They pay for teaching materials, for math textbooks and staff training. "I would much rather parents participated in school life through helping their kids with reading programs," says Rod Kostek, the principal at Rio Terrace elementary. "The thought never entered my mind that we would be worried about purchasing textbooks. Or that I’d be running chips." (Globe and Mail, 12/14/99)

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Every newborn in America can have his or her own free Web site, thanks to a new service by Sesame Street. Sesame Street creator Children’s Television Workshop and its marketing partners hope to establish a new megasite where sponsors can link up baby Jane’s family and friends. "We’re in the business of providing our customers—both hospitals and new moms—with what they want," said Duane Clement, an alien at Bounty SCA Worldwide, which, along with companies such as Blockbuster, Hallmark Cards, and Pizza Hut, are backers.

TheFirstDay.com is the second major venture for 3Buddies.com, specialists in "lifecycle" (cradle-to-grave) marketing. Next on the planning board is a site dedicated to matriculating students: GraduationDay.com. (Interactive Week, 1/17/00)

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Animal Fair is "not for anyone who would be reading Dog Fancy. Dog Fancy is a mass magazine . . . It runs articles about your dog eating your shoes. Animal Fair is about designing a life style with your pet. It’s more sophisticated."

—Wendy Diamon, the founder of Animal Fair, a magazine with features such as "Reel Pets" (pets in film) and "Star Pets" (pet astrology) alongside stories on hero pets, senior pets, luxury kitty cabanas, and four-legged fashion. (New Yorker, 10/4/99)

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Capitalizing on the urban tradition of preaching from street corners, Nike unleashed a new ad campaign for the 30th New York City Marathon. Prophets in flowing robes (and Nike attire), men in sandwich boards warning of "Judgement Day," and gospel choirs helped spread the message. Bus stops and other places were plastered with messages like "The End is Near" and "Keep the Faith." (New York Times, 11/4/00)

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Psychological segmentation for the brand personalities of the major shavers in France, according to market research:

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After moving in a new office suite, workers in the British Broadcasting Corporation’s finance department complained of feeling lonely in the hushed atmosphere. The BBC’s solution: a special "mutter" machine that plays a tape of simulated human conversation punctuated by light laughter. Music was ruled out at an early stage because of potential disagreements over taste. BBC bosses also ruled out turning on a television or radio so that staff could listen to their own programs because that might be too distracting.

Yong Yan, a sound expert and consultant, said that overquiet workplaces were becoming as big a nuisance as noisy ones once were. Double-glazed windows, efficient air conditioning, and computers have made offices far too hushed for some, lowering morale and productivity. (Christian Science Monitor, 10/26/99)

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Now that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer sponsors Sesame Street, messages capping off the end of every episode have been replaced. Announcements that the show has been brought to you by, say, "the letter Z and the number 2," have been replaced with "Pfizer brings parents the letter Z—as in Zithromax." Pfizer and Sesame Street’s collaboration began in October 1999 with a multimedia promo kit, Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor. "The relationship between Pfizer and Sesame Street came about as a natural outgrowth of our mutual interest in children’s well-being,’’ said Pfizer’s alien. Pfizer is a global pharmaceutical company whose products include Zithromax, Zoloft, Viagra, Diflucan, Lipitor, and Celebrex. (Company press release, 10/27/99; FAIR press release 3/16/00)

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With dozens of new internet start-ups overloading television, radio, and newsprint with advertising, internet companies are worried consumers won’t take them seriously. BigStar Entertainment, a start-up that sells videos and DVDs online, has one solution. The company has rented a fleet of delivery trucks—and plastered them with the BigStar logo—to give the impression of being a "brick and mortar" company. The trucks don’t carry BigStar movies; it’s probably pizza boxes or office equipment inside. But BigStar figures the fleet gives it a certain gravitas. It trains the truck drivers to answer questions about BigStar’s business—even though they don’t work for the company—and to hand out coupons. (Wall Street Journal, 11/11/99)

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The rich are different from you and me: they have detailed "incentive plans" in their wills and trust funds. According to leading estate planners, incentives are "the new trend for the millennium." Rich people who set up trusts may require that their children pass periodic drug tests or set up prenuptial agreements to get their money. One man has a plan that will first give his son half the money. After five years, the son’s assets will be audited and if the equity is the same or greater, he can have the rest; if it’s less, he gets nothing. One man adds a $10,000 bonus to his children’s trust each year they don’t have a driving violation. Another man gives bonuses if his son marries the person who is the mother of his children and they live together in the same house. This form of "financial parenting" is so popular that the premier annual estate-planning conference featured a presentation called "Planning to Influence Behavior: Guiding (Controlling) your Children and Grandchildren." (Wall Street Journal, 11/17/99)

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Four out of ten top executives are obese, finds a recent Tufts University medical-school study. (Wall Street Journal, 2/23/00)

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Taking a tip from Blair Witch, marketers have taken to manufacturing internet buzz, a.k.a. "viral marketing." Word of Net in Los Angeles is but one of several companies that hire people to troll Internet chatrooms and newsgroups posing as clients’ fans. In a typical day, a Word of Net employee switches personae sixteen or so times, transforming from, say, a frat boy talking up Careerpath.com to a 50-year-old movie buff reviewing Being John Malkovich. Sometimes they’ll assume two or three personalities at once, posting messages and then replying under a different identity. Purposeful grammatical errors and misspellings are de rigeur. According to Word of Net, staying undercover is important. "People don’t trust marketers," says one employee. (Creativity, November 1999)

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Recent baby names in Utah: Cola, Tide, Downy, Starbuck, Thermos, Avon, Audi, Lexus, Porsche. (Utah Baby Namer, an online guide "for parents looking for that distinctive name that says ‘I’m a Utah Mormon!")

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Selections from Ebay in May 2000:

Elian music theme as played on Miami radio; currently $5,000.

BOTTLE of OCEAN WATER: SAME as ELIAN WAS IN; currently $19.99. "I look at the SEA and FEEL for the UN-FREE who give their LIVES in the PURSUIT of FREEDOM as you will with this TRIBUTE to those who were in the SEA."

Authentic Elian Drawing in Coloring book; currently $5.

"Drawn by Elian as he flew on the plane to Maryland. Retrieved for me by a stewardess friend. This will go fast!"

Elian type raft—hand made American flag; currently $48.

"This is a hand made American flag that came off a raft like Elian’s that landed on Fort Lauderdale beach in the fall of 1999 with 19 Cubanos."

Innertube From Elian’s Raft. "Once I heard about Elian, I called my cousin in Florida to try to get anything of Elian’s. He couldn’t get anything except an innertube from his raft. It’s worn out pretty bad, and there is a tear in it (sorry). Check out my other auctions for a porch light from their house."

HolyWater of Elian Gonzalez, La agua de Elian; currently $15,099.00. "This is the water from Little Havana, Miami, where Elian was staying. The water comes in a glass bottle and is blessed by a priest."

SUPER RARE ELIAN GONZALEZ MIAMI SOUND MACHINE LP; no current bids; first bid $25.00

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From the 3 Seasons Marketing web site:

It’s Big! It’s Bold! It’s In Your Face! 3SM is a moving billboard company. We sell advertising space on ice cream trucks. Why ice cream trucks?? They combine moving billboards with radio. They play music to draw attention to your ad!! Traffic must stop for the ice cream truck just as with a school bus, giving people time to absorb your copy. Ice cream trucks travel at very slow speeds and make frequent stops. Ice cream trucks can go where billboards are prohibited or unavailable . . . we are never zoned out. A positive lasting impression creates a need for your product. People love their ice cream man—in most neighborhoods, he/she is the most popular person in town. Do you remember your favorite ice cream from childhood?? Find Out More!

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"[I’m] one of the original founders of the Lo Life’s Polo Ralph Lauren boosters who stole Ralph Lauren and dominated it as a lifestyle and a sport . . . To me, the fifth element in hip-hop is fashion."—Rawkus Records recording artist Thirstin Howl III