Dow Chemical and dioxins: Cleanup deal's outcome could affect future initiatives -- chicagotribune.com
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Thursday, October 22, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Nielsen | A Social Media
Nielsen | A Social Media "How To" for Retailers
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What are today's teenagers going to tell us about social media in the next 5-10 years? They appear to be more mobile, preferring text messaging (overshelmingly) to Twitter but still spend a lot of time in front of the TV.
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What are today's teenagers going to tell us about social media in the next 5-10 years? They appear to be more mobile, preferring text messaging (overshelmingly) to Twitter but still spend a lot of time in front of the TV.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Is the Whole Foods Model Dead?
A business associate in the green industry recently suggested to me that the Whole Foods model may be dead or on life support due to market forces in the industry related to the economy. It has been reported that the recent economic conditions have created a generation of frugal consumers who have learned to find the best value for their dollar. Value is a relative term and one that has a point of diminishing returns based on price. Has the price/value hit that point for Whole Foods? Have consumers become so frugal that they now avoid high end retailers like Whole Foods and choose to avoid the extra trip and get their green products at a conventional supermarket where they continue to shop anyway?
Sales performance at Whole Foods has consistently under-performed from year ago throughout 2009 which would indicate that some assumptions may be true. With green products available almost anywhere today, the choices for consumers are better and the competition for Whole Foods greater. Whole Foods had a solid lock on the natural business for many years. The John Mackey vision was ballyhooed throughout the grocery industry and countless retailers tried to replicate the “experience”, most could not. Now the bloom may be off the rose for Whole Foods.
With more green products being owned by major manufacturers like Kellogg’s, General Mills, Coca-Cola and Clorox has the industry been greenwashed into just another category? Kashi, a natural brand pioneer is now in every cereal set across the U.S. due to Kellogg’s clout and Clorox has become a mainstream natural cleaning brand with Greenworks much the same way. Has the Whole Foods model dying because it is being replaced?
Whether you call if green, natural or organic, the movement is here to stay and from what I know about the consumers who drive this industry, they will find a way to keep the products they desire accessible. What I see as the driving force for natural and organic products is the health and wellness attributes that they provide the consumer who is seeking to better their life. Whole Foods has long considered the consumer who has experienced a “life changing event” (Illness, birth of a child, etc.) as the future consumer base of the retailer.
The answers to these questions will be wide and varied and I welcome your thoughts on the subject.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Put me in coach….
I had fallen away from most sports in my life for many years including my boyhood favorite, baseball, because of a busy career and a new family. But as the family grew, my love of America’s game was rekindled by what would be the highlight of the last 7 years of my life, Little League baseball.
Youth sports offer parents, family and friends the opportunity to see sports the way they were intended, as a game. But I was fortunate to coach and manage my son’s teams for those years in a community where Positive Coaching was taught to all managers and coaches and parents were there to support the teams, not criticize the volunteers and coaches. I know that it’s not true everywhere and that’s unfortunate.
I was often asked why I devoted the time to coach and manage Little League; my answer was always the same; because it provided the most enjoyment I could ever image and the greatest father-son time I could ever ask for. I would never say that I wasn’t disappointed in a loss, there were many heartbreakers over the years, but I never let it be the meaning of the game. Talking to a group of teary eyed 8 year olds after a last inning loss is one of the toughest conversations you will ever have, but I would do it again for the chance to talk to them again about wining, loosing and sportsmanship. This was likely my son’s last year of organized baseball and therefore the end of my participation and I am generally poignant.
If you truly enjoy a sport, get involved in coaching a youth sport. Teaching a child to love a sport as you did is an enriching experience. Do it for your own child and it’s a win-win.
The season is over for local area Little League baseball but as I think of volunteerism in the future, I am reminded of the eager young faces, the sense of accomplishment from a freshly soiled uniform and the exuberant smile of a first hit.
Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IWRYMoBT68
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Twitter babble…
I have tried to grasp the value of Twitter for business and marketing, but I will admit that I am not of the techno generation despite being in the second largest group of Twitter users. However, a recent study by Pear Analytics validated my opinion of the site; it found that 40.55% of all tweets were pointless babble.
But what makes me doubt Twitter is where its long term value lies with the next generation of users. I have commented often that today’s middle and high school students (13-17) will represent a generation that does its communicating (of all types) and purchasing (m-commerce) from their mobile phones, not from a computer. Technology is advancing as rapidly as they are and they are in lock step with every change. But from an informal survey of local high schools students (one very close to me), Twitter is as popular as a bad hair style; “pointless” to many. Now the NY Times writer Claire Cain Miller has confirmed the same thing.
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html
In just a few years this age group (13-17) that represents just 8% of Twitter users (www.quantcast.com) will enter the user group 18-34 that represents the largest segment of Twitter users at 43%. What does this mean for Twitter?
We as business people cannot under estimate the value of good communication in today’s world, but is Twitter the answer. We are a society that thrives on the 10 second sound bite, have we now denigrated to the one-liner. With the death of Senator Edward Kennedy today we are reminded of what many value in thier political candidates, sometimes more than where they stand on issues; that they are great speakers. Let's start talking again.
The eMarketer article
http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007238
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