MarketingBeyond

Standing Beneath the Buttonwood Tree: A Letter to Senators Obama and McCain

Message from the American People to Senators Obama and McCain

Dear Senators:

According to the Wall Street Journal this morning, investors in the stock market have lost $2.5 trillion dollars over the past seven trading sessions and 8.4 trillion dollars since the high of last year. Trust among all players in our economic fiasco has dipped to unheard of levels: banks worldwide will not loan to each other fearing they need the cash to remain solvent; as a result, banks have slowed, if not stopped, loans to businesses of all sizes; the Fed's efforts to bail-out collapsed financial institutions are ineffective; and, most important, Americans' trust in its government and way of life is dissipating.

As you enter the New York Stock Exchange, you see an historical wall plaque, describing the humble start of the Exchange. It reads in part:

"This central market place for the purchase and sale of securities was founded in 1792 by merchants who met daily beneath a buttonwood tree that grew nearby."

When traders in the late 1700's met under the buttonwood tree, we would imagine they wheeled-and-dealed as forcefully as today's traders. The major difference: traders exchanged securities of real value, representing ownership in growing American companies--not trumped-up CDO's, credit swaps, sliced-and-diced sub-prime mortgage and other equities, invented by financiers whose self-interest is their own profits, not the betterment of society and our economy.

The nation--for that matter, the world--is suffering. Many already have lost their jobs and many more will suffer the same fate. Homes--the bastion of security and hope--are on the auction blocks. Businesses are challenged to pay their employees and obtain capital to grow.

In the remaining weeks before the public votes one of you into office, we ask--no, demand--you inspire trust in your ability to lead. Cut the criticism of each other. It falls on deaf ears and, frankly, we don't care. You may not have answers to resolve our dire situation at this time. That's fine. No one else does either. But each of you is fully capable of raising our hopes and lowering our fears.

You will only truly win the election if you do this. So nix the accusations, false claims against your opponent and blaim of others. Like John Kennedy and Martin Luther King, paint a vision of our future. Eliminate the rehearsed, trite phrases and ignore your advisers who put accusatory words in your mouth. You'll have plenty of time in office to identify the greedy fools on Wall Street and elsewhere who contributed to our financial mess.

Stand together under the buttonwood tree, speak from your heart and tell us of better times to come.

 

The Marketing of the Olympics: Technology Converging With Human Minds

MB readers know I blog a lot about the effects of technology on people. And the opening night of the Olympics in Beijing is an extraordinary example of technology and human minds converging into an harmonious display of beauty and splendor. The performance of the Chinese in the stadium is the most stupendous example yet witnessed of "MarketingBeyond." Billions of advertising dollars and and decades of PR could never compete with the spectacle we witnessed last night.

Forget the months of rehearsal, the cast of thousands and whoever paid the light bill. It was the ability of the Chinese performers to mentally sync with computer, communications, display and other technologies, unrealized by billions of television viewers, that brought down the house.

While I watched the show, I kept thinking: "This can't be happening. There must be computer servers, routers and other technology gear controlling the show to achieve such perfection." The huge LCD panel on the stadium's floor, the color display surrounding the entire top of the stadium, suspension systems, wireless earphones, hydraulics lifting Sara Brightman, et al, into the stratosphere and timed fireworks displays were indeed performing behind the scenes.

But it was the performers' abilities to sync with themselves and technology that will place this television show into the annals of history. As the commentators mentioned frequently, Chinese culture and tradition focus on bringing the mind in sync with the Universe. Combine this with the explosion of high technology flowing from China and it all starts to make sense. Allow the mind to focus, let Universal forces do their wonders and miracles do happen before your eyes.

In one three hour television show, the Chinese people demonstrated to the world how technology and human beings can become ONE.

California State Parks Decaying: Creating a Trust Fund

California workers: would you allow your employer to deduct $10 per month to keep California's state parks in great shape for your next visit?

Paul Rogers, writing about decaying California parks in today's San Jose Mercury News, reviews the gap between necessary park restoration and the state budget. According to Rogers, total park acres jumped 48% and annual visitors increased 41%, while park staffing rose only by 13% since 1977. The California state legislature allocates a measly $175 million in tax revenues annually for parks, while park user fees have skyrocketed to $119 million annually. Californians now pay higher fees for state park usage than any other state.

Meanwhile, necessary park maintenance continues growing by several billions, and available park employees--from Lifeguards to park rangers to maintenance staff--is static. As a result, park facilities and services continue declining. Many buildings, trails and other attractions, in fact, are closed to the public due to safety issues, preventing visitors--especially our children--from fully enjoying the outdoors. California, the most populous state, has failed to offer its citizens quality recreation in some of the most beautiful spots on Earth.

Taking time for outdoor recreation is not only enjoyable--it's necessary to reduce stress and live a healthful life. Children, especially, denied the outdoor wonder of nature, are hardest hit. They need a break from our noisy, concrete-laden urbanized  environment. They need  exposure to unvarnished natural splendor. Governor Ronald Reagen's comment in 1966--""A tree's a tree.  How many more do you need to look at?"--dismisses the human need to re-create on a regular basis.

Taken a trip to Hawaii? There, the parks are free. Want access to the ocean? Beach access is mandatory. If a state of islands, separated by water, can offer clean, well-maintained recreational facilities, why can't California, land-locked on three sides with the largest state budget?

Since California's legislature and Governor can't resolve the funding issue, here's a proposal:

• Establish the "California State Park Trust" Fund
• Obtain seed money of at least $1B from financiers and others who benefit from doing business in California.
• Instead of the $1 for this-and-that cause offered to California taxpayers on their tax returns, offer a tax deduction to workers who contribute to the state park system through their company's payroll. California's Employment Development Department estimates they're 15.4 million workers in the state as of 2008. If only 50% of workers opt-in at $10 per month, the state park system will receive $1B a year--three times the current annual revenues counting the state budget and user fees.
• Require businesses to match employee contributions dollar-for-dollar. Employers benefit from healthy, rejuvenated  workers through fewer sick days and increased productivity. At the 50% opt-in rate, this raises an additional billion for the parks.

Actions everyone should take:

• Discuss the idea at work among your fellow workers and employer.
• Start a discussion on your favorite social media site, such as Facebook and MySpace.
• Write your state legislators asking them to introduce a bill creating the Trust and authorizing payroll deductions.
• Send a copy to the Governor, asking him to support legislation. You might also ask him to become the first seed contributor to the trust fund.

Perhaps we can prove Ronald Reagan wrong.

California Department of Motor Vehicles Gets It Right

Have you checked out your local California Department of Motor Vehicles office lately? The DMV has streamlined  the "people flow" problem they faced for years. Combining a clean-looking website, online appointment scheduling and automated light boards and voice direction systems, DMV visitors spend significantly less time conducting routine business--driver's and vehicle license renewals, in particular.

Government agencies need to market their services just like commercial businesses and non-profits these days. Hard hit by a huge California deficit, the DMV is stepping up to the plate to raise customer satisfaction. When you walk into an office, you first see a "Start Here" sign and, if you scheduled an appointment, you're quickly on your way to the right window at the right time. Visual light boards, supplemented with an automated voice announce system, tell you where to go to register your vehicle or renew your license.

But the biggest improvement I saw today when renewing my driver's license is the staff. Not quite Google but the employees I met actually SMILED and took extra time to answer questions and be helpful. Heck, I even got my picture taken twice; so I assume the staffer didn't like the first one.

Compared to the "old" days of long lines and grumpy staff, the DMV has been hard at work to improve its service levels and image.

Only one comment caused me concern today. I asked a staffer with all the new automation why each DMV office couldn't produce laminated drivers' licenses. She said, due to immigration issues and employee information theft "problems," they still have to route everything through Sacramento.

So next time you're in a DMV office and see a DMV employee leaving with a laptop, immediately wrestle them to the ground. We don't need any further identity theft flowing from our government agencies.

Traffic Court: The Marketing of Justice in California

Today I went to traffic court in Alameda County, California, to clear up an unpaid $29 "administrative fee" California charges for traffic school. In July of last year, I got my first moving violation since high school for not yielding right-of-way. I had paid the fine and took the prescribed traffic school course--both online--but didn't see the $29 "administrative fee" shown on Alameda County's website. To remove the infraction from my DMV record, I had to appear in front of a judge and explain.

Around 9 a.m. this morning, about 75 traffic violators were herded into the courtroom as we waited for the temporary judge. Having never been in a traffic courtroom, I was expecting something like "Judge Judy" without the humor, until I started listening to the traffic violators' reasons for not paying their fines, DUI infractions, community service and, the strangest of all, the guy who claimed he couldn't make his previous court appearance because he was in the hospital with kidney failure. (That one was strange. I kept wondering if he would suddenly collapse and die in the front of the judge.)

Before going into some of the strange stories I heard, I must say the judge was cordial. After reviewing each file, especially if he couldn't figure out why the person was in court, he looked straight into the transgressor's eyes and, with a smile, asked "so, what can I do for you today?"--similar to a retail sales person asking a shopper "may I help you?"

While the experience differed a lot from buying a pair of shoes at Macy's, the judge's questions and demeanor made me think: "Isn't this marketing? Perhaps, forced marketing, but the experience had all the elements: A need or pain (in this case, protecting drivers and the public from dangerous people on the road); an offer (forced) to resolve the need (fines, community service, driving courses, jail), product & pricing strategies (running red lights was hot--and most expensive) and in our Internet age, the most sophisticated metrics and measurement systems on the Web. Government, indeed, is big business, requiring big marketing budgets.

In my usual style, here is a dialogue between defendent and judge I heard (true, not made up):

• Judge: "I see you ran a red light. Under section xxxxx, that's an automatic $350 fine. How do you plead?"
• Defendent: "Well, I guess not guilty."
• Judge: "Do you have pictures? (California takes a lot of automatic pictures with strategically located cameras.)
• Defendent: "Yes, but they're at home."
• Judge: "I should mention to everyone in the courtroom I'm willing to consider your case, but you must bring pictures."
• Defendent: "Can I go home and get them?"
• Judge: "I'll give you two weeks. Clerk, schedule the defendent for 2/15 at 9 a.m."
• Defendent: "Thank you, your honor."

During the break, while we listened to an audio recording about our rights and such, it became clear that the judge was taking the most serious cases first and seemed quite lenient about some extreme cases--failure to show up at previous court sessions, using pot while driving, expired or suspended drivers' licenses and young drivers with multiple offenses. The judge smiled a lot too (He definitely worked in retail--well, not Target).

Here's the good one (I added a little drama):

• Judge: "You're charged under section xxxxx for two moving violations, failure to appear and driving with a suspended license. How do you plead?"
• Defendent: "Well, I think guilty, but you must understand I was in the hospital for four weeks after I suffered kidney failure."
• Me: ["My God, man, are you breathing?"]
• Judge: "Well, when did this happen?"
• Defendent: "Just before my court appearance."
• Judge: "Why were you driving with a suspended license?"
• Defendent: "I had to drive to the hospital."
• Judge: "But you failed to appear in court on the first charge before you went to the hospital."
• Defendent: "Yes, you're right about that one."
• Judge: "So?"
• Defendent: "So, what?"
• Judge: "Why didn't you appear on the first charge?"
• Defendent: "Well, you see, Judge, it's like this. My Mom isn't too well, and I had to drive to take care of her."
• Judge: "So, you drove to see your Mom with a suspended license?"
• Defendent: "Sort of...yeah."
• Judge: "Was that on the same day you received your second violation?"
• Defendent: "Yes, I was in such a hurry to get to my Mom's, I must have driven too fast."
• Judge: "Says here, you were driving 50mph in a 25mph zone near a school."
• Defendent: "Really?"
• Judge: "Yes."
• Defendent: "So..."
• Judge: "So, why?"
• Defendent: "Well, you know..."
• Judge: "Know what?"
• Defendent: "Why I did it."
• Judge: "Did what?"
• Defendent: "Drove too fast."
• Judge: "To get to your Mom's."
• Defendent: "Right."
• Judge: "So what happened?"
• Defendent: "She wasn't home."
• Judge: "Where was she?"
• Defendent: "At the hospital."
• Judge: "So you drove then to the hospital?"
• Defendent: "Right."
• Judge: "That's when you got the second ticket?"
• Defendent: "Yeah."
• Judge: "...Driving 60mph with a 40mph limit."
• Defendent: "Close...I think it was 58mph."
• Judge: "Do you realize how dangerous it is to drive so fast?"
• Defendent: "Absolutely."
• Judge: "So why?"
• Defendent: Why What?"
• Judge: "Your speed..."
• Defendent: "Oh, I wasn't taking drugs."
• Judge: "No, your driving speed."
• Defendent: "Oh, right."
• Judge: "Right, what?"
• Defendent: "I was driving fast."
• Judge: "So, why?"
• Defendent: "To get to the hospital."
• Judge: "...due to your Mom."
• Defendent: "Correct."
• Judge: "So, what happened?"
• Defendent: "Oh, my Mom was o.k. That's when I had kidney failure."
• Judge: "Dismissed."

At least half of the driving violators today were re-scheduled for a follow-up court appearance.