Monday, January 26, 2009

It’s The New Black

Our very, very dear friends at Pantone (known as “global color authority and paintmaker” by the folks at Media Bistro) have spoken! And they said, “Mimosa!“

Yes, in a world of bank failures, home foreclosures, record cold, and the Cardinals in the Super Bowl (??), Pantone thinks that this rebranded goldenrod (go grab a crayon if you’re lost) is the Pepto Bismol for our global indigestion.

“The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance,“ said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation,“ she continued, apparently without a trace of irony.

For me, Mimosa exemplifies the fizzy-headedness of “the morning after,“ when you are sitting at brunch and have about 20 more hours to get it together before the workweek starts, but…you…just…don’t…want…to…

Thursday, January 22, 2009

White House stuck in “technological dark ages”

Obama might be keeping his BlackBerry, but his tech-savvy staffers are reportedly stunned by the West Wing’s painfully antiquated gear, not to mention a constricting, Web 2.0-stifling catalog of security and record-keeping regulations.

As this funny/sad story in the Washington Post reports, Obama’s team arrived at the White House Tuesday to find only a handful of laptops, old PCs running outdated software, disconnected phone lines, and a series of rules and regulations that essentially forbid anything resembling Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, or AIM.

Read more…

Friday, January 16, 2009

Wii Music to be offered in schools

Students will use fake instruments to learn real skills.

Nintendo announced plans to install Wii consoles and Wii Music software into select schools around the country to give teachers a “unique tool for creativity and improvisation.“ Teachers have responded well to its user-friendly, free-form approach to music making.

See what teachers have to say…

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Put Down The Wii Wand, Granny!

You may be shocked to learn some fresh demographic data:

• The 28 million grandparents who play video games represent one-quarter of the entire population of videogamers.
• Videogamers represent more than half of the adult population and have an aggregate income of $4 trillion.
• 59% of 18-24 year-old cellphone gamers are women.

What they don’t say is that the Solitaire that comes with the Windows OS is considered a video game…but still it does raise some fresh possibilities for brands and the marketers who love them.

Monday, January 05, 2009

What Price Pricing?

It’s an interesting question: discount the price you charge in the face of economic hardship, or hold your position and weather a revenue evaporation?

The article in the NY Times doesn’t draw conclusions, but as a brand it is the most important question out there today. In a similar vein I was recently dining with an executive from a very high-end luxury apparel brand, and he was decrying how the major department stores (like Saks) are discounting so deeply it hurts the exclusivity of their brand. Saks, clearly, needs to move inventory, even if it means showing their hand as it pertains to their mark-up. Should Saks lower the exclusivity of their brand - and the brands they carry - by making a $495 pair of shoes available for $112? (Yes, in case you’re wondering, I did buy them and I love them.) Or should they weather the steep drop in revenues to remain aspirational?

(Of course I have an opinion on this…but ya gotta pay me to find out what it is…)