Sunday Morning Coffee - November 29, 2009

Sunday Morning Coffee...it's our way of looking back on the past week and a visit to the future.  Not much in the way of advertising and marketing advice, just a visit between friends. So, pour a cup "joe" and spend a couple of minutes me?  We'll get back to the heavy stuff tomorrow...

Funny what we get so excited about.  Last week a couple crashed a state dinner at the White House and everybody has been covering it like it was some sort of major event.  You have to admit with all the other crazy things going on...this was a little "light".  We thought the interesting thing here was the connection between odd behavior and "reality shows".  It wasn't that long ago the nation was gripped by "The Balloon Boy"...another media driven situation by folks longing for "reality".   Are we really that desperate?

Early reports suggest that US retailers had a pretty good "Black Friday".  News reports from CNN this morning: "Initial reports and projections for Black Friday and the weekend show consumers have been taking advantage of deals on clothing, toys, electronics and entertainment. Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500), Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, Fortune 500), Toys R Us and Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500) are among the companies that are already benefiting.

ShopperTrak, a retail analytic firm, said Black Friday sales were up 0.5% from last year."  Come on lady...get something on...it's cold this weekend!

Last Friday, on my daily business radio show, Insight on Business, I gave you the list of the top ten companies who had created the most on-line and off-line buzz leading up to Black Friday.  All four of the above were included in that list of companies who used media (social and traditional) to drive traffic and buzz.  Oh, that "marketing thingy" again.

Holidays?  Thought you might like to see our African Gray - Miss Kizzy - pondering over who that Turkey Might Be...  "Cousin Tom...is that YOU?"

Hey, are you keeping things simple or are you fond of clutter?  Coming up tomorrow I'll share with you some thoughts about your website.  What you should put on the home page and what you should avoid.  It's based on a study that says the majority of us can only process eight itemsat the same time.    Hmmmmm.....

Could professional hockey come back to Des Moines?  Perhaps if folks listen to some thoughts offered up by former Iowa Stars Hockey president, John Pettit.  I promised not to write about the specifics but...I think he is on to something if the "powers that be" take note.   It's a bold...but exciting plan.

Does "advertising" work in the political spectrum? Duh...  A new Iowa Poll by the Des Moines Register suggests that Iowan's are leaning more conservative than liberal.  This from a state that gave President Obama the big push just two years ago during the Iowa Caucus.  The key?  Perhaps part of the answer is conservative talk radio, both local and syndicated, that has been blasting away at progressives on an hourly basis every day for months.  And, when that is the only drum beat presented...  Does it have an effect?  Nah...

Organic Farming...later this week I'll be headed to the ACRES USA trade show in the Twin Cities on behalf of our client, Calcium Products and NatraTurf.  While we've been in this market for sometime this will be another great opportunity to sit down and study the consumer habits of "green farmers" and how we craft our messages...

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and you are looking forward to the "holiday season" getting into full swing.  Want a projection?  Business in the US just about "shuts down" from December 15th until January 3rd.  So...strike NOW...before folks say, "Let's talk next year."

Thanks for reading and for interacting.  You can follow me on Twitter @MichaelLibbie or @InsightADV and on Facebook we're right here.  And, Insight on Business, a daily 90-minute radio show with a focus on advertising, marketing and consumer trends can be found here, just click and see what we've been up to.