Pokemones, the Chilean Millennial Generation.

Chile is a small country at the end of… actually the end of the World. It is very conservative, especially after the traumatic 16 years of Pinochet dictatorship. Pinochet government last from 1973 to 1990. During his regime many people were tortured and assassinated. Expressing any opposition to the militars was an excuse to be interrogated. All media was repressed and the censorship was very strict. (They forbid the movie “The Last Temptation of Christ” until 2004). During those years they govern under special rights and meeting were forbidden after two o’clock. In the same line Chile is a very Catholic country that didn’t have a Divorce Law until end of 2004. Also any kind of abortion in forbidden by law until today.
The transition from dictatorship to freedom was slowly, Pinochet remain some power after he left the government and he tied many laws to not permit a lot of freedom.

With that antecedents the Chilean Millenials generation born. This new generation had many subcultures, but one of the most interesting is the one they called “Pokemones”. It is called that was because the hairstyle has a resemblance to the Japanese Pokemon. This group is mainly from middle low class and their archinemenis are the Pelolais (Straight Hair), girls from good Catholic families.

This Pokemones had some similarity with other subgroups such as Emo or Otaku, but this pokemones are not naïve and based part of their culture in a sexual freedom unknown for Chile. They created the term “Poncea” that means to make out with as many people as they can. This had change Chile from a very conservative country to the one in Latin America with the earliest sexual start. This new sexual behavior had alert to the government that is not prepare to have a new sexual education. Internet also had been used by the Pokemones to coordinate their parties and to show they behavior to their tribe. Today Chile with a 15 million population had more than 4 million of Fotoblog where this generation shows their adventures.

As a Marketers I consider interesting as little country develop their own subculture. If you compare this generation with the Spanish generation after Franco you can find some common argument, but the same quest for freedom but in the internet society. Usually the generation are a soft transition between one to another, but this one show something completely different in Chile, hope that this can live together with all the traditional society.

Atheist Bus

Reading the newspapers I read this news about the Atheist Bus. At first moment was a little shocking that some groups pro atheism are advertising their position. It all started as a reaction of the Christian movements who writes biblical sentences. They campaign is very clear it says “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

As a marketing and culture this is very interesting phenomena. This is marketing the faith or not faith. Is advertising some kind of values. The British society is very open minded, so this could be consider provocative in other country, but in England was well receive because it open the space for discussion. Looking in a marketing perspective is a good campaign because is strong, but not aggressive. Consider the possibility of the existence of God, so it is inclusive instead of exclusive. Also I liked it consider a strong insight of the modern society, that we pass our lives worrying about everything and sometimes religion is a source of conflict. Finally it had a positive outcome that believer or not believer, you have to consider… enjoy your life. That a positive campaign and not focus in freedom, guilt or intelligence. It only ivite you to enjoy.
Now it going to be launch in other catholic countries as Italy and Spain. Probably it will produce more concern in those societies, but surely will open more space to discussion…
Marketing your faith…ufff

Killing a brand…. Saturn

General Motors in announces a bailout plan that reduce their brand portfolio without Hummer, Saab and Saturn. GM said that they plan to sell or discontinue the number of brands in order to focus on Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick. This put in serial problems brand as Hummer, Saab and specially Saturn. The first two brands were acquire by GM during the 90’s and GM are planning to sell both. But Saturn was a GM project and announced that they are planning to ends the production by 2011.

Saturn brand born in 1985 as a respond of the Japanese-German car industry and try to be a “different kind of car industry”. At the beginning Saturn showed a difference among the other GM products, but with the time lost the differentiation and erode its brand equity.
Saturn tried to change the experience of being a car company.

They focus in customer service; Saturn carefully selected dealers who agreed to build separate showrooms and service facilities and to operate under strict guidelines for customer treatment. Sales personnel were trained in "consultative selling" to replace hard-sell tactics. A "retail associate" would sit down with customers, discuss their needs, explain their options, and arrange a test drive. Buyers were given a tour of their dealer's service area and met the mechanics who would work on their cars.

New pricing strategy; Saturn strongly urged its dealers to avoid the usual haggling, saying no customer should ever wonder about paying too much. Dealers agreed, and Saturns sold at full retail price -- no more, no less. Suddenly with the years Saturn converge to be a General Motors brand with all the lack of innovation and creativity and spoil the good quity of the brand.

Conclusion, today we are looking how important brand like Merrill Lynch or Lehman Brothers are disappearing. Saturn one of the brands of General Motors was a star in the dark sky of GM, but the managers decided that it was only a shooting star. Long live the Saturns ”a different kind of company”.

Update about Swiffer

Swiffer as I mentioned before is a new brand that P&G launched in 1995 and now is one of their billion dollar brand. I mentioned before how the word of mouth and a good marketing campaign converted Swiffer in the new “Klennex” of the cleaning market.


Now I want to present the good and the bad part of become a well know brand.


Swiffer had become a Pop Culture Element so when Jessica Simpson decided to posed like a housewifein the cover of the Rolling Stone magazine, she decided to used WetJet Swiffer.



Saturday Night Live is a pop icon and their commercial parodies are part of the medals that a brand can have. Here is a 2007 paridy were a mommy buy Swiffer Sleepers to her kids. Is like a giant pajama wipe and she use her kids to clean the house. FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY






Finally the negative side of popularity, bad rumors. Rumors can hurt a brand, when they become popular are very difficult to deny. Some popular myths are about the meat of the Big Mac, Bubble Yum contain spider eggs or Coca Cola use to contain cocaine (the last one is suppostly true).



Also Swiffer suffer from this rumor. The email contain information about some ingredients (antifreeze) that hurt the liver of the animals. It claim that P&G put a warning in the label. P&G has had to react and in their web page precisely clear this point (Are the elements of Swiffer safe?). Also the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has posted information about this rumor on their site, confirming the P&G information.
So in conclusion, when your brand become popular many free and good publicity came, but you have to take care about all the bad intentional rumors that came with popularity. You always have to protect your brand, specially from bad intentional lies.
(source: www.snopes.com)

$AINT VALENTINE$

It is a little strange for me to understand about Saint Valentine Celebration, so I research a little. The First surprise is that in the early years many Christian martyrs were called Valentine, and in February 14th the church celebrate 2 Valentine (Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni). Both killed in very tragic circumstances but not associated with anything romantic or love.
THE LEGEND
In the XIV century, a legend start to grow that a priest called Valentine wasn’t allow to perform wedding by the roman emperor Claudio II, but he did anyway. The emperor found out and he sent the priest to jail. The night before he died the priest send a letter to his beloved creating the first valentine card. That legend is not approved by the Christian church and they had eliminated Valentine and the Christian holydays.

THE CARDS
In Marketing terms Valentine is the second day of the year more cards are being sent in United States with 180 million cards. 65% of the household in US declare to participate giving greeting cards during Valentine’s day. 50% of the cards are purchased in the last 6 days before February 14th.Ecological Cards. Trick Pony is company based in Boston who makes screen-printed cards and stationary by hand using water-based inks on 100% post-consumer recycled paper. This indie graphic design and production company sells their beautiful products on Etsy.com as well as through their website.

FLOWERS

The market of domestic roses is about $68 millions, followed by lilies with $58 millions. $246 million is the value of U.S. imports of cut flowers from Colombia during a recent 10-month period. Colombia was the leading foreign supplier of cut flowers for the United States.

CHOCOLATE
The consumption per capita of Chocolate in US is 24 lb per year, it is believed a large portion is consumed around Valentine's Day. Canada is the principal source of Chocolate, the total imports is about $418 million.
In Japan, it’s the men who receive gifts of chocolate on Valentine’s Day. As reported by the BBC:
“In Japan, things are different. Women are supposed to give chocolate to the men in their lives - boyfriends, co-workers but especially their bosses. The Japanese call it Giri choco, or obligation chocolate, and it’s big business. Senior executives receive dozens of chocolate boxes from their female staff, which they often take home and feed to their families and children.”

JEWERLY
303 jewelry stores are in the United States. Jewelry stores sell wedding, engagement and other rings and other baubles to lovers of all ages. Last February, these stores sold $2.1 billion in merchandise; over a recent 12-month period, sales were at a higher level only in December.Trendhunter reports that new trend for Rock user is the customization of the jewelry to still be a rocker but take care about your lady in Valentines

This is very important because Valentine’s day is a marketing holiday where the people fell pressure to buy, eat and consume. This is a cultural, not a religious holiday and in each country can be celebrated different. Finally you must not underestimate this days because moves an important part of the economy of the month… Incredible

Follow the rules is not enough the Chilean Black Neck Swan Experience.

Chile as a third world country bases its economy in many commodities like cooper, gold, fluff and cellulose. Chilean has a good competitive advantage with the production of cellulose because the trees grow faster than in other competitor’s countries like Canada and Australia. So the industry had grown in an enormous size becoming two company’s one of the top ten companies producers of cellulose (CMPC and Arauco). Both companies to compete in the international environment have to follow very strict ecological rules. They follow the rules in order to not be targeted as environmental dumping.

But not always everything works as it is planned. Cellulose Arauco had a plant near Las Cruces River. That river was a unique ecological environment for black neck swans. Most of the people in the area worked in job associated with the Arauco plant, but a small group had a tourism trip to see the black neck swans. One day they start to notice that some swans started to have the neck flaccid, and then they died. As the only big company in the area Cellulose Arauco was attack by the environmental groups for the responsibility in these deaths. Arauco showed a perfect environmental record and showed that they followed all the national and international regulations.
Suddenly the problem didn’t stop there. The swans continued dying until the government ordered the closure of the plant due the public alarm of the plant. The causes of the death never were clear, but after3 month with the plant closed the scientist discover that some residues of the production of cellulose not regulated affect some microalgae and that is the primary source of a fishes that swans eats. Without the fish the swans become weak and died. It wasn’t regulated so the company wasn’t guilty, but in the public opinion they are the responsible

For this problem the CEO had to resign to his position and the stock of the company fall 21%. So as a marketing professional we have to question what we can do better.
First following the law and the rules is a common place, if we have a problem our customers and the society will demand more from us.
When we see a problem in the production we have to be part of the solution as Johnson & Johnson in the Tylenol recall. Become defensive create a barrier with the customers .
Beware of the symbols. The benefits of the Araco Cellulose in the area where huge, but the symbol of a death swan was too big to be ignore by the public opinion

Lost, changing from a TV program to Experience Program.

I started watching lost five years ago and I loved how the show had changed the way to think the TV with fast forward and flash forwards. The plot is still very mysterious and they make the TV viewers to fell engage with the adventures.
But now I will talk how this show and change from a product to an experience. I noticed this when I was looking a preview of the current season and in a fraction of a second and image appear in the TV. I was concern, maybe was an error, but maybe was a clue. This s the part when a normal program changed to an experience. They seeded some clues only for extreme users, for the loyal fan, for the core bases that care more about the program.





This was the image from a fake airlines that doesn’t exist, but you have a web page http://www.ajiraairways.com/. There was a complete fake webpage with advertising, possible routes, booking, boarding pass. I like this because give the same products different layers of intensity.
Lost transmit in public media, but in the net had created a new reality to the fan avid for more clues can follow. The best of this idea is that some pages you know that are fake and some others you are not so sure. So I follow and I founded different web pages related with the plot of lost.
One member of the crew used to be part of a band, here is his web page. http://www.driveshaftband.com/
The original airlines that the cast of Lost flew was Oceanic, here is the web page. http://www.oceanic-air.com/
Other member used to work in a fried chicken factory, here is their web page http://www.mrclucks.com/
And also the mysterious initiatives and projects has their own web pages with passwords only for savvy customers (not me, yet) http://www.thehansofoundation.org/ http://www.dharmaindustries.com/



So this is important because when we create a product/service/experience we need to find ways to involve, to engage to make the customers part of the adventure and I believe Lost had done well creating that experience.