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Not-So-Super Committee Fails to Make Deficit Reduction Deal
Nov 23rd
We won’t be giving thanks to the so-called Congressional “super committee” tasked with cutting the government deficit by $1.2 trillion. The committee concluded its three-month attempt to put the U.S. government budget on track without a debt reduction deal. Committee members reported that we will likely have to wait until 2013 for any real reduction to occur.
With a hotly contested 2012 Presidential election looming, neither party is likely to compromise on the cuts that are needed to reduce the costs of government benefit programs or on overhauling the tax code. Yet both are key elements toward fixing government’s deficit spending. In short, Democrats won’t cut entitlements and Republicans won’t raise taxes. There lies the problem.
The result has been unrest in global financial markets that are already reeling from the European debt crisis. The danger is that the U.S. government could exhaust its ability to borrow money to pay for everything from defense to Social Security to air traffic control. This would erode U.S. credit worthiness and increase interest rates, which in turn will hinder small business growth and job creation.
Somehow a balance must be struck. Democrats must face the reality that popular entitlement programs such as Medicare, Social Security, and programs for the poor cannot continue to grow without finding ways to pay for them. The heads of these programs must find ways to bring down their costs. Meanwhile, Republicans may have to give ground on fighting tax increases on the wealthy — especially if they want to avoid cuts in defense spending.
What does this mean for small business owners?
The continuing debt crisis negatively impacts small business credit. Economic growth is minimal at the moment. If entrepreneurs encounter further burdens in securing financing, things will surely get worse. The result will be lower operational margins, reduced profits, and little job creation.
None of this bodes well for the U.S. economy. When the days ahead look gloomy, people won’t spend money. Pessimism about the economy reduces consumer confidence, hinders job growth and freezes investment in small businesses. It’s a vicious cycle.
Meanwhile, President Obama is taking to the campaign trail to drum up support for an extension of payroll tax cuts, which he sees as a vital to stimulating small business and U.S. economic growth overall. While cutting payroll taxes will help, the most important things are to increase consumer demand and to spur investment in entrepreneurial ventures that will lead to job growth and a healthier economic future.
Image from swissmacky/Shutterstock
Not-So-Super Committee Fails to Make Deficit Reduction Deal
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5 Epic Social Media Fails
Mar 15th
Image: Alex E. Proimos/Flickr
By now, most companies have learned that engaging with their customers and responding quickly to problems are the right thing to do, given that bad social media could basically destroy their brands in 2 hours flat. But even in today’s advanced technological age, some companies still manage to bungle their social PR efforts, either through tasteless campaigns or bad responses. We’ve listed five such social media fails here.
Quiznos Kooky Play on Porn
Bad porn music, a 12-inch sub sandwich, and two girls in a bikini make a mediocre porn flick…and one godawful online Quiznos ad. The spot, loosely based on a porn spot called “2 Girls 1 Cup,” comes complete with moaning and mayo shots. Each bikini girl eating the sub from either end and shares a drink; the spot ends with a woman’s voice saying “mmm, toasty.” It really just should have said “mmm, tasteless.” Doesn’t exactly want to make you eat a Quizno’s sub.
Rats at KFC! Run!
Nothing screams “stay away from this place!” like a video of rats running amok. That’s exactly what happened in a Greenwich Village KFC in 2007. KFC’s rather relaxed response reflected some social-media naivete. “This is an isolated incident,” the company wrote, “the restaurant is closed and we will not allow it to be reopened until it has been sanitized…” The problem with that response was that people as far away as South Africa now associated KFC with rats, thanks to the viral power of YouTube. I’m sure the KFC crisis response team got a good kick in the butt after witnessing this sodden rat-related fail.
Kenneth Cole Hates Egypt
@KennethCole: Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at http://www.bit.ly/KCairo -KC
This Kenneth Cole gem came out during the height of Egypt’s revolution. It might as well translate to:
@KennethCole: Millions are in uproar in #Cairo, but we don’t care. We’re going to make fun of them instead and pimp our product while we’re at it. -KC
Or perhaps:
@KennethCole: Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Let’s poke fun at it for some negative publicity, ‘cuz negative publicity is better than no publicity, right? -KC
Whether ignorant or deliberate, this PR stunt had people in an uproar, raging about Kenneth Cole boycotts and screaming (in text) at the company to apologize. To his credit, KC did apologize, though the offending tweet stayed up an eternal five hours before he yanked it. He wrote on Facebook:
“I apologize to everyone who was offended by my insensitive tweet about the situation in Egypt. I’ve dedicated my life to raising awareness about serious social issues, and in hindsight my attempt at humor regarding a nation liberating themselves against oppression was poorly timed and absolutely inappropriate.”
That’s a pretty good apology, considering. Bet he’ll check his judgment before pressing the carriage return next time.
BP’s Just Bad at It
Much like the ousted-to-Siberia Tony Hayward, BP’s social media team mastered self-centered, socially irrelevant communication. Rather than a fail based on a single action, like many of the others on the list, the BP fail has to do with an overarching error in perception. While offering us a play-by-play of how BP was approaching the spill, the company took little to no input from anyone in its audience, the same way some people turn group conversations into monologues about their own lies. Socializing is a two-way street, and hopefully BP will realize this in time for future campaigns.
Domino’s Booger Sandwiches
To Dominos’ credit, this wasn’t a social media misfire by corporate, but rather a huge slap in the social face by a couple of disgruntled employees in North Carolina. Let’s face it, putting cheese up your nose and blowing your nose into a sandwich aren’t exactly exaltations for the the Domino’s brand. It wasn’t hard to arrest the two 30-something (!) employees for violating health code, but what about damage to Domino’s? The company handled its response well. While some people doubtless avoided the pizza joint for weeks after the snotty event, Domino’s is known today for its pizza and Super Bowl commercials, not these two miscreants.
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10 Epic Advertising Fails
Mar 10th
As long as there has been advertising, there have been advertising fails. From Thomas Edison electrocuting an elephant to guerrilla marketing bomb scares, we’re forced to wonder just what PR people are thinking at times. Here are 10 examples of backfiring advertisements that will have you face-palming whilst wondering if the phrase, “Any publicity is good publicity” really applies.
Dolce & Gabbana’s ‘Stylized Gang Rape’
In 2007, Dolce and Gabbana drew fire from feminists in Spain, where they debuted a new ad featuring a woman being held down by a man while four other men looked on. Claiming that the image glorified sexual violence, the ad eventually garnered international protest. The president of NOW called it “stylized gang rape”, and politicians from several different countries resolved to have the ad pulled.
The fashion house complied, but said condescendingly: “We will withdraw that photo from the Spanish market alone, since they are behind the times. What does an artistic photo have to do with the real world?” They then went on to compare their tasteless photo to the great works of art in Museums such as the Louvre. Perhaps if they had read the newspapers that carried their ads, they might have seen the headlines detailing two horrific murders of women from the previous two months. Bad timing much?
Hacienda’s Kool-Aid Is To Die For
It stands to reason that advertisers would try to stay away from things like associating your business with a large suicide cult. Of course, trying to see reason in advertising is an exercise in futility, but some things should still be obvious.
Hacienda, a chain of Mexican restaurants in Indiana, decided to see if it could find the humor in the infamous Jonestown Massacre by creating billboards showing a mixed drink with phrases such as “We’re like a cult with better Kool-Aid!” and “To die for!”
After a resident of South Bend, Indiana complained, the company quickly backtracked and took down the offensive advertising.
KFC Underestimates the Power of Oprah
By now, we should all know not to underestimate the influence of Oprah. In her 20-year ascent to becoming a media powerhouse, her clout has grown exponentially. She can make any book a bestseller, nudge politicians into power, and make or break any consumer product that she deigns to notice.
When the power of Oprah was combined with the lure of free meal from KFC, all hell broke loose.
In 2009, the talk-show queen promoted an offer of a free two-piece grilled chicken meal from KFC, with a coupon that could be downloaded from her website. Additional promotion came from viral Twitter and Facebook trending, where word spread like wildfire. Within two days, KFCs across the country were overrun with hungry customers. An estimated 10 million people downloaded the coupon. KFC had to cut customers off and close early in some locations, completely overwhelmed by the demand. KFC, in a humiliating move, had to cancel the deal after the fiasco.
“Quick! Do Something Manly!”
In 2007, during Superbowl XLI, Mars Inc. debuted the first of two commercials that drew the ire of GLBT activists and advocacy groups. The commercial showed two mechanics, who get so wrapped up in eating the opposite ends of a Snicker’s bar, they end up smooching. To save their shredded masculine self-image, they tear off their shirts and rip out some chest hair — possibly not the best way to try and prove one’s heterosexuality, but that’s besides the point.
The alternative version of the commercial, circulated online, is what really set off activists: instead of ripping off their chest hair, the two mechanics pummel each other senseless. Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard responded to the ads by saying, “This campaign encourages the same type of hate that led to the death of my son Matthew. It essentially gives ‘permission’ to our society to verbally or physically harass individuals who are gay, lesbian or bisexual.”
Mars Inc. immediately backpedaled after the commercial’s debut stirred up controversy on the blogosphere and in the media, pulling the ad and issuing apologies for making light of violence against LGBT people. The company seemed to want to put itself back in the good graces of civil rights organizations and consumers alike.
This made their next slip all the more surprising. A new ad premiered in England in 2008, which showed Mr. T — envoy of all that is ‘manly’ in the world — shooting at an effeminate speed-walker and calling him “A disgrace to the man race!”
Some companies just never learn.
“That Ain’t Right.”
While Mars Inc. was being hounded for their commercials, Nike was drawing its own fire for its line of homophobic advertisements. Debuting in 2008, Nike’s print ads for its Hyperdunk sneakers depicted two basketball players in homoerotic poses, usually with one player’s crotch in the other’s face. Imposed over the image was a variety of phrases, including “That ain’t right,” and “Say Hello,” and most damningly, “Punks Jump Up,” a reference to a 1992 hip-hop single with anti-gay lyrics.
The company was taken to task by various bloggersand other critics. After briefly defending their strategy, Nike pulled the three offending images and issued a statement of apology.
This seemed to be the final straw, however, for LGBT activists, who were thoroughly sick of advertisements that used homophobia to sell products. As one activist wrote in an open letter to the advertising industry:
“Are you so bereft, of ideas and simple humanity, that you must be reduced to stereotyping and bullying? That you must identify an “other” to ridicule, or worse? That you must build a brand on the backs of people who have harmed no one save for challenging a high-school locker-room standard of masculinity?“
Salesgenie.com: Home of Racist Pandas
Another Superbowl, another offensive ad: In 2008, the marketing site Salesgenie.com premiered an ad — written by its founder, Vinod Gupta, no less — depicting two pandas as the proprietors of Ling Ling’s Bamboo Furniture Shop. The two pandas sport exaggerated Chinese accents, speak in broken English, and have misspelled signs in the shop. They connect with the Sales genie (another panda, wearing a turban and speaking with an American accent).
The story itself wasn’t the issue. The ethnic stereotypes were, and the commercial was called offensive by bloggers, and disappointing by Asian-American organizations. Much was also made of Gupta’s contributions to Hilary Clinton’s presidential campaign, in the lead up to the Iowa caucus. Gupta called the whole incident “a smear campaign”, but still pulled the ads off the air after the uproar.
“You’ve Got a Real Nice Look.”
Calvin Klein has a long history of controversial marketing tactics. Many of the company’s ads toed the line of acceptability, from the 1980 commercial with a 15-year-old Brooke Shields, coyly stating that “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins,” to its 2009 ad featuring an orgy.
In 1995, however, the fashion magnate drew a more than usual amount of flak with its series of ads that simulated screen tests for amateur porn. Featuring models as young as fifteen, the subjects of the commercial are asked to smile, dance, rip off their shirts. They’re told “Don’t be nervous,” and “You’ve got a real nice look,” by an unseen and creepy male voice behind the camera.
It took only days for the manure to really hit the fan. Family-values groups like the American Family Association immediately organized protests and boycotts. Retailers threatened to drop the brand. The US Justice Department even investigated the fashion house on possible child exploitations charges, though nothing ever came to fruition. Klein gave an interview with Newsweek denying any possible pornographic connotations, but still pulled the ads.
Mommy Bloggers Raise Hell
Another rule for new media advertising: don’t piss off the Moms. Peter Shankman, a PR all-star, called Mom bloggers one of the “strongest-to-band-together-and-form-one-opinion-like-the-Borg collectives out there.”
In 2008, Motrin attempted to reach out to this demographic with a cute, snappy commercial, empathizing with hardworking moms that suffer for their dedication to their kids. The animated text video begins by saying “Babywearing seems to be in fashion,” then goes on to extol a few of its virtues: principally, that babies who are worn in slings cry less. “But what about me?” an animated mother asks. “Do moms that wear their babies cry more than those who don’t? I sure do.” It points out all the places on the body that are strained under the weight of a toddler, and even though it’s a “good kind of pain”, says that it can make moms look “tired and crazy.”
The Mom hordes went nuts on Twitter and in their blogs. An email-writing campaign began, a boycott was organized, and the ad agency that had created the video was overwhelmed. Days after it had debuted, the ad was pulled from Motrin’s website, and an apology was issued to all the Moms that had raised a ruckus.
The Naked Advertiser
The recent rise in guerrilla marketing tactics has changed the way that advertising works, opening up whole new possibilities for companies to gain consumers attention.
It’s also created whole new ways for companies to insult and annoy consumers, from insulting people by name, or capitalizing on the popularity of graffiti. In 2004, during the Athens Olympia games, it earned one such advertiser a jail sentence. Ron Bensimhon was convicted on charges of trespassing and disturbing public order when he broke into the men’s synchronized diving event wearing a tutu, polka-dotted leggings, and the name of (who else?) online casino GoldenPalace.com on his naked chest. After screaming, “I love you!”, he bellyflopped off the 3m diving board. Despite his sentence, Bensimhon has since gone on to crash other events, including the British Open.
Aqua Teen Bomb Scare
What is arguably the biggest backfire in guerrilla marketing came in January of 2007. Turner Broadcasting, producers of the Adult Swim program Aqua Teen Hunger Force embarked on a strangely subversive marketing ploy. They decorated the entire city of Boston with small, LED placards that depicted a character from the show. The placards, unfortunately, can look like IEDs to the untrained (AKA stupid) eye.
One such untrained eye spotted one of the displays above a stanchion on I-93, and called the police. The police shut down the interstate and showed up with an army of emergency vehicles to defuse the possible bomb. Other devices were found scattered across the Boston area, and parts of the city were shut down. It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that the devices were realized to depict a character from the popular cartoon.
Word eventually reached Turner Broadcasting, who issued a statement of explanation and apology. The incident ended up costing Turner $2 million dollars in settlements, and Jim Steeps, head of Cartoon Network, resigned.
View full post on Business Pundit
Boulder Fire: Reverse 911-Like System Fails for Those Without Antiquated Phones
Sep 9th
Image: Andrew-Hyde/Flickr
Note: Although some quotes in this article refer to the system used in Boulder as “reverse 911,” Boulder County uses a different system that operates in a similar way. We are not referring to the EADS system that is actually named Reverse 911.
I woke up yesterday to a massive plume of smoke stretching across the sky and littering ash in my front yard. I soon found out that the so-called Fourmile Fire, a 3,500-acre brushfire, was wreaking havoc 10 miles from my home. Here’s more current news on the blaze, which authorities say is still out of control.
Like many residents here, I glued myself to the Boulder police and fire scanner throughout the day. Much of the discussion there yesterday had to do with evacuations, but rescuers seemed confused about who had evacuated, who hadn’t, and what areas were completely evacuated. It later came out that the county’s reverse 911 system had failed.
Boulder’s system, designed by a company called Everbridge, pulls information from a GIS telephone and address database to automatically notify people within a specific geographical area of an event, evacuation, or emergency mobilization. Boulder County used the system to warn residents that a massive forest fire was headed their way, and they needed to evacuate.
But instead of receiving an evacuation call, a number of residents learned that they had to leave from neighbors or, hearing the fire nearby, figured it out themselves.
Last I heard, Boulder County doesn’t know why the system failed. But, according to some comments I read on Boulder’s Daily Camera, the system has a few intrinsic flaws.
“The problem with the reverse 911 is that some people opt out of it and then say that they didn’t get a call. It happens all the time. Also, people change their phone numbers and then fail to update the 911 system…again, happens all the time. Most of the reasons for failure are, in fact, an issue with the people themselves…with landlines down, and people living in areas where there is little to no cell coverage, 911 fails are inevitable.” This comes from commenter Teledude.
Commenter mti001, who lives at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain, an evac area, writes:
“…right after the power went out the phone rang. I answered it and the message was “this is a 911 reverse call press 1 for the message” WTF!! The key pad doesn’t work without power! I’m surprised it didn’t say “press 1 for english”! Who ever developed the software didn’t take into account that todays phones need power to operate the key pad. The message should have told us what was going on without pressing 1.”
“Something similar happened to me yesterday when the power went off.” writes Brainchild, another commenter. “The POTS (plain old telephone system) is supposed to supply its own power. But most new phones have wall warts (AC or DC adapters) so that as many as possible can be sold and plugged into a home’s jacks, without affecting how much power is sucked out of the POTS lines during ringing or whatever.”
Phones designed with AC adapters can be built lighter, smaller, and become less hot during use. So they’re great for the companies who sell them and most of the consumers who buy them. Apparently they also suck in emergency situations like the Boulder fire, where residents live away from cell phone reception and need land lines.
“It’s a good idea to have at least one jack in the house setup with an old-school trimline phone that will work whether you have power or not,” writes NoBoBears. Moabite, another commenter, agrees: “I live in the foothills, and this is PRECISELY why I have a $10 cheapo phone plugged into one of my wall jacks. If your power is out, your landline is useless unless you have an old style phone.”
In other words, if you live somewhere without cell phone reception, there’s a chance your county’s reverse 911 won’t work at all unless you have an old phone that doesn’t use an AC adapter. Not exactly savvy for a system that costs upwards of $22,000 per year.
It’s also a good reminder that it pays to be independently prepared and use your head, rather than assuming other people will come get you in time.
View full post on Business Pundit
Boulder Fire: Reverse 911 Fails for Those Without Antiquated Phones
Sep 7th
Image: Andrew-Hyde/Flickr
I woke up yesterday to a massive plume of smoke stretching across the sky and littering ash in my front yard. I soon found out that the so-called Fourmile Fire, a 3,500-acre brushfire, was wreaking havoc 10 miles from my home. Here’s more current news on the blaze, which authorities say is still out of control.
Like many residents here, I glued myself to the Boulder police and fire scanner throughout the day. Much of the discussion there yesterday had to do with evacuations, but rescuers seemed confused about who had evacuated, who hadn’t, and what areas were completely evacuated. It later came out that the county’s Reverse 911 system had failed.
Reverse 911, developed by a subsidiary of US defense company EADS, pulls information from a GIS telephone and address database to automatically notify people within a specific geographical area of an event, evacuation, or emergency mobilization. Boulder County used Reverse 911 to warn residents that a massive forest fire was headed their way, and they needed to evacuate.
But instead of receiving an evacuation call from Reverse 911, a number of residents learned that they had to leave from neighbors or, hearing the fire nearby, figured it out themselves.
Last I heard, Boulder County doesn’t know why the system failed. But, according to some comments I read on Boulder’s Daily Camera, the system has a few intrinsic flaws.
“The problem with the reverse 911 is that some people opt out of it and then say that they didn’t get a call. It happens all the time. Also, people change their phone numbers and then fail to update the 911 system…again, happens all the time. Most of the reasons for failure are, in fact, an issue with the people themselves…with landlines down, and people living in areas where there is little to no cell coverage, 911 fails are inevitable.” This comes from commenter Teledude.
Commenter mti001, who lives at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain, an evac area, writes:
“…right after the power went out the phone rang. I answered it and the message was “this is a 911 reverse call press 1 for the message” WTF!! The key pad doesn’t work without power! I’m surprised it didn’t say “press 1 for english”! Who ever developed the software didn’t take into account that todays phones need power to operate the key pad. The message should have told us what was going on without pressing 1.”
“Something similar happened to me yesterday when the power went off.” writes Brainchild, another commenter. “The POTS (plain old telephone system) is supposed to supply its own power. But most new phones have wall warts (AC or DC adapters) so that as many as possible can be sold and plugged into a home’s jacks, without affecting how much power is sucked out of the POTS lines during ringing or whatever.”
Phones designed with AC adapters can be built lighter, smaller, and become less hot during use. So they’re great for the companies who sell them and most of the consumers who buy them. Apparently they also suck in emergency situations like the Boulder fire, where residents live away from cell phone reception and need land lines.
“It’s a good idea to have at least one jack in the house setup with an old-school trimline phone that will work whether you have power or not,” writes NoBoBears. Moabite, another commenter, agrees: “I live in the foothills, and this is PRECISELY why I have a $10 cheapo phone plugged into one of my wall jacks. If your power is out, your landline is useless unless you have an old style phone.”
In other words, if you live somewhere without cell phone reception, there’s a chance Reverse 911 won’t work at all unless you have an old phone that doesn’t use an AC adapter. Not exactly savvy for a system that costs upwards of $22,000 per year.
It’s also a good reminder that it pays to be independently prepared and use your head, rather than assuming other people will come get you in time.
View full post on Business Pundit
Air NZ’s ’starfish’ fails 21st century marketing
Aug 22nd
| I recently received an old-school piece of marketing from Air New Zealand. Now, I have a lot of time for our national carrier – which is probably a good… |
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Nestle fails at social media | Internet news | TechEye – All the technology news unfit for print
Mar 19th
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With the wide press coverage on this issue, it’s no surprise the denizens of the internet are trying to engage… social media such as Facebook. |
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