MT FUJI REVISITED

It had been almost 15 years exactly that I first scaled this active volcano.  I was a young U.S. Navy Fleet Marine Force Hospital Corpsman attached to  forward deployed 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.  I had seen it in the distance everyday from Camp Fuji and my mind wondered constantly about it's eerie mystique.  I began to develop a personal relationship with the mountain as I pondered it's mystery.  At times as I was going through personal family issues, I would sit and stare at the snowy peak and it seemed to whisper back to me through the whistling wind.  She was calming at times, until we began to make the journey to her summit on July 24, 1998.  The base of the mountain was humid and hot as we began to make the trek.  From check point station to the next, I could physically feel the air become thinner, and it became much more difficult to breath as we rose in elevation.  I can remember purchasing small canisters of oxygen and I was still having difficulty catching my breath.  What seemed like an eternity later, I finally rose above the summit to feel the crisp snowy air.  I began  to feel extremely nauseous, dizzy, and overcome by the thin air.  I couldn't decide whether I conquered the mountain, or the mountain conquered me.  I promised myself one day to return.  This mountain has personality. She has a mind of her own.  Respect her or reap the consequences.

On June 20, 2013, I had the wonderful opportunity to make a trip back to Mt. Fuji with full intentions of once again making the trip to her summit.  In my heart I was ready.  In my mind I knew I was too horribly out of shape.  She would eat me alive.  Like I said, we have this strange personal relationship with each other.  As our bus came closer and closer to the mountain base, we received updates that there would be a possibility that the mountain would be closed to traffic due to inclimate weather.  We finally made it to the first mountain check point and saw the road barrier up.

As I approached the large fence, a strong brisk wind swept across the cool mountain air, as if she was saying "not today big guy."  In a way, I felt as if the mountain could sense the personal turmoil that I am currently dealing with.  As if she knew what was going on in my heart and mind.  I wasn't ready, and I knew it.  Actually, I think she knew it as well.  My love affair with this mountain will have to wait till another day.  Maybe another trip to Japan is in order.  It may be time to improve my health, work on myself, and come back when the time is right.

The Future Of Amarillo's Newest Italian Flare

Being an Advertising/Public Relations student has opened my mind to the potentials of business successes.  A business has the opportunity to be successful in many different areas (production, logistics, sales, ect.), but without reaching out to the community through advertising, any business remains limited.  A great example of this would be Sava Italiano Restaurant located at 4000 West Interstate 40 in Amarillo, Texas.

Tucked away in a modest area near Tascosa High School, Sava Italiano has the ability to compete with the big restaurant chains by providing a niche cuisine that until now has been contested by very few other competitors in the Panhandle area.  This is my personal prescription to ensure Sava's longevity in this tough Amarillo market.

Cedar Plank Salmon from www.savaitaliano.com

The Problem

Sava has amazing food, but not amazing vision.  As you drive through Amarillo, we see billboards and advertising for all kinds of different businesses from furniture stores to food chains.  With the amazing product that Sava provides, we should expect just as amazing advertising. When I'm talking about vision, I don't mean the mission or vision of the business, but rather how visual is their name, there food, the atmosphere.  Unless you take a peek at the Sava Italiano website, you would never know they have live music every weekend.

 Sample of foods from www.savaitaliano.com

The Solution

With just over 149,000 people 18 and over living in Amarillo, Sava could become a prime adult hotspot.  To promote overall business success I would prescribe Sava a billboard contract that would include six bulletin size  boards that would estimate to reach 75% of the Amarillo market. Lamar Advertising in Amarillo offers this deal that would be at a price of $12,000 a month with an estimated $3.77 CPM (cost per thousand).  I would also prescribe some below-the-line advertising such as partnerships with non-profit organizations like the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and America Supports You, through giveaways and reduced price catering for special fundraising events.  This would attach Sava Italiano to the community as a strong supporter and provide community relations and advertising through a local cause.

The Big Bang is Smoldered by Crimes and Idols: A quick take on the Nielsen rating system

Everybody has their favorites, but honestly, who can ignore the comedy of 4 science geeks who bring to a comedic reality what it's actually like being brilliant?  This show appeals to just about every demographic from young to old, and the extremely educated to maybe somebody who uses to pick on the science nerds in high school.  I take pride in calling myself a science geek, but I pose this question to myself and all of you out there.  Why, oh why can't us geeks or "good guys" ever win and why does Nielsen get to make the decision?  I set out on this quest to get to the bottom of this!

 

http://mykanspeaksall.blogspot.com/2011/05/nielsen-ratings-suck.html

Nielson Ratings 

Nielsen is a corporation that has been providing media feedback and statistics for over 50 years. The Television was invented in 1927 by Philo T. Farnswoth, and access or ability to purchase a TV set really didn't show popularity until the 1950s.  With this bit of information we can go ahead and make the statement that this corporation has grown right along side the invention of the television.  Nielsen bills themselves much more than just a television ratings company. According to http://www.nielsen.com, "our analysis and insights help to inform the decision-making process of brands and content providers as well as the research activities of universities and industry standards bodies."

How They Work

Neilsen ratings are determined by Neilsen families.  Neilsen families are chosen to represent the total population in statistical numbers for the content in which they are chosen to represent.  For these purposes let's stick with television as a content delivery medium.  Despite all the rumors that you might have been told, there is not a small box in your television recording what you watch and your every click. Nielsen families are asked or invited to become part of this ongoing statistical giant of information.  When approved by the Nielsen corporation, only then are they asked to connect the Nielsen box.  According to Jon Gibs, Nielsen's senior vice president for analytics and insights, "it's a very select few.  The reason these people are picked is because they are representative of a broader population." According to Marian Azzaro, author of Strategic Media Decisions, "a sample panel of about 5,000 homes across the country has these meters connected to their  television sets."

The Question

Nielsen's selections are strictly through chance or luck of the draw, so the questions still remains.  Why is my favorite show still landing behind investigative news and shoot'em up cops?  In my defense, I have many friends and family that would choose to watch Sheldon's nerdy humor and Raj's shy clumsy antics around beautiful women, rather than an unlawful cop shooting the bad guy.  That might just be the nerd screaming out of my though, but if all of us are nerds that love this show we can all stand to question the validity of the Nielsen study population choice.  I refuse to accept number eight on the top TV ratings.  BAZINGA!

 

 picture from http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-big-bang-theory/images/32245955/title/tbbt-photo

SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS: JUST BRING IT!

The super bowl has laid a foundational opportunity for advertisers to exhibit their best talent on one of television's biggest stages.  Commercials get possibly the largest viewership from this event and have proven in the past, even before Facebook and Youtube, to have a viral effect among consumers.  Advertisers are granted the opportunity to reinforce their brand with memorable commercials.

Past

Who can ever forget the old Budweiser commercials.  The Budweiser frogs might jump into your mind, Carlos Mencia teaching a U.S. citizenship class, or football kicking Clydesdale horses.  The old Budweiser campaigns had longevity, repeatability, and was so memorable that the Clydesdale is what defined the brand.

The oldest of the super titan of ads I can remember is the Coca Cola commercial from the 1980 Super Bowl starring "Mean Joe Green".  This was a time when Coca Cola capitalized off of the "Have a Coke and a Smile" campaign.  Coca Cola has always had the knack to produce commercials that give consumers that warm fuzzy feeling.  They play strongly on the emotion of consumers to wan that harmonious world where the world just all makes sense.  Take for instance the Polar Bear commercials. These were amazing, and again had the ability to define what the Coca Cola brand was all about.

Present

In the past few years many ads have begun to take a major shift from selling a product and producing brand longevity to selling sex and showing a lot of skin.  Car's Jr. has been at the spearhead of this subject, always treading the line between what is NC-17 and air-able on national television.  Let's begin with the sultry and controversial Paris Hilton ad aired about 5 years ago. If we fast forward to last year, Carl's Jr. again decided to treat a thin line by airing the  Kate Upton backseat burger commercial.  Now this year Mercedes-Benz has chosen to use Kate Upton in another sultry commercial that seems to not so much sell a luxery vehicle, but instead uses sexuality as a ticket to more viewers.

Does Sex Sell?

 

Photo from http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/22/kate-upton-mercedes-benz-cla-super-bowl-video/

Using sexuality to sell a product or produce a calling to a brand seems like a weak attempt at targeting only a male audience, which narrows product opportunity severely when we consider that the larger market is women.  Most ads that make an attempt to sell sexuality miss the whole explanation or benefits of the product, therefore leave the consumer only thinking about one think that the product surely can not guarantee.  According to http://www.inc.com, "when you begin to rely on tricks for marketing, it's a sign that perhaps you lack the insight into and relationship with your customers that should really drive a business."