Is it me, or are we transitioning immediately from Halloween to Christmas? Just when the last Trick-or-Treater of the night walks away from my door step, K-mart busts out the 15 foot inflatable snow globe. Are we skipping something? Yes, I think it is called Thanksgiving.

According to a recent study by the CDC, 34% of Americans are overweight. You would think Thanksgiving would be a marketers dream. Shelves should be stocked with bite size packages of stuffing for ‘Thank’-or-Treaters, freezers full of turkeys to carve and place on our door steps, 15 foot inflatable gravy boats—a pilgrim at the mall taking pictures with your screaming kids. Well, maybe next year…

Let’s face it, Thanksgiving does not get enough credit. How did the rest of our holidays become so commercial, leaving Thanksgiving in the dust? I have a few theories:

1.No Brand Persona
Santa, Cupid, Easter bunny—these are all characters that add a story and pizzazz to their respective holidays. The turkeys’ life story never has a happy ending. This is not a story you read your children before bed. Maybe we could add a gift giving Pilgrim to the mix.

2.Lack of buy in from children
What do children love about holidays? Free candy on Halloween, Toys for Christmas, a basket of goodies on Easter morning, and notes from classmates on Valentine’s Day. For children, Thanksgiving is just another meal. No gifts, no candy, no fun.

3.Minimal merchandising opportunities
How many turkey figurines can you have before your home décor begins to resemble a zoo gift shop? We need more characters, symbols, and colors for Thanksgiving. Side dishes don’t count. There is really only one product to market for Thanksgiving: food. You can buy food ANY day of the year. Luster=lost.

But most importantly…

4. Calendar Crowding
Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, New Year’s—all within three months. I call for a calendar reorganization. Any holiday preceding Christmas automatically gets overshadowed. Columbus Day really drew the short straw. If we move Thanksgiving to April, I think we would begin Turkey shopping in February.

I will not be rushed into Christmas this year, and I hope you will stop and smell the yams as well. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Time with family, tradition, relaxation, football—but most importantly, the FOOD! I wait all year for this meal and I am not going to leave the table early to decorate the Christmas tree. Happy Thanksgiving!

Here’s the scene: It’s an unseasonably cold day. You have just completed a freezing run through the parking lot and have caught the elevator going up. The stranger next to you, visibly chilly, remarks, “so much for global warming, eh?”

I can’t tell you how many times this exact scenario has happened to me, which leads me to believe one of two things: 1. Strangers like to talk to me, or 2. The name Global Warming is fundamentally misleading. (Let’s just assume it’s the latter.)

Apparently the same events seem to happen to Al Gore, as urban dictionary has added “The Gore Effect” to its lexicon, meaning “the phenomenon that leads to unseasonably cold temperatures whenever Al Gore visits an area to discuss global warming.”

So what’s the deal? Continue Reading »

Working with pharmaceutical companies, we hear the phrase “off-label use” used more and more. What exactly does this refer to?

Off-label use refers to the prescribing of drugs for treatment outside of the regulatory-approved label or indication. While this practice certainly has its pros and cons, it’s interesting to note how off-label use works in our own personal lives, outside of the pharmaceutical space. With the economic crisis, the push to go green, and a “simpler lifestyle” mentality emerging, off-label consumer product usage makes sense on several levels.

Continue Reading »

While I was on the verge of purchasing a puppy it got me thinking about puppy names. I could go with the standard cool name like Bruiser, to the more traditional name like Baxter, to the type of breed. Each breed of dog has its own characteristics, attributes and benefits, similar to that of a brand. Now, a dog that was once considered just a cute mutt has transitioned into its very own brand category … a “designer breed”, which has me completely baffled. Just to give you an idea of how many of “designer breeds” exist, I compiled a list of registered names from the ACHC.

• Yorkshire Terrier + Poddle = YorkiePoo
• Jack Russell Terrier + Poodle = Jack-A-Poo
• Labrador Retriever = Labrodoodle
• Chihuahua + Dachshund = Chiwinie
• Poodle + Westie = Wee-Poo
• Bulldog + Pug = Buggs
• Pomeranien + Poddle = PomaPoo
• Affenpinscher + Chihuahua = Affenhuahua
• Affenpinscher + Poddle = Affenpoo
• American Bulldog + Boxer = Bulloxer
• American Bulldog + Mastif = MastiBull
• Alaskan Malamute + Siberian Husky = Alusky
• American Eskimo + Cocker Spaniel = Cock-A-Mo
• American Eskimo + Shih Tzu = Shih-Mo
• American Rat Terrier + Boston Terrier = Brat
• Beagle + Jack Russell Terrier = Jack-A-Bee

And two of my personal favorites…

• Basset Hound + Miniature Schnauzer = Bowzer
• Chihuahua + Toy Fox Terrier = Taco Terrier

…believe me the list goes on and on

Moreover, I have noticed that in the corporate world, the “breeding” of two brand names often takes a more conservative approach to naming.

MillerCoors (perhaps “Cooller” possibly could of work due to the environment in which their product lives).

Thomson Reuters (Reuterson ehh maybe that is just a bad last name, ie Tom Reuterson).

Is this good “brandalosophy”? Or should a new name be developed opening the door to refined characteristics and benefits giving birth to a new “designer brand?”

By: Nick Irwin