Archive for November 29th, 2011

Ken says: “get to the pocketbook first”

November 29, 2011

Last week I posted my talking points to a Wash Post reporter asking about retailers moving to Thanksgiving evening openings in advance of Black Friday.

I served up some ivory tower stuff about budget effects, shopping days’ effects, etc.

Here’s what made the cut …

image

Black Friday 2011: Holiday shoppers hit stores, with a Thanksgiving head start

Last year, Toys R Us became one of the first big-box chains to launch its Black Friday specials at 10 p.m. Thursday. This year, Wal-Mart matched the move.

So Toys R Us opened its doors even earlier, at 9 p.m.

“This is just the beginning,” said Ken Homa, professor of marketing at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. “Next year, we’re likely to see everybody doing this. . . . The guys with the first opportunity to get to somebody’s pocketbook are likely to take share away from their competitors.”

Accurately quoted and, if I must say so myself, captures the essence of my message … and my style.

Probably a bit nostalgic for my former students …

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C’mon down: Brand USA cajoles international travelers to the U.S.

November 29, 2011

TakeAway: The NGO, Corporation for Travel and Promotion, is going to give USA a new global positioning that welcomes world travelers to ultimately drive economic growth.

* * * * *
Excerpt from AdAge: “Promoting Brand USA: America’s New ‘Awesome’ Global Positioning”

The country’s new positioning comes courtesy of the Corporation for Travel Promotion (CTP), which hired JWT to handle a global marketing campaign and to create a logo for Brand U.S.A.

The goal is to promote leisure and business travel in order to drive economic growth and job creation.

Based on the first glimpses of the CTP’s strategy, they are leaning heavily on creating content, such as this website that houses travel itineraries for different U.S. cities.

The site also links to several partners in the effort, among them: federal agencies related to tourism, transportation companies, travel agencies, and tour operators. Another major part of its push appears to be social media, with fan pages on Facebook for different cities.

It’s going to take a lot more than a few day-trip suggestions and “likes” on Facebook to get tourists.

Pew Studies in recent years have shown America’s image declining not just in parts of the world where anti-Americanism runs rampant.

The CTP is planning to launch a worldwide push in March, which it calls “the first-ever coordinated global marketing effort dedicated to welcoming international travelers to the United States.”

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