Just A Few Gazillion Dollars

I was reading a review of Paul Allen’s memoir:

The Reclusive Other Half of Microsoft’s Odd Couple Breaks His Silence
By Janet Maslin
… It is primarily a book about the advance of technology, and about Mr. Allen’s truly forward-thinking, sometimes staggeringly important innovations…

I’ve lived in the Seattle area for more than a decade, have friends (even a relative) working at Microsoft, had a very (very) minor role in Experience Music Project when it opened – so I know something about Mr. Allan.  (My brother once played drums with guitarist Paul – a funny story only the sibling can tell.)

More from the NYT review:

He and Mr. Gates were present for the birth of the desktop personal computer … Now, he says, “here’s what the death knell for the personal computer will sound like: ‘Mainly I use my phone/pad, but I still use my PC to write long e-mails and documents.’ Most people aren’t there yet, but that’s where we’re headed.”

That sounds familiar:

Foretellings (May 2010)
With the exception of the workplace, smartphones (along with iPads and Kindles or something like them) might just make desktops and laptops and the web as we know it obsolete.  If ‘being connected’ mostly means communicating with friends, doing simple search, reading the news - then all that’s really needed is a smartphone.

It’s nice to know that the only thing that separates Yours Truly and Mr. Allan is just a few gazillion dollars.

The Flat-Screen Rectangle of Common Sense

Common sense seems to kick in by necessity.  It’s rarely around in the beginning:

Television Still Shines

Television Still Shines Redux

Snake Oil In Cyberspace

The Crystal Ball of Common Sense Goes Viral

I do find it ironic that TV ad revenue is “recovering”:

TV Upfront Predicted To Hit $10B, Broadcast, Cable See Double-Digit Rises
For the first time in many years, broadcast networks' overall ad volume during the upcoming upfront market will grow strongly to over $10 billion, according to one media analyst -- as well as averaging double-digit percent gains…

Here’s what really cracks me up:

TV Market is Robust, but the Internet May Be a Reason
TV is apparently roaring, at least according to one analyst’s report Tuesday forecasting a healthy upfront market. One reason: a certain synergy has developed, where TV brand-building is driving Internet deep-diving…

Sounds vaguely familiar…

For the umpteenth time - The Most Effective Marketing/Advertising Model For Reaching Baby Boomers: What is now called traditional advertising pushing you to an age-friendly, informative product/services web site.

Turkey: Tiptoeing Across The Bosphorus

I do my best to keep this blog apolitical and focused on international advertising and marketing to Baby Boomers. A warning: I’ll be tiptoeing across The Bosphorus with this one.

A year ago I was in Istanbul, heading up a day-long marketing/advertising workshop:

Back from Istanbul.
There are 15 million people living in Istanbul – and I think I saw all of them.  And I met about two dozen of the brightest.

Back From Istanbul: Part Two

Back From Istanbul: Part Three

Back From Istanbul: Part Four

Months later:

Turkey: A Bright Star In The Region
The EU: Many European countries want Turkey to join because it’s an economic, political, and cultural powerhouse.  Many European countries do not want Turkey to join because it’s an economic, political, and cultural powerhouse.

Now we have upheavals in the Middle East.  While not perfect, while there are political and cultural divisions in Turkey that mirror our own and other countries – the Turkish economic/political model is a valid one for Middle Eastern countries to consider. 

NPR recently ran a profile of Turkey.  It’s worth ten minutes of your time:

Turkish Democracy: A Model For Other Countries?

I’ll shut up now before I get into any more trouble.

Financial Planning: Meet Carol Seven Years Later

After seeing investments yo-yo a few years ago, lots of people are being cautious.  They’re scared:

Advisers' advising, but boomers not buying
Clients not interested in re-balancing, saving more or devising a financial game plan, survey finds
…Only 5% of boomers have formalized a written retirement plan, even though about half of the surveyed advisers said they suggested the idea to clients…

Before the yo-yoing, way back in 2004, Fidelity Investments had a spot targeting women.  Brent Green dissected it:

A Heroine For Our Time
Meet Carol...
Hippie
Preppie
Yuppie
Protester
Democrat
Republican
Mom
CFO
CEO
Cancer Patient
Cancer Survivor
Fundraiser
Spokesperson
Caregiver
And soon to be world traveler.

Sure, Carol is a composite success story.  There aren’t too many Carols in the real world.  That’s advertising – chunks of truth awash in aspiration.

But I remember thinking: It’s a bit early for this. Fidelity might be too ahead of the curve.  I wasn’t predicting the recession – just wondering if Baby Boomer women were ready to deal with their financial futures. The median age at the time was late forties, early fifties.    

The time has come.  Financial security is on the minds of many women in their late fifties, sixties:

More unmarried couples living together in retirement
…More than 7.5 million couples live together without tying the knot, and that number is growing. It may appear to be a simple arrangement, but can be full of complexities when it comes to money and financial planning…

While the number of couples living together has doubled over the last decade, there are very few legal and financial protections for them. So financial advisers recommend that unmarried partners build their own safety nets.

The Crystal Ball of Common Sense’s Prediction: Some smart financial planning company will figure out that there is a huge opportunity available: Targeting Baby Boomer women. 

Here’s a big surprise…

Wow.  For 500 bucks you can find out about what I’ve been saying for years:

Will Facebook Ever Drive eCommerce?
In spite of the fact that hundreds of millions of people around the world have Facebook accounts, the ability of the social network to drive revenue for eCommerce businesses continues to remain elusive. eBusiness professionals in retail collectively report little direct or indirect benefit from Facebook, and social networks overall…

A few of my takes:

Foretellings
NostraChuckus, that uncannily somewhat accurate prognosticator who mostly deals with predicting common sense, is at it again:
Social Media/Word-of-mouth advertising/marketing on the web has been a washout…

5 Reasons Why 90% Of Social Media Efforts Fail

Is roiling ether the best place for advertising?

The Real Thing vs. The Virtual Thing

How do we get them there?
Average click-through rate was 0.051 percent in 2010…

My New Year’s Resolution
No more scratching my head and being completely baffled by social media marketing experts telling me that consumers want to talk about products, have online conversations about toilet paper or whatever – and have even more conversations with the manufacturers of products. What an odd, insulated view of advertising and marketing.

It’s certainly nice to see research finally catching up.