Global and Local Change

Gets License, Facial Hair

If you read about Millennials and their buying habits, you've heard how there's been a sea change in their thinking and needs in the past few years. Gone, we are told, is the all-consuming interest for their own cars, replaced by the desire to be ferried around while they text in peace. Failing the Parent (or Grandparent) Valet Service, we're told that Uber and Lyft are just the ticket, especially because such a move is summoned by the all-powerful smartphone. Independence and the open road? Meaningless, compared to the wonders of cyberspace. Oh, and by the way, Dad, no one uses the word cyberspace anymore.

They also cast a fair amount of side eye, by the way, at the idea of self-driving cars. No one's seen that where I live, and you generally aren't going to be able to sell kids on bleeding edge technology. Besides, the mechanisms of the local school system codify drivers education as a credited course, with simulators and everything. It's very serious business, Dad. Cars matter.

And as for the new tech... well, maybe somewhere else. Especially in places where ride sharing services are ubiquitous, or the kids make their own money and pay for everything. (That place is, I am sure, Parent Utopia.) Which isn't exactly my neck of suburbia, or the experience of either of my siblings, both of whom have auto-ready kids. For them, the rite of passage is the same mix of excitement, terror and tedium that it was for us, lo those many years ago, when we became of automotive age.

This is, alas, the nature of change. I don't doubt that in the Bay Area, or maybe the boroughs of New York City, or other enlightened areas with massive ride-sharing penetration and good mass transit, there's less appeal than there used to be for cars. After all, the median age for new car purchase is now in the mid '40s and climbing ever higher, and there's got to be something to all of those rising demographic numbers.

Just not in the here and now, or in my personal zip code. (Couldn't get her to sign off on the hoverboard a few months ago, either. Maybe my kid's just a Luddite. Or has secret stock in an auto insurance agency.)

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When Many Forms Of Money Are Speech

Your Speech Isn't Green Enough

It's not my place, as a marketing and advertising consultant, to show my hand in politics. In my time as an ad man, I've worked both sides of the aisle, on both a candidate and commerce level, and at the core of the work, there's something of the ethos of a trial lawyer at work. You make the best case for your client, and trust in the marketplace of ideas to prove the merits of your argument. Whether or not I believe in, or patronize, a product or service should not ever be obvious to my client, because if we're in that mental space, we're in a place that's far from doing good work.

So this isn't where I join in the cavalcade of people who give you their opinion on the phenomenon that is Donald Trump, or offer up my take on the latest statement that has garnered headlines, awareness, approval and condemnation. If, for no other reason, that I'd like this column to have more of a shelf life than a fruit fly. But I will note that, from a marketing and advertising standpoint only, what's going on here is fairly revolutionary.

Thanks to social media, Trump no longer needs the media to communicate with his audience, but communicating with just that audience isn't, of course, enough in an era of fragmentation. What's needed is for the media to take these moments and reflect them to a wider audience.

This is, on some level, paradoxical. Trump's difference as a candidate, for good and ill, is that he is independently wealthy on a scale that differs from his opposition, so much so that he is able to speak off the cuff about, seemingly, anything. We've had candidates like this before -- Ross Perot is the obvious historical parallel -- but unlike Perot, Trump hasn't actually spent that hard on this endeavour, or even had to collect much from his flock.

Instead, it's the money that he's made in the first place, along with the decades of playing for media time, that qualified Trump's output as news. That output has produced undeniable ratings, to the point where Trump tried to leverage the higher ratings from his appearance into a paid fee, beyond what any other candidate would receive. (That, in and of itself, is revolutionary, since every candidate up to now has seen enough benefit from appearing on camera in the first place to not worry about also getting paid for it.)

Finally, it's meant that no network has been willing to just stop covering the candidate, because to do so would be to court lower ratings, let alone risk the ire of his supporters, or the candidate himself... with, of course, every other network willing to give air to the fire.

There's been some signs of weak polling for Trump in the past week or so, so maybe actual voting will stop the money -- err, speech. But there's a sense that the toothpaste has left the tube, and that the next political war won't be fought with the air power of big media spends. Instead, it might be the millions of unpaid voices on social media, all of which, of course, wouldn't have been there in the first place without the money.

Amazing system, this.

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A Krampus Miracle

Hello, Horned One

This weekend, a movie opened with very little buzz, during a time of the year that is usually death for new releases, while being opposed by popular holdovers. It wasn't expected to do well, with most observers thinking that it would be likely to make less than $10 million. Given the lack of "A" level talent, and the usually strong foreign market for effects-heavy movies, it wouldn't be a disaster, but no one was expecting a major win for Universal.

Instead, "Krampus", the odd mix of horror and comedy that plays off ancient Austrian Christmas myths that speak to the other side of St. Nick., is going to bring in $16 million, second only to the "Hunger Games" juggernaut. As it only cost $15 million to make, and has already pulled in $3.3 million in overseas gross, it's highly likely to turn a solid profit, especially if there is any holdover to the audience in Week Two.

So how did it happen? Well, start with the actual subject matter. The Krampus myths have been making headway for years now, with parades happening in Europe, mentions in mainstream media, and an ever-growing desire among people to personalize the holidays. Next, move to the timing. If you've ever needed a reason to question the status quo, consider the wisdom of why horror movies don't do well in December, because it's not exactly something you can point a lot of data at.

Third, there's the possibility that the movie's actually good. (I actually saw it with a friend on Friday, and it's a bit of a mess with a need for editing, but I've had worse times.) Fourth, there's the usual demographic cross-matching, with a varied cast to bring in multiple classes. And finally, there's just the fact that horror movies, as a rule, always tend to do a little better than expected, because they fly under the cultural radar. Horror movies don't get award buzz or high-end word of mouth. Instead, they sell tickets.

So, kudos to "Krampus" -- proof that trying something new and different is almost always its own reward. (Besides, it's probably best to say nice things to the dear fellow. No need to risk a visit.)

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Feel free to comment, as well as like or share this column, connect with me on LinkedIn, or email me at davidlmountain at gmail dot com, or hit the RFP boxes at top right. RFPs are always free, and we hope to hear from you soon.