More women who are “well educated and trained for career tracks” have opted to stay home, according to a recent CNN article. More than 10 percent of SAHWs who were interviewed in one recent study were also childless. And with the rising cost of gas, food, and other living expenses, stay-at-home wives may be the latest “status symbol,” says Daniel Buccino, a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine clinical social worker and psychotherapist.

But SAHWs are not home eating bon bons all day; many regard homemaking as an important responsibility that frees the husband from ‘honey do’ lists and allows the couple to have more quality time together. They also devote time to volunteer work, and pursue hobbies.

Subscribe to Brandeo’s free weekly newsletter or RSS feed

Last week, McCain ran an ad that suggested Democratic rival Barack Obama was merely a celebrity and no more fit to be president than fellow celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. 

Here's Paris Hilton's rebuttal to the “white-haired dude” on FunnyorDie.com.

Only in America.

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d

Image: Funnyordie.com

A recent TechCrunch post reflected on the reasons Facebook and MySpace have failed to emotionally connect with Japanese users, commenting:

Mixi, the country’s biggest social network, positioned itself as a tool for communicating at a distance through diaries and communities to meet like-minded members. It doesn’t primarily exist to make new friends (poking is restricted) or as a platform for public self-presentation.

A perfect example of a cultural misconception: Mark Zuckerberg recently said in Tokyo one of Facebook’s unique selling points is the usage of real names and photos in profiles. This may be true but it’s exactly what Japanese web users usually try to avoid.

Whether or not TechCrunch’s observations are correct, it is a fact that all too often a company cobbles together a brand positioning statement based on superficial or incorrect perceptions of their target audience, whether the users are global or local. The company’s tribal knowledge, assumptions and incomplete or poorly executed research masquerade as insight. This makes it unlikely they will be able to establish a framework on which to emotionally connect with their target audience.

I can’t help you with the first two requirements. But I can suggest some questions that will help you understand your target user’s cultural, emotional and attitudinal perspectives regarding the category and category brands. Keep in mind that you may need to utilize indirect, as well as direct, questioning techniques since the target audience may be unable or unwilling to express their perspectives.

• Identify the lifestyle motivators behind your users’ decisions to help you understand the role your brand can play in their lives, i.e., why do they choose to live where they live? Why did they choose the type of car they drive? Why do they dress the way they do? Try to ascertain what drives their decisions…status, self-expression, security, etc.?
• How do your users wish to be perceived by others? Which brands assist them in attaining the image they seek?
• What are the emotional drivers that influence the target’s use of brands in your category? If your brand is a line of baking mixes, for example, determine what emotions motivate target users to bake. Is it love for their family, self-expression, etc.? What emotional benefits are most important to them? Do any of the category brands deliver the emotional benefits they’re seeking? If so, how?
• What are the specific features and functional benefits that ensure emotional satisfaction with the brand? How well do brands in the category, including yours, deliver these features and functional benefits?
• Also ask users what they dislike about brands in the category and what emotional needs are unmet so that you can understand how well your brand resolves their issues.
• What proof do users need to trust your brand will deliver what it says it will deliver?

One critical result of a well-defined target audience is understanding the emotional benefits that are important to target users and how your brand delivers on these emotional benefits. This does not preclude the importance of identifying demographic, geographic and technographic attributes. But keep in mind that you don’t want to amass a laundry list of information.

Ask questions that reveal opportunities to emotionally connect with your users and you’ll be well on your way to developing a richly compelling and successful brand.

See also:
brand – what is it?
positioning statement
point of difference
pain point
target audience
frame of reference
reason to believe
brand essence
portfolio architecture
commoditization

Subscribe to Brandeo’s free weekly newsletter or RSS feed

Matures were known as the “Greatest Generation”; will Boomers (those adults turning 44-62 this year) become known as the Gloomiest?

According to a report by the Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project, America’s Baby Boomers give lower ratings to their quality of life than other generations; to worry that income won’t keep up with inflation, and to believe that it is harder to get ahead now than it was 10 years ago. For example, when asked, “In the next year, how likely is it?”, 55% of Boomers said it is likely that their income won’t keep up with the cost of living, versus 44% of 18-42 year olds, and 43% of adults 63+.

Source:
“Baby Boomers: The Gloomiest Generation” - Pew Social & Demographic Trends Project, 6/25/08

Also see:
"Baby Boomers: From the Age of Aquarius to the Age of Responsibility," Pew Research Center, 12/8/05
"Social Inequalities in Happiness in the United States, 1972 to 2004: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis," American Sociological Review, Vol. 73, No. 2, 4/2008
"Inside the Middle Class: Bad Times Hit the Good Life," Pew Research Center, 4/9/2008

Subscribe to Brandeo’s free weekly newsletter or RSS feed

It's never comfortable rejecting potential suitors face-to-face. RHbrands, a mobile and in-call media company, claims "The Rejection Hotline®," located in 200+ cities across the country, including Atlanta (404-260-1318), Los Angeles (310-735-0099) and New York City (212-660-2245), is a “public service” to both the rejector and the rejectee. The rejectee dials the number to hear: 

"Hello, this is not the person you were trying to call. You've reached The Rejection Hotline.  The person who gave you this number did not want you to have their real number ... So why were you given a Rejection Hotline phone number?

• Maybe you're just not this person's type (note: this could mean boring,
  dumb, annoying, arrogant, or just a general weirdo).
• Maybe you suffer from bad breath, body odor, or a nasty combination of the two.
• Maybe you just give off that creepy, overbearing, psycho-stalker vibe.
• Maybe the idea of going out with you just seems as appealing as playing leapfrog with unicorns."

RHbrands offers hundreds of humorous hotlines to get people out of sticky situations such as 'Bad Breath Notification,' 'One Night Stand Hotline,' and a 'Confession Hotline'.

Twitter, for the uninitiated, is a  social networking and micro blogging service utilizing instant messaging, SMS or a web interface that encourages users to share their answers to the question, “What are you doing right now?” Think IM on steroids.

But while there are those who are compelled to twitter minutiae (just like the ‘real’ world) there are others who are using Twitter to share ideas and pass along news and information. USA Today reports that Twitter has been used to communicate news in emergencies and natural disasters, and that brands, such as Comcast and Zappos, are utilizing Twitter to establish a dialogue with customers.

So is twittering a good idea for your brand? Take a look to see how Comcast customer service manager Frank Eliason interacts with other Twitterers online and utilize Twitter Search to learn what Twitters are twittering about your brand. Before you dive in, spend some time on the site first, to make sure you understand Twitter culture. And remember that communication on Twitter, just like any successful conversation, is based on authenticity and trust.

If you’re not used to twittering your way through the day it might seem odd…at first. But in time you may wonder how you (and your brand) did without it.

Subscribe to Brandeo’s free weekly newsletter or RSS feed

Looking to Reach Mall Shoppers?
Look no further than this recent Nielsen study that shows that Adspace Mall Network reaches 47% of mall shoppers viewed content provided on the Adspace Mall Network. The network plays a six minute programming loop that mixes consumer content and advertising messages displaying the 10 best deals in the mall and the 10 best sales on Smart Screens. The study showed that 34% of viewers had an average recall of specific ads they saw on the network.

Sources:
Shoppers Check Out Mall Deals on Video Screens, MediaPost, July 21, 2008
Adspace Networks

Put Away Your Stereotypes About Gamers
40% of gamers are women, the average age of videogame players is 35 and 26% of gamers are over the age of 50. Those cursed boomers…From Marketing Charts according to  Entertainment Software Association (via DMW).

Subscribe to Brandeo’s free weekly newsletter or RSS feed

According to the New York Times, consumers used to buy small cars because the were cheap, eschewing air conditioning, power windows, compact players, etc., to keep the price low. But as the cost of gas rises, consumers of all income levels are buying small cars to save fuel costs but adding hundreds or thousands of dollars on options.  Hot sellers? The Toyota Prius hybrid and the Honda Civic.

Source: Car Buyers Downsize, but Spend Big on Options, New York Times, 7/17/08
Photo: Toyota.com

Subscribe to Brandeo’s free weekly newsletter or RSS feed

Got Milk and Cookes?
I know, everyone’s sick of the eternal riffs on the “Got Milk?” line, but hey, I’m easily entertained. Anyway, take a look at how Oreos used a glassed-in elevator shaft and an elevator to reinforce the milk-dunking equity of Oreos cookies. Yummily brilliant. Source: Beyond Madison Avenue

Are you an “Omnivore,”, “Connector,” or “Mobile Centric”? Where do you fit in the ten typologies of information and communication technology users developed by the Pew Internet Project? Click here to take this quick quiz and find out. Also provides an overview of the ten technology typologies and key characteristics of each.