Time to Move Past Polystyrene and on to Alternative Packaging Products

The 2006 holiday season has come and gone, along with heaps and heaps of packaging and gift wrap that kept gifts in pristine form. Ultimately, 98% of all of this gift wrap and packaging will wind up in already-overloaded landfills across the world and sit and decompose for the next few years or the next few millenia. (I'd say that 100% of it will be thrown out, but everybody has a grandmom who saves the gift wrap for wrapping a gift next year, or perhaps there's a craftsman in the family who can build a sculpture out of some of the packaging or something otherwise creative. Kudos to those resourceful people for reusing and recycling what would otherwise be trash.)

While I'm going to stay away from being labelled the Grinch or Scrooge for being "anti-gift-giving," I feel the need to come out and say that we as a civilization need to be responsible for our dwindling resources. In other words, let's ditch the polystyrene packaging, foam peanuts (the old-school, non biodegradable kind), the hard plastic wraps, and all the other nonsense that keeps these gifts all warm and cozy for a little while, and then are casually tossed out in the trash. We do indeed have alternatives to these mischievous forms of packaging, such as shredded paper, cardboard, bioplastics (great article by the way), and more. And with the rising costs of petroleum, as mentioned in the bioplastics article, there is now more reason than ever for companies and governments to fund research in better biodegradable material for packaging.

By converting from non-biodegradable packaging products to biodegradable and/or recyclable products, companies also have a lot to gain from a marketing standpoint. For example:

• Consider how popular it is for car dealers to announce how fuel-efficient their new lines of cars are (even though many cars still are gas guzzlers). I believe a company in certain industries could make its mark by using a new form of packaging that is better for the environment. Televisions, for example, come in huge boxes packed with polystyrene. They could easily make it known that they have undertaken a new way to get products into consumers' hands without resorting to short-sighted packaging usage.
  
• Perhaps a market would open up for the disposing and reusing of certain materials. Right now, most packaging is hauled off to landfills, as mentioned, but maybe there would be a way to collect used packaging from industrial sites or households and either resell it or reuse it. Perhaps companies like this even exist as we speak. But nobody that I know of is marketing this niche service area.
• By not using plastic-based products, companies would also be able to mention that they are helping control the price of gas and oil imports, since petroleum usage in packaging certainly affects the supply and demand of this disappearing resource.
• Lastly, think about how much of a mess a lot of these packaging products make in people's houses or businesses. Just today I had to move my couch away from a wall and I happened to find dozens of little pieces of polystyrene packaging that escaped when trying to clean up from opening boxes. Who needs that mess? If there's a way to cut down on this mess, I wouldn't mind companies bragging about it. But maybe that's just me.

Okay, that's my diatribe for the day. Hopefully this counts as "thinking outside the box". Or maybe it actually is "thinking inside the box". Whatever. I'll stop recycling jokes now. Thanks for your time!

Stand Out from the Crowd: A Marketing Lesson from Zorro

In my other (new and equally remarkable!) blog, Philly Sports Quest, I referenced a story about a Phillies game I went to about 10 years ago at the late, great Veterans Stadium. To summarize, the gist of the story pertained to a rather unusual guy who dressed in an outfit that looked like Zorro and walked by himself around the circular walkway the entire game. I, along with many others, was thoroughly impressed by the fact that he would have the idea and the wherewithall to pull off this mini-stunt, so my friends and I and other fans around us cheered for him every time he walked by.

Well, in my humble opinion, having worked in marketing for a couple of years, I must say that that's some excellent marketing right there.

Generally the way marketing works is a person/company/organization tries to find a way to interrupt a person's day with a brief message about said person/company/organization in order to encourage you to do business with same person/company/organization. You, as an innocent bystander (aka- target audience), didn't necessarily ask for that message to be brought into your life, but for a brief moment... there it is. You can choose to either tune it out or act upon it in some way. And so marketing is measured in how many people act upon your message. But I digress.

Getting back to Zorro... this guy interrupted the game I was watching by walking in front of me and catching my attention, multiple times during the game. Thousands of other people undoubtedly walked in front of me that game, but I have no recollection of any of them. Only Zorro. And that was roughly 10 years ago. He found a way to stand out from the "clutter" of other "interruptions", and leave an indellible mark in my memory. He even found a way to grow his own fan base-- the ultimate mark of a successful brand. And he did all this without a massive budget, or even having to say a word, or brandish a word or logo on his body.

That's how you market right there.

A Tale of Two Cities: Bogota and Philadelphia

I recently heard about a man named Antanas Mockus-- his name sounds like a Roman emperor, but not quite. I was flipping through radio stations while on my way to work a couple weeks ago, and caught a piece of the Michael Smerconish show on 1210. He usually brings some interesting topics to the table and indeed he did this time.

Anyway, he was interviewing a professor and they talked about ways of improving the city of Philadelphia, particularly the tragically high murder rate (as of today, there have been 400 murders, the highest rate since 1997). The professor talked about Mr. Mockus and intrigued me right away. He told the story of how he became mayor in 1993 and turned the city from a cesspool of chaos into a "6.5 million person classroom" experiment that showed a city could indeed be turned around. The most interesting facet of his story is that he didn't use brute force, or use excessive spending, or other traditional tactics to turn his city around. Instead, he used creativity, ingenuity, and even laughter to turn the tides.

Rather than elaborating on what he did to improve the city, I refer you to an intriguing article about Mockus. Though a bit lengthy, I think you'll find it's an amazing story and a great template for how things can indeed be changed for the better when using a new perspective. It just proves how (pardon me for using this terrible cliche) "thinking outside the box" can go a long way in improving anything, from a community, to a company to a city, to perhaps even a whole country.

Time for Philly to start "thinking outside the box"...

Rocky Balboa: The Movie Premiere in Philadelphia

This past week I had the opportunity to help with the video production for the movie premiere of "Rocky Balboa" in Philadelphia. I was on hand to help out the company that was shooting the "house video" of fan interviews, scenery shots, and an interview with Sly Stallone himself. This was my first opportunity to be a part of such a project.

Here's my round-by-round recap for this event:

• Stallone doesn't look too bad up close, considering he's 60. Pancaked makeup does help quite a bit, however. Winner: Makeup over Stallone.
  
• For people involved in the setup of the event or the press, the night involved a lot of hustle and bustle followed by long down periods in a continuous cycle. For example, before Sly's arrival, we met with the camera crews and hustled around to plan the shots that were needed. And then we waited. And waited. And waited some more. Then the crowd started filing in and the camera crew hustled to interview them. Then it got close to Sly's arrival, so we waited for that. And then he and the other celebs arrived and it was pandemonium. And so on and so forth. Winner: "Up and down" over "slow and steady".
  
• It never ceases to amaze me how crazy people get just to see a celeb. Ok, so the actor/actress steps into your living room via a movie, performs his/her role, and then people go nuts when they actually see him/her in person. It's not as though these actors/actresses saved the planet. In fact people who are out there actually saving the planet don't get as much recognition as movie stars. I bet if Al Gore were to walk down a busy street, 75% of the people wouldn't notice, 10% wouldn't care, 10% would respectfully acknowledge his presence, and 5% would maybe go nuts. If Brad Pitt walks down the same street, he would probably need a police escort or a really good mask to make it through the crowd. Bizarre world we live in. Winner: Pretty boy over politician.
  
• From a marketing perspective, things were done pretty nicely. Mini-movie posters were handed out to some or maybe all fans. There was a ton of signage outside the theater. Footage of interviews were taken with certain media angels in mind. The road was blocked off, spotlights were blaring and music from the movie was pumped in, creating some extra sizzle around the city. And all the local news stations were set to cover the night's activities, creating a big PR buzz in Philly. Not bad for a Monday night. Winner: Sizzle over fizzle. (Fo shizzle.)
  

So there you have it. A night on (well, around) the red carpet. Now we'll see who wins at the box office...

Athletes Not Immune to Airline Accidents

Check out this list of athletes' deaths by airplane. I find this list to be quite amazing because we (the general public) tend to elevate athletes and coaches to practically immortal status and consider them as invincible. But accidental death can strike at any moment, even for this segment of the population who are generally in extraordinary physical shape. Makes you wonder if perhaps John Madden isn't too crazy for opting to ride in a motorhome between games.

At any rate, kudos to ThePilot.com (ironic name in this situation, perhaps), for printing this list and allowing us to remember the tragedies of days gone by involving athletes being killed in plane crashes. It's a sad and scary fact of life that these accidents can happen, even to sports idols. Let's just hope we don't see this again any time soon.

Fighting a War, Not Fighting Crime

So we have approximately 152,000 troops stationed in Iraq right now, fighting a war that seems never ending. I'm not here to rant about what I think about the war, but just keep that number in mind.

Now think about your typical soldier. The" stereotype" might be: dedicated to his/her country, patriotic, hard worker, looking to help others, in search of new adventures. I think most people would conjure up those types of words when describing a typical soldier.

Now think about the latest crime statistics in the U.S. Violent crime rose quite significantly across the country.

Now allow me to make some connections between the two points...

• With more than 152,000 of our country's "finest" young men and women gone overseas in Iraq alone, this country has lost a major chunk of its future leaders, family heads, and community citizens. This leaves a huge hole in the fabric of our country that can't be filled in. Or perhaps it can be filled in... by criminals.
• Let's just say that we took 1/3 of those troops and trained them to walk or patrol the streets of major cities and towns, the way they do in Iraq. Perhaps not with tanks and armored vehicles, but with uniforms and protective gear on. Call them police officers, call them peacekeepers, call them re-positioned soldiers. Whatever. If these hard working, dedicated, and loyal folks were to walk around impoverished (or even beautiful) communities, imagine the improvement in tone from the citizens who see them everyday. Many cities are short on cops, so these armed forces could fill in the gaps.
• The cost of this war is estimated to be 2 TRILLION DOLLARS. Um, that's no chump change. If this country were to take just a fraction of that, let's say one billion dolars and spread it out across major cities for programs to help police officers, provide activities for kids, or help repair destroyed communities, can you imagine what that would do? Now flow 2 trillion dollars into cities and towns and imagine what could be done. To me the possibilities are quite astounding indeed.
• By fighting an on-going war where we hear about killings, bombings, shootings, and so forth every single day, what kind of message send to our youth, who are most vulnerable to commit or be a victim of crime? Well, Johnny, we're going to keep shooting and shooting and shooting over in Iraq, so you might as well do the same here. Kids love to be copycats, whether it's playing a game of basketball ("I wanna be like Mike") to shooting a gun. Kids learn by imitating others, and showing them a life full of guns and murders is not helping.
  

That's just the way I see it.

My Favorite Muppets: A Tribute to the Most Creative Show Ever!

Here are my favorite muppets, in no particular order:

2. Swedish Chef (Bork, bork, bork!)
8. Waldorf (The old dude in the balcony)
7. Statler (The other old dude in the balcony)
10. Lewis Kezagger (The sportscaster)
4. Sam the American Eagle (He's just a good bird)
6. Dr. Teeth (the keyboardist and bandleader of the Electric Mayhem)
3. Kermit (Gotta give props to the top frog in the land.)
9. Flying Zucchini Brothers (Ok, so this is more than one character... but man they could do some acrobatic stuff!)
5. Rowlf (The dog that tickles the ivories)
1. Animal (That boy can play the drums! Click that link to instantly put a smile on your face!)

I'm not sure what happened to creative endeavors like the Muppet Show, but apparently everything today is either computer generated or canned comedy. Lame!

Bring back the Muppet Show! It's the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational... ok, I'll stop.