You have the power

I was interviewed last week by Ken Picard from Seven Days for an article he was doing about the Burton snowboard controversy. It was an interesting interview because Ken wanted to look at the issue from a different perspective. His goal was to look at more of the marketing and imagery trends within the industry as opposed to the "controversy itself".

His piece, entitled: "Antiviolence Advocates Ponder Next Move in Burton Protest" highlighted the marketing side and the imagery impact of messages that "promote" gender inequity or violence of any type.

Ken, myself and Sharon Lamb (who was also quoted in the piece) all serve on the media representation sub-committee of the Vermont Approach to End Violence Against Women.

The important messages from the article (to see the full piece go to: http://www.7dvt.com/2008antiviolence-advocates-ponder-next-move-burton-protest):

• Controversy sells. "Burton may, in fact, have the last laugh — all the way to the bank. As Jake Burton Carpenter admitted, the recent media attention on the controversial boards has only fueled the public’s interest in them; sales of both boards have “well exceeded expectations,” as he put it. "
  
• Burton needs to convey an "edgy" image for the snowboard culture. "Another Burlington resident who works in the industry, and asked not to be identified, suggested that was Burton’s goal with its controversial designs. “In this industry, you need to keep an edge and a core demographic,” he said. “And, if you don’t have the absolute core guys backing your brand, you start to lose a little bit of credibility.” "
  
• Until WOMEN and MEN in the target market step up by NOT BUYING, these things will continue to happen. "Young said the only way companies such as Burton will eschew products and ads that objectify women and sensationalize violence is if their best customers tell them to stop. (that's a quote from me, BTW)"
  
• Bottom line, images of violence and objectification of women CAUSE more violence and gender discrimination. "...research from several different studies revealed that people who regularly consume sexually objectifying images are more likely to see sexual relationships as adversarial and to accept “rape myths” — that is, the notion that women invite rape by their own behavior. ( a quote from Sharon Lamb)"

My personal thought is you can be edgy as all get out and project an image that is youthful, rebellious and anti-authority WITHOUT promoting gender inequity and/or violence. Burton, in my opinion, like many companies has taken the easy road. Let's throw up some naked chicks, call it "tasteful art" and then let's throw up some more violent images and call it "toilet humor". Yeah. That's the trick. It's a cop out is what it is. Where is the creativity that an edgy brand is supposed to have?

Creatives and marketers everywhere -- I challenge you. Be edgy. Create conversation. Move your brand forward. Just don't do it on the backs of women and don't promote violence for violence sake. Rise above it and really show your edge. If you don't, you aren't edgy ... you are just the same as everyone else in a sea of tasteless mediocrity.

Getting Ready for the "Real World"

One of the challenges that I believe every professor faces in to make sure that our students understand and are ready for what is expected of them in the so-called "real world".

Here at Champlain College, in the Marketing Management class, I am working to reach that goal. Marketing Management is the final marketing course that all marketing majors must take before they graduate. It's a seminar course which in academia means more discussion based and we often sit around a room, rather than in that traditional lecture-based set up. However, this class is beyond a "seminar". It's project-based. But it is more than that too.

Students come in, meet a client and spend the rest of the semester working with that client to solve a marketing challenge.

It's hard work to break out of a structured, professor-driven environment. It's hard work for me and hard work for the students. At some point I'll write more about the power of giving up control in the classroom.

They told me yesterday that this didn't feel like a college class. I take that as a compliment. I don't want this to be a typical college class. I want it to be as close to the "real world" as possible. I want them to be ready. I want to build their confidence.

They came in yesterday with a presentation to give. They never gave it. Instead, they got the chance to re-work it and hopefully learned that brainstorming and implementation take real time, commitment and creativity. What they came out with as a starting point is exciting and I can't wait to see the final product. I hope they gained perspective on what it will really take to work with a client in the real world.

The Power of One

The semester at Champlain College is already five weeks done and here I go trying to get back into the BLOGGING scene. Yes, I'm bringing BLOGGER back. Why? For several reasons actually. First, it gets indexed faster because of the whole Google tie-in and secondly, it keeps me current on different blogging options. But...I get off topic...quickly.

One of the hallmarks of the Non-Profit and Social Marketing class that we developed here at Champlain College is what I call the "Friday Speaker Series". Throughout the semester I invite individuals who exemplify our theme of "The Power of One" to come into class and speak. This week I had the pleasure of inviting and listening to a good friend, Kathryn Blume talk about her journey as a struggling actor/environmental activist and how it has culminated into her role as an "Accidental Activist". She told us how she and another actor in New York City, in 2002 started a movement of actors and individuals in the theater around the world who produced readings of Lysistrata, the 2500 year old play where women withhold sex to stop war. They started the LYSISTRATA PROJECT on a shoe-string and had a HUGE impact. From this, Kathy's one-woman show the Accidential Activist was borne and she toured the country telling her story.

Now Kathy is back at it again with THE BOYCOTT. Here's the premise:

Inspired by the ancient Greek anti-war comedy Lysistrata, The Boycott tells the story of playwright and actor Kathryn Blume trying to fight global warming and save the word by writing the story of the First Lady of the United States, Lyssa Stratton, launching a nationwide sex strike to fight global warming and save the world.

She opened in Burlington, VT last week to two sold-out shows! Way to go Kathy!

So what does this have to do with our class at Champlain College? Tons! Students have begun to write about what they have learned from Kathy and the ability of one person to make a difference, when they feel that they can't until they have more money or more power or more fame....she has helped them to see that the power of one is real.