SCHMITTblog

The Hottest Business Book

Question: What’s the hottest business book these days?

Answer: Das Kapital by Karl Marx.

I have been telling this joke for a couple of weeks now. I first came up with it when I was in London on the day when the British government announced that it would nationalize, in part, its banks. Since that type of approach, with variations, seems to be the way to go (and what bankers are asking for) all around the world, including the U.S., the joke really seems to capture the spirit of times. And it’s not only bankers – and the free market economist with their theories of rationality and perfect information -- that are crying for government intervention. It’s consumers as well. Which consumer has not diversified his or her bank accounts, and only trusts those savings that are guaranteed by the government?

So, time to brush up our knowledge of this classic text! Now what’s really funny is that I just read in the German weekly Die Zeit that sales of Das Kapital have quadrupled over the last few weeks! Who would have thought? Maybe a Nobel Prize in Economics, given posthumously, will be next.

Obama-Clinton: Battle of the Brands

For years, political campaigns have taken the best ideas of consumer marketing and put them to work in the battle for voters’ preference. Just as marketing has evolved from the traditional focus on unique selling propositions to brands and customer experiences, political campaigning has kept pace.

The ongoing battle for the Democratic nomination illustrates the three keys to brand success today: a great experience, consistent messaging, and an emotional appeal.

Just like the bottled water and tissue paper categories, there is little differentiation to be found among the candidates’ product features (tax policy, education, the economy, etc).  So, experiential qualities will hold sway:  leadership, consistency, inspiration. As the race continues across the country, voters are enjoying the ride – not only showing up in throngs to vote, but to take part, live, in the experience.  (The voting booth as destination store!)

Barack Obama had to build a new brand from scratch, so he was forced to be extremely disciplined in his message (commentators have even commented on the consistent use of his signature font). Hillary Clinton started with high brand awareness, but in trying to modify her established image, she had to deploy a variety of messages, which her critics took to be brand confusion (e.g. a New York Times op-ed listed “Soft Hillary, Hard Hillary, Misty Hillary… Let’s-Get-Down-in-the-Dirt-and-Fight-Like-Dogs Hillary”).

Clinton’s latest comeback shows that her brand has done best when it’s had an emotional appeal – whether her coffee-shop moment in New Hampshire, or her Ohio advertisement that set her familiar argument of foreign-policy credentials in starkly emotional terms (the sleeping child straight out of a Nyquil commercial).  Obama’s brand has generated strong emotional resonance by tapping into voters’ dreams and aspirations.

Where is this battle of the brands headed?  Possibly to an eventual co-branded merger, with the dominant brand at the top of the ticket.  Which brings up a classic question of brand architecture: would the consumer be swayed by the synergy of two brands?  Or opt for the purity of an un-diluted brand: John McCain?

- Bernd Schmitt and David Rogers

Not Your Father’s Singapore

Whoever said Singapore is conservative and boring anymore?  Consider the following three businesses, all located in the same new upscale shopping mall:

Instant Karma sells ultra-cool Tee’s with provocative messages such as “My girlfriend loves pussy.” I bought: “Door Bitch: You are not even on the list.”

Strip, a coed hair removal service (brandline: “the Ministry of Waxing”), has moved way beyond American puritanism in waxing.  There’s your standard Brazilian but also a menu of “boyzilians” for men. The website (http://www.strip.com.sg) features campy pictures of bikini-clad women and hairy orangutans, and the Diary of a Brazilian Strip Virgin (“Having been stuck with the bushy for so long, I decided I couldn't be left behind the other girls any longer…”) When I asked in the store which gender does the waxing for you, I was told, “Your choice.”

Finally, there’s the fabulous “Browhaus” brand (http://www.browhaus.com). No, Browhaus is not a misspelled German brewery but a place to get “plucked, tweezed, threaded and waxed” so your face can enjoy the virtues of eyebrows with shape, volume and panache. Their brow design philosophy is inspired – you guessed it – by Bauhaus, the German design and architecture movement.  Thus: “The Idea Behind The Tweeze: Functionalism + Style.”

Paris, I Pray for You.

I am watching the re-run of CNN's "Faith and Politics"-- a show that aired last night already with Edwards, Obama, and H. Clinton.  I am not going to comment on how each of the three fakes it.  Nor will I talk about whether God created the world in six days ("not sure how, but he did it") -- a topic that was hotly debated a few days earlier on CNN among the Republican candidates.

The real story, which CNN is too politically correct to give extensive media coverage, is running on the ticker on the bottom: "Paris back in jail," "she has not eaten," "she talked 2 hours to her psychiatrist."  When will America finally give up pretending?  The real story is Paris Hilton, not the candidates.  Yet, neither Edwards, nor Obama, nor Hillary talk about her, missing a perfect opportunity to show  real-time compassion that millions of (mostly) male voters could relate to!   

Paris, I pray for you.

Cecilia has bad teeth

Let me begin by a disclaimer: I have been dragged into this controversy by my colleague Olivier Toubia (yes, he of King Kong fame) and Schmitt (yes, he of, ahem, smoothness fame) because those two are at odds over Cecilia Sarkozy's dress and U.S. views of France and the French.  I really didn't want to comment, but I've been reading cognitive psychology papers all day so I'm bored senseless.

Frankly, I think that the whole controversy has been drummed up by Schmitt as a way to draw attention to the Schmittblog in these dog days of summer when most people are out getting splashed by the cool jets from an open fire hydrant.  I don't give a hoot about who makes Cecilia's dress (Prada, how passe, it's Boateng or bust), and most self-respecting Frenchmen probably didn't notice because they were too busy planning the next strike to further reduce their work week to 22 hours down from the 25 hours plus ten weeks of vacances that they have now.  Yeah, Toubia, in addition to loving sex and violence, your fellow Frogs love to moan and groan and disrupt an already stagnant economy (take that, Frenchie!). 

My friends, the real issue is not Cecilia's dress (really, Schmitt, you disappoint me on this one).

It's Cecilia's teeth.

Cecilia would be best saving her fourteen hundred plus Euros for some orthodontic work.  Look closely at the photo, and you'll see that her bicuspids look a little bashed in.  Not too hot for a French first lady (even the matronly Laura Bush has nice pearly-whites).   That's why I still believe in Segolene.  She might be 53, but she looks hot as hell in a bikini.  While Cecilia is futzing with her orthodontic retainer, Segolene is working on retaining her tan.  Vive la diference! 

Off to do some google searching...

Levav

Quel Scandale

What a scandal!  Cecilia Sarkozy, the wife of the new French President, and her husband have been seen shopping in a Prada store on Avenue Montaigne.  Italian brands for the French First Family?  What is next, driving a BMW?  The global mega-fashion brands, Prada and Gucci, count among Mrs. Sarkozy’s favorite fashion brands.  And she must know, having worked as a fashion model during her law studies.

The real scandal, though, is that a nation eager for scandals (“Quel scandale” is a favorite headline on tabloids) and quite nationalistic on top of it (“La Grande Nation”) does not seem to care much.  Are we witnessing the making of a global nation – shopping for global brands – right before our eyes?

My Summer Reading List

BusinessWeek called up to ask what I was planning to read on the beach this summer.  You can read their full article here: B-School Beach Reading: What are B-school professors and students planning to read during vacation or internships?

My picks...

"Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy through Jokes" by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

The amazon description sounds fabulous: "It’s Philosophy 101 for everyone who knows not to take all this heavy stuff too seriously. Some of the Big Ideas are Existentialism (what do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?), Philosophy of Language (how to express what it’s like being stranded on a desert island with Halle Berry), Feminist Philosophy (why, in the end, a man is always a man), and much more."

A sense of (dialectical) humor is key in life.  And we all (including MBA students and business profs) need to free ourselves at times from the existential pain of our habitual existence.  Why not read about Plato, Kant and Halle Berry then?  Sounds like a great ligitimate distraction.

"An Inconvenient Truth" by Al Gore

I know he's coming out with a new book. But I haven't even read his 'big seller' yet.  Look, I am not a global warming activist or a granola (though I was born in Germany). I wear my hair long because it is style now, not as a political statement. Environmentalism, however, has become such a huge issue in the U.S. and this book is part of the movement. Thus, I consider it a must read for any informed citizen.

"Breaking Ground: An Immigrant's Journey from Poland to Ground Zero" by Daniel Libeskind

I love reading biographies written by people I've met.  Recently, I was on a panel on branding with Libeskind, the architect of the Freedom Tower, and I was amazed how an architect and marketing professor can think alike. I also love one of his latest buildings, a new wing of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.  So, I want to know more about the man behind it.

Safwan est beau

Hi folks,
It's been quite some time since I've blogged.  What can I say, the English Premier League just doesn't inspire me like the World Cup (not enough Germans to hate or Argentines to love; but did you see Carlos Tevez's goal against Manchester United? Fantastic).
One thing does inspire me however: A Safwan Sighting.
Oh yes, my friends, our lovable colleague was seen on the premises last Thursday for a faculty meeting (Queen Noor gave him the afternoon off).  And let me tell you, he was looking as RAVISHING as ever.  Some background: For years Schmitt  and Safwan, who joined the Columbia Business School together just about the time that I was in eighth grade and still hairless like you-know-who, have been sniping at each other, grappling to achieve the status of Supreme Style Leader of Columbia Business School.  For his part, in the last few years Schmitt has been alleging that Safwan has lost some allure, lost some hair, and picked up some je ne sais quoi around his waistline.   
I beg to differ.
Schmitt might wear Ozwald Boateng, but Safwan is a brand in and of himself, in a suit or out of one.  There's Madonna, and there's Safwan, and like Madonna, Safwan is hot as hell for his age.  And while it is perhaps true that he may have helped himself to a little too much kibbeh over dinner in the Royal Court, in the last 12 months he still got more real estate than Schmitt in the New Yorker. 

Levav

Keeping Up with the Times?

Last night I attended a certain formal dinner, where there was lots of talk about change and innovation. Being sensitive to the rapidly changing fashion environment, I showed up in my tux with a skinny black tie. Looking at the crowd, I was surprised to find I was alone. I think it is important for forward thinking organizations and their leaders to be sensitive to every aspect of the environment, especially fashion.

 

Why the End of Creative Advertising Is Near, and Why We Should Rejoice

Last year I had a speaker in my EMBA class from an interactive ad agency who took a question from a student who worked at Google.  He quickly started talking about how agencies like his can collaborate with Google. Did I smell a note of fear in the room?

Next week I'm taking this semester's class to Google's NYC headquarters. To offer a little balance, I wanted to invite a speaker from an ad agency to come and speak as well.  I chose a "hot" agency recently lauded with a major award by a leading industry magazine.  Let's call the agency "The Mongolian Horde" (not their real name, but close).  First we went to their website, which hardly worked, it was so "design-ey."  Then we tried calling their office -- and got a voicemail saying "The Mongolian Horde's office is closed for President's Day" -- even though that holiday was 10 days ago.  ???!!!!??? 

I have a dream... that one day in the very near future that sort of "creativity" will be gone.  And I will rejoice!