Home Office for the Holidays

Cursing your scrooge of a boss because you have to work over the holidays? Well, rest assured, you are not the only one forced to focus through a holiday hangover.

According to an online survey by conferencing technology provider InterCall, even if employees get out of the office this week, most of them will be taking work with them, with 74 percent of respondents planning to work during the holidays.

Not that workers will be tied to their desk; it’s more about taking work where ever they go (ah, the blessings of technology). The survey examined where Americans will be working from during the holiday, shedding some light on our sometimes sad need to squeeze work into every "free" moment.

-- 85% will use their home office;
-- 24% will work at a family member's home;
-- 18% ignore travel delays at the airport by working;
-- 17% report working while shopping and running errands;
-- 15% work while they're vacationing at a resort or hotel;
-- 6% plan to work in bed;
-- 2% work while working out at the gym; and
-- 2% are working instead of mingling at holiday parties

Liquor on the Front End

Drinking alcohol has long been rumored to cure the common cold. While there is no scientific evidence to substantiate these claims (usually made by folks who cite Jack Daniels as ubiquitous cure-all), research has shown that alcohol consumption can help ward off a cold prior to infection.

Two large studies have found that although moderate drinking will not cure colds, it can help keep them at bay. One, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon in 1993, looked at 391 adults and found that resistance to colds increased with moderate drinking, except in smokers.

Then, in 2002, researchers in Spain followed 4,300 healthy adults, examining their habits and susceptibility to colds. The study, in The American Journal of Epidemiology, found no relationship between the incidence of colds and consumption of beer, spirits, Vitamin C or zinc. But drinking 8 to 14 glasses of wine per week, particularly red wine, was linked to as much as a 60 percent reduction in the risk of developing a cold. The scientists suspected this had something to do with the antioxidant properties of wine.

So as you trudge through the holiday party circuit and inevitably find yourself putting egg nogg and assorted spirits to lips, feel good that you are doing your immune system a favor. Though, in the morning, your head may disagree.

The 'Snow Miser' Touches AZ

Though it's a just small, National Forest ski area, this is the earliest this long-time Phoenix desert dweller can remember for the Arizona Snowbowl in Flagstaff to open. Yes, the lifts are operating up near the San Francisco Peaks in what hopefully is a sign of a great ski year for the West and the rest of the country.

"What a beautiful sight," says a Snowbowl staffer.

"See you up there this weekend," replies this Off the Grid poster.

Cultural Trends for 2008

While we're on the topic of lists and things to come in 2008 … cultural trend “experts” Iconoculture has unveiled its perspective of the top eight cultural trends that will drive consumer behavior in 2008. While most of items on the list illicit more of a “duh” than an a “hmm,” there are a few interesting tidbits and one or two thoughts that are germane to our little world.

The eight major trends identified by Iconoculture's “Consumer Strategists,” complete with subtle sales pitches, include:

TREND I: Group Solving - From the subprime mortgage meltdown, to the health insurance conundrum, consumers are facing intense personal financial crises in the coming year. There is an emergent cultural desire - even a demand - from consumers for companies and government agencies to intervene and help solve problems on a group level.

TREND II: Experts 2.0 - Consumers today are saturated with user-generated content and information from a million (sometimes dubious) sources. This year looks for the return of the expert. Companies that can reestablish credentials with consumers looking for credible, reliable sources of information will benefit.

TREND III: Dislocation! - Consumer technology is at a deflection point, where mobile phones, PDAs, BlackBerrys and iPods are ubiquitous. In 2008, it will be all about instant mobile access for the consumer. Look for "virtual storage lockers" to catch on big time.

TREND IV: That's What Friends are For - Social networking was one of the biggest mainstream media stories of 2007, and businesses have been pushing to get more information on how to maximize effectiveness of these networks. As these networks mature, Iconoculture is seeing shifts in how people relate with their networks, both social and professional and will help organizations understand these changes.

TREND V: A New Afroholistic Age - This year the African American consumer is moving toward a more holistic self-identity that is less encumbered by community traditions and expectations. Iconoculture is observing how black consumers who are breaking more barriers and stereotypes than ever before are transforming market opportunities.

TREND VI: The New Propriety - Retro-chic goes mainstream with a return to traditional manners -- from formal dinner parties to handwritten invitations, door-opening and umbrella-sharing--and is part of the transforming social environment. With a resurgence in interest in alternative medicine, traditional forms of education, and more restrictive child protection measures, Iconoculture is looking at how this amplification of traditional values will affect corporate marketing plans.

TREND VII: Beyond Green- With all the labels and info -- organic, GMO free, Sustainable, All-Natural, carbon neutral, etc -- how is a consumer to know if he/she's really green enough? Consumers in 2008 will begin to abandon the complicated calculus of what's green and what isn't, and they'll begin to embrace their own definition of what's ethical. This represents an important shift away from feelings of guilt to feelings of passion and proactivity (sic).

TREND VIII: Latino Media Explosion- In 2008 in the Latino consumer space, global and national companies will increasingly create, produce and distribute media vehicles - magazines, radio and TV shows, Internet sites and email newsletters, direct mail and events. These media vehicles will go beyond promoting corporate brand offerings to directly connect with and improve everyday Latino lives.

2008: The Year of the Beast of Burden

Goal-setting Web site myGoals.com has released its annual predictions for the top 2008 New Year's Resolutions, based on the current year's third quarter goal-setting activity seen on the site. The top predictions largely remain unchanged from last year (with weight loss still topping the list) sans one exception.

"In 2008, we expect people to focus a lot of time and energy improving their careers and getting out of debt," said Greg Helmstetter, CEO of myGoals.com. Indeed, “career-related” goals are expected to comprise 21% of all New Year's resolutions, up from just 12% last year, says Helmstetter.

C’mon people, that doesn’t sound like a very fun 2008. Didn’t we learn anything from the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens?

My Avatar Hates Big Box Shopping Too

Gadget retail Brookstone this week unveiled what is billed as the first 3D E-commerce sight. The "immersive online shopping" experience melds all the speed and convenience of the Internet with all the frustration, time-waste and annoyance of not being able to locate the one item you want inside an over-sized superstore.

Check it out it here: Link

Chick's with Dick's

Normally, we don't cover straight news stories, such as the announcement that Dick's Sporting Goods will be purchasing SoCal's Chick's Sporting Goods. But we simply couldn't resist this headline.

Cut Off at the Grass Roots

Montrail-Nathan says goodbye to sponsored ultrarunning team.

Hey, at least it lasted nearly two years under the Columbia Sportswear umbrella.

Link to Scott Dunlap's Blog

Is 'Lefteous' Really Different than Righteous?

What marketing monster have we created? Link to Marketing Daily

We Don't Smell the Seaweed

In another example of why you "'can't believe the hype":

Lululemon Athletica has been making claims that its VitaSea yoga and fitness clothing, made from seaweed fiber supplied by a company called SeaCell, reduces stress and provides anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hydrating and detoxifying benefits. The fabric, according to Lululemom hang tags, “releases marine amino acids, minerals and vitamins into the skin upon contact with moisture.”

Sounds like a great way to market high-end yoga gear. The problem: lab tests commissioned by the New York Times found "there was no significant difference in mineral levels between the VitaSea fabric and cotton T-shirts," says the Times. "In other words, the labs found no evidence of seaweed in the Lululemon clothing. "

Some snippets from the article suggest a tangled web has been weaved:

• The Times commissioned its test after an investor who is shorting Lululemon’s stock — betting that its price will fall — provided Chemir’s (Analytical Services) test results to The Times.

• SeaCell is owned by a German company called Smartfiber. Smartfiber provides scientific documents on its Web site about the effects of the SeaCell fibers, but it also says on its site that SeaCell assumes no liability for that information’s accuracy.

• When told about the findings, Lululemon’s founder said he could not dispute them.
  “If you actually put it on and wear it, it is different from cotton,” said Dennis Wilson, Lululemon’s founder, chief product designer and board chairman. “That’s my only test of it.”

Here's a link to the full Times piece

Following Patagonia's Footprints

We know that Patagonia's unveiling of 'The Footprint Chronicles' Web site is likely to get plenty of attention from mainstream media and blogmongers alike, but after our very own E-Dog gave the site a thumbs up, we figured Patagonia deserved all the attention (and links) it could get.

"Those guys are pretty impressive," says E.

Check it out: The Footprint Chronicles

A Sadomasochistic X-Mas?

Looking for some fresh ideas for the tots on your holiday gift list? How about a game that physically shocks the hands and bodies of the losing contestants? Check out these actual pages from toy catalog Spilsbury.

Just what we need ... potentially defective toys and games from China that send electrical volts into our bodies for a laugh.

HoHoHo

Bear or Bigfoot?

Hunter Rick Jacobs says he got this pictures from a camera with an automatic trigger that he fastened to a tree in the Allegheny National Forest, about 115 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, hoping to photograph deer. Unsure what the heck this critter was, Jacobs contacted the Bigfoot Research Organization.

"It appears to be a primate-like animal. In my opinion, it appears to be a juvenile Sasquatch," says Paul Majeta of the Bigfoot group
.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has a more conventional opinion of the picture: a bear with a bad skin condition. "There is no question it is a bear with a severe case of mange," says Jerry Feaser, agency spokesperson.

So, you decide: Bigfoot or an itchy Bear? Personally, we prefer the Sasquatch theory.

Gluttons for Rewards

Is there any real surprise that we have a problem with obesity in this country? Not only are we encouraged to overeat (and eat a bunch of packaged crap) with every trip to a restaurant or grocery store, but stuffing your innards beyond anything the human body ever was designed for is a full-blown spectator sport.

In the latest “competitive eating contest,” held this past weekend, Joey Chestnut, 23, of San Jose, Calif, swallowed 103 small hamburgers in 8 minutes to take home $10,000 in cash. He surpassed the previous record of 97 Krystal burgers — grilled 2.5-inch square patties (see clip below) — formerly held by Japan's Takeru Kobayashi.

"We never thought we'd see someone anywhere near, let alone past, the century mark when we started the Krystal Square Off in 2004," said Brad Wahl, Krystal Co. VP.

Even harder to believe is the fact that people actually filled up bleachers to watch someone gorge themselves, as did TV crews from ESPN.

Now, we know pie eating contests at the country fair are a long strand of the American fabric. But there is a huge difference between a local mayor or high school football player eating a few pies to raise money for charity and a professional circuit on which "athletes" shake and sweat to essentially do nothing more than work up the largest turds known to man.

Don’t get us wrong, we love fun and games, but outright gluttony should not be a career move. What’s next, contests to see who can sloth around a couch for the longest time … extra points for the biggest dent in the cushion?

It all reeks of the barf-orium parties of ancient Rome. And we know what happened to the great Roman Empire.

Krystal Burger

Don’t Forget, Money Also Is Green

Earth-friendly power has not proven exempt to the conventional rules of supply and demand. The prices of generic renewable energy credits, or RECs, has risen about 35 percent this year, while the cost of certifiable credits has nearly doubled, according the Cadence Networks.

The promise of state mandates that will require corporate purchase of RECs, intense media coverage and nationwide interest in green initiatives are driving the demand, and hence the higher prices, says Christian Blattenberger a certified sustainable development professional for Cadence Networks.

The thing is, we’d expect REC prices to decline as volumes ramp up. After all, moving markets according to the rules of demand and pricing elasticity tend to come into play when profit margin is the prime desire, not a healthier planet.

Consider for example green power pricing in the earlier part of this decade, before all the mainstream attention. According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the average price premium charged for green power through green pricing programs continued to decline through 2006, falling to 2.12¢/kWh from 2.36¢/kWh in 2005, and 2.45¢/kWh in 2004. Since 2000, the premium has declined at an annual average rate of more than 8 percent, until this year, that is.

Through 2006, prices were driven down by higher fossil fuel costs or because providers were able to enter into more favorable contracts for renewable energy supplies. So how has that changed now?

Maybe we’re missing something here, and we intend to find out, but something smells fishy nonetheless.

This makes my bones hurt …

Here’s what we all have to look forward to, courtesy of the LA Times and the Center for Disease Control. It’s the percentage breakdown of those who say they get no leisure-time physical activity. Actually, it’s rather encouraging how a real increase doesn’t show up until after age 75.

Age 18-29: 19%
Age 30-44: 22%
Age 45-64: 25%
Age 65-74: 28%
Age 75 and older: 36%

Dag, my flip flops are the reason I didn’t win the Chicago Marathon

Don’t think that’s a legitimate excuse? Well, the folks at PêcheBlu would back me up. You see, “regular flip flops,” which many athletes wear off the field, make the feet “work harder to re-grip the soles with every step,” says the company, leading to “foot fatigue.” And tired feet “put skilled athletes at a competitive advantage,” say the marketing wizards at PêcheBlu.

After all, “A tenth of a second can mean the difference between first and last place,” says the company. Well, maybe that’s true if there are only two people racing.

PêcheBlu certainly is not the first company to incorporate form-fitting, performance designs and comfort into a flip flop, as the company suggests, but it’s the first time we’ve seen après footwear sold as a performance enhancer. Nice run.

Beginning to Smell a Lot Like Christmas

Holiday sales before Thanksgiving can be a little annoying, but if consumers get a whiff of holiday sales weeks before Halloween, Yule logs won’t be the only things burnt out this December. Still, that’s exactly what some major chains are doing, according to a recent story in the New York Times.

“Shattering records for an early start, Wal-Mart is cutting prices on toys in mid-October, but the company is not calling it a holiday sale. L. L. Bean has started advertising free shipping — but it is shying away from the H word. And Toys “R” Us is marketing a temporary store in Manhattan, but consumers have to study ads to find the name: Holiday Express,” according to the Times.

Wal-Mart Left Holding Green Bag

Wal-Mart Stores this week introduced a recycled, reusable, washable shopping sack to help reduce waste generated from plastic shopping bags. The sacks will appear in stores on the West Coast this week, and will roll through the country eastward throughout the month.

Made from 85 percent recycled materials, the bags carry as much as two to three plastic sacks. Consumers can purchase the bags at the checkout aisle for $1 each. When they have worn thin, they can be returned for recycling.The bags are part of Wal-Mart's sustainability program, which was created to help improve its reputation as a corporate giant often criticized by labor unions and special interest groups, says Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott. Of course, Scott also adds that the efforts have not been done "as a marketing ploy."

So Scott is telling us the program was created to improve Wal-Mart’s reputation but is not a marketing ploy. Hmm? Either way, Wal-Mart deserves some credit here.

In Honor of Al's Nobel

A Sporting Chance?

There may be some evidence that the merchandise selection, shopping experience, overall value and customer service provided by specialty retailers is gaining appeal among consumers, says analyst-types at Gluskin Townley Group and BIGresearch. Compared to a year ago (August 2007 versus August 2006), major discounters like Wal-Mart and Kmart lost ground while major sporting goods chain increased their share of store shopped at most often for sports gear.

Wal-Mart remains the mass merchant most often shopped by sporting goods consumers, but fewer consumers made this choice this year compared to last year, 13.1% versus 14.9%.Dick’s

Sporting Goods, while still lacking stores in all 50 states, has gained substantially on Wal-Mart, increasing its store shopped at most often share to 9.3% versus 6.8% in August 2006. Dick’s is now within 3 points of overtaking the world’s largest retailer as the sporting goods retailer of choice among U.S. sporting goods consumers.

Here's Lead in Your Face

So, China-made products containing dangerous levels of lead paint are being recalled left and right, but for some reason U.S. toy maker Mattel felt compelled to apologize to officials in China over the recent toy recall.

"Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," said Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, speaking to China's product safety chief, Li Changjang, with reporters and company lawyers looking on.

Of course, many of Mattel's recalls were due to design flaws that had nothing to do with their suppliers and foreign factories. But it still seems strange that Mattel felt compelled to apologive to Chinese officials essentially because Mattel's problems were compounded by the use of illegal lead paint, usage that clearly is not limited to Mattel's suppliers.

Mattel clearly is concerned about backlash from the Chinese government and the possibility of more taxes and regulations that could stem from the embarrasment. Still, it's a bit worrisome when suppliers/manufacturers yield so much control over their customers' business.

Barbies dolls pay the ultimate price for containing lead paint. Onion.com

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/chinese_authorities_execute_10

Lessons from Obvious State U

The folks at BIG Research have pulled together mounds of survey data, quantitative calculations and their greater intelligence to create demographic profiles of who they expect to be the “big spenders” (those who will spend more this year) and who will be the “penny pinchers” (those who will spend less) this upcoming holiday season.


So with the objective of helping you quickly identify which customers you want to spend time helping and which ones you can let stand, confusingly staring at the discount rack, for hours on end, we have poured over the BIG Research findings and cross-referenced them with the latest visual search and face recognition technology to create these full-color images that physically depict what BIG Research uncovered. Below are compiled renderings representing the demographic profiles first of BIG’s “big spenders” and second of BIG’s “penny pinchers.”

Don't say we've never helped ya.

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(Male, age 37.3, income: $63,000)

(Female, age 46, income: $54,000)

Plug and Play

Good news for those hoping for a greener world: Harris Interactive recently completed a poll of around 10,000 American consumers and found that as much as 27 percent of U.S. vehicle owners say they are likely, very likely or extremely likely to include plug-in hybrid engine technology in their next vehicle purchase.

Now, a quarter of respondents may not sound like enough to get all excited about, but consider that plug-in hybrids, designed to run entirely on electricity, at least for short trips at lower velocities, have never been available in the U.S. market in notable volume, except for General Motors' brief experiment with its late 1990s EV1 car.

History also has shown that consumers tend to underestimate their usage and adoption of products and technologies that they haven’t seen or know little about, and the same survey found that only a similar 23 percent of respondents said they were either extremely (3 percent), very (6 percent) or just familiar (14 percent) with the nuts and bolts of plug-in hybrid power.

"Once we explained the technology, 52 percent said that they would be much more likely to include it on their next vehicle,” says Stephen Lovett, Harris director. Likelihood dropped a bit, however, once people were told there would be a premium price for a clean mobile.

And the enthusiasm around plug-ins may be more self-centered than driven by concerns for a healthier planet. In other words, saving money on gas may be more important than saving the planet, as the strongest interest came from respondents who own a compact SUV, of whom 45 percent said they were likely to purchase a plug-in hybrid for their next vehicle, versus 31 percent of owners of more fuel-efficient compact cars.

But hey, whatever works, right? Also encouraging, among those who say there were least likely to include plug-in hybrid vehicles on their shopping lists, 84 percent did say they would prefer plugging in to filling up at the gas station, says Harris.

Inventory Risk Shifting to Vendors

Historically, retailers put in purchase orders with their vendors and were contractual committed to the delivery of a set amount of merchandise at a specific time. But nearly all big chains now are giving their suppliers “forecasts” of their estimated requirements that carry no obligation for the retailer to purchase the goods once they are ready, says Stevan Buxbaum, of consultant firm Buxbaum Group.

"With nothing but a forecast in place, it's not uncommon for a retailer to buy only a fraction of what the manufacture produced or to stretch out deliveries over a much longer period of time, and the manufacturer doesn't have a leg to stand on," said Buxbaum.

The problem is especially acute in apparel. "In many cases, those goods carry the retailer's private label, and the chain is not going to want them in circulation," Buxbaum says. "That creates issues.”

The move to the forecast approach also puts some stress on the manufacturers’ secured lenders. "They are lending against this merchandise, but there is no guarantee that the purchaser will take it.”

So far, the practice is limited to the major retail chains, and few outdoor dealers carry the kind of clout required to get forecast terms from their vendors. But the report from Buxbaum is a reminder that “merchandise” and “inventory” do not equal “asset,” at least not until one is able to sell it.

It also reignites the question of who ultimately has the clout. Or better yet, who owns the customer. The retailer who faces the customer or the brand/SKU they came to the store to buy?