Zach Davis is a dude who writes blog posts and occasionally a book. One time he ran a marathon without any training. Another time he walked from Georgia to Maine without any training. Get special discounts on nothing by liking the Good Badger Facebook Page. Also find Zach on Google.
One category it is not: a music blog. Although I am music obsessed, there already exists a plethora of amazing music blogs floating about in the Blogosphere. I fully understand that I have nothing new or valuable to contribute.
Except possibly for today.
Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros has recently started a new side project, Alexander (fitting enough). Alexander’s first track, Truth, although quite different from Edward Sharpe, is every bit as good.
Ninety nine percent of the time, when I need a new song fix, a quick search at The Hype Machine will give me exactly what I’m looking for. As of the writing of this post, this particular song fits into the 1% exception pie slice. Enjoy.
No matter how hard I try, I consistently fail in persuading some of my closest friends to adopt social media. Although the vast majority have at least created a Facebook account (there are still the chosen few who refuse), many of these do little more than collect e-dust. One post per season is a lot to ask from many of my BFFs. I’m guessing you’ve got at least a few friends who fit this mold as well.
It would be fair to assume that because my closest companions either rarely or never use social media, my interest in its use would be diminished. After all, Facebook feeds me my friends’ activity. If my friends are largely inactive, what’s the point?
In theory, this would make sense. In actuality, the theory fails miserably. I don’t “check” Facebook, because checking is something you do periodically (i.e. “Billy, go check the mail”). I am “on” Facebook (i.e. “Billy go camp by the mailbox, aggressively rip the mail out of the postman’s hands, read it, and then immediately go back on the lookout”).
Win a pair of tickets to the Padres vs. Cubs game on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010 at 7:05 pm. The tickets are in the Toyota Terrace Reserved; these are good seats.
All you have to do to enter is leave a caption in the comments below. The funniest entry wins. That’s it.
Contest ends at 1:00 p.m. P.S.T. on Tuesday. The tickets can be picked up at Will Call.
Here’s some good life news: you don’t have to be smart to have a job.
You don’t even have to be good at your job to get your job.
I know this- because I watch commercials. If you watch commercials, you know this too. Commercials, an expensive product meant solely to make you want to buy something, can be so poorly planned that they actually have the exact opposite effect. The person who makes these commercials, is getting paid a good sum of money to achieve these counter-productive results.
Really, anyone, can get a job (maybe more so when the economy escapes the sewer.)
“the Good Badger, can you give us a specific example of your proposed marketing incompetence?”
Why, yes I can, thanks for asking.
How Quizno’s Ran the Worst Marketing Campaign of all time
Anyone who’s eaten at Quizno’s knows first hand that they make a quality sandwich. Put an unbranded Subway product next to Quizno’s and you’ll choose the latter 10 times out of 10 (assuming you have taste buds). Although Quizno’s has the clear advantage on taste, Subway wins where it counts- selling sandwiches.
How is it that Subway sells more sandwiches with an inferior product? Consumers will choose the best product, right? Ask anyone who’s owned a Volkswagon Jetta- they know first hand that this is not the case.
Subway sells more sandwiches than Quizno’s because they understand marketing. In the consumer’s brain, they’re buying Subway because it’s cheap, it’s fresh, and it’s healthy. Let us consider a few of things though:
Eating healthy, is not cheap. Especially if you’re eating out. What Subway’s selling is cheap, low-quality vegetables. A vegetable’s’ “health” is reflected in it’s color and water density. A nutrientless vegetable is basically water and fiber, and you can get both of those much cheaper at a faucet and nutritional store. Are the vegetables that you’re getting at your Subway dark and water dense? If so, I need to start going to your Subway.
Eating Subway, is not cheap. At least not in comparison to other sub places and bringing your own sandwich. The difference in cost between Subway and Quizno’s is much smaller than the difference between Subway and grocery shopping. Going to the grocery store is both cheaper and healthier. You eat out because it’s a treat, and the relative difference in cost to Quizno’s should be seemingly insignificant.
You select the ingredients at every sandwich shop. You can load your sandwich with chipotle mayonnaise, bacon, and cheddar at Subway and put only lettuce and vinegar on your sandwich at Quizno’s. What you’re paying for at Subway is the idea of health.
Subway’s Marketing Strategy
Ask anyone what they know about “Jared” (don’t even prompt them on the subject) and they will likely tell you about an obese guy who walked to Subway and transformed his body to become only pretty chubby. They repetitively drill into our heads this concept of cheap, fresh, and healthy. You’ve seen Jared’s fat jeans more times than many of your own pants. They hire professional athletes, the most physically conditioned people on earth, to endorse their product. They use catchy songs to hook the low price of their sandwich in your head. They have the consumer under their trance.
They- are good at marketing.
Now, let’s take a look at what Quizno’s wants us to know about their sandwiches:
Someone got paid to make that.
I understand what the commercial is trying to do- make 18 year old guys and pot heads laugh. This is common practice with advertising. Conventional wisdom states that the funnier the ad, the more likely you’ll be able to recall it, and thus it’s used as a barometer of success. The only problem with this theory is it doesn’t work. Humor by itself is not a recipe for advertising success. Humor can be a successful tactic IF it reinforces a positive trait of your company (or occasionally a negative quality of a competitor or both). Otherwise, you’ll just recall the comedy and lose the brand, which might be a victory for the advertising agency but not for the company.
Consumers don’t process most decisions with any depth (we’re inundated with decisions every day, it’s a coping mechanism), so they construct shortcuts. Brand perception is no exception. The core responsibility for any marketing department, is to create the perception of the brand. If this is done well, a good marketing strategy will build this meaningful shortcut for us. If this is done poorly, rats with guitars will result.
Subway tactfully and consistently reinforces their mantra: cheap, fresh, healthy. Quizno’s allocated their resources to periodontitis rodents. This is a bad idea for most businesses, but if you’re in the business of selling food, you have successfully done irreparable damage to your brand.
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Although the moral of this story would appear to be marketing-centric, it is not. The key takeaway today lady or gentleman, is that if the Quizno’s head or marketing has a job, anyone can have any job. Just imagine how easy it would be if you were really good at it and knew how to let people know it.
Preamble: I realize this tutorial is a tad on the lengthy side. Every step I’ve included is for your betterment. If you’re too lazy to accomplish this yourself, I am for sale. Just kidding. Not really.
There are two reasons why the Good Badger has been placed onto this planet:
Unlike partying, using your e-mail like it’s 1999 is something to be avoided. Unfortunately, I notice far too many who fit this description (e.g. anyone who uses AOL). Although the basic idea behind e-mail hasn’t changed much throughout the years (despite Google’s best efforts), the capabilities within these clients has drastically improved.
So you may be asking, what separates an e-mail amateur from a maestro? Essentially it all boils down to efficiency mixed with a splash of flash. Take a few minutes to learn how to improve your e-mail tactics and you’ll ultimately save hours throughout the year (which you can then spend watching cat videos). I now present to you
The Good Badger Guide of How to Become an E-mail Maestro.
Once upon a time, in the land of commercial advertising, 30 seconds of persuasion, art, and/or deception was the recipe in trying to win over a prospective customer’s business. In television and radio’s infancy stages, this proved to be an excellent return on investment. At the time, when the concept of motion picture was still a novelty, consumers were not only willing to sit through Pepsi’s elevator pitch on why you should drink their cola, but they were actively engaged, even seeking entertainment.
Throughout the years, however, advertising went from a novel byproduct of entertainment to a virus that consumed it. As the relative cost of advertising decreased, the percentage of businesses who bought into it increased. As the number of channels and shows available increased, the percentage of time dedicated to non-sponsored programming decreased. As the consumers attention span during a commercial decreased, the prevalence of unethical brainwashing tactics increased. Eventually the lines between advertising and entertainment completely evaporated with the use of product placement and brand sponsoring.
Those who weren’t entirely immune, had at least grown skeptical. Those who were neither, were children.
Some choose not to let the laws of physics slow them down on their quest of ultimate worldly domination. This brave young hero, a cat, a kitty cat at that, demonstrates a bravado that hasn’t been seen by a feline since the days of a matured Simba.
Ultimately in the end of this tragic quest to defy the constraining laws laid out by Sir Isaac Newton, our kitty hero and friend, proves that not even determination is enough to overcome pure stupidity.
