Linda's Marketing Leverage Blog

Enough Already!

The events at Virginia Tech this week really are a tragedy. Thirty two innocent people died for no good reason and the loss to their families and friends can't be underestimated.

Unfortunately, the media has fixated on this story, including of course the graphic video sent by the gunman in between shootings. Like moths drawn to fire or passersby at an accident scene, the American public seems to be drawn to all the macabre angles of this story. But there's reporting the news and then there's fueling a media obsession.

What has happened in the last 3 days is exactly what the gunman wanted--to gain a platform for airing his views and raising his issues, strange as they may be. His bizarre, rambling video diatribe has generated more attention than he could ever imagine. Already there has been at least one copycat incident: a man in Yuba City, CA has made threats that he will make Va Tech look like nothing and that he is trying to commit suicide by police.

Enough is enough. This is a psychotic murderer--a domestic terrorist suicide bomber who used bullets instead of explosives. When spectators disrupt sporting events, they are carted away and arrested--but their image is NEVER shown on TV. They are denied the platform and publicity they crave.

This man did more than disrupt a weekend game: he permanently cut short 32 lives and disrupted hundreds upon hundreds of more.

Enough is enough. Let's help the families grieve and heal. Let's stop promoting their murderer.

Remembering Jackie Robinson--for more than one reason

Today is the 60th anniversary of the historic game when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, changing the world of sports forever.

However, those of us who live with diabetes in our families have another reason to remember Jackie. He was a type 1 diabetic who died of a heart attack at age 53, nearly blind because of diabetic retinapathy, and suffering from other diabetic complications. This is not something that is usually mentioned when people speak of Jackie Robinson, but he was also one of the first people with type 1 diabetes to play major league baseball.

So for many reasons, Jackie Robinson is a hero and a role model. Here's hoping for the day when both of the issues he handled with honor and grace--racial discrimination and diabetes--are eliminated from the face of the earth.

Food Makers in the Dog House

Today's focus is on the pet food industry—in the spotlight due to the recent finding of tainted dog and cat food, resulting in renal failure and a yet unknown number of pet deaths.

There are so many places to pin blame and shame here it’s almost hard to list them all: The Chinese wheat gluten supplier who provided the tainted raw material, the Canadian food supplier who didn’t ensure the quality and safety of their products, the FDA for not adequately performing its oversight of the pet food industry.

But let’s not forget the pet food suppliers themselves, who it appears are actually marketers rather than manufacturers of pet food. What’s become apparent as a result of this situation is that whether you buy the low-cost economy pet food at Wal-Mart or the high-end specially formulated food from Eukanuba/IAMS, the actual food ingredients all come from the same supplier with the same main ingredient.

What’s wrong with this picture?  While all pet food manufacturers will now need to prove to the public that their pet food is safe to eat, the premium manufacturers will also have to prove to pet owners like me why I should continue to pay top dollar for their products when they are basically identical to what’s sold in Wal-Mart, Safeway or under private label. If the ingredients are the same, then what’s different? The packaging? This is a great example of how apparently identical products have been successfully positioned at various price points without the consumer understanding how similar the products themselves actually are.

We talk about products being only part of a total solution that includes service, customer experience, image/branding and competitive environment. However, the bottom line is that there needs to be enough differentiation in the total solution to justify selling different versions at different price points.

Sellers, you are all forewarned: Hell hath no fury like millions of pet owners scorned.