Convergence of Relevant Stuff

The advertising landscape is changing with myriad marketing opportunities that are available. The problem of how to navigate through the confusing network of choices remains ever present. It is a situation that offers both challenges and the prospect of gains for companies and business owners who seek to grow market share in a challenging business environment. How do you deliver customers and solutions that effectively work together?

Many mature companies have firmly developed a segment of the market that they feel comfortable talking to. It is a landscape and typography that is familiar and one that companies in general have felt good about. What has changed is the business climate and the business environment. With the added pressure of layoffs and the squeeze on the consumer’s wallet; it is no small wonder that companies are challenged to find creative ways to reach their ever changing marketing segment without breaking the bank.

Safeguards must be in place to insure consumer marketing is cost effective and produce a sustainable return on investment. The final marketing plan must be clearly defined in order to meet today challenges. Diverse strategies should be developed and implemented in order to effectively go to market at any given time. This will take research and thought in order to gauge the best course of action. Pro-Active measures must be put into effect in order to realize market share gains in a difficult business climate.

Today there is no shortage of companies who are primed to take the lead in obtaining market share. The challenge in the sports marketing industry is how do you tie branding platforms to the marketing goals of individual companies? The second challenge is how do you effectively measure results? There are many companies who are saddled with terrible internal systems. Such as bad customer service, an inadequate product, and a host of remaining issues, that cause these companies to remain stagnant. Marketing and advertising programs, no matter how effective, are only as good as the product and the people behind it. For instance an adverting/marketing program may work to bring customers through the door, but poor quality and bad customer service can drive these customer away.

We in the Sports Marketing Industry, must be diligent in reminding companies that they must be diligent in stressing the importance of developing superior products and that employees are committed to the companies success. Marketing program will fail without this commitment.

Civil Forum with Rick Warren Pastor of Saddleback Church

Barack Obama . Warren asked who were the three wisest people in your life? Obama said  his wife Michelle, his grandmother,who was a grounded, common sense woman.  He also said he would not restrict himself to three people. He mention Sam Nunn, Dick Luger, a Republican. Ted Kennedy, most prominently . Obama said in his administration  he would have a table that represented many different viewpoints.   The great moral failure in his life?  He had difficult youth, raised by a single Mom, experimented with drugs and drank. Obama said he was  self centered, and had an inner focus on himself. He said everything was about him. He later realized it was not all about me. America’s  greatest moral failure in this  lifetime is that we don’t abide by our principals to  help others in need as much as we should.  He said the Bible says “Whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do not do for me”.  We do not provide avenues of opportunities for people to get into the middle class. We must do more to help.

When asked what is the most significant position that he held ten years ago where he changed his mind?  Obama said a good example would be the issue of welfare reform.  Obama felt that Clinton’s bill signings on welfare reform would have disastrous results.  It worked better than a lot of people anticipated.  So Obama said it opened his eyes and he saw the benefit in the program.

Warren asked what is the most gut wrenching decision you ever had to make?  Deciding to  go against the war in Iraq. Obama said there was not enough evidence of weapons of mass distruction.  Obama felt that we would need to look at these questions. What would a post Iraq , post war,  look like?  What about the young kids who we are asking to give their lives? When  you put kids 19 and 20 years old in harms way, there is a an obligation to get things right before we put our young soldiers life on the line.

Christianity- What does your faith in Jesus Christ mean to you?  Obama said I believe  that Jesus Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed through him.  I do not walk alone. Those sins that I have are washed way. I have an obligation to give back to society through deeds. McCain said he was saved and forgiven.

The question was asked what do you do about evil.  John McCain said, defeat it. Barack Obama said that evil does exist. We will not be able to totally erase evil from the world in it’s many forms. John McCain approached many questions and answered with a  military reference. He answered the question about evil and said the he would find Bin Laden and bring him to justice. Obama sees evil as being significantly broader than John McCain.

John McCain came off, more combative and direct. Not must room to change in him.  McCain’s sole focus was to use the bully stick  and showed a willingness to  use American Troops at the drop of a hat.  McCain’s answers were simplistic at best.  He was not forthcoming on the details of his failed first marriage, when asked about him Moral failures. Again he stuck close  to the  simplistic one word answers. So we know one thing about McCain; he is stubborn, He is not willing to listen to opposing views and he is a war hawk. He stated his hero was Theodore Rooselvelt. He led the United States to victory in the Spanish – American War (Ninety-Day War) and later became the 26th American President. McCain said that Theodore Rooselvelt was his hero (“Walk Softly, but Carry a Big SticK”).   Read up on Rooselvelt and you get a great read on McCain. The question was asked who would you not pick as  a Supreme Court Justice? Obama said  that he would have not pick  Clarence Thomas because of his lack of experience, He also mention Justice Scalia, both taught in law school at the University of Chicago. McCain mentioned Justices Ginsberg, Fryer, Sutter and Stevens.  The problem is John McCain voted for everyone of those justices. A bit of the  flip flop.  He was speaking to win over the evangelicals.

What John Edward did was wrong. He was unfaithful to his wife and to add salt to the wound; she was battling cancer. There is no justification for what he did. First reactions are, how could he do such a thing to his wife, particularly as she suffers from advance breast cancer? It is a common reaction;  It’s human nature. It is regretable what he did. After watching the Nightline interview with John Edwards, Edwards says that he was trying to protect his wife from the mistakes in Judgements that he made and that he was contrite and sorry for his unfaithfulness.

His infidelity was unfortunate and wrong. But some things remain private, and for John Edwards and his wife to work out. It is apparent from the interview that he loves his wife and he did not wish to put her through the ordeal of invasive questioning that the situation would elicit. Edward lied to cover up his infidelity, which added salt to the wound. He says he has already atoned for his infidelity with his wife and with God.

Edward felt bad about what he did and for good reason. He says he told his wife about the affair two years ago. We can only take his word for it. Realistically, that may be a little hard to believe, seeing that he has not really been upfront and honest with us. Ultimately how he and his wife work this out is none of our business. But with the media scrutiny and the loss of privacy that Politicians and public figues have, it sometimes causes very private things that should remain that way, to be exposed.

Without knowing all the particulars of the situation, we really cannot cast Judgment on John Edwards. We need to respect the Edwards family and let them as a married couple work out their feelings in this difficult situation.