Dr. Neil Hair

Again, when comparing high end British commercials with those from Rochester ('Huge') it leaves me gasping for air, and clutching my ribs. Enjoy the following courtesy of VW..

Interestingly, the US versions are EQUALLY amusing..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv157ZIInUk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I0WfnhVs2s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCIF6JF1O5U

But for those of you really reminicent of the old VW camping days… take a very impressive look at the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXHyF10CtCE

One has to slightly smile at this story from the BBC which details a poor student's problems following a mishap involving a Moose head and an exam. It reminds me of the carpet on the wall at the COB that was just bound to fall and kill someone at some stage before it took four crew men to remove it, bag it, and bury it over the summer. I fondly recall hanging a Union Jack flag on this the night before I left the US back in 2001. I had to borrow several poles from the custodian at the time (binding them together) and a coat hanger to lodge the item far left centre from its head. Dean Hopkins allowed the flag to fly for several months before the item was cleaned and finally removed.

It struck me as a case of 'we didnt know earlier because we didnt collect the data earlier' when it came to a recent report that shows more people watched advertising messages in the popular game Counter Strike than they did NCIS in the USA over the past month. This demonstrates the importance and potential of such a medium to bring home the bacon. Im not sure how they'll pull this off in my own favourite game however but marketers are resourceful types..

There's a new doctor in the house – Professor Kevin Scully – now Doctor Kevin Scully was recently awarded his doctorate in education following a grueling course stretching many years down in New York City. What makes his accomplishment unique is the way in which he achieved this part time whilst dedicating his full time to RIT Saunders COB as a full time faculty member. I realized back in 2001 that I couldnt achieve this and had to sail myself away from RIT to work on my own doctorate full time back in the UK. Many of my students have also sat classes with Professor Scully, please congratulate him when you see him – a significant feat of which he can be rightfully proud and you can be grateful.

Well done Kevin, knew you could do it mate.

I have great pleasure in blogging details of a number of seriously impressive innovations in the area of teaching for our MBA program at RIT. I am of course referring to a decision to develop core MBA courses offered online to our adoring public; traditional distance learning students, overseas students, current students who want to develop virtual management skills and quite possibly alums who want refresher courses that are bleeding edge. I am developing the MBA core Marketing Concepts class and this will be offered for the first time next quarter in the spring and again in the summer. As with all things spring cleaned a number of innovations can be reported since I last taught an online course. These include the use of streaming media lectures that are (of course) captioned and offered in a number of portable media formats including MP4 (podcasts and ipod video). The idea is to offer you access to your learning materials in the formats that are most accessible to you. So if youre on a train, plane or riding responsibly in a car with hands free support you can hear musings from your team of instructors. It goes much further than that however, recognizing the importance of managing in the unrestricted time zone space we are also training and expecting students to perform management functions in the same environment. That means being able to deliver the same materials, presenting streaming presentations, managing truly global teams across different time zones and pursuing class as you would in a traditional setting but with many more tangible outputs to sell yourself with. Sounds outlandish doesnt it? Well consider this, more and more international consultancies use experts across the globe coming together to work on collaborative projects and working in asynchronous & synchronous time. Kodak do it. Xerox do it. GM. Toyota. B&L.. the list goes on – they're even doing these things in Second Life. Shhhh…. watch this space… so are we.

Are you?

The Democrat and Chronicle today report changes in the plans for High Falls. Ive commented on this issue before now, prompted largely by such fond memories of the district back around 2000. Things certainly have changed and the area has seen a drop in visitors. Driving around the area (there's no point in stopping, nothing there to stop and see these days) leaves a distinct 'what a shame' air about the place. Take a look – it's a beautiful area. Hope however exists – largely based on comments Ive made before now and my experience with inner city living back in the UK. Entertainment is one thing, business and accommodation however drives a year round, all day round buzz to the place. It could happen soon – reports suggest a number of new accommodation blocks are being transformed from the old warehouses that will hopefully bring in those with disposable income. The D&C report however rightly identifies marketing as the problem. Just as with the fast ferry – marketing – particularly the communication of benefits to the wider public are responsible for its demise. At least that's the way I see it. Just as with the port area of Rochester High Falls has the chance to really reinvent itself as a desirable location, not just for play, but for work and living too. I just hope the city can find the investors able to see a vision for the place. Otherwise I'm afraid 'what a shame' will become 'what a tragedy'. The final report on the area also makes for interesting reading. Spot the marketing mistakes…

One of my favourite British stores – Marks and Spencers – appears to be leading the way with a new twist on the environmentally friendly band wagon. They are the first major company to publish carbon neutral objectives as part of their corporate strategy and with it have opened a new means of marketing themselves to the public. Its Eco-Plan as they call it fulfils several objectives as far as I see it. It of course helps us live in a nicer world where Rochester sees the occasional snow fall and Coke's Polar bears get to live long happy lives – thats a given – however whats really interesting is the way in which they have used this to get people talking about them once again. M&S has a good reputation back in Blighty, it has managed to reverse its fortunes in recent years and has hit the news most recently with its Christmas blunder (a master stroke if you ask me with the outcome being lots of FREE publicity). Now it is really making the headlines by taking the lead on – lets face it – a critical issue that needs urgent attention. Now dont worry, Im not about to start ranting about environmentalism (tho a noble and just cause it is) – but I do appreciate M&S's position for one, and the manner in which it builds a stronger relationship with its customers who care about these things for two. It's a win-win-win situation afterall, company, public, and globe. Good job M&S!

Reversa – one of the most stylish and entertaining commercial sites I have had the pleasure of visiting for quite some time now. Mrs Hair found this one and passed the details on – part of a viral marketing campaign that seems to have taken with the ladies. I must say I admire the humour, the style and the manner in which it has spread in terms of strategy. I look forward to reviewing their line of male grooming products.

I've got quite a lot of time for David Beckham, nothing to do with his ability to swerve balls into nets from a free standing position, nothing to do with his decision to wear skirts (the Scots have been doing that for years), nothing to do with his wife who cant sing. It's his brand that impresses me. Known the world over, followed constantly by the Paparazzi, and worth upwards of $190m. So what can we learn from him as we attempt to brand ourselves? Several issues come to mind, consistency is one of them. He is consistent about his image – style, flamboyance, unique. He has also presented himself (with the exception of naughty text messages to former nannies of his children) as a reliable and trustworthy brand. No doubt a 'safe pair of hands' had he been the English goalie. He has, at least as far as the press go, a unique brand extension that complements his own – his wife. Together they complement each others brands. Interestingly another famous footballer managed this feat with his best friend (who quickly achieved celebrity status in the UK following a number of reality TV appearances), Paul Gascoigne. Together they were always seen out frolicking in pubs and night clubs and achieved a very different brand image (some would say more consistent with the old world footballer which spends most of his small hours looking at pavements). Back to Beckham, if you believe the hype his recent news of a move to LA Galaxy is owed as much to the Hispanic population (who passionately believe in the beautiful game) as it is to the pay check he has accepted. Clear evidence that the brand has transferable qualities. It will be interesting to see if his brand translates to a renewed interest in propper football by the mainstream US population which lets face it, currently believes its something played by 12 year old girls in long socks (which amusingly may have performed better in the world cup than the male US team – I mean honestly, who gets beaten by the Germans in this day and age?).

I remember being excited about the first time Apple (with SonyErikson) offered its phone to the market – a real disapointment as it turns out with little semblance to the anything ipod. Jobs seems to have learnt his lesson and the new look phone looks rather swish. Apple's success rather reminds me of that of Richard Branson's. Everything he touches seems to just fit with the market's desires. Whilst I am personally not going to be rushing out to buy the iPhone I can at least appreciate the fact that Apple is responding to market demand (and in fact creating it with its vast numbers of followers). Branson's Virgin does exactly the same thing, and success seems to focus around the creation of a consumer culture that has come to expect innovation in all of its endeavors (Virgin Rail, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Blue, Virgin Internet, Vigrin Galatic etc…). For me personally I cant bring myself to ditch the Ipaq phone I currently use, it's skype ready, slingmedia enabled and GPS ready. Somehow though I expect a large number of third party add-ons will be available for the iPhone just as there are for its iPod.