Pushing The Bar

"gotta spend money, to make money" - Coined by someone

Not always a 100% thing, but the recent Winter Olympic Games went a long way in validating that statement.  Case in points follow next.

Owning it
Wishing to wipe away past failures as the hosting nation, the COC (Canadian Olympic Committee) put together what is the now famous "Own the Podium" program.  Basically, the program was a calculated investment in development of Canadian athletics and to produce a handsome medal haul.  What did it get 'em?  5 Years after the program inception, OTP yielded some very good results - 13 Golds.  That's 13 more than Canada ever pulled in the 2 previously hosted games.  Only cost the COC $118 Million CAD, and eternal angst of housing for the homeless advocates and Indigenous Canadian citizens.  Another day, another story.

Point: Solid return on a solid investment.  The COC has pumped in the cash and with it their outlay, has pushed Athletic achievement and Olympic pageantry to the next level.  See what ya got in 2014 Sochi.

Red White; Shaun Bull - Corporate glory

Shaun White Olympics 2010 Associated Press

You don't have to know snowboarding to know the name Shaun White.  All you had to do was turn on any talk-show recently, and there he was in all his Olympic glory.

You don't have to know snowboarding to know what a double-cork 10 is.  USA Today interactive media (!!!) has got that covered for everyone in cyberland.

You don't have to know snowboarding to know that the sport has become as corporate and mainstream as it gets.  Think of the 90's and "Grunge Rock".  Out of a sub-culture and into the 1000 mega-watt mainstream spotlight.  Good thing?  Bad thing?  Another day, another story.

Point: Corporate sponsors and entities need their medium, and they're definitely taking snowboarding for the ride.  Within the latest and hottest winter ticket, is the Red Tomato himself.  Pardon the pun, but his Star is White-hot.  Reaping the benefit of being associated to White, is Burton and Red Bull.  Red Bull, a brand that is known for pushing limits, hooks up with Shaun on an Apple-esque promo spot about pushing snowboarding progression to the next level with Project X.  Investing X millions into this project, the resulting escalation in future marketing ploys will be something to watch for.

JP

Schlepping good

Taking a stab here, but for most of you who followed the last U.S. Presidential election, this may be old news.  For those of us living in the dark (like myself), the most recent election brought a fresh and noteworthy piece.  It was a movement of sorts, a call-to-action called "The Great Schlep".  For a snapshot, click the link to the video below (CAUTION: language may not be suitable for the faint of heart, or nearby children).

http://www.thegreatschlep.com/

Still with me?
So what was your take?  Was it crass?  Racist?  Offensive?

Ask me, and cleverly insightful would be my reply.  These folks knew their goal, knew their target segments, and how to strike a chord with the audience.  Any group can get in front of a mic and jibber away for support of a candidate.  The members of the JCER (Jewish Council for Education & Research) however, used some Chutzpah to ramp up their cause.  A tongue-in-cheek use of Jewish stereotyping, delivered expertly by comedian Sarah Silverman, their word cut through and had enough shock-value to generate some buzz and definitive action from the game-changing 18-35 Jewish demographic.

In terms of influencing a target segment and elicit an action, The Great Schlep is a wonderful example.  Rather than bells and whistles that usually come with campaign support, great returns were yielded by a good Schlepping.

JP

On the menu: もんじゃ焼き (Monjayaki)

Japanese cuisine.  In one word, renowned.  Renowned for its' meticulous preparation, precise flavours, and aesthetics.

These characteristics need no introduction.  However, there is a characteristic about Japanese cuisine that many take for granted, but is equally as significant.  The social component of the Japanese dining experience, one that reflects the group consciousness so heavily woven in Japan's cultural fibre.

An area in particular that offers such an experience is in Tokyo's 下町 (Downtown).

Let's take a walk.

Place: Tsukishima district, Tokyo.

The Mecca of Monjayaki.  No matter what time of day, you'll find a mishmash of office workers, group tourists, students, and couples.  Of course decibel levels do tend to increase at night, where a hoards of hungry-hippos wash away the day's worry's with friends, drinks, and laughter.  Like its more famous cousin Okonomiyaki, it is not a meal done solo.  Indeed Monjayaki typifies the sentiment "the more, the merrier".

Impossible to miss, the restaurants are all clustered in and around "Monja Street," boasting 60-plus such restaurants.  Choosing which restaurant to try can be just as challenging as narrowing down which flavour to order.  For the sake of keeping it simple, select from the restaurant's "Recommended list" and you won't go wrong.

Tsukishima.  Monjayaki.  Immerse yourself in Tokyo's totally unique downtown dining experience.

JP

iThis and iThat

This is not an indictment, celebration, nor a review of that new iGadget.  No, just a reflection of iThis and iThat.

The reactions in the aftermath of Apple's most recent event should not really be a surprise.  The only way a perfect score for the event would have been possible would have been for Apple to proclaim that "the camera was substituted with the cure for all cancers".   

Now Apple didn't help their own cause either.  "Magical" and "revolutionary" could be applied to some of their past launches, but applying to this latest resize is suspect.  And the Jony Ive self-fellatio clip was indeed grand.

Acquiring
Buying
Gaining
Obtaining
Stealing

Verbs with different gravity.  Especially so when it comes to our iWants and iNeeds, and drive to satisfy them.  It doesn't matter what the iPad failed to include or deliver.  What matters is influencing our iWants and iNeeds.  What matters is manufacturing perceived solutions to our not-so-real problems.  The masters of delivering and communicating cool, Apple just may have many of us saying "iHave" yet again.