Scott Sigel

Gold Meddling

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Scott

Ladies and Gentleman, your new Chair of the House Finance Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy…

Ron Paul appeared on the Colbert Report last night to discuss how our current form of paper currency is rubbish and we need to collectively start bartering again with pieces of gold.

Sure, a currency system based on promissory notes may be in the twilight hours of its life but one of Mr Paul’s staffers needs to give him a heads up that we’re all heading in a different direction before Jeremy Irons gets too excited.

And for double trouble, there were two sizable announcements yesterday (just prior to Mr Paul’s televised appearance) about mobile payments from both Google and Wells Fargo. Information is abound that 2011 will likely see computerized payments taking off in the US with more phones available with Near Field Communication and other proximity technologies to pay via mobile. Maybe Paul missed the email on the move towards lighter pockets.

I think the bigger question right now isn’t the money in our pockets but from where will our money derive its value since the Bretton Woods System (USD as an international reserve currency) is another one in the twilight of its life. Consider the multiple rounds of quantitative easing and unfunded tax cuts alone. Perhaps Ron could do a better job with the Libertarian war-cry of small government and start working out areas of legitimate cuts to government spending, not how to revamp an entire monetary system.

Posted in public policy, tech | Tagged Google, Libertarian, Near Field Communication, Ron Paul | Leave a comment

Meanwhile 234 Years Later

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Scott

Just a touch over 11 score ago, the architects of the US constitution had the wherewithal and foresight to build a set of rules open to interpretation, knowing full well that they may not understand the minds of future generations. While I appreciate an educated debate between loose and strict construction, should elected officials not already have a stance on this matter? Can we count on our representatives to instead occupy themselves with crafting and instituting legislation (dare I say, with an ounce of respect for the opposition)? In lieu of this logic, our forthcoming congress seems hell bent on taking sides of an even greater polarization than has been seen over the last several administrations. To begin, Republicans will take their turn on the holier than thou congressional soapbox by burning away hours with the reading of the constitution. Maybe it’s me, but this bears hilarious resemblance to the anachronistic practice of schoolchildren writing ad nauseum on the blackboard. I think the public’s frustration has more than boiled over in a time of mounting debt, stagnant unemployment, broken tax codes as well as health care and social security in flux. At what point will our legislative leaders learn to compromise and stop standing on ceremony?

Via Ezra Klein of the Washington Post:

House Republicans have announced plans to read the Constitution aloud on the House floor on second day of the new Congress. As Jonathan Bernstein says, “it’s well known that the Constitution is clear and unambiguous at all points, and that previous violations of it have been caused by a combination of ignorance and indifference. Once it’s read on the House floor, that problem will be solved.”

Posted in government | Tagged Constitution, Ezra Klein, Republicans | Leave a comment

Taking a Brand Across the Pond

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Scott

As a former London resident, I couldn’t help my constant comparison between both sides of the pond on everything from cars to comedy. One industry where I caught myself making mental notes was retail. Comparing the atmosphere from a branding, merchandising and marketing perspective became an almost regular activity when I was strolling the High Street. Meanwhile, looks like the Red Coats have arrived as the latest young British institution recently decided to cross the pond into an already competitive space.

At this point in time, unless you’re from Boston or spent this past summer on Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket (or hail from jolly olde), you probably haven’t heard of Jack Wills. Though the brand is thought by some to be as British as Churchill, the majority of the apparel could be thrown into a J.Crew, Abercrombie or Rugby shop and you wouldn’t know the difference.

Still, the brand is picking up a bit of steam because they’ve gotten extremely personal with their audience. While opening the first two American shops on old school destination spots certainly helped draw an upscale aura, JW didn’t stop there. Instead, they hosted silent discos at known late-night spots (normally a European tradition) and gave away small branded accessories. They cruised the beaches and made friends while driving decked out but weathered Land Rovers (with right-side drive as a bonus). The managers launched localized Facebook groups including pictures of people at the shop and events. Most recently at the Boston shop, they invited anyone on their email list for a Newbury Street Holiday Stroll and invited ‘everyone’ to come by the store for mince pies, British chocolate and warm cider.

So, the Red Coats have clearly started their invasion and are flirting with some hefty competition. But in a competitive space focused around lifestyle targeted towards the young and relentless, what better way to promote a lifestyle than to bring your customer right on in? This isn’t a new strategy for JW as they’ve been at it for years over in Europe hitting just the right beach and ski spots, throwing just the right size parties, handing out giveaways which entice just enough, playing the right music and making sure cameras are everywhere.

When it comes to lifestyle, the audience makes the brand. If they want a scene, make them the scene, make them feel included and create opportunities for them to be active participants. If they want glamor, throw a gala. If they want to be athletes, start a league. Get your customer involved in the brand and watch them begin to insist on the brand.

Posted in branding, retail | Tagged branding, Jack Wills, London | Leave a comment

Contagious Consumption?

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Scott

According to Bloomberg research, retail sales will see their fifth consecutive monthly increase in November as American consumers did their part to pump a bit of capital back into the economy. While the holiday spend YoY is expected to see a only modest 2 or 3% increase, online retail can expect sales over 10% from the same period last year. Nevertheless, with unemployment hovering at the less than comfortable range of 9 and 10%, many economists remain concerned about the pace of recovery. But consider the ongoing shift from the mall marauders to desktop deal-hunters and hasn’t shopping become, if not more social, more ‘shared’? Haven’t we already passed a tipping point into a more contagious style of consumption with the potential to allow for a greater rate of change in consumer spending and confidence?

If a retailer hasn’t already sent you an email about an upcoming promo, they surely tweeted about it. Posted it on Facebook? Maybe your email wasn’t in their system, but didn’t a friend forward you the link? Didn’t someone send along a Groupon deal? Didn’t you see the nearby special on Foursquare? Weren’t you invited to join Gilt or RueLaLa for discounts?

Flashback merely a decade or so…

If I spent, maybe you spent too. Nowadays, if I spend, maybe my network will spend. Consumer confidence is a funny thing, because in a sense perception is reality. If we believe, in aggregate, that the market is getting better – it is.

Although the market takes time to correct, it’s built on a system which one, has shown a remarkable pattern of predictability, two, is bent on creating new methods for efficiency. In the simplest form, more consumption, more demand, more jobs.

Reiterating my early point, our individual methods of consumption were always interwoven with our closer peers but now it’s a web extending from network to network. We’re more engaged and active in that we work in tandem with our peers and complete strangers, so doesn’t this translate to contagious consumption?

While I’ve yet to find any hard data or correlations just yet, please feel free to comment with any analysis or links.

Posted in economics, retail | Tagged Bloomberg, consumer confidence, economics, Facebook, Gilt, Groupon, retail, RueLaLa | Leave a comment

Meanwhile in Another Part of Town (AT&T)

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Scott

Following up to my last post about telecoms jumping on the 4G wagon, there was an obvious omission from the pack since AT&T hasn’t joined the competition in touting faux-4G.

Obviously the iPhone has served as the one leg upon which AT&T can stand. But judging from my own use as well as feedback from peers and web posts, its apparent that the AT&T infrastructure is so awful that it has become the punchline to an overused joke everyone already knows.

So when I read an article such as this, trumpeting AT&T as the worst mobile carrier with over half of the survey respondents being iPhone users, I continue to wonder if AT&T actually has a plan once their exclusivity with Apple terminates. At some point the clock will strike midnight, but it seems as if at&t’s been the pumpkin since dinner.

Marketing can only go so far when you don’t deliver on a promise and AT&T has lost a lot of credibility in that department. Furthermore, Bloomberg estimates that somewhere between one and six million subscribers will migrate to Verizon. While the two mobile carriers are in a constant tug-o-war, Verizon will eventually get an awfully big pull and AT&T needs to either incentivize existing customers (where most carriers fail miserably) or ramp up their infrastructure at a shockingly fast pace. They’ll inevitably lose the next battle, but it doesn’t mean they have to lose the war.

Posted in tech | Tagged AT&T, Bloomberg, telecom, Verizon | Leave a comment

Not So Fast…

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Scott

The 4G hype is in full force, but that’s all it is… hype.

Though most of the telecom marketing jargon seems to fall into grey areas, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) out of Geneva notes that 4G speeds must be a sustained 100Mbps… to give you an idea, that means an album downloads in about 5 seconds and a two hour HD movie in about 4 minutes.

TeliaSonera, one of the major telecom providers in Sweden, clocked in with true 4G speeds last year; granted, it’s much easier to build infrastructure with a national budget surplus and a population just slightly larger than that of New York City. But for those of you on Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile expecting your network to get pumped full of steroids… don’t hold your breath.

4G might be on the way, but manage your expectations… building a network for 9 million is easier than 310 million.

Posted in tech | Tagged 4G, Sprint, T-Mobile, telecom, Verizon | Leave a comment

Ongoing Conversations

Posted on December 1, 2010 by Scott

There’s a lot of chatter regarding facebook messages vs. standard email including regular claims about the continually changing landscape of online conversation.

Plenty of online chatter is casual talk such as planning a night out or just discussion amongst friends… there’s no need for subject lines or opening a new window, just response and ‘enter’. We might regard this as ‘disposable conversation’, something which, at the time, seems to have no bearing on future events. These conversations can occur just as easily via facebook or email such as GMail.

But look at the breakdown amongst your own conversations and you might notice more ‘disposable conversation’ happening on facebook or even text. Have you ever needed to refer back to a conversation you thought might have been irrelevant at the time? How easily could you locate your own data?

And although GMail includes search capability, do you always know exactly what you’re trying to find? Conversation platforms will likely continue to change as well as the frequency and depth of our usage. But which will offer you the best means to manage and view your own history?

Posted in uncategorized | Leave a comment

Running on Awesome – Tales of Brand Interaction

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Scott

I’ve been a competitive runner since high school but it was only while I was over in London did my rowing coach suggest I give forefoot running a try since I was constantly a victim of shin splints… so much so, that prior to running the Marine Corps Marathon in 2006 I was in physical therapy for 12 weeks to minimize that wonderful stabbing feeling during my 26.2 mile jaunt.

Switching styles while still in a pair of Mizuno Wave Creation wasn’t going to do the trick since the heel has a fair bit of rise from the toe. I gave the Newton’s a try, courtesy of Marathon Sports in Boston, however the actuator lugs in the forefoot (Newton’s unique feature) seemed to be doing my stride a bit more harm than good. Given my history, I had a rough idea which brands suited my needs best… but my new running style seemed to put me back at the starting line (groan, pun).

Meanwhile, I was recently in Chicago and on a Monday night, attended a ‘burger and beer five mile run’. One of the running shops in Lincoln Park actually hosts this event every few Mondays and it’s just, sheer brilliance. This particular evening, a Saucony representative was on-hand to allow every attendee a sampling of the Saucony line – not just a minute on the treadmill, but for the full 5 miles.

What impressed me wasn’t just the time allowed for “brand bonding” (Five miles is one hell of a test drive), it was that someone at Saucony did the due-diligence to find out when and where the best social running events occurred in each targeted city.

I didn’t buy anything that night. Instead, I sampled about four other options before making a decision though it’s no surprise that the Saucony run was the easiest to immediately recall when I was considering my options.

Think about your last several shopping experiences whether it be product or service – how was your experience bonding with the brand? Was there a conversation, be it literal or figurative? In the Saucony case I got feedback not only from a brand representative but also five miles with the product. Maybe you’re familiar with Blendtec – aside from the great string of Will It Blend clips, Blendtec is relentless about in-store demonstrations which allow prospective buyers to sample soups to smoothies. CLEAR Internet, who by the way boasts the best telecom customer service I’ve ever experienced, doesn’t just have laptops setup in their shop but moreover will send a representative to your business or residence allowing you to sample speeds at your place of use.

Most people know the old adage, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. When executed correctly that initial brand-bonding is your best ally or your own worst nemesis, it’s an incredibly powerful recall tool and shoppers won’t soon forget it, literally.

Posted in branding, running | Tagged branding, newton, running, saucony | Leave a comment

Changing Behavior (Cable TV)

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Scott

For as long as I’ve been aware there seems to be a general frustration with cable providers. If it’s not a service issue, it’s harboring a passive resentment about handing over at least $50 per month for several hundred channels even though you actively use seven of them. And haven’t we reached a tipping point as far as online content consumption? Are you more likely to watch a show you “missed” on your DVR or Hulu?

So why do you still have cable? Is it a habit? Are there live broadcasts you can’t live without? Many people have done the math and are starting to consider replacing their cable-box with a content streaming device such as Boxee, Roku or Apple TV, given the personal economic benefit in the long term.

Switching away from the behemoth cable provider is not only economically friendly to your checking account, but economically better for your schedule since you’re consuming media at your own leisure. How often do longterm habits prevent us from making a logical behavior change to save time and/or money?