British-to-American Translation

The Royal Wedding reminded us all that we're two countries divided by a common language.  And now that THAT'S over with (that's what she said!), I thought it would be a good idea to review our expanded vocabulary:

Commoner- Term applied to millionaires who had to actually work to create their wealth rather than be born into it. Poor dears!

Fascinator - Some triangular shaped object attached to the face and head so that one's face is partially obstructed. If you recall the movie Alien, when an alien attached itself to the face of a crew member, you've pretty much envisioned a fascinator.  Verb As in 'fascinating' - Dear god, that alien attached to your face is simply fascinating!

Royal bloodline - Genetic malfunction

Style - Unfortunate wardrobe choices (scroll to the bottom of the link)

Royally Tacky

Ok, I admit it: I am drawn to the royal fiasco - I mean wedding.  What a circus! This wedding is shaping up to be almost as good as a tea party attended by Clinton's x-lovers and hosted by that backasswards half-brother of his could be (yes, I DO have an imagination).  Too bad one can't buy class!

I'm speaking of course of the Middletons, a family which seems to be thoroughly befuddled with handling their daughter's eminent (also imminent) wedding to Prince William.  Hello, we all know who you are and what you do, no need to go all huckster on us (that goes for you too, Charles)! At the center of tacky is Phillipa (Pippa), for whom journalist have reserved the most vitriol. Now they may be overdoing it - Cruella Deville got a better wrap - but one can hardly blame them for noting the spectacle. At least they're making money (good if not tacky opportunism).

Distracted with dishing it out on Pippa, the press seems to be overlooking the fact that Catherine herself is, um, pushing it? While she seems to want to imitate Diana, Kate is certainly not arriving to the Abbey an innocent, wide-eyed girl.  Quite the opposite, she's decorating the Abbey with a forrest - because somehow it's in need of sprucing up, no pun intended.  This is akin to putting glitter on the hope diamond, and about as necessary.

So of course I'm going to watch the service (or at least highlights of it).  I'm not the least bit moved by this made-for-TV "love affair",  but I do love a good show.

Getting Good Press

As a marketer, I spend a lot of time trying to get your attention (score one for me if you're reading this blog).  But getting attention is axiomatic: great news travels fast and cheaply, while poor stories cost big bucks to circulate.  The trick is knowing how to take advantage of what I'll dub "live lines"of communication, and how to avoid being the conduit for someone else's message.

Now let's examine the timely examples unwittingly provided by Donald Trump, President Obama and Atlas Shrugged the movie.

Making Coverage Count - Donald Trump *may* be running for president in 2012, and a presidential campaign is an expensive undertaking.  But if he doesn't win (or doesn't run), he still has that reality show, hotel casinos, apartment complexes and clothing to hawk - and all of it is built on his brand, TRUMP.  So while Salon's Justin Spees thinks Trump is a hypocrite,  his ability to garner such fervent PR is pretty darn helpful to his brand.  And it's FREE.  Coincidentally, if he does run for President, he will have the luxury of saying things like "But that's already been widely reported, why is it news now?"  Donald, you're hired!

Missing the Boat - President Barak Obama isn't faring as well as "the Donald."  Haunted since 2008 by rumors of his not being a citizen eligible for the Presidency, Obama stayed aloof, apparently hoping the rumor would die.  But he underestimated aging baby boomers, who are widely known to believe any and all emails forwarded to at least 10 or more of their friends (as any subsequent generation with parents and an email account can attest).

There was an early opportunity to quell this conversation and his opponents, possibly even with a "Shame on you" gloat on his face - but three years later and this thing has taken on a life of its own.  He missed his chance to look superior (which is far more important that actually BEING superior in the world of politics) and it's cost him.  Now he has conspiracy theorists who will never believe the validity of the just-released Long Form, a hoard of elderly patriots who will work long and hard to get people to vote against him (since he isn't, ya know, a real citizen) and he has wasted good political capital on quashing a rumor he could have killed to start.  Morals of the story: "Uncertainty is only good when its profitable" (see Donald Trump note above) and "Never miss an opportunity to kill the monster with two shots to the head, lest it come back to haunt you."

You're Just Doing It Wrong - John Aglialoro spent a lot of time and money making a movie version of Atlas Shrugged; apparently it was just panned by some critics and will only "break even" on DVD.  In a huff that's gotten more coverage than his movie, Mr. Aglialoro has apparently decided to wrap up his Ayn Rand movies because of the critics.  WHAT? Doesn't a capitalist know how unprofitable movies are the first time around?  Doesn't he know he should have released to DVD right away? Doesn't he know that such a whiny, "poor me" statement to the press would have been way more useful BEFORE the movie entered the market? No, no he does not.  If you're going to throw a hissy fit and get attention, do it when you're best positioned to make money from it! Sure this little fit will probably make it more profitable, but he should have thrown a fit earlier and gotten publicity pre-release.  Mr. Aglialoro, you are no John Galt.

Building Something

This is my first entry and my thoughts are on what it takes to create something.  Creating is an art, a process, a mindset and, more than anything, an endeavor that requires commitment.

And now that I've created this blog, I must create content for it - stay tuned!