cool global BIZ

Michael Jackson: Media Freak Show, or Global & Cultural Revolutionary?

Note:  This post on Michael Jackson's death, plus another post on the superstar's global brand, ran originally in July.  The Michael Jackson documentary, "This Is It," premiers today.  Interesting Time magazine story below on Sony's global marketing of the film. Sony forked over $60 million for the rights to the movie, according to the Los Angeles Times.

• Los Angeles Times, "Michael Jackson Should Have Been There."
• MTV Music Television, "Michael Jackson's 'This is It': The Reviews Are In."
• Bloomberg News, "Michael Jackson Shoots at Bogart . . . . "
• Time magazine, "Marketing This Is It: How Sony Created a Global Event" and "Michael Jackson's 'This is It': He's Still a Thriller."
• Guardian.Co.UK, "You Review: Michael Jackson's 'This Is It' ."  
• CoolGlobalBiz,com, "Beat This: The Michael Jackson Brand."

 

COMMENTARY

Yes, Michael Jackson was king of the bizarre.  Yes, the criminal allegations of child molestation are hard to ignore, even though a Santa Barbara jury acquitted him.  But in my mind, the most striking aspect of Jackson's shortlived life was his role as a racial radical who enjoyed universal appeal in all quarters of the globe.  How much would performers and politicians of all colors pay to boast that magic touch, to reach all of mankind?  How does one build such an all-embracing human brand?  (Untitled by tracky_birthday, under Creative Commons license on flickr.com)  

 

Jackson was the first minority pop performer to truly achieve cross-border superstardom.  Motown artists crushed many barriers, but Jackson took the cross-over game to the highest level in the music industry.  Worldwide music sales lagged in the early 1980s.  But new technology (CDs), the rise of MTV music videos, and the global popularity of performers like Jackson ignited music sales in the mid-1980s, with worldwide sales increasing to $22 billion last year, according to music industry experts such as Harold Vogel, the author of Entertainment Industry Economics and president of Vogel Capital Management.  Jackson's "Thriller," of course, is the world's all-time bestselling album at more than 100 million units, according to the IFPI.  Much of Jackson's widespread appeal came from his work with producer Quincy Jones, according to many, plus the then-record celebrity endorsement deal with PepsiCo in the mid-1990s, notes this Billboard magazine story. ("Michael Jackson, Pepsi Made Marketing History")   Jackson's marketing and artistic wizardry, though, surely was the key force in shattering so many boundaries.

 

Few in the mainstream media have really explored this global angle, aside from USA Today columnist DeWayne Wickham ("Jackson Lived a Tragic Yet World-Changing Life")  and CNN's Debra Alban ("Michael Jackson Broke Down Racial Barriers").  Wickham quotes the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who calls the pop singer "a world-changing cultural force."  Alban quotes the Rev. Al Sharpton, love him or hate him, who often says what many corporate minorities think, but keep to themselves.  Says Sharpton:  "Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama . . . And no controversy will erase the historic impact."  Also see the Maynard Institute's Journal-isms blog by Richard Prince ("Jackson Coverage Debated On Air, In Print".) for an overview of media coverage from an African American view.   (Brazilian weekly magazine covers about Michael Jackson by Crystian Cruz, under Creative Commons license on flickr.com)  

 

Jackson's reputed global views of a post-racial, altruistic world (from "Black or White" to "They Don't Care About Us") came under fire by some, who blasted his freakish skin color and cosmetic surgery as a rejection of his blackness.  He also was accused of anti-Semitism by media critics and Jewish leaders for using "J-w me" and "k-ke" in his original lyrics to "They Don't Care About Us."  Jackson apologized and cut the offending words, while black filmmaker Spike Lee called the criticism a double-standard from the industry, which he said didn't raise similar alarms over the word "n-gger" in lyrics, according to media reports.

 

Beyond the controversies, Jackson's odd genius transcended his hermit-like existence, tapping into the global media consciousness and our love of smooth beats, memorable hooks and slick dance-floor moves.  Millions of teens enjoyed their first slow dance to "I'll Be There."  Millions of babyboomers remember the powerhouse Jackson Five, who put all boy bands to shame.  And for millions in the secular world, "Thriller" and other smash albums and songs carry more cachet than pronouncements from the Pope.  It's easier to bob our heads to "Billie Jean" than it is to follow our faiths, or to explore our identities.  Unisexual and uniracial, Jackson was a non-threatening icon who cut across all demographics -- a rare feat in business or pop culture.

 

Even superstars fade to gray, though.  Jackson's sales waned over the past decade, and a special 25th anniversary release last year of "Thriller" by Sony Music was only the No. 32 album  (digital and physical format) in the world, according the IFPI.  Upon his death, fans on all continents still paid homage to Jackson, as the Associated Press reported.  In this sense, it's no exaggeration to call Jackson an extraordinary pioneer.  Freak show or not, the man was a racial revolutionary who changed the face of world pop music and entertainment.

(Blame it on the Boogie! by ven y siente el RUIDO!, under Creative Commons license on flickr.com)

 

Western Union's Global Branding Campaign Says Yes! Si! हाँ! Oo! 唉! to Immigrant Consumers

Western Union and Publicis Hong Kong's "Yes!" global brand campaign.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A. -- During the frontier era of the American West in the 1800s, Western Union helped pioneers send telegrams to their loved ones many miles away by train or horse.  Today, the money-transfer corporation in Colorado sends billions of dollars in "remittances" from immigrants on all continents to their loved ones around the world.  "The multicultural consumer is front and center," says Gail Galuppo, chief marketing officer at Western Union.  “We’ve got quite a dynamic footprint."  Western Union's aim: to keep cultivating ties and doing business with many millions of migrants who will send U.S. $368 billion to their families in 2009, according to the Aite Group research firm in Boston.

 

As the global downturn lingers, Western Union is a positive tale. Western Union's $6 billion business reflects the growing immigrant economy and workforce, and the company remains bullish.  Total 2009 revenue may be dipping, but executives see current and future growth in Asia and moderate global revenue growth in 2010, likely outpacing World Bank projections.  Western Union also has reached its goal of 400,000 money-transfer agents and retail outlets worldwide.  And the promising market for money transfers by mobile phones looks good in the United Kingdom, Kenya, Indonesia and elsewhere.  In Western Union's quarterly earnings call Tuesday (see below), CEO Christina Gold told analysts that "we were delighted with the quarter."

 

At the recent ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in Phoenix, Galuppo spoke about Western Union's acclaimed "Yes!" global branding campaign by Publicis Hong Kong, launched early this year.  The goal: to boost market share by sending an uplifting message to immigrant consumers, who often are rebuffed when they seek financing.  The print, online and broadcast campaign ran in 40 languages, and commercials were aired in the U.S.A. on Univision, CCTV, Al Jazeera and other foreign-language outlets.  Director Antoine Bardou-Jacquet and National Geographic photojournalist Steve McCurry jetted to Morocco, Singapore, Cape Town and Los Angeles to film and shoot the campaign.  Hindi Zahra, a Moroccan jazz-folk singer in Paris, sings the commercial's catchy song, "Stand Up."  Galuppo says:  "The Yes! campaign works globally, across all geographies and consumers."

 

Highlights from Galuppo's talk at the ANA marketing conference:

On marketing to many ethnic groups:  "We have a deep understanding of our core consumers . . . Mexicans in the U.S., Kenyans in the United Kingdom, Filipinos in Hong Kong, Chinese in the Congo . . . Our worldwide marketers are the first to see migration patterns change, and they immediately adapt . . . (Companies must) understand that the borders are truly fading."

On her diverse background in Chicago's Southside:  "I grew up in the inner city of Chicago, so I was born into (diversity) . . . One thing I've done is to truly embrace diversity hiring for my team, and I'm instilling (an appreciation of diversity) in my children."

On the global migrant workforce:  "The convergence of the movement of capital, the movement of people, and the movement of information is the driving force behind today's global economy.  The money that global migrants send home across borders is one of the largest sources of external finance for developing countries.  These immigrants . . . will be the roots of economic growth for years to come."

 

Gail Galuppo, Western Union's chief marketing officer, speaking with CoolGlobalBiz at the ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. (10-5-09).

• Western Union, "Western Union Reports Third Quarter Results"
• Seeking Alpha, " The Western Union Company Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript."
• Morningstar, ""Western Union Reports 3Q":
• United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), ""Sending Money Home" report on global remittances:

 

Global Rapper, Entrepreneur & Tech Evangelist MC Hammer: "Music is a Global Language"

MC Hammer speaks on global and Web 2.0 branding at an ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity conference in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., at the Arizona Biltmore (10-5-09).

 

PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A. -- HammerTime is in real time, and still legit.  If you don't follow tech news, you might not know that rapper MC Hammer is a serious social-media evangelist and Twitter freak (over 1 million followers at twitter.com/mchammer) who rivals actor Ashton Kutcher for digital savvy.  Hammer hangs with legendary Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors, including Marc Benioff,  Ron Conway and Tim Draper.  He appears at tech and biz events (Intel Capital,  TechCrunch), and speaks at Harvard and Stanford.  Last year, Hammer co-founded DanceJam.com, a social-networking dance site, with Flock entrepreneurs Geoffrey Arone and Anthony Young, and he stars in the A&E reality show "HammerTime".  Between things, he's retooling his Web site/blog, MCHammer.com, and he'll help Microsoft promote Xbox Live in November.  Busy guy.

 

No doubt Hammer's got street cred in TechLand.  He reminds me of Web evangelist and author Guy Kawasaki, a tough Hawaiian buddhahead who hasn't forgotten his roots either.  Da bruddah from Honolulu and the Oaktown brother.  I like that tag team.  Beyond the old stereotypes of rappers, Hammer is a reverend and family man with wife and kids.  And like Madonna and Bono, he's an artist with a conscience.  Hammer gives back to his community, and his next CD will carry a strong humanitarian message, looking at homelessness, drunk driving and other social ills.  Give the man credit.  He rose from Oakland's mean streets to the heights of the entertainment field.  While many would have given up, Hammer survived serious financial troubles in the 1990s and has found new acclaim today as an entrepreneur.  (Although the Internal Revenue Service still is after him; see WSJ Blogs story and Hammer's denial, both below, that he owes back taxes.)

 

Like Michael Jackson, Hammer's global brand transcends borders.  In the coming months, he's got concerts in Europe, Australia, Japan and elsewhere, and his music and Web 2.0 brand reach millions of fans abroad, including young trendsetters on the streets and in clubs.  How does he do it?   He thinks it's the continuity and positive nature of his message, and the universal appeal of music.  (Real catchy and funky riffs don't hurt, either.)  Hammer spoke recently on the branding power of Web 2.0 to corporate managers and executives at the ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference at the Arizona Biltmore.  (See full conference coverage by the ANA Advertiser online magazine here.)  Most companies are moving too slowly -- they need to do more than simply start Twitter accounts, he said.  They must create trust, two-way communication and products tailored to many consumer groups.  “To build brand awareness in social media is a lot easier than traditional marketing dollars,” Hammer said. “If it’s good enough for NASA (to use Facebook and Twitter) to say they found ice on Mars, it’s good enough for us to figure out where in our business models we can use and maximize and optimize social media.”

Photo above, "MC Hammer at Gravity Summit at Harvard" by steve garfield, under a Creative Commons license on flickr.com.

 

After his speech, business people mobbed Hammer as if he was Apple's Steve Jobs.  The rapper graciously signed every autograph and posed for every photo.  No rampant ego, no fawning entourage, no cooler-than-thou vibe.  In an interview with CoolGlobalBiz, I asked Hammer how he handles his celebrityhood.  "I've been doing this for more than 20 years," he said.  "I'm an extrovert -- I feed off people's energy."  Hammer looked happy when I told him I could tell he was an avid reader from the rhythm of his talk.  "You picked up on that?" he said, grinning. "I subscribe to over 100 magazines and newspapers."

 

More than 140 characters from Hammer:

On using social media to globalize corporate brands:  "Using social media globally -- especially for a brand that's already established, whether it's McDonald's or Coca-Cola -- is the opportunity to engage your consumers from anywhere, anytime.  And it's all happening in real time.  It's a real reality show. Companies used to stagger the releases (of products).  It would come out in America, then four months later in Asia, then Europe. Now companies can roll out on a global basis, in real time, using social media as a key tool and component."

On reaching fans worldwide through tech tools:  "Using social media, you can create, plant seeds and begin to market your product and interact with consumers.  My tweets are being translated into Japanese currently.  Imagine how that shortens the distance between me and fans that I have in Japan.  I've done five or six shows in the Tokyo Dome, and all of the youth there were tweeting and texting and all of these things."

On social media for market research:  "I've played arenas in Russia, Brazil, Europe . . . Social media was how the promoters knew there was a demand for me over there.  They're following the tweets (of fans).  They're very plugged into social media there.  They said, "Hey, Hammer, can we get you over here?"  And all of a sudden there's six, seven shows in March in Europe, and I'm going down to Australia next month.  Social media is driving the conversation and creating the interest."  

On building his brand, "the culture of Hammer":  "There's a consistency in the message, in thinking of myself as a brand.  I'm consistent in what I'm trying to communicate.  Once you get the template, the blueprint, you launch the Hammer brand the same way you launch (Microsoft's) Xbox.  You go in and create awareness . . . and you use the same template on a global basis, keeping in mind you still have to finetune it.  Music is a global language.  It's a social language that connects and creates interaction.  When you add social media to a local language or culture, that's a powerful combo."

On the estimated global value of his brand:  "All things considered -- the albums, the videos, the books, the memorabilia, the Hammer signatures, the Hammer pants, the t-shirts, the name 'MC Hammer,' all the commercials that use "U Can't Touch This," the culture of Hammer and its positivity and spirituality -- the value of all that going forward is a billion dollars, and I say that conservatively.  My brand is 20 years old and has already reached over 1 billion people around the world.  If you had Google news alerts on me, it would be 24 hours, non-stop."

Photo above, "MC Hammer" by no-frills marilyn, under a Creative Commons license on flickr.com.

 

• IgniteSocialMedia.com, "How Hammer Went From Caricature to Human Being" by Jim Tobin.
• VentureBeat.com, "MC Hammer Offers Entrepreneurial Advice to Intel's CEOs" by Dean Takahashi. 
• AOL BlackVoices.com,  "Catching Up with Hammer" by Bridget Bland.
• TheDeal.com,  "Intel Capital: Can't Touch This" by Olaf de Senerpont Domis.
• BusinessWeek.com, "Building a Market Platform Like a Celebrity" by Dan Schawbel.
• Wired.com, "MC Hammer Hops Onto Dance Craze with DanceJam" by Eliot Van Buskirk.
• Washington Post, "There is an Escape in Dance" by Monica Hesse.
• WSJ Blogs, "Hammer to IRS: You Can't Touch This" by Jacqueline Palank.
• BusinessWire via Reuters, "Monies Allegedly Owed by MC Hammer to IRS Are Leftover from 1996 Bankruptcy Filing," news release from MC Hammer.

 

CNN Anchor Soledad O'Brien, Latinos and the New Multicultural Mainstream

CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien speaking at the ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A. (10-5-09).

 

PHOENIX, ARIZONA, U.S.A. -- Countless studies, books and news reports boil down to this storyline:  While U.S. ethnic groups of all hues take pride in their ancestral cultures, the great crucible of acculturation melds all of us into Americans.  Perhaps moreso than President Obama and others, CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien symbolizes the New Multicultural America -- what former Time journalist Guy Garcia calls "the new mainstream."  O'Brien is black, Cuban, Irish and Australian -- check the "Other" box in the U.S. Census count.  O'Brien brought her starpower Monday to the ANA Multicultural Marketing & Diversity Conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, speaking about her cultural identity and her upcoming CNN special, "Latino in America," later this month.

 

O'Brien was preaching to the corporate choir at the ANA conference, made up of mostly minority managers and executives from companies large and small.  She and her producers face a tougher task with their broadcast viewers.  Diversity is a hellacious topic, and CNN needs to present a complex subject to a mainstream audience that often shies away from the explosive issue.  Hope that CNN covers the Latino culture in a hardhitting and unflinching fashion, but in an entertaining and non-threatening way that doesn't send viewers running for the remote.

 

First-rate and comprehensive coverage of the conference in the ANA Advertiser Magazine by editor Bob Barrett's crew and the Pohly Company.  See several interviews with multicultural marketing and diversity leaders, including Johnson & Johnson's vice president of global diversity Anthony Carter,  Western Union's chief marketing officer Gail Galuppo, JCPenney's senior v.p. of brand marketing Ruby Anik, and McDonald's manager of U.S. marketing Vivian Chen.

 

(Next: More from the ANA conference, including the global branding of a world-famous rapper and a century-old corporation at the vanguard of global e-commerce.) 

 

• CNN.com, "Soledad O'Brien Explores Latino Experience, Mixed-Race Heritage."
• Advertising Age, "McDonald's and Comcast Top Winners at Ana Multicultural Awards" by Laurel Wentz.
• ANA, "ANA Announces 2009 Multicultural Excellence Award Winners."
• Guy Garcia, "The New Mainstream: How the Multicultural Consumer is Transforming American Business."
• Guy Garcia and Time Warner Research Council, "Navigating the New Mainstream: Identity and Media in the 21st Century."
• Knowledge Wharton, "The New Mainstream: How the Buying Habits of Ethnic Groups Are Creating a New American Identity."
• CNN International, "Commentary: Mexican-Americans Have Deep U.S. Ties."

 

Yes You Can, Brazil -- Bring on the Olympics

That thunderous jolt was yet another economic shift toward developing nations.  Brazil and Rio de Janeiro's winning bid Friday for the 2016 Summer Olympics will bring billions of dollars into the country, and marks a moral victory of sorts over the much wealthier U.S.A. and Japan.  It's also time to see more varied and even positive news on Latin America, beyond the relentless stories on drugs and gangs.  No doubt Latin America has an image problem in the Western world, and other opportunistic countries from China to Russia have dashed in to befriend Brazil and nearby nations.  We're playing catch up, and President Obama -- seeing the unstoppable currents of the global economy -- will have a better shot at linking with President Lula than our last administration. 

("2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero" by SantaRosa Old Skool, under Creative Commons license on flickr.com.)

 

But whether that overseas money and good news will uplift Brazil's development over the long haul is always the big question when cities, regions and nations put on mega-sports events.  The tremendous hype and build-up towards a Super Bowl or a World Cup or an Olympics Games surely helps the host's image and marketing allure.  After the event is over, though, inevitably there's a huge whooshing sound as the excitement dies and the economy deflates.  Sports economists have often said that it's more important for the host city or country's economic policies and business climates to be strong and stable before the sporting event.

 

Even with its widespread poverty and crime, Brazil is a beautiful and growing country with natural resources, a rising middle class and a growing technology base for innovation (See VentureBeat's "Brazilian Startup Hoplon Infotainment Goes Global" and CoolGlobal Biz's "Technology and Innovation in Cross-Cultural Brazil").  There's also much room for growth and competition, as former JetBlue founder David Neeleman has proven with Azul, his new Brazil-based airline (See CoolGlobalBiz, "Global Entrepreneur: CEO & Founder David Neeleman of Azul").  Hope the Olympics will bring Brazil and Rio even more economic progress.  It's their turn, their time.

• Twitter trending topics, "Janeiro" and "Congratulations Rio".

• UTOI.ES in Spain, "Madrid 2016 No Pudo Ser."

• Huffington Post, "The IOC Got This One Right" by Christopher DeSa.

• CNBC's Maria Bartiromo in BusinessWeek, "How Brazil's Lula Sees the Emerging World Order."

• Newsweek, "No More Second-Class" by Mac Margolis.

• WSJ Blogs, "Economic Benefits of Hosting Olympics are Few" by Sara Murray.

• Vanity Fair, "Letter from Sao Paulo: City of Fear" by William Langewiesche.

Scenes of Sao Paulo and Florianopolis, Brazil.