Machete Mag | Observations on Marketing, Policy, Trade, Economics

Public Policy

DC Single Container Beer Ban, Even-handed or Unfair

Several wards in Washington DC have finally decided to pass legislation that bans local stores from selling single containers of beer. This means that residents will not be able to walk into their local shop and purchase a bottle of beer – instead they’ll have to buy a multi-pack. Community leaders that support this ban are hoping to see a decline in curb-side drinking and a huge litter reduction. It should be noted that retailers can appeal and gain exception to the legislation if they have a good enough reason.
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Ethnography

Reborn Babies, Real Dolls, and the People Who Buy Them

As a child I watched on as my grandmother meticulously maintained and added to her collection of figurines and dolls. It’s not like grandma didn’t have anything to do with her time – it seemed as though all she did was cook, clean, and entertain guests. I thought her obsession with dolls was strange…until I learned about two strikingly life-like dolls that have both enjoyed television specials on BBC America. I’m talking about Real Dolls and Reborn Babies.

These dolls are made my a select few niche manufacturers, and likewise, they are purchased by a very specific type of customer. The people that buy these dolls don’t buy them to decorate their bedrooms, they use these realistic-looking rubber creations to replace their real-life counterparts…human babies and women.
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Nonprofits, Tech & Web

Cause-Specific Websites: The Flood Gates are Open

A couple weeks back I introduced the new nonprofit social startup Causecast.org. I have since learned of two great websites that put Causecast back in the ‘contender’ category – because they have been around a lot longer and both enjoy a substantial amount of members.

In fact, SocialVibe.com and Ammado.com share many of the same ’causes’ . Both websites provide visitors with a wide selection of nonprofits to follow. SocialVibe wins my vote as the most efficient, usable, and well-designed website. The website allows you to ‘join’ as many causes as you wish – once you join a cause you can contribute to the nonprofit’s SocialVibe community by submitting donations, uploading multimedia (photos, videos), writing in a cause-specific forum, and finally, you can share the nonprofit’s SocialVibe page on other social networks (MySpace, Facebook, etc.). The ‘One Laptop Per Child’ cause has a well-utilized page on SocialVibe.
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Global Development

Pakistan, Motivation to Succeed, and US Intervention

There is no doubt that the US has been earning itself a poor international reputation…and this most recent decade of bad PR has definitely helped to negate just about everything ‘good’ the US has sponsored throughout the world. For example, USAID is one of the main reasons behind the success of two of Pakistan’s most elite business schools, including the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). It is also the source of funding for efforts to improve maternal health and water quality – just two of the terrible ailments that keep the bulk of Pakistanis at the very bottom of the pyramid.

There are many potential reasons for the current dilapidated state of the nation, in fact, the left, right, conservative and liberal populations often have overlapping theories. Each political party selects facts that appreciate their respective agendas, whether it’s the sixty years of overwhelmingly out of touch rule, a consistently increasing percentage of poverty (currently at least 25%), or the shameful 50% adult literacy rate – all ideas seem to point to a consistently increasing divide between the upper class (ruling class) and lower class (majority).
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Nonprofits, Tech & Web

Youtube launches 'In My Name' video project for poverty elimination

Today, Youtube launches a new philanthopic effort aimed at addressing the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) to end global poverty. Starting today, through November 1st, site visitors throughout the world will be able to submit videos of themselves addressing a local and/or global poverty-related issue.

If executed effectively the ‘In My Name’ project will prove to be one of the most effective povert-related campaigns ever executed, both online and offline. Youtube’s massive reach (estimated 73.5 million per month) is the main reason for the campaign’s inevitable success. Today’s teens and young adults are spending more of their free time online than watching tv and reading magazines – if any youth-focused marketing campaign is to prove effective it must have a substantial online component. The youthful and tech-saavy demographic that accounts for the majority of Youtube’s daily audience is a huge plus on its own.
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Marketing, Nonprofits

Strategic Philanthropy: Often Overlooked, Corporations & Nonprofits Both Cash In

Cause Marketing, Corporate Citizenship, Corporate Responsibility — these are todays keywords. Partnerships between nonprofits and for-profit companies can create highly successful campaigns that ensure gains for both organizations. This also works when nonprofits team up with high-profile celebrities to work on specific campaigns.

Nonprofit organizations, constantly suffering a limited amount of resources, benefit from capital funding as well as the image of the partner corporation. Corporations stand to improve their reputation as socially responsible enterprises while developing priceless emotional connections with their stakeholders.

Lately we’ve seen prominent celebrities attaching their names and faces to nonprofit campaigns…these campaigns have in turn achieved levels of brand awareness that rival that of today’s most prominent corporations. Examples of celebrity-cause partnerships are Bono and Product (Red); Angelina Jolie and UNICEF; and who can forget Lance Armstrong and his own cancer fighting organization LiveStrong.

Marketing

Chrysler's Jedi Mind Trick: "Let's Refuel America" – $2.99 per Gallon Gasoline Guaranteed for Three Years

Chrysler’s new campaign “Let’s Refuel America” gives customers that buy one of its cars a guarantee that will ensure them gasoline at $2.99 per gallon for the next three years (CarReview.com, 2008). This is such a great idea – hats off to the marketing team that came up with this campaign. The fact is that consumers still ends up having to shell out more money since Chrysler is way behind in the fuel-efficient car category. Just check out this Consumer Reports article that breaks down the financial aspects related to purchasing a Chrysler instead of more fuel-economic cars. A consumer could purchase a hybrid Honda, which is the only company that actually turned a profit this last fiscal cycle, and save a lot more money. Besides, Chrysler has announced that it will shutdown its factories for two weeks this July just to cut costs (NPR, 2008)

That’s all fine though…the marketing was great…and even though Consumer Reports found holes in the plan I don’t think this is a tough one to push past a sizable amount of consumers. This campaign sure sounds less shady than the ’employee pricing’ ploys.

Global Development

The Failed States Index for 2008 | Pakistan Rejoins the Top 10 & Impoverished African Nations Remain 'Failed'

An interesting change in the Failed States Index (published by The Fund for Peace) is #9 Pakistan. Pakistan was at #13 in 2007, from a quick analysis of the index it is clear that a huge economic downturn is the main reason for Pakistan’s move to a premier position amongst the Top 10 failed states. There are no surprises in the top 10 for 2008 as they are the usual suspects…as a matter of fact the top 10 have remained pretty much the same since 2006…Haiti left the Top 10 in 2007 and Guinea got pushed out simply because of Pakistan’s horrible year.

Here’s the Top 10 (No surprises here!):

1. Somalia
2. Sudan
3. Zimbabwe
4. Chad
5. Iraq
6. D.R. Congo
7. Afghanistan
8. Cote d’Ivoire
9. Pakistan
10. Central African Republic

Ethnography

Women Sworn to Virginity, Living as Old Men in Albania

Women in Albania…living as men – Their number is diminishing but a good handful of elderly women several in their late 70s still live on in northern Albania. These ‘sworn virgins’ each took a personal vow of celibacy in order to preserve their position as the head of household, maintaining the same level of control and power over their own households and communities as the next man. By taking the oath of virginity these women enjoy rights usually available only to men: the right to own a weapon, move about freely, even pray in the mosque alongside men.

Public Policy

Economic Stimulus Package 2008 Details

Stimulate Me. Taxpaying individuals will receive at least $600 in the form of a rebate check this May thanks to the U.S. government’s Economic Stimulus Package of 2008. This is going to cost the government $145 Billion (msnbc.com, Jan 08) . The rebate check will be delivered to about 160 million American families (cnn.com, Apr 08).

International Affairs

Girl from Ecuador Assaulted on train in Barcelona – El Racismo no es Blanco y Negro

Random Act of Violence
On October 7th in Barcelona, Spain a young lady of 16 years old was attacked for no apparent reason by a man, that claims he was drunk – but is not remorseful of his actions. It’s sad to watch this video of the innocent girl getting kicked, punched, and spat on…the reporter narrating the video explains that the man was heard yelling out racial slurs in Spanish (of course).

International Affairs, Public Policy

Iran-Pakistan-India: Laying the ‘Peace Pipeline’

Update: October 2, 2008
Iran and Pakistan have decided to go through with the Pipeline without India (Link 1, Link 2)

A Natural Gas Pipeline that will connect these three critical nations.
Iran, Pakistan, and India, collectively known as the IPI, are very close to finalizing the ‘Peace Pipeline’ plan that would drop a critical natural gas supply line that would run through the three neighboring countries. As always, there is a catch (or several) – and India is weary of signing on because of the Price Revision Clause being imposed by Iran that would base the price of the natural gas on a formula that utilizes Japan’s gas market as a benchmark. Nevertheless, India’s participation in the ‘Peace Pipeline’ doesn’t seem to matter as much to Iran and Pakistan as they continue bilateral talks that suggest India’s role as merely an added bonus that would sweeten the deal. Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Shafkat Saeed, insists that if India rejects the terms of the deal, the oil will be routed through China instead.

ï¿½We have informed Iran that we are prepared to transfer Iranï¿½s gas to China through this pipeline should India decide not to join the gas project.ï¿½ [ Associated Press of Pakistan, Oct 2007 ]

Though India has assured that it will take part in the TAPI (Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline – it is clear that the TAPI pipeline is not a replacement for the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, and their lack of an absolute decision in light of U.S. pressure is proof that the IPI pipeline stands to bring benefit to the Indian economy. Continue reading …