Here’s good economic news!

OK, I may be a pie-eyed Pollyanna, but I think the worst of the recession is behind us.

No, wait! Don’t roll your eyes and groan. I know it’s still bad. Really bad, in fact. But listen to this: there are signs of uplift everywhere.

This is the tell: Men are buying underwear again! I mean, how about it, Ladies? No less an oracle that former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is excited about this hidden economic indicator. And no, I don’t know if he gets excited about boxers or briefs. But I digress.

There’s an honest-to-God “Men’s Underwear Index” (aka MUI for government acronym geeks) that those secretive bean counters keep to themselves.

There are some things that are better kept to yourself, and I think the attire studied in the MUI is one of them. Just look at teenage gangsta wanna-bes. Their MUI is showing plenty! If it weren’t for these kids and their multi-hued boxers, the MUI would have been drastically lower. Lower like their pants. Think about it: MUI as a leading economic indicator AND hip hop fashion statement. Hmmm. As soon as the kids realize their importance to global economic mental health, this fad will fade.

Anyway, the MUI works like this: in good times, underwear sales are stable. Men (or their wives) buy new product when they need it. A pair here…a pair there. Christmas. Anniversaries. Birthdays. You know the drill. It’s a necessity and nothing more. There is no emotional cost in buying that itty bitty brief, though there may be some significant delusion at work.

But during times of severe financial stress, men try to stretch a bit more life out of the old undies. Tide and Clorox sales are probably up as a result; rag bags everywhere are feeling the pinch. Hospital technicians and doctors offices were not queried for background on this subject. But I wander off point again.

Since 2003 when the Men’s Underwear Index was established, sales rose incrementally every year—until 2008. Sales dropped a gut-wrenching 3.7% in 2008 and slipped another 2.3% in 2009 so far. But suddenly that negative territory is nudging upwards like a wedgie at summer camp.

Retailers agree that sales are recovering, and add that 66 percent of shoppers are buying the more economic multi-pair bulk packs. “People need underwear,” says an online retailer of said stuff. “They have just have less money to spend.”

And that’s the word from MUI. When men start buying briefs again, can recovery be far behind?

FYI: I’ve withheld info that I’m sure you’re desperate to know: men buy an average of 3.4 pairs of underwear a year.

Now more uplifting news: women’s bra sales have not slowed as severely, thanks to those Victoria Secrets models, no doubt! (Remember: men buy a huge percentage of women’s underwear.) You think the men may have some ulterior motive? After all, benefits of a sexy bra can outlast any dinner-and-a-girl-movie.

However, Estee Lauder reports that sales of lipstick have plummeted by 8%, which is even worse than the MUI decline. Since men—OK, most men—don’t buy lipstick, this is truly an economic indicator of some significance. I guess Sarah Palin’s pigs are on a budget, too. And why would her jobless hockey moms stuck at home with the kids want to get all gussied up anyway? Go figure.

The jury is still out on the sales of prescription anti-depressants and sleep aids as an indicator of our communal fragile state of mind. But I’m sure someone somewhere (Nurse Jackie, where are you?) is rummaging through the nation’s medical cabinet for evidence even as I type.

But back to underwear.

I conclude with a statement from Marshal Cohen, senior analyst with the consumer research firm NPB Group as quoted in The Washington Post on August 31st: “Consumers may be down, but they’re not out,” he says. “If this were a true, deep, long, embedded recession, they wouldn’t even be buying underwear.”

And that’s really good news. I’ve cut down on so many meals in the last 2 years that my old, ratty underwear is way too large now, but I’ve put off replacing it.

I’m feeling better about life again. It’s time for a little pick-me-upper. The bra shop is calling. But I won’t bring my Visa. I don’t feel that good, yet.

See you at the mall!






43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800 | Fax: 703.996.0888 | 1.866.365.2858
www.paulandpartners.net | sales@paulandpartners.net

Marketing in Miserable Times

The economy is slow. That doesn’t mean your marketing should be!

I admit it. This article may appear to be a bit self-serving. But it is also intended to help you survive the interminable recession. After all, marketing is the first department cut in bad times, so you’re probably trying to survive with a skeleton crew.

If you’re like most of us, your first inclination is to tighten your belt. That’s what Kmart did during the 2001 recession. After two months of decreasing its marketing, Kmart saw sales drop 5%. Bottom line: Kmart lost more in sales than they saved in advertising costs.

Kmart’s blunder is borne out by studies dating back two generations to the Great Depression. A 1927 study shows that companies which invested their marketing dollars well in the depth of the Depression gained market share and kept the momentum going afterwards. Companies that cut back were cut out.

If data from 1927 sounds like ancient history and therefore not applicable to today’s world, consider a 1993 study published by Penton Media which said “businesses that maintain aggressive marketing programs during a recession outperform companies that rely more on cost cutting measures.”

OK, cutting costs is truly important. Duh! But cutting communications with your base is cutting your own throat. Smart companies continue the dialogue, even in hard times. They listen and they learn.

Communicate with your customers. Email,…direct mail…telephone…visit them in person. You pick the method. Mix ‘em and match ‘em. But keep the channels of communication open.

Look for ways to differentiate yourself from the other guys. Use ideas, formats and technologies that maybe your base or industry hasn’t seen before.

Sure, you say. It’s Big Talk, but we have no budget.

So you think you’re different from everybody else out there? A small budget is just a big opportunity to be more creative!

If you’ve got nothing to invest but sweat equity, here are several ideas that might just help.

#1. Offer your customers and prospects something that they need. Something truly useful. It can be a whitepaper on your own industry trends (if you’re academically ambitious), a coupon (great for retailers), or an email newsletter providing relevant tips (it works—after all, you’re reading one now!)

#2. Promote your special offering through an online channel like a blog, e-newsletter or twitter. Point to a unique URL and require people to leave a small amount of personal data (name/address/phone/email) to “qualify” to receive the free info. Be sure to capture that data to track responses and capture potential sales leads.

#3. A number of industry websites are offering free whitepaper distribution. Simply let your industry association or leading industry publications know that you have created such a document and let them promote it for you, too.

#4. Seek out free publicity. For instance, one of our clients was recently featured in the Washingtonian Magazine as one of the best non-profits in the area. The extra coverage gave them great visibility and the third party blessing lent enormous credibility. Boy, did we make good use of that in their year-end appeal!

#5. Ask the eloquent and informed on your staff to do speeches at trade association meetings, chamber of commerce events, and other similar public events.

#6. Market your in-house experts to the media who always need a current list of who-knows-what about obscure topics. These in-house experts can keep your company name in the public eye and lend credibility to your company as leading industry experts.

#7. Recycle. Go to your industry periodicals and offer to write articles for them on leading indicators, trends, legislation that is changing your industry, etc. If you’ve done #1 and #5 above, the information is at your fingertips. Reuse it to your own benefit.

#8. Recycle the recycling. Go to your customer’s industry periodicals and offer the same information. Be sure to re-package it to get rid of any inherent industry jargon that may have crept in when you wrote for your own peers.

If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of coin to spend on direct marketing, here are some ideas that cost, but can have big pay-offs, too! Use techniques and technologies that your customers and prospects haven’t seen before. It will make you stand out from the clutter.

#9. One of our clients launched a PURL (personalized URL) program to better communicate with its marketbase. The two-way communications channel is open 24/7 and is exceeding expectations so far.

#10. Another client is using VDP—Variable Data Printing—to market to his base. If you bought a blue Camry from this dealership in 2002, then your “Buy Back” postcard shows a blue 2002 Camry. The client is using variable graphics the way other people use variable data. Eye catching? Attention grabbing? You bet! The last postcard sold 47 cars in one weekend!

#11. Another client is using VDP to create customized brochures which he is using as a “leave behind” when he markets his services to prospects. Each brochure has the name of the buyer and his/her company prominently printed on it in color. He’d have to create a leave-behind piece anyway. For just a bit more money, he’s got a truly eye-popping document that says a lot about his firm and how innovative it is.
See where this is heading? Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes you just need to brainstorm with someone else.

There are a lot of no-cost and low-cost ideas that we can use to help you promote your company. Additionally, we’re bursting with ideas and energy to help you make your marketing the most innovative stuff around.

Call Ellen at Paul&Partners (703-996-0800) if you want someone to bounce ideas off. Or if you need an “out of the box” thinker to help you a bit.

Remember, when times are tough, the tough get going. Which side of the fence are YOU sitting on?

Paul & Partners Direct Marketing

43670 Trade Center Place,

Suite 150,

Dulles, VA 20166

Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858

www.paulandpartners.net sales@paulandpartners