Happy to be here

I recently flew for a quick trip to Louisville and used Southwest to do so. It has been a while since I have flown on Southwest and I had forgotten what a nice experience it is. I do my fair share of travel and often fly Delta or Northwest. They seem to serve the geography I travel to the most. I have had my share of frustrations with all the airlines because of canceled flights or late arrivals and departures. But what makes Southwest different in the experience is their people. They all really seem to enjoy their jobs and that rubs off on the passengers. I had to laugh at a bet made between the guy sitting next to me and the stewardess on whether the flight would be full or not. He won and she paid off with a free adult beverage.

JetBlue is similar to Southwest. I have flown them once and if they were in my market I would use them more often....plus they have a TV w/36 channels on every seat! Their people are happy to be there as well and when you have that experience you think you never want to go back to dealing with a regular airline. These organizations understand that it's all about making the customer experience great. We all pay decent money to get from point A to B so we at least want to feel like we are valuable. I think that's what these airlines provide. People who see value in us as their customers. We are still like cattle moving through a system but at least they make our experience a bit better.

Now for all who will email their Southwest horror stories to me....save it. I know they are not perfect but based on my observations and experience they seem to do pretty well. A little more "happy to be here" would go a long way for all of them.

The Madness of March

I chose the title carefully because I know the NCAA owns the right to the other name! Got to love Copyright lawyers. I have been amazed over the past few years how the whole tournament thing has taken off and has infiltrated mainstream America. In offices all around the country right now some guy is ticked off because a co-worker that knows nothing about basketball is ahead of him in the standings. I think that what's great about the tournament. All the preparation, studying, stat crunching, and insight still leaves us shocked at a team like Siena knocking off a powerhouse school like Vanderbilt.

I think the tournament is really a microcosm of American business. We all like to root for the small (underdog) business that works hard, gets a chance to prove themselves, and then gets the win. I think it keeps the American dream alive for many of us. I know it does for me. When you look at some of the successful companies across the U.S. you'll find examples of people that fought long odds and tough challenges to rise to the top. Passion, playing by the rules, working hard often are keys to why they are where they are. Often there is a bit of magic that takes place just at the right moment to push you over the top as well. But one element that also exists in these opportunties is the idea that the goal of success is greater than any individual. This was quite clear when you watched the last 5.7 seconds of the Western KY -Drake game. The leading scorer (Brazelton) who had been the star of the game for W. KY took the ball up the court, drew multiple defenders to him as they assumed he would selfishly take the final shot of the game. Unfortunatley for Drake, it was all about the win for him as he dished the ball off to Ty Rogers who drained the 3 pointer at the buzzer for the overtime win. The Madness of March continues!

Who are the players on your team that you can rely on? Do you have them on your team? Our future's need to be in the hands of leadership that understands that vision and implements the strategies to do so. If not, we need to be those leaders.

Luck of the Irish

Happy St. Patricks Day! What a day for the Irish, huh? This is the powerful branding and selling of the facts that we have been all buying for so many years. People have been shaping the message for years now but there are a few facts that I thought were very interesting about this day:

• St. Patrick was born in Britain not Ireland.
• St. Patrick's favorite color was blue. Green was originally a color the Irish didn't like because it had it's roots in fairies & Leprechauns.
• Up until 1970 the Irish celebrated March 17th as a religious Holiday and closed all pubs!

So what does this mean to those in the advertising and marketing world? Perception often becomes reality. Many of the common beliefs we hold are positions that have been shaped in our minds by folks whose job it is to position a product or company a certain way. Is that good? My fear is that as consumers or as buyers of media that we don't do the necessary work in order to determine what is the best or effective product. We take the easy road and do what is "safe" or requires little effort. Many say, "Let's run the media plan the same as last year. It seemed to work well". Good marketers spend time to really evaluate new options available to them or their clients and are open to new ideas. There are many good options out there, and if your in ag media, Fastline may be one of them for you. Maybe it would be worth it for you to change your perceptions and look at a fresh new option. We may be able to lead you to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

Join, Join, Join!!

It's not that I am anti-social. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I insert myself into almost any situation and usually have a comment or two on most topics. Recently, I was asked to join an "online community" for professionals. I joined this site last year after I was invited by someone else and rarely go back because I can't remember my password anymore! (I have too many to remember these days...a subject for another blog) I won't mention the name but somehow I am having a hard time understanding why I should continue to do this. John knows Bob, who knows Ed, who knows Mary from college, etc.....and we all are now one happy connected family.

Sites like FaceBook and MySpace make connections and add "friends" and show how you are all linked. Look I am not that old, 37 to be exact, but it seems to me just because someone is now a link on your FaceBook site doesn't really make them a friend. Just cause your bud Tom likes Led Zeppelin ( people under 22 see Wikipedia ) doesn't mean he'll come pick you up if you get a flat tire at 2 am.

On the professional site I guess it's all about networking. But it seems to me like that should really be done in a face to face situation when possible. Trust me, you'll want to see me roll my eyes at you when you claim your new status as VP of Operational Modifications for Future Procedural Best Practices was not a lateral move within your company. I can't believe I am the only one who is this old fashioned and prefers to meet people in person and get to know them this way. Look, I think the Internet is great. It has changed the way we do business all around the world. I mean, without the Internet how would a joker like me have an opportunity to impact so many lives?!

Change is in the air.....

So what if I told you back in 1985 that you should pony up $5,000 and buy some stock in a new company named Microsoft? Then in late 1999 I tell you sell it all (if you haven't already cause at that point you are a multi-millionaire thanks to me!) and you cash out right before the dot-com bust? What if in 1975 I told your parents that within a short number of years Sears would no longer be the giant of retail stores & that catalog would stop coming to your house? I would have been laughed out of the room.

I am using some pretty good examples of a changes in direction that happen sometimes pretty quickly in the USA. You could really benefit financially if you get things like the above right. Problem is they are all very easy to see after the fact...not before. But the true pioneers are the ones who spend the time to see it and make the change before it is understood by the rest.

I spent most of last week in Louisville developing new ways to help our customers be more successful. We looked at the challenges & changes our industry (agricultural media) will face and what it will look like for our company, Fastline, in the next few years. The big challenge for all of us is to not only have incredible foresight...but when you do have it figured out, CHANGE. I think that is the killer for most companies..they see the vision and just can't pull the trigger either because of fear or just plain "that's too difficult".

I'm glad I work for a company that is willing to invest time and talent to think about where we are, where we are going, and oh and by the way, how do we get there? One thing is for certain, watching your competitors figure out the change before you just plain sucks!

Reaching the elite....

So I just got back from the Commodity Classic, which if you are not from the ag industry, sounds like a golfing event. It is actually a group of "elite" producers who farm large acreage amounts of corn, soybeans, & wheat and belong to the respective associations. It is truly amazing how much money is spent on this event to reach this relatively small group of farmers. But with commodity prices through the roof let me tell you what I learned:

• Prices are very, very good. However, input prices have risen too, so the profits will be good but not as good as some would think.
• Farmers are so resilient. They have such an optimism about them and I am glad they are doing well.
• Machinery is in high demand and scarce at this point already. Those who have inventory should promote that fact.
• These "elite" producers love Fastline! (Shameless plug , I know) We only signed up four people at the show because the remainder told us they are already on our mailing list. The folks that did sign up missed us in Louisville or their home state farm show. I'll save the story about the farmer who was buried with his Fastline for another post but these guys really love our publications.

The bottom line is our industry is doing very well...not to say there aren't challenges (livestock guys) but for the most part everyone seems to think 2008 will be a great year. One question for those in marketing is: What will you do to take advantage of this?

Call me....I have a few ideas.

Look out World...You May Regret This!

So here I am venturing into the world of blogging. I think years from now we will learn to regret giving ordinary people the ability to influence via this medium. This of course would not be the case with me because the goal of this Blog is to give you my insight to what I see happening not only in business & marketing but also the world I see around me. A few quick thank you's: to Michael Libbie whose Blog I enjoy (http://insightadvertising.typepad.com/) and who inspired me to come into this world. Also, to my sister Sarah who started her own Blog with daily pictures(http://murofiore.blogspot.com/) . This Blog will be done in a very straight forward manner....calling it like I see it and probably avoiding the politically correct sentiment at times. But hey, your not paying for my insight so take it for what it is worth (millions, you lucky dogs!).

I am the National Accounts Manager for Fastline Publications. What this basically means is that I work with companies who have an interest in reaching people in the agricultural world...specifically producers, otherwise known as farmers. My goal is to help these companies promote their products & services; ultimately knowing that this connection leads to sales growth. Sounds pretty simple right? Well, I could spend a long time blogging on how many factors come into this simple process to complicate it or make it more difficult than it should be but I'll save that for future posts.

I will do my best to create a Blog that is interesting and one that sparks some dialogue now and again. Remember, this is for educational & entertainment purposes only and thus should be taken in that vain....unless you are a potential client to which I say the words on this Blog should be taken as industry inside information. So with that tantalizing last line I will sign off and let you decide for yourself if you want to come back and if there is potential for the Pulitzer Prize in blogging.