Prop 22 – A possible spur to growth

Adweek

The foremost likely result is that the passage of 22 will not only open the door for new app-based startup brands but also make it easier for existing startups to access potential funding.

“For people who want to get into [an app-based] business, you suddenly have a legitimized business model,” said Dean Crutchfield, chief growth officer of agency Crutchfield and Partners. “If you’re looking to invest in this market or develop a business that wants to get into this market, this is a massive boost in confidence.”

‘Marketing myopia’: Quibi’s flameout is a cautionary tale for advertisers keen to latch on to the next big thing in media

Quibi has been done to death but here’s my different take on Digiday: “advertisers are “clawing for anything that makes it viable” for the ad-supported TV and video model to continue, said Dean Crutchfield, CEO of marketing and growth consulting firm Crutchfield + Partners. Ultimately, advertisers who took the plunge on Quibi fell victim to a bad case of “marketing myopia”, Crutchfield said. “They were looking from the inside out and not the outside in — that was a major calamity for them,” added Crutchfield. “They made too many assumptions … they believed [Quibi] had permission to be in the market, where, actually, they didn’t have permission from users.”

NBC – LeBron takes Super Bowl off roading in GM’s new electric Hummer

“There is still power in the Hummer brand,” Dean Crutchfield, a branding expert at Crutchfield and Partners, said. “America likes it big. Not everyone wants to be Paris slim, and Hummer is a symbol of American success.” Article.

Nightly Business Report – NBA Business at Stake in China

With billions of dollars at stake in China, how does the NBA handle the situation with its geopolitical crisis there. Dean Crutchfield, CEO at Crutchfield & Parters, joins us with his perspective. Link.

CNBC Power Lunch – NBA will keep apologizing to China to protect its business interests

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey apologized on Twitter over a now-deleted tweet that spoke in support of Hong Kong protesters. Dean Crutchfield, CEO of crisis advisory firm Crutchfield and Partners, and CNBC’s Eric Chemi join the “Power Lunch” team to discuss. Here’s the link.

AP – Amid rift with China, will the NBA be forced to apologize?

When major corporations have done something to anger Chinese authorities in recent years, the playbook has called for one thing: an apology…

“Dean Crutchfield, CEO of the crisis management firm Crutchfield + Partners, said Morey’s tweet, well-intentioned as it was, could cost the NBA billions. He wondered if a parting of the ways between Morey and the Rockets would appease China.

“You need to fire him and you need to fire him fast,” Crutchfield said. “China needs a statement, and for him to still be in his job is remarkable. I think Silver did a remarkable job with his statement, but this is a senior official, well aware of the importance of the Chinese market. One man, one tweet.” Here’s a link to the article.

PR Week – How the NBA made a no-win situation worse

“Agency experts, including a former communications executive with the league, say its initial public response inadvertently juiced the crisis….

With that in mind, Dean Crutchfield, CEO of Crutchfield + Partners, says the NBA should have exercised another option: dismiss Morey. Crutchfield says other employers would find rogue commentary of a sensitive geopolitical nature grounds for termination, especially if it was about a critical and growing geographic market, regardless of how well-meaning the message.

“If a senior executive and important representative of Apple came out with a remark like that about their most successful business unit, that executive wouldn’t be there anymore. It simply wouldn’t be tolerated in a corporate environment,” states Crutchfield. “It was one man, one tweet; they should have fired him and fired him fast.”

If they had, instead of making a statement about democracy and free speech, the NBA would have addressed business protocols and guidelines in relation to social media.

“The statement would read something like, ‘This is not how our people behave on social media, uncontrolled and with no regard for their professional responsibility. His personal opinion should have been kept to himself given the platform he has being part of this organization,’” says Crutchfield.

FT – Nike risks being dragged into China NBA dispute

Financial Times reports on a new perspective on NBA v. China spat…Few western companies have more at stake than Nike in the fallout from an American basketball executive’s tweet about Hong Kong.

Here’s a link to the article. My POV is that “despite demands from the likes of Mr Rubio, he would advise the company to stay quiet. “Nike didn’t create this war,” he said. “Any crisis manager would say the same: avoid, avoid, avoid.” The episode could yet work to the company’s advantage, he added. “If they play it right, they’re going to sell a lot more merchandise.”

CGI models and future of fashion industry

Fad Or Fixture: How Relevant Are CGI Models To The Fashion And Beauty Industries?

The question is, do CGI models hold true value for such businesses, or is this just a fad? Is such a move merely about gaining from some of the hype such models currently present? Or can it in fact drive ROI for the brands making use of them long term?

Following on from the Fashion shows in NYLON I spoke with CGTN’s Rachelle Akuffo about growing popularity of CGI models. Here’s the link.

 

 

Unilever CEO wants brands with purpose or they’re out

Bloomberg News “As chief executive officer of Unilever, Paul Polman transformed the sprawling maker of Dove soap, Knorr stock cubes, Cif cleaning sprays, and Hellmann’s mayonnaise into a test bed for the idea that companies can benefit from affiliation with social causes, such as improved hygiene or better access to toilets. While investors and analysts were initially skeptical, Polman was ultimately lauded for redefining the corporation as something more benign than a purely profit-driven enterprise, even as margins edged up slightly from the midteens to almost 20% during his tenure. Now, Alan Jope, the Scotsman who succeeded Polman in January, is amping up the strategy. Article here.

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