ithinkyoushould.Get to Know the Stuff White People Like.
If you have been living under a rock, or have been pre-occupied with your Life [ya, me too!], or too busy updating your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts then you might not have heard/read/noticed with any regularity Christian Lander’s blogsite, Stuff White People Like.
I came to the site rather inauspiciously and without fanfare about 2 years ago. Pregnant with my second daughter, I felt the “need” to stay current and up to date. My way of doing this, in addition to reading newspapers, was surfing. I would find recipes, design innovations, cultural movements, and so on. Since my thing was to always explore “good writing,” I felt like I struck gold when I happened upon the very cheeky Stuff White People Like, written by Clander.
Since last year the Stuff phenomenon has taken off, and Clander has inked a book deal and currently lectures around the globe about, well, Stuff White People Like. He hails from Toronto Canada, which is all kinds of fab since it proves that we are not only Les Americaines, plainer, less-dateable sister [an interesting observation if you go for CanCon TV versus the fashion print media where Canadian "girls" RULE!], but that we have a sophisticated sense of humour that can match or spoof much of the T&A offerings that currently passes for entertainment in the Western Hemisphere.
The “genius” of Stuff is that Clander puts it “out there” in a way that makes you simply guffaw out loud and say, “oh no he dinint!” I would offer up the opinion that it isn’t so much the fact that “White People” think, react, say, exude, much less “are” the caricatures of the parody-type situations he speaks about, but rather, he expresses a current cultural phenomenon of which we are all part and parcel of. Particularly to those of us who have “glowing hearts.”
And yes, there have been spin-offs: Stuff Black People Like, Stuff Asian People Like, Stuff Gay People Like, and so on. But guess what, it’s not the same. I mean, naturally it’s not the same. How can it be? Any derivatives are simply that, a derivative of a good idea. And whereas Stuff White People Like aims to poke fun at so-called “White People’s” tastes and predilections, it’s really about our “collective” tastes and predilections since we all live in the culture that he spoofs.
Now, the converse is not necessarily “true.” I have watched BET for example, which might interestingly be called, “Stuff that Cool Black Folks of a Certain Demographic Dig.” Under that network umbrella, I have caught the odd episode of The Mo’nique Show, and The Wendy Williams Show, and hard-pressed to find something of on-going interest, I have asked myself, “am I missing something here?!”
Mo’nique in her quest to be the anti-Oprah is just that. She whoops, she hollers, she gyrates, and she shouts at the TV, calling all of her guests, “baby” and “sugah” while constantly referring to the royal “we” as in “we, Black people of a certain disposition.” It’s really too much. But maybe I’m too “Canadian” to appreciate the ear-busting subtleties of this demographic. And yet, I “understand” the milestone-achievements of seeing a gregarious Black host, to put it mildly, that isn’t “white-ified” as the Oprah deniers have said in the past.
Still, I find it “alienating,” which I suppose on many levels is exactly what it’s “supposed” to be: “alienating” and “foreign” and “other” to the non-black population, the non-American population, and dare I say, the skinny white girl population. I find it aggressive and feisty, which I suppose is “good” on some level, but I also wonder why? If this is “mainstream” and fills a talk-show void, which I presume is the mandate here, then I get it. I can also acknowledge that it too may become a way for Black Hollywood actors and entertainers in general to get some much needed play. [Remember Arsenio Hall? Ya, well, conspiracy theories abound on that one...] But I also wonder how long can this woman continue to shout at the TV as if shouting makes people hear you mo’bettah. [Although it’s not a “scientific” work, you might also find some answers in the book, Why Black People Tend to Shout by Ralph Wiley].
Now, don’t get me started on The Wendy Williams Show. This is a “why-bother” of epic proportions–her boob size notwithstanding. This is the poor-girl version of a variety television talk-show. The hair-weaves are all wrong, the outfits are loud and kind of distasteful, the plastic surgery is off-broadway, the guests definitely NOT the A-List, and well, the subject matter is a bit of a snooze. [I know, that's why it's entertaining.] To her credit, Wendy Williams did head-up a fabulous radio show in New York in her heyday, and she was credited with “outing” Whitney Houston’s drug problem. Oh Lawd. Indeed, New Yorkers like her not the least because she has managed to score several profiles in the NYTimes, but because she is real about being fake and likes to gossip. Go figure.
Taste is certainly relative, and for that reason, I think you should check-out Stuff That White People Like. It’s worth the giggle.
ithinkyoushould.Have a Marketing Plan that includes a Public Relations/Media Plan.
In business life, you are nothing without a marketing plan AND a public relations/media plan. Business & Marketing/PR go hand in hand like milk and cookies, pasta and sauce, wine and cheese, fries and salt. Â You get the picture. Unfortunately, so many small businesses fail because while you may have a great idea and a great product, few invest the necessary thought, time, energy and dollars on the smart tools that will help to bring your product to market.
In our over-media saturated world, the companies that gain the most air-time, are more often than not the companies who invest big dollars to ensure that their products are placed front and centre on the media landscape. If we are bombarded and pressured to buy “Concept A” over “Concept B,” or “Product A” over “Product B” it is because some clever body out there is making damn sure that we keep our eyes on their prize. Quite instantly the [subliminal] buzz words and phrases that  they use to market their great ideas instantly become part of the culture and we incorporate them into our lingo without missing a beat:
Dr. Oz wants you to focus on You, Oprah wants you to Live your Best Life, Nike wants you to Just Do It, Adidas tells us that Impossible is Nothing, Coca-Cola wants you to Smile, and the list goes on. If we are not called to swift and immediate action by these slogans, then we are gently persuaded that we are Lovin’ It by McDonald’s, that I’m a PC and Windows 7 was my idea by Microsoft, that Banking can be This Comfortable by TD Canada Trust, that Ziploc was designed with you in mind [thanks for the refresher NYTimes], and so on.
It is these smart marketing strategies coupled with smart design and smart public relations/media initiatives that keep these brands in the forefront of our minds, at the forefront of the media cycle, all with a strategic hand in our pocketbooks. It doesn’t hurt that TD has been voted Best Customer Service, that Nike endorses [and drops as necessary—boohoo Tiger!] multi-million dollar gifted athletes or that Microsoft’s Bill Gates is a great philanthropist in addition to being a likeable and business-savvy geek.
Smart marketing, and clever planning make all the difference and the difference lays in not only what you market, but how and why and when you market your product. So here’s the thing: in addition to setting goals and benchmarks, one must aim high, and if you can’t aim high, then aim mid-market. That’s right people. I said, “MID-MARKET!”
The mid-market landscape is populated by wanna-be brands who might never reach the top tier level of products similar to theirs, but they don’t care. They are content to be B-Status players and as a result they are able to milk that status for all it’s worth. What’s clever about the B-Status players is that knowing that they will  “never” become top level players, they are free to market the hell out of their B Status as a viable option to the A Level Brands . The bells and whistles aren’t as loud and/or shiny, and it may not cost as much, but no matter, the B Status/Listers have a calling and a following and they know what their demographic wants. The point is, they too have a marketable strategy—a failsafe Gameplan that keeps them on “back-up” status should the A-Lister lose public favour or fall from grace. Yes, the market is that fickle, because we the people are that fickle.
A good example of smart marketing is the comic/brand Kathy Griffin. Many years ago she made a name for herself by promoting her “D-List” status. Her program, My Life on the D-List skewers the Hollywooderati while making good fun of her life as what she terms a “D-List Celebrity.” What’s smart about Ms Griffin is that in promoting her “D-List” status she has made herself an “A-Lister” by default. She is also clever enough to know how not to alienate her fans or to isolate herself from the very category that she established to win a unique demographic all her own.  She’s been smart enough to keep her brand loyal to what she set out to do, and she’s been strategic enough to leverage her “D-List” status to insinuate herself into the A-List category/environments where she would have been previously unwelcomed.
Griffin’s [media]strategy involved her creating a Reality Show long before Reality Shows were the norm, and she brought us into her “private” world of entertainment where few celebrities would “allow” such access. In fact, the sole reason the Tabloids exist is to deconstruct and annihilate the untouchable personas “A-Listers” create—by way of their own marketing strategies— to distance themselves from the grubby masses. So for example, Brad Pitt will do a Edwin 503’s jean commercial in Japan, but we won’t ever have a hope in hell of seeing him hawk jeans here much less smile for a celebrity Gap ad. And thus an industry was born.
So from this we can glean that strategy is everything, and that a good strategy underscores any marketing/public relations/media campaign that you will ever embark upon. You need insight, and foresight and forbearance. You need to invest and be confidant that what you have is indeed worth fighting for and you will stop at nothing to achieve your market share be it A Status or D Status. There is room at the top for everyone and no one. How badly you want it depends on your Value Add and the strategies you employ to get you there. I think you should get going. There is plenty of room at the bottom.
