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I just posted a blog entry on 3LUXE regarding my beloved iPhone and the nearly $3,000 bill I received from AT&T Wireless for the first month of usage. I love my iPhone, but I’d like to go on record as saying that while I believe in Trading Up, this is one trade I had not intended to make. To get the full scoop, check out the 3LUXE link above.

I have seen a lot of people come through the doors at Barefoot. Not just full time “Toes,” but bright-eyed, hopeful candidates and students looking to better understand agency life and I get asked this question a lot, “What’s the most important thing to be successful in this business?” My answer used to be simple: passion (and I still believe that is incredibly important). But I’ve also met a lot of “passionate” people who did not possess what I now view as the most important thing to be successful.

So, now my answer goes a little something like this: “Be a sponge. Be open, listen and learn as much as you can every day. Understand that as good as you think you might be, there is always someone better, smarter, faster, more talented. And once you can understand that and truly believe it, half the battle is won. The rest is up to you. Become a student for life and never believe that you are “there,” that you have arrived.

I can’t imagine that day will ever come for me, because the day that happens is the day I am no longer growing. Regardless of the promotions, pats on the back or awards I win, I continue to believe I am only as good as the last thing I have done. And that keeps me pushing myself, growing and I believe it helps me to be a more valuable contributor to the creative team and to Barefoot everyday.

So, I guess what I am saying is that be patient, listen a lot and enjoy the ride. Don’t be in a rush to get to the top and make the most money. Enjoy the journey, because that’s exactly what it is. Yes, passion is great to have, but in my opinion, being a sponge is even better.

A new book called Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster by fashion writer Dana Thomas seems quite interesting as a piece of historical and social commentary, but more than a bit shallow and naive in terms of economics and human behavior.

Thomas seems to bemoan the fact that once great luxury brands that stood apart because of craftsmanship are now commanding luxury prices largely on the basis of status, since overall product quality in the fashion space has declined substantially in her view.Thomas seems to long for the good old days when only the rich could afford certain things, making it clear who was in the upper caste. And who wasn’t. Of course, it’s still very true that only the rich can afford certain things, but our robust economy has created a middle class with a lot of spending power, or more to the point: with the means to cut corners in one area in order to trade up in another. (Just as Thomas herself finds a couple loading shopping bags from an outlet store into a $380,000 car.)

Thomas seems to ignore the tremendous psychic gratification one can gain by aligning him- or herself with a particular brand–”badging” as some call it. How does one put a value on that? It’s simple: It’s whatever someone is willing to pay for it, regardless of how ridiculous you or I may think that is. (I have a $600 luxury fishing pole; I know at least one person who thinks that’s crazy.) Thomas suggests that some companies are making obscene profits while their products leave lots to be desired in terms of quality. In her view, this is something of a crime. I’m no advocate for shoddy products at high prices, of course. But I am a fan of the free market. Unacceptable quality will eventually catch up with any brand, I believe, but even faster with those who play in the luxury space. Poor quality is an open door for competitors to stroll right in. (As a quick aside for those in the Eastern United States, think about what Ron Trzcinski of The Original Mattress Factory has done to shed light on the poor craftsmanship and high costs of the bedding industry.)

All that said, if someone wants to pay, say, $1,000 for a “designer” garbage bag that a woman wears as a dress as a means of making a statement about herself and her place in the world, then I say that’s a win-win situation for both the dressmaker and the dress wearer.

I rocket for books. Big time. I buy more than I can possibly read, but that’s OK by me. I like the way a new book feels and smells. I like anticipating when I’ll first crack it open, which is often as I sit in my car before I drive out of the parking lot. I visit a bookstore several times a week, often with my oldest, Maggie, 12, in tow. She’s book crazy, too. Currently, she’s immersed in Stephenie Meyer’s vampire love trilogy (Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse). I have no issues with buying Maggie any and every book she wants. What parent doesn’t hope their kids enjoy reading? But it’s more than that for me. It’s a chance to share a passion: the joy of books that only those who have been so bitten and smitten can understand. I get it. Maggie gets it. That’s cool.This experience has had me thinking about how some brands could help encourage this sort of parent/child bonding via interest in the same trade up categories. I suppose we could call this “parent/child branding.” While not appropriate for, say, a beer brand, parent/child branding could be fertile ground for an outdoor gear brand or a technology brand. My love for books has only deepened because of Maggie. Plus, I spend even more than I used to as I underwrite her addiction in addition to my own.Perhaps my passion for books will inspire Maggie to buy them like crazy when she’s my age. And, if so, Doubleday, Simon & Schuster, et al will owe me a big thank you. I’ll gladly settle for some free samples.

There’s a solid article on rocketing worth reading in the current issue of Fast Company. It’s called “The Inevitability of $300 Socks.” The authors, Chip and Dan Heath, who also so happen to have a book on the market now called Made to Stick, make this fundamental point: “Products make the leap from pedestrian to premium when their creators think of them as ideas.” People buy into and fall in love with ideas, not products, per se. It’s the idea of craftmanship or beauty or intelligence that people want to be associated with. As the authors say: “Luxury has become more about personal pleasure and self-expression than status.” It’s the “idea” that a product represents that reflects who we are. “You are, it seems,” the authors write, “what you blow a lot of money on.” There’s more than a little truth in that. For sure.

Pamela Danziger of Unity Marketing has just published an article summarizing a new study on the luxury consumer which underscores the power of Barefoot’s positioning and the premise of the whole area of “Trading Up.”  The article is called “Luxury Marketers:  What if Shoppers Just Aren’t That Into You?” Here’s an excerpt:

The second quarter Luxury Tracking Report, based on a survey of some 1,000 luxury consumers (average income $155,500 and who spent an average of $15,283 on luxury in the second quarter of 2007), reports fully one-third of the affluent consumers surveyed said that while they have been fortunate to enjoy luxuries in their life, that “luxury is not a part of my lifestyle.”Another 27 percent admitted to scaling back on some purchases in order to afford luxuries in areas that really matter to them, but for these occasionally indulgent affluents, high-end luxury living is not a part of their every day life either. This means that three out of every five potential luxury consumers is able easily to walk past the high-end stores and brands calling their name.  

This excerpt highlights a couple of points that I want to elaborate on. The first is that even when someone can afford to be a luxury consumer they don’t choose to be a luxury consumer in every category. The second is that even affluent consumers will cut back in some areas to indulge in others. That “rocketing” behavior is no surprise to us at Barefoot, and understanding that dynamic is key in how you talk to these consumers about your brand.The last part of the article draws the following conclusion:

“Instead, marketers need to convey to the reluctant luxury customer why their product or service is a smart choice as that occasional treat. They need to emphasize the superior quality, workmanship, materials, or service that they provide and work hard to make customers see why it is worth “trading up” to their brand of luxury item,’ Danziger concludes.  

Those familiar with how we approach these consumers will recognize that as perfectly describing what we call Reasons To Rationalize®. You can’t just expect a high-end or luxury brand name to create the desire and the purchase, you have to help the consumer understand and rationalize why your product or service is worth the extra investment.It’s great to see a study validating the path we’ve chosen to pursue as an area of growth for our agency. Thanks Pam!

Most agree that advertising is part science, part art. (How much of each is–and always will be–open to debate.) As I guy who focuses more on the art than the science, I still find it interesting when science provides some interesting insights into our biz. Here’s a case in point (and my last entry dealing with Daniel Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness):In scientific studies, when people are asked to predict how happy they’ll be about something in the future, be that eating a candy bar or owning a new car, they consistently under- or over-estimate it. When, however, people are given the chance to hear other people talk about just how happy they were (or weren’t) with the experience, the test subjects are much more accurate in predicting just how happy (or not) they’ll be. We all want to believe that we and our circumstance are unique, but the truth is: we’re far more alike than different, and other people’s experience is actually more accurate in predicting our happiness than our own “guesses” about it.This is solid evidence for the power of testimonials in advertising, particularly with “trade-up” items where there’s considerable emotional investment. It suggests that we should expose our prospects to those people who have bought into our brand promise and our pleased with it. Be those video testimonials on websites or actually in-person “meet-and-greets” exposure to happy customers may be the best way to convert uncertain prospects. (Of course, this science also speaks to the power of negative publicity or online chat about your brand.)Better to have those who believe your brand will make them happy and indeed be happy with it, then to have those who think they will be, but turn out to be disappointed, and who share that disappointment with others. Less can be more. Maybe science will prove that someday.

I love great creative. And I love it even more when it’s the work of my friends and colleagues here at Barefoot. Check out this cool B-to-B postcard campaign on “Ads of the World” done for Tom Bolton, a letterer for comic books and such. This smart, funny work was the result of a collaboration between art director Todd Jessee and copywriter Paul Singer. David Schlosser worked his illustration magic, and Jodi Greene provided excellent creative direction. I wish I could say that I was involved in the work, but I wasn’t. If it looks familiar to you, it may be because it’s also been featured in Archive magazine.

I can’t claim like my business partner, Sean Brown, for instance, to rocket for technology. I’ve never been tech adverse, mind you, but I can’t claim to be an early adopter, either. But perhaps that’s changing. Maybe I’m adding technology to my other purchasing “soft spots”: art, books and fly fishing. What makes me say this? Well, two days ago I bought an iPhone. Not only did it cost me about $700 (with some extras), but I also had to pay T-Mobile a few hundred bucks to get out of my contract with them. Despite those costs, I would do it all over again. The iPhone is simply amazing: so smart, so helpful, so easy to use. If you’re thinking about buying one, do it! And look for me to be at the front of the line when Apple first starts selling the iCar.

One of the things that I love best about the Barefoot culture and the people we have here is that whenever anyone finds themselves with a bit of downtime, they’re always quick to send an all-staff email and ask how they might be able to pitch in and help someone else out. I’ve worked at places where, if you found yourself with some downtime, the culture seemed to encourage just sitting on your ass and twiddling your thumbs. This “team attitude,” if you’ll pardon the cliche, truly makes a difference for at least one person almost every day.