Interesting article on luxury marketing and in a recession and beyond at www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=116571 

Here are some of the highlights: As we shift from recession into recovery mode, it is important for marketers to take a step back and evaluate what worked and what failed for luxury marketers during this economic crisis. 

What is different today is that luxury consumers are more discriminating about their purchases, and marketers need to concentrate on key branding elements. These include authenticity, quality, service, dependability and exclusivity. 

It will be vital for marketers to continuously keep brands fresh, evolving and relevant.  
In the months ahead, the challenge for luxury brands will be to create a credible “story” that taps into icons and myths and compels potential consumers to act with confidence, thereby eliminating the hurdles that may prevent purchases.  

Three key points when marketing luxury brands in a recession and beyond:
• Invest in your brand
• Avoid “the sale” mentality
• Reward customer loyalty with free products, service and advice
 
 
Ask me about the most surprising and memorable thing I saw last week at the 2009 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show and you’d have my response in less time than it takes to say “Diddy’s yacht.” Which is not my answer, though I did see the $150 million Christina O at Pier 66 along with the other megayachts that were – sigh – too big to fit at the Bahia Mar Yachting Center. However, contrary to popular belief, this 325-foot behemoth doesn’t belong to Diddy; he’s just chartered it on occasion for $620,000 a week. Poor Diddy.

No, the most surprising and memorable thing I saw at the boat show was a person. Chris Kennan and I were fraternity brothers at Indiana University from around 1992 to 1995, living just down the hall from each other for part of that time. But like many college acquaintances, we lost track of each other after graduation. Fast-forward 15 years and we, literally, run into each other at this year’s boat show. Turns out Chris is a publisher of multiple yachting magazines in the USVI, while I’m a freelance boating writer.

It’s a small, small world.

Needless to say, Chris and I are having a lot of fun kicking around ideas of how we can work together. Check out his publications by clicking on the links below. Hopefully, you can read my articles in them soon.

All At Sea - www.allatsea.net
Crew Life - www.crew-life.com
First Mate - www.firstmateonline.com 
Yacht Essentials - www.yachtessentials.com
 
On Writing Well 11/02/2009
 
Dan Simmons is a writer’s writer, and one of my favorite authors. He can cross genres from speculative fiction to tragedy to fantasy to pulp noir – sometimes all in the same book – with an effortlessness that few can match. Simmons is also a great essayist and radical Shakespeare enthusiast (he’s based several of his books on Old Will’s works, though, strangely, most of them take place thousands of years in the future and in outer space).

You might think that the above would keep a guy sufficiently busy, and satisfied. (Did I mention that Simmons has won dozens of national and international awards for his stories?) But this is not an author to rest on his Hugos and Serlings. No, Simmons also keeps his website fresh with periodic histories and an ongoing series of articles on “Writing Well” dating back to 2006. Topics covered include “How Can One Get Started Writing and Then Sustain the Effort Over a Long Enough Period to Build Up a Body of Work…Especially Something as Huge as a Novel?” and “Think of Literary Style as Pornography.”

Questionable titles aside, his “Writing Well” articles explain the how’s and why’s of writing in illustrative and human terms. Interspersed with anecdotes, lively quotes and narrative description, they are as entertaining as they are educational – all 200,000+ words, equivalent to more than 350 printed pages so far. Yes, that’s an awful lot of reading about writing. But if you’re serious about the craft and want to hear from one of our generation’s great minds on the subject, then you need to visit www.dansimmons.com.

If you’d rather start with the meat before chewing down the gristle and bone, I recommend “Song of Kali” or “Carrion Comfort.” After all, as Dan Simmons says, “all writers must read widely and deeply to learn how writers write.”
 
 
You’ve seen the news. Sales are down in everything, including sales of recreational boats. The past 12 months in particular have been brutal on the marine industry, and as a result, manufacturers and dealers have reduced prices and raised purchase incentives to unprecedented levels. Historically speaking, this really could be the best time ever to buy a boat and save a bundle.

But, even this promising buyers’ market is not without its practical considerations and pitfalls, which if not taken into account, could end up with you getting a “good deal” on a bad boat – or no deal at all. In an attempt to help you make a smart buying decision, I’ve put together some common myths currently circulating in the market and have provided realities that you can use to your advantage while shopping for your dream machine.

Myth #1: The longer I wait, the better deal I’ll get on my next boat.

Reality #1: Indications are that the marine industry is already beginning to emerge from the economic downturn, and every day that passes results in less available inventory as the industry begins to right itself. As supply goes down, demand and prices go up. Current discounts and incentives have combined to create a “perfect storm” of savings for boat buyers, but only if you take advantage of the favorable conditions now.

Myth #2: I can get a better deal at my local boat show.

Reality #2: Most manufacturers and dealers expect to take their final losses in 2009, meaning that 2010 will be a whole new ball game – one featuring permanently lower inventories and a return to higher prices. By the time your local boat show rolls around, the best inventory and deals will have disappeared, and you will end up spending more money and experiencing a potentially significant waiting period to get the boat you want.

Myth #3: The boating industry is going down the tubes.

Reality #3: How many auto manufacturers are there compared to the 1,500 boat manufacturers out there? This economic downturn and the forecasted slow recovery will have a cleansing impact on marginal dealer and manufacturers. In the end, the marine industry will emerge leaner and smarter than before. The fact is that customers still want superior boats, and that isn’t going to change.

Myth #4: A repossessed boat is just as good as a new boat.

Reality #4: By definition, a repossessed boat is someone else’s reclaimed property. You have no way of knowing what problems lurk below the surface. Do you even have a dealer or a manufacturer to approach for service and support, or have one or both of them gone out of business? It’s wiser to invest in long-term value by purchasing a boat from a well established, quality manufacturer and dealer. You will save on service and support headaches, and your trade-in will be worth more in the future.

Myth #4: I can’t afford a boat right now.

Reality #4: Manufacturers and dealers are willing to help with remarkable discounts and incentive programs. Explain your situation and see what can be done to overcome the obstacles. You might be surprised what kinds of programs are available – extra factory discounts, trade-in allowances, down payment assistance. This is your once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a purchase that will let you to escape the pressures of life and reconnect with what really matters. Just think, you could be out on the water with your family and friends, pulling a tube behind your new runabout or enjoying a sunset cruise to your favorite anchorage. Saying you can’t afford a boat right now is like saying you can’t stop and smell the roses.

 
 
So, I up and did it. I got myself a personal interweb page, er, site…whatever. According to freelance writers, it’s one of the best ways to set yourself apart from the crowd. And who am I to pooh-pooh freelancing tips from other freelancers? After all, we’re all part of the same big chummy family. Right?

Two days later, I’m starting to wonder if the others have conspired against me. I could’ve finished the better part of a paying gig or learned to juggle ducks in the time it’s taken me to construct my online fiefdom. First, I had to find a web hosting service. The pay-to-play ones have all sorts of bells and whistles like pictures of Danica Patrick in a tight leather jacket (I’m looking at you Go Daddy). But the free ones are, well, free. I chose Weebly because it seemed like a 6-year-old could figure out how to use it.

I was then forced to pick from an eye-blistering assortment of design templates the one that best captured my career goals and personality. I’m still not 100-percent sure, but I think I made the right decision to stay away from the one with Tinkerbell on it. Next, I arranged my pages (all four of them), tailored my settings, laid in my content, linked my work samples and clicked “publish” – only to discover that my site looks a lot like my friend Jeff’s site, www.jeffvrabel.com.

Well, I guess there’s always next time. Given the endless editing capabilities of the internet, I’m sure there’ll be one. Maybe I’ll ask my 6-year-old daughter to help me. She’ll love that Tinkerbell template. I hear that Tinkerbell scares the pants off Jeff’s son, so we should be in the clear.