rdknyvr said:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 #

Robin, great points. You and Beth set a tone and posture early on for OZ that has gained the respect of fans and 'not fans' alike. Hopefully the PR people over at Alticor can follow in your footsteps... they could be so much more effective if they did, unlike last summer and fall where they dissed friends and foes alike.

One of the key achievements you've made here is allowing IBOs in general to feel like we could talk directly to decision influencers at the Corp and not be 'bound' by 'system' channels of information flow. There is so much that doesn't get communicated through the systems, or gets diluted in the process. Going direct with the kinds of things you post here is so much more effective.

And it's allowed those of us who support the Corp to provide counterpoints and positions to those who until this past year pretty much had the field and 'audience' to themselves. And to say things in defense that perhaps you as corporate employees are unable to say as bluntly. I think you've managed to tilt that playing field back to at least level this past year, along with many of the Transformation initiatives.

Keep up the great work!!! :)

Tex said:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 #

The person labeling Gabbie's photo pornographic probably doesn't get out much. There is far worse on almost any television station.

The Target story reminds me of another recent story about the student who called a school administrator at home regarding a snow day, got chewed out by his wife, then played the recording on his myspace page. Here's an update to the story: http://www.dailymail.com/News/NationandWorld/200801260002

rdknyvr said:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 #

Robin, one more comment on responsiveness. I think I've asked the question numerous times of different people including brand managers, why Gensona isn't listed under 'Shop Brands' on the site, between eSpring and Glister. I've never had the courtesy of an answer to that very legitimate question... it IS a Quixtar/Alticor registered brand.

It should also be on the personal retail sites for QHealthZone and QHealthBeautyZone, but after many inquiries still lies buried several layers down under 'Vitamins and Supplements,' if you actually know where to drill down at.

Any comment on why the unresponsiveness from Brand Managers, Sales Managers, Marketing Managers?

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EDITOR'S NOTE:  Sorry RDK, I hadn't heard that question.  I'll ask around and see what's up!  -- RL

Bridgett said:
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 #

Random thoughts about your example:

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1) I believe Gabrielle’s nickname is spelled Gabby, since her website’s name includes “Gabby” rather than “Gabbie”.

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2) Gabby is supposed to be representing Super Mom, and yet the photo you mention is one of her taken before she carried and bore two children.

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3) I have yet to see that photo or ANY photo of Gabby in mainstream publications promoting Simply Nutrilite.

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4) Comparing a bare-chested man to a bare-bellied woman is not a fair comparison. The audience (men and women) look at these visuals quite differently from each other. Most women can look at a picture of a bare-chested man, admire his body, and go about their day. Most men look at a picture of a bare-belled woman, admire her body, and that image stays with him, and pops up, without provocation, for years and years to come.

Shaunti Feldhahn wrote a book called “for women only” and chapter six “Keeper of the Visual Rolodex” is an excellent read on this topic.

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Other than your example, good post. :-)

sivaram said:
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 #

Robin,

I applaud Quixtar's efforts to combat the current advertizing frenzy thru public awareness and IBO support. Here are a few thoughts:

The best and most credible advertizing campaigns for our business will be personal experiences and testimonies from celebrities. For e.g Asafa Powell is a great example, as he has a convincing testimony for Nutrilite XX. Compare that with Tiger Woods for Buick, which misses the impact as it pure advertising based and lacks emotion.Laird Hamilton on Krakoosh is another powerful representation for our business as seen on Krakoosh.

So celebrity or public advertizing for our business based on personal testimonies will provide the best return on advertising for both Amway and IBOs. With SO MANY Nutrilite sponsored athletes lately it will be great to hear their testimonies to help build our business, instead of mere advertising $$ towards celebrity endorsement. It is important to distinguish our proud and one-of-a-kind business Vision. Perhaps a compilation CD/DVD of Nutrilite sponsored athletes testimonies can be an effective tool for IBOs ?. Thank You. We appreciate your work.

CJ said:
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 #

Robin,

I agree with Sivaram comment about using celebrity endorsements along with personal experiences and testimonies. I mentioned this on Beth's blog a while back (http://insidequixtar.opportunityzone.com/2008/01/03/How-many-choices-are-too-many.aspx#18022)how one of the top comedians today, Steve Harvey, never fails to mention when being interviewed about what he did as he was coming up in the business that sold Amway products. Using celebrity figureheads such as that who have had a good personal experience not just with the products but with the business as well will lend a lot of credibility to our business in conjuction with everday ordinary folks who have good experiences and testimonies. My last post in Beth's blog speaks of the show Celebrity Apprentice this season. It's obvious when the "stars" use their "star power", they can attract more customers/sales as to when they don't use their star power. I think it was mentioned in the same blog that Gabby doesn't talk about our products or her endorsement with Simply Nutrilite/Quixtar on her website. Not sure if that is still the case, but I think it sends a bad message to IBOs that we really don't have good representation to the public advertising campaigns and that all the advertising being done is only for IBOs. But, if the corporation is moving towards the "first circle" theory, we can no longer just look at IBOs being Amway/Quixtar customers, we must also focus on using all the quivers in our arsenal to attract retail clients and transform how people will see the new "Amway" business so they can be IBOs as well and see that the new Amway business is THE hip business to have and be in. That's my two cents. Once again, big thanks to you Robin and all the other blog authors on OZ!

Jeffrey said:
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 #

I certainly don't think the photo of Gabby is soft-core porn, but it is rather offensive. People that seem arrogant seldom (if ever) persuade me to purchase what they are representing. I still think that mass media advertising is a giant waste of money and it disturbs me to see A/Q going this route. I think it is a big mistake. I think there are other ways to get the word out. How about a flyer promoting a "product of the month" included with each order to encourage trying more products? How about taking all the money that the company is wasting on advertising and reduce the price of some of the products? Let's get the customizable front page to the main website up and running for the IBOs that choose to have one and open up the leads program to every one that signs up for it and does 100 PV personal use every month and meets the Customer Volume Rule. I might sound like I'm contradicting myself but I'm not. This is a person-to-person direct sales business. If the products and the opportunity are world-class and aren't tainted by the bad reputation of the systems (that are still rampant, by the way), people will begin to seek out the products or the opportunity. That is where the leads come from, not from some professional model in a swim suit with a scowl on her face.

Tex said:
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 #

Bridgett,

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I have news for you. I can look at a picture of a fully clothed beautiful woman and think about it for years. I think most men would agree with this. We're visual creatures with hormones and simply like looking at you gals. It's a survival instinct, and all of the watering down of masculinity via the "women's lib" movement doesn't change basic biology.

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Whether your beliefs are we are "wired" this way, or it started with Genesis, when God made Eve and Adam said "Wow-Man", it's just the way it is.

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There is so much nudity available on TV, movies, the internet, billboards, newspapers, magazines, etc., a little tummy view of Gabby is NOT even a minor issue.

Tex said:
Wednesday, January 30, 2008 #

sivaram,

From wiki: "In 2002, Woods was involved in every aspect of the launch of Buick's Rendezvous SUV. A company spokesman stated that Buick is happy with the value of Wood's endorsement, pointing out that more than 130,000 Rendezvous vehicles were sold in 2002 and 2003. "That exceeded our forecasts," he was quoted as saying. "It has to be in recognition of Tiger." In February, 2004, Buick renewed Woods endorsement contract for another five years, in a deal reportedly worth $40 million."

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I don't know about you, but I think Tiger/Buick "missing the mark" appears to be worth $40 million to both of them. This single endorsement is 2/3 of what Quixtar is potentially paying out in extra bonuses in TOTAL this year.

Tex said:
Thursday, January 31, 2008 #

Jeffrey,

I hope the corp did some calculations and determined that using some money for advertising resulted in a prediction of more profit for them and for us, versus the tiny reduction in prices the same amount of dollars would achieve.

They used to do more advertising, and now they are going back to that model. Okay with me.

Bridgett said:
Thursday, January 31, 2008 #

Tex,

You are agreeing with me. My point (#4), read my comment again, was that Robin's comparison of Gabby's belly and Laird's torso, is not a fair comparison.

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It was not a comment at all on whether or not I thought Gabby's picture was "pornographic". Just that the comparison was lame.

sivaram said:
Friday, February 01, 2008 #

Tex,

You have done your homework on Tiger/Buick. Good job & Thanks for the clarification. The essence of your message was that Tiger seem intimately involved with the Buick endorsement, which is the way it should be as part of the celebrity campaign for our business.

Utah said:
Sunday, February 03, 2008 #

I agree with part of rdknyvr's comment that Alticor totally messed up this year with their blog. Of course I think they also poisoned the company, but what do I know. I hope it is around in 5 months.

I agree that Quixtar, overall, has done a better job with their blogs. Thanks.

rdknyvr said:
Wednesday, February 06, 2008 #

Hi Robin, any luck with getting an answer per your 'editor's note' above?

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EDITOR'S NOTE:  Thanks for the nudge rdknyvr.  I asked yesterday and was told by a marketer this wasn't really a product brand and, since it's only on two products, doesn't represent a category. That answer does not fully satisfy me, however, although I can't guarantee a better response.  Of deeper concern to me, however, is that you asked this question and weren't getting answers at all.  I hope that's something we can have an impact on going forward. -- RL

rdknyvr said:
Wednesday, February 06, 2008 #

Utah, Alticor's 2007 revenue announcement today suggests that they WILL be around in five months. So will Quixtar, even if their 2007 results are down a bit. :)

rdknyvr said:
Friday, February 08, 2008 #

Robin, re. your Editor's Note above, it doesn't satisfy me either. If that's the criteria being used to qualify as a 'product brand', why then do they include 'clear.now', eSpring and Atmosphere, for example, in the 'Shop Brands' pull down? Gensona is a brand registered to Alticor, it is a product category of Genetic Tests. There still seems to be a disconnect between what Quixtar does and what senior Alticor management says about this brand and this category.

Do Tom Curran, James Weaver(sp?), Glenn Armstrong and Lewis Bender, to name just four, know that Quixtar Marketing doesn't consider Gensona consumer market DNA tests a 'product brand'?