John Tantillo’s Winner and Loser of The Week

Brand Winner...	And Loser...

Winner:  Glenn Beck

Loser:  Barnes & Noble                     

Winner: 

Glenn Beck is our winner for the week.

Let’s be frank, no one really expected this man to become the spokesperson for the strong patriotic fervor sweeping the nation. 

But he has.  This past weekend’s rally has proven everyone wrong.  The official estimates pegged attendance at 300,000 plus strong.  That is a mighty turnout.

How did he do it?

First and foremost, Beck is an entertainer.  His skills as a stand-up comedian have come in handy… but only because they have been harnessed to a man who clearly is sincere and driven by beliefs that millions hold in common with him. 

He is what I would call a poli-entertainer.  He clearly has a political element, but he understands that entertaining and being likeable are critical components of the message.

Glenn Beck is a marketer rather than a self-promoter.  He doesn’t really talk about himself, he talks about the product and always insists that the product is larger than himself personally.

What is the product? 

The product is the re-establishment and renewal of what the American people want and many of them believe they are.  Glenn Beck voices and showcases this product better than anyone else. 

Fact is, the event at the Lincoln Memorial was masterfully conducted and showed a generosity and respectfulness of spirit (i.e. the many references to Martin Luther King, Jr. often in the same breath with Abraham Lincoln and cheered by the huge crowd).  This must have really rankled those who wanted to depict the gathering as a group of crypto-racists and bitter paranoids.

Given Glenn Beck’s performance and his presence across all media, this is probably just the beginning.

Stay tuned. 

Loser:

Barnes & Noble has just announced that one of its largest and most legendary stores (Lincoln Center, New York City) is slated to close.

This is only the latest in bad news for the company which has tried desperately to survive in a new kind of book buying era.

I think what we’re seeing is sampling gone wild.  Traditionally, sampling is one of the best ways to initiate sale… 

Sampling for video and music now seems to be generating sales, but does this work for books at least with respect to the big box book store model.

I don’t think so.

Basically, the large chain store loses both ways.  If the customer browses the book and doesn’t like it, no sale is made.  If the customer browses the book and likes it, two things are likely to happen 1) he/she stays in the store reading the book for free and never purchases or 2) leaves the store with the book in mind and buys it for less online.  Sure there are impulse buys, but impulse buys does not a book store business model make.  Whatever happens the book store becomes a costly showcase for products that will be purchased elsewhere.

Basically, the Barnes & Noble idea has fallen victim to its own success.  To be a powerhouse in the industry, B&N had to offer huge stores that cost them huge overhead.  But the advent and proliferation of Internet book buying has now caught up with them. The consumer uses them as a sampling base but because their giant, faceless business model has not built customer loyalty, the consumer simply and without a pang of conscience, goes somewhere else to buy or downloads it to his or her Kindle or handheld device.

Bottom line, B&N is scrambling to make money from the shift to e-books and online buying, but the outlook is grim.  One B&N in Manhattan is stocking its shelves with toys not books to bring in customers.  But this isn’t really being true to their brand and it screams desperation –something a company or personal brand never wants to do.

One interesting note, the independent bookstores that have survived the B&N onslaught may very well be in the best position.  Not only do they offer highly-trained staff who genuinely help their customers have the best reading experience possible, but they engender loyalty for the long-term and this should see many of them through.

And, remember, things are always easier when you keep marketing and branding in mind.