Brandscene

Xmas Brand Experience

Sense and Stupidity

Yesterday, in a taxi I was listening to the radio (I took one of those few with a driver who does not speak during the trip) and as usual the topic was the crisis, or to be more "cool" (as the note done to Sian... BTW, Sian... Congratulations!), "LeCrisis"

Somehow, the excess of news is becoming a kind of anesthesia in our minds. However, the issue is not going around this topic, that's another story. In fact, the thing goes through the contents of what was said. I know that often common sense is absent without any warning, however, it appears that common practice is even more missing. God dammed, what a hell is going on?

Here is what I heard and my thoughts about it:

1. The crisis is global: If the crisis is global and there is no where to escape, then there is no crisis. In any case, the model under which we live, or rather, we came to live until now, appears to have collapsed ... It is not an economic issue, it is a problem with the model and as Marcus said (Chickerino for the family) a few days ago in an interesting blogpost, models consider some variables of reality, not all, because if they would consider all of them it would be the reality in itself, a paradox. It seems to me that this is happening in this world of Big Brother, in this simulation in which we are submerged, we believe that the model is the reality ... If it collapsed, long live the model ... the new one of course!

2. Capitalism needs a reconversion: Do it has to change or is it no longer useful or is that this is not the issue? ... To think that what we are experiencing is a matter of capitalism, seems to me a reductionist approach of the situation, on the other hand, if as it was said in point 1, even it's worth paying attention to it or lost our time crying because it's the model not an idology... Yes, the issue is not ideological, it is of substance and/or principles, and that was not settled with the "Yes, we can" from Obama, or the blue nights of Sarkozy (this idea seems to have Carla's touch... LeChic) or Zapatero included in the G20 family photo... It is a matter of each of us and every one, it is a matter of attitude and aptitude ... Cheers... 

3. On average, the companies will suffer the consequences of this situation: We live unique experiences, we want to feel as individuals... Companies too. The average is not a good indicator ... In a world where the value lies in the different, the standard deviation is meaningful. Moreover, continue talking about it, generates a sort of self-acomplished prophecy... It's going to go wrong, then so it will be!... 

4. The company's associations are asking for a more flexible layoff system: This is politically correct, in fact, they asked to paid less or even nothing to layoff a person... But the biggest problem with this assertion is that these organizations are not noticed that customers and employees are the same persons ... More unemployed, less consumption, more stocks, less income, more unpayed accounts... It seemed that we had enough with some bright financial guys and now we are adding a couple of business geniuses ... Again, in this world of uniqueness, will not be this situation the effect that all of them went to business schools, where they saw the same methodology with the same cases and possibly the same professor? ... Could it be that such uniformity of thought made them forget the wealth of human creativity (the difference between gray matter and mashed brain)?... They have also a method to think 'out of the box "... Guys, what if we recover a bit of that humanity lost and get more creative? 

5. The construction industry is collapsing: In Spain it is heard every minute, minute and a half ... Two years ago, in Spain there were 1.2 people per dwelling, more than 1 million homes uninhabited, and 500 thousand unsold ... and its price rose 15% (annual) ... Now there are more unsold, most uninhabited and prices fall ... Unless a roulette player (Russian), I think no one would have found that such scenario could be sustained over time ... No?

6. The American auto industry is dying: Very funny!. As now we can blame the crisis, the model and the mother of the chairman of the IMF, we take advantage of that... I wonder, a year ago, didn't GM, Chrysler and Ford feel the pressure from Toyota? Or still better, isn't Japan in crisis (if true, nothing that I wrote before makes any sense)? Or could it be that the blame for everything that happens is from Toyota? 

Many could say ... "Cristian, wasn't Brand 3.0 speaking of brand experiences?"... My answer: Yes, it was and now it is! We are witnessing a catastrophic experience of something that is not. No one dies from a crisis of this kind, and those who are dying, let us be honest, were also dying before the crisis ... Let us be aware, the only cause of death is heart failure, moreover, the rest of causes are useful to contextualize why a person leaves a room with his/her feet forward.

Avoid bad temper, bad mood or as you want to call it, the situation depends on each person, on each of us. If, as in King Arthur, we give our back to Morgana, perhaps we can see a cleaner horizon, more attractive, more more ... and then we will be able to create a new experience worth to be lived ...

I already started ... Several decades ago!