AS AMERICAN AS ALL-STARS AND APPLE PIE

CHUCKS MOSAIC, originally uploaded by Patrick Q.

I made this mosaic from some of my favorite photos from the folks on flickr (say that 5 times fast). It's noteworthy how many individuals from all over the world thought to take a picture of their All Stars and post it on flickr. What does that say about us? There are at least 3 fan groups at flickr devoted solely to photos of this shoe! Score one for the marketing team at Converse.

Along that same line, have you seen this week's copy of U.S. News & World Report? The cover story by Bay Fang details the purchasing power of the rising Chinese Middle Class. The story highlights some of the marketing strategies US companies are using to hook the "Chuppies" (Chinese Yuppies) on their products. Take basketball shoes, for instance:

"When Nike entered the China market in 1994, it found a country where regular kids didn't play sports; that was the province of elite athletes....Nike changed all that. The company began sponsoring entire high school basketball leagues, with the hope that more widespread competition would eventually pay off in brand recognition....today the company will hit $450 million in annual [Chinese] sales [compared to $8 million in '94]. In poll after poll, Nike is cited as the 'coolest' brand [by Chinese consumers]."

Here's the ploy that I found the most humorous:

When De Beers started marketing diamonds in China in 1993, "there were absolutely no diamonds exchanged in China and nothing in Chinese culture linking diamonds and love." But the marketing firm that handles De Beers has fixed that! The head of the firm boasts, "It's more than selling a product. It's creating a culture."

"The company has been so successful in its creation that now, in Shanghai, 70 percent of all brides are given a diamond wedding ring....Every year De Beers cosponsors a 'Rose Wedding Ceremony' with the Shanghai municipal government, in which 100 couples exchange vows - and diamond rings" in a broadcast TV event. Last year the couples stood next to a 12-foot-high model of a diamond ring!

A 12 foot high diamond ring! Can you believe that? I love the name of a presentation that De Beer's marketing company gave: "Creating a Diamond Wedding Ring Cultural Imperative." I guess it could be worse. Just imagine it, "With this Nike I thee wed."

What do you think about that?