"In these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you wake in the morning."

- Carl Sandburg

2009 At-a-Glance(the 10 minute version)

Lackof prosperity

Lackof jobs

Lackof credit

Lackof confidence

Lackof loyalty

Lackof compensation

"When it rains, it pours. You can run for cover or you can sell umbrellas"

Ironically, we can be optimistic about consumer pessimism.  If we believe that consumers make decisions based on emotions (a premise that modern day marketing communications are based on) then we must recognize that pessimism and fear can be very powerful emotional drivers.  

Consumers will continue to consume, it's what they are consuming that will change.

One thing to keep in mind is that even when the economy is "terrible" it's not terrible for everyone.  Certain products and services will thrive in "bad" economies.  Sometimes these will be substitute products (burgers instead of steaks) or they may be products or services that deal directly with the downturn (Hyundai’s Assurance Program).  

In a down economy, consumers will attempt to give more rational thought to their purchases but there's still a great deal of emotion involved. For example, the feeling that one gets when finding a bargain can be exhilarating. Consumers like to feel smart and those consumers who were bargain hunters before the downturn will feel empowered and vindicated during it.  

“Let’s not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things. A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress. Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It’s in crisis that inventive is born, as well as discoveries, and big strategies. Who overcomes crisis, overcomes himself, without getting overcome. Who blames his failure to a crisis neglects his own talent, and is more respectful to problems than to solutions”.

- Albert Einstein

"Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other."

- Brian Tracy

Although Happiness and Optimism are often used interchangeably, there is a vital distinction between them:“Happiness is an emotion, a feeling. Optimism is a belief about the future,” says Suzanne Segerstrom, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky and the author of Breaking Murphy’s Law: How Optimists Get What They Want From Life –and Pessimists Can Too.

Happiness is subjective, nebulous. Optimism, on the other hand, can be objectively defined as the tendency to expect that life will be mostly good.

We can acknowledge when a situation stinks –the canceled flight, the flat tire during rush hour- without concluding that the universe is permanently aligned against us. Optimists tend to have better coping skills and so may get battered less by life’s stressors.

But optimism’s real power might lie not so much in what it does for us but in what it compels us to do. Optimists not only trust the future will be mostly good, but they also believe their actions shape their destinies.

"Both optimists and pessimists contribute to our society. 

The optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist the parachute."

- Gil Stern

We’re in the business of optimism

We’re in the business of aspirations

We’re in the business of dreams

optimism = creativity

Today more than ever creativity is added value for a brand

Have you seen any of these headlines buried in your morning paper or on your local news channels? · April  2, 2009 - Dollar General Adding 4000, opening 450 new stores· March 31, 2009 - Stock market set for the best month in six years· March 31, 2009 - Boeing  has 17 billion reasons to remain positive· March 27, 2009 - Consumer spending up again. Two consecutive months· March 27, 2009 - Stock jumps, Best Buy forecast optimistic, Wall Street responds Probably not.  

That's because our media is so focused on bad news that any optimistic information is buried.  And if we do find a positive article or two, it's only after seeing ten times more negative articles.  Spread the word to your colleagues, customers, friends and relatives.  It's almost Spring and things are looking up.

Importantly, budget cuts put business at additional risk not only during the downturn itself, but in the economic cycle immediately following.

Clients are more open to the new

“creativity is like riding a bike.If you stop pedaling you fall”

optimism is our responsibility

Viral optimism

Gracias