Tired of hearing health care messages during breaks in your favorite TV shows. Maybe that’s because more than $1 million dollars a day is being spent on such commercials.
According to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, overall TV spending reached $110 million on Sunday. The breakdown is $47 million in favor of a health care overhaul, $32 million opposed to the reform efforts and the rest focused on general health care discussion.
Who’s spending the most? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (there is no official relationship between the U.S. and Indiana chambers; in fact, we support some of the principles offered by the national organization but are opposed to others) and AARP are at the top of the list.
With the debate continuing in Congress and President Obama making this his signature issue, expect the dollar outlays, the commercials (and just maybe the TiVo usage) to continue at high levels.
Entrepreneur.com recently offered instruction regarding how small businesses can engage potential customers and stretch ad dollars as far as possible. The site offered three key points to keep in mind, and for further elaboration, read the entire piece:
Want to know how to spend your marketing dollars this fall? Here’s a hint–throw out last year’s plan and start fresh. The economic downturn coupled with the rise in social media and the full-bore acceptance of an internet that’s accessible virtually everywhere has forever changed the way customers shop.
Rather than rely solely on media such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines, it’s time to allocate a larger percentage of your budget to less traditional tactics. Winning and keeping customers now calls for innovative marketing that engages prospects in more direct ways. As you plan your holiday marketing tactics, be sure to factor in these three critical elements for a campaign that will work in today’s socially and economically altered marketplace.
Travel Leaders recently released the results of a survey of over 600 folks, inquiring about their travel preferences. As we all like to fantasize about such things while at work, let us indulge you. Here are the results:
If you won a trip anywhere in the U.S., which would you choose? (614 responses)
1. Cruise - 33.1%
2. Island Destination - 23.1%
3. Beach Destination - 18.4%
4. Resort Destination - 7.8%
5. Major U.S. City - 6.2%
Top “ideal U.S. island destination” was Maui, HI, followed by the U.S. Virgin Islands and Hawaii (The Big Island), HI, respectively.
Top “ideal U.S. beach destination” was Hawaii, followed by Florida and then California.
Top “ideal U.S. city to visit” was New York City.
Top “ideal national park to visit” was Yellowstone.
Top “ideal U.S. mountain destination” was Colorado.
Top “ideal U.S. golf destination” was a tie among Arizona, Hawaii and North Carolina.
What is your dream international destination? (609 responses)
1. Australia
2. Italy
3. (tie) Greece
3. (tie) Tahiti
5. Germany
6. (tie) Ireland
6. (tie) New Zealand
8. Fiji
9. (tie) Egypt
9. (tie) France
I doubt I’m alone in thinking the fact that Branson isn’t mentioned once on this survey is a rather stark indictment of society.
Washington, D.C. is filled with its share of sirens, whistles and other warning noises. Inside the U.S. Capitol, however, the sound of choice is the bell that signals a vote is about to take place.
There were several post 6 p.m. bells last Wednesday on the House side during the congressional delegation roundtable portion of the Indiana Chamber’s D.C. Fly-in. Indiana’s reps did their job by going to vote, but also hustled back to answer questions and share insights for the more than 70 Indiana business attendees.
Among their comments:
Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-2nd District) on the possibility of additional troops in Afghanistan: "Will 10,000 accomplish anything? Do you need 50,000? Do you need 100,000?" Those questions and others, he said, are still unanswered.
Rep. Andre Carson (D-7th District) deserves credit for not going the political route and offering a clearly unpopular view when he professed his strong support for the Employee Free Choice Act as well as cap and trade.
On cap and trade, Rep. Dan Burton (R-5th District): "I think it will cost a lot of jobs; it will drive a lot of business and industry to go offshore."
On the same subject, Rep. Mike Pence (R-6th District) noted the emphasis should be on the GOP’s "all of the above strategy" that includes new technologies, renewables, conservation and 100 new nuclear plants in the next 20 years.
And finally on that topic, Sen. Richard Lugar explained how a bill was passed in the House. "There was a tremendous desire from President Obama and the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) to get a bill, any bill. Nearly 300 pages out of the 1,200 pages in the bill came in the early morning hours on the day of the vote. Deals needed to get done (to get more House votes). When Rep. Steve Buyer (R-4th District) questioned with the phrase that "you would never do that in the Senate," Lugar quickly responded with at least it’s "usually during the daylight."
Buyer, a late arrival, summed up several issues: "On card check, it’s un-American. On troop levels, we’ve been the provider of security in Europe for 60 years. It’s time for Europe to stand with America. On cap and trade, it’s the wrong debate. It should be about rebalancing our energy portfolio."
There were several comments on health care reform, with Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-8th District) getting the final word. He just returned from one of the House votes with a message that touched on health care and other unrelated frustrations.
"This place is schizophrenic," Ellsworth stated. "The adjournment votes tonight just disrupt business. There are really good, intelligent people here, but people send folks who talk one way back home and do the opposite here. We all wouldn’t last five minutes in a board room if we acted like we do here."
He goes on to tell of a ranking member on a committee considering health care legislation who told him before the August recess, ‘We don’t want to pass anything and make you guys look good.’ "Both parties do it. It’s sad. I came here to try and change it."
Finally, on health care, Ellsworth added, "You can’t do it by printing off more money. Tort reform ought to be part of it. But personal responsibility is the hardest thing to legislate — the person who goes to Golden Corral three times a week or lights up (cigarettes)."
We’ve pondered in the past, both in this space and in BizVoice magazine, about what economic indicators people pay the most attention to. The same argument can apply to the innovation economy — which numbers and statistics are most important?
Tough call. One measure taking a rather significant drop through the middle portion of this decade is the number of patents produced per employee in each state. Two alphabetical groups provide the data: USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) compiles the numbers and SSTI (State Science & Technology Institute) puts them in comparative form.
The results:
A total patent drop of over 10% between 2003 and 2007, with 43 states experiencing declines
Indiana’s performance over that period was even lower, a 19.9% decline, ranking it 35th over the five years. Overall, Indiana remained 25th in 2007, its same relative ranking as 2003
At the low end of patents per employees are Alaska, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Arkansas and Louisiana
Idaho led the nation with 210 patents per 100,000 employees. Other in the top five (with a strong Western flavor) were Vermont, California, Washington and Oregon
On a convincing 14-4 vote, the Indiana Professional Standards Advisory Committee has voted to proceed with the rulemaking process to overhaul Indiana’s antiquated teacher licensing system. Under the proposal prepared by State Superintendent Tony Bennett, new teachers in Indiana would be required to demonstrate much more knowledge in their content areas than is currently required. The proposed rules would also tie professional development requirements to school priorities, allow greater input by principals in teacher licensing decisions and provide school districts with more flexibility in the hiring of principals and superintendents.
To be certain, this effort is just beginning - and lots of vested interests are lining up to defeat the proposals. Most impacted are the schools of education that, according to several national education leaders, have created an ineffective training system that is in need of significant overall. But since "overhaul" means, in many ways, that their monopoly on education training would be loosened, the state’s schools of education are working overtime to defeat this proposal.
So far, the schools of education have dominated these discussions; but as the rule-making process goes forward, there will be much better opportunity to hear from the consumers of this system, including employers, parents, school administrators, school board members and even teachers themselves. The Indiana Chamber will stay on top of all developments and will keep our members informed through this and other outlets. In the meantime, you can learn more about the proposed changes in this brief summary document.
What are your thoughts on the proposal? Feel free to share in the comments section or let me know at dredelman@indianachamber.com.
Tired of hearing health care messages during breaks in your favorite TV shows. Maybe that’s because more than $1 million dollars a day is being spent on such commercials.
