Learning to Live Without

In life we often have to learn to live without something. I learned to live without apples when I discovered I was allergic to them. I learned to live without a sister because I was the only girl born to my parents.

I have learned to live without paying for news. This is similar to learning to live without a sister, because I never had to "give up" my news, rather I never knew what it was like to pay for it.

Many kids do not grow up reading newspapers, and I was one of them. In high school I started to read our local town newspaper, The Daily Local, but only to see if my name made it into articles after each and every one of my high school swim meets. Having an email address and instant messenger account since elementary school, I was accustomed to living half of my life online. Checking "The Daily Local" was simply an early morning ego boost, and took about 2 minutes of my time.

So when I became a grown up, and joined the real world ready to start every morning with the news, naturally I went to the internet. Being a New Yorker, it made sense to read the NY Times, however I discovered that due to a paywall  it cost money to access every article on the site. I could barely afford my rent in Manhattan, so I had to find a better way to consume the news.

There was: free sources such Foxnews.com, CNN.com and Business Insider along with Facebook and Twitter where my friends posted news and updates from around the world keeping me in the loop.

Ha! Why should I pay for the NY Times? Some of the news apps on my iPhone alert me to breaking news for free! How's that for staying up to date?

After reading about the NY Times paywall, I decided to catch up on NY Times Modern Love articles, as I have done sporadically over the past 6 years. However, I was greeted with this message, alerting me I apparently already caught up on some of the love stories recently:

Luckily it is almost the end of June, which means that I could read a few more articles, and now wait only a week until July to read the rest. 

Had it not been the end of June, I may have clicked and paid to view the articles, as it is not an overly pricey subscription (although I would be paying the student discounted price!)

The NY Times paywall structure of allowing users to view some content and then requiring them to pay for the rest seems to be one of the better thought out strategies. NYT still can get advertiser revenue, the fee is fairly priced, and the stories/content are reliable enough that readers feel they are receiving a good bang for their buck.

But what about me? What about the user who grew up not reading the newspaper and learned to keep up to date with current events through various internet sources? The user who never received news from the nytimes.com, but from news sites that allow access to all content because they have broadcast backing them, or tons of paid ads. The user who has friends that pay NY Times subscriptions and write paragraphs about their thoughts of the situations on their Facebook pages? How will the NY Times get me to pay?

I don't think the biggest problem facing the NY Times is getting people to pay to access the content online. I think their biggest problem is an up and coming generation that doesn't understand the need to pay for news and has grown up learning to live without.

For readers like my parents, the NYT goal is to convert them from print to digital, which they will pay for instead of paying for print. For me, it's not about finding a way to make me pay, it's about finding a way to convince me to do something I've never needed to do before and do not understand. Good luck.

P.S. Breaking sports news update for all my Boston and Los Angeles friends (thanks to a Facebook friend I have not seen or spoken to in 11+ years):

Ms. Prestige

The best part about taking the Fascination Test was that I did not have to sit face to face with someone to review the results. A few weeks ago I took the PRINT Assessment through the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development and the only way to view my results was to make an appointment with a Wasserman counselor. I had taken the quiz online out of curiosity, expecting the results to pop up at the end. But no, before they would fork over the results I had to sit in front of a counselor and tell her which two categories I thought I landed in. Naturally, I chose the "nice" categories, "to be needed and appreciated" and "to be special and find meaning in life."

I was dead wrong. The PRINT Assessment however, was dead right about me. And I now know it is right even more because my Fascination Test results were very similar to my PRINT results.

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself, Ms. Prestige (aka "the need to succeed and achieve" if you ask PRINT.)

Due to the fact I was recently sitting at Wasserman nodding as the counselor asked if I was competitive, overly enthusiastic, used to winning and being recognized as #1, the Fascination results of being a "Connoisseur," known for its triggers of prestige and passion are not a shock to me. I've had a few weeks to realize those things were true, and to not be ashamed of them. That said, hearing that happiness would only come to me through being #1 at everything and always having competition was not the easiest thing to have a stranger tell me. To me, it sounded like she was describing a monster without friends. But, after realizing how much happiness I have had in competing to be #1 in the past, and after reading Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, I now am grateful to have taken such an assessment early on in my career and life.

None of the results are a surprise, they are truly me, but Lean In helped me to realize I was partially ashamed of those qualities. Society has lead us to believe that females should not be overly competitive, ambitious or uncompromising, all of which fall under the "Prestige" category. Thus why I did not select anything regarding success or achievement when the NYU counselor asked which category I thought I fell into.

photo from Forbes, to view more quotes visit http://www.forbes.com/pictures/fdmj45file/leadership-insights-from-sheryl-sandberg-6/

It's hard to be a female and to be #1. In fifth grade all the boys who sat at my table made fun of me for being the only student in the class to have earned "Distinguished Honors" at the end of the year. I'm not entirely sure I should have earned the award because I did not even know what it was for at the time. Turns out, it's the award for having straight A's the entire year.  Perhaps if my girl friends had made comments I would have attributed it to jealousy, but when the boys were making fun of me, I just felt ashamed. Luckily I was not ashamed when I received partial scholarships to both undergraduate and graduate school (and luckily I knew what they were).

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference All-Academic Team 2009

This trend continued with my swimming career. Boys called me "Tree Trunks" in high school because my legs were so muscular.  This time I didn't care (as much) because Tree Trunks herself was always winning her races, being praised by her coaches and was the only member of her high school swim team to compete on a Division I college team. In college, I was the only freshman to break a school record and compete as a member of an "A" relay composed of all upperclassmen.
 

Go Stags! Fairfield University Swim Team "A" Medley Relay

There are times I finished last in a race, and times I did not get straight A's. But overall, my 26 years of life have been filled with competition, winning, respect for winning and hard work to achieve it all. I have chosen not to be ashamed, because according to the Fascination and PRINT tests, I am biologically wired to be this way, so I might as well use it to my advantage.

GIRL POWER

Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Sandals)

My Rainbow sandals have traveled the world with me, and been there for many important milestones throughout my life. The same pair of Rainbows that accompanied me on my first trip to Europe 6+ years ago to study abroad, also traveled the streets of New York City with me to find my first apartment. A few years after securing me an apartment in NYC, the sandals helped me become a “true New Yorker” when we had our first trip to the Hamptons. In between each of these milestones were countless spring and summer days that I would not leave the house without my trusty Rainbows on my feet or in my bag.

 

My beloved Rainbows, showing the mold of my foot

There is no denying that Rainbows are a popular sandal, almost everyone I know owns a pair. I find it interesting that they do not do much advertising and are still able to have so much success, which I attribute to word of mouth and a truly great, lasting product. The simple Rainbow story is that the product is customized, eco-friendly and most importantly…comes with a lifetime guarantee.  As a product, the Rainbow sandals basically tell their own story for the brand.

I am not sure I will ever be wealthy enough to have shoes custom designed for me, but Rainbows are made of sponge rubber which mold to the wearer’s feet, making them “mine.” Even putting on my roommate’s Rainbow’s for 2 minutes to run downstairs and get my laundry is uncomfortable, as they have been molded to fit her feet, not mine.

Besides the comfort level of a sandal, which is hard to find, Rainbows are made my hand, and made to last forever. Rainbow has a guarantee for the lifetime of the sole. They have won my customer loyalty by knowing that if I ever wear through the top or bottom layer of the soul, they will replace my shoe entirely. The straps are made to never break or wear out, but if by chance they do, they will also be replaced by the company for free.  Just knowing that the product is made to last a lifetime, which allows the company to offer such a guarantee, lets consumers know that the investment will be worthwhile.

As I mentioned above, Rainbow does not do much advertising. A few surfer magazines here and there, but beyond that they rely on word of mouth, promotion/sponsorship of events and social media. As I study digital marketing, it’s interesting to see how a company who does barely any traditional marketing, has taken on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The product may be great and sell itself, but the brand has recognized that a community has formed around the product, and that it is important to give the customers an online hub to keep them engaged.

The brand falls short in their positioning of this product, which they position as mainly a product for surfers. All of their imagery and the few ads I have seen show it as a shoe designed for surfers. The surfer positioning made sense being as Rainbow launched in southern California, and surfers were the ones to wear flip flops year round, but the market has really expanded. Hipsters and preppies alike have adapted the Rainbow sandal to their lifestyle. While the product lasts forever, they do get dirty and grungy looking. More advertising not directed at surfers could easily remind other consumers of the need to purchase a new pair, in a different color or style.

Lastly, the website is a bit plain. There is nothing engaging when you first go to the page, just a large image of a surfer. While most people going to the site might be doing so to purchase, sharing the Rainbow story and guarantee would only encourage purchase. The “History” and story behind all of the great aspects of Rainbows are hidden on the webpage, and most users may not even think to click those links. The price is steep for a pair of sandals, so anyone just going straight to the “Products” tab on the website might not know they are worth the investment. If you’re selling a great product, I believe in letting the potential customer know just why it is so great.

Welcome to Patterned Kneesocks

Welcome to Patterned Kneesocks, a blog dedicated to my exploration of all things digital marketing. As part of my Master's level Digital Marketing course at NYU, my fellow classmates and I are creating blogs to share our discoveries and opinions of the digital marketing world.

Patterened Kneesocks will explore trends in digital marketing, my opinions of what is successful digital marketing (in particular as it relates to shifts in marketing strategies), changes in the overall marketing landscape and what I learn about the digital world along the way, as it is currently unfamiliar territory to me.

Personally, I am excited at the idea of keeping a blog. My love for writing stems back to my elementary school days, where I would beg my parents to take me to the drug store so I could buy notebooks to fill with stories. I attended Fairfield University for my undergraduate education, and remember the day my advising professor told me I had enough room to take on a second major and still graduate on time. I immediately responded "English." To me, there was nothing better than spending my last two years of college reading and writing. I have always envied bloggers, especially those who are able to make money off of their blogs. In a busy NYC world of full time working, grad school, volunteering, socializing and soul searching, I have yet to dedicate the time to blogging, or even writing. So, here we go!

Why "Patterened Kneesocks?"
I have worked at a media company for over 3.5 years now, and if there is one thing I have learned it is that there is a market and a marketing strategy for everything and everyone. This includes products such as patterened kneesocks. When was the last time you saw someone wearing kneesocks? Better yet, when was the last time you saw an advertisement for kneesocks?

There is a market for patterened kneesocks, which I discovered in high school. I attended a strict Catholic high school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, and we were required to wear plain white regulation kneesocks. My friends and I were obsessed with wearing patterened kneesocks instead, and every day hoped to avoid getting any demerits for wearing them (I'd say combined we had an 80% success rate). To this day, my high school friends and I still discuss our ridiculous love for wearing patterened kneesocks, not only to rebel, but to define ourselves and express our individuality. It may seem silly to have cared so much about kneesocks, but kneesocks were the only part of the uniform, which included a kilt, oxford shirt and sweater, we could easily "edit."

The kneesock market may be small, but it still exists and therefore should not be ignored.

In a cluttered online advertising world, marketing efforts need to stand out to be noticed, just like my patterened kneesocks did amongst a sea of plain white kneesocks.