American muscle.

When I left broadcast television 25 years ago this July, it didn’t take long to land communications clients in the car business. That was a no brainer, because I live in Dearborn, part of the motor city’s metro area and birthplace of Henry Ford.

One of the first car company jobs I pursued involved a bid meeting with several video and film producers attending. One savvy sales guy turned to his competitor and announced, “Hey, is that your brand new Toyota out there in the lot? That’s a beautiful car.” The Toyota owner sank in his chair. His odds for winning the bid had just plummeted. The job was with an American carmaker and he had just bought a foreign sedan. What could he have been thinking? Should have borrowed a buddy’s wheels for the day.

I’ve been self-employed most of my 33-year career, and I’ve owned American vehicles, except three times. I did lease two Volvos, for two years each, and one Mazda for three years. At the time, both brands were under the Ford Motor Company umbrella. Incidentally, my Mazda 6 was Michigan made by UAW workers.  Not all models are equally American. The Mazda boasted 55% U.S. content, plus U.S. assembly. I read the label. The Ford Fusion was assembled in Mexico.

Buying domestic products just seemed like the right thing to do. Plus, my late father was a UAW-GM worker and my wife’s brother worked for Ford his whole life, so we got the employee discounts. But I have also been supporting the products my family, friends and neighbors created with their minds, hands and hearts.

American pride and manufacturing are hot again, in Detroit and across the United States. The car business is on the rise and the U.S. brands are going strong. GM is again the world’s number one carmaker. It even sold twice as many electric Chevy Volts this June as it did at the same time in 2011. That surge occurred despite the recent, temporary decline in gas prices. I guess people are warming up to the new technology and acknowledging that volatile energy prices are here to stay. It was great to hear those reports as we celebrated America’s Independence Day this week.

The rebounding car business is always good news in U.S. cities where autos are made, but it’s just as important to our global economy right now. Make no mistake. At no time in modern history has the U.S. recovered from a recession without the car business leading the way. It’s never happened. Never.

If you’re into reading economic tealeaves, there’s some not-so-quiet momentum building. Even fuel-efficient sport utility vehicles (SUVs) are selling well. Meanwhile, Ford is predicting huge losses in Europe in the third quarter, so its U.S. sales success is more vital than ever.

In 2001, when the 9-11 attacks stomped on our economic brakes, it was the autos that helped prevent a complete stall. Remember, the “Keep America Rolling” campaign led by GM and all those zero-percent car loans? They stimulated huge sales and in turn, lots of other economic activity. Now there are millions of drivers who own 11-year-old models that they need to replace. They’ve been too nervous to make a move in aftermath of the Great Recession. (In my opinion, it was actually a depression with a safety net or airbag, including Social Security benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment and food stamps. Those protections weren’t around in 1929 when the stock market crashed.)

So, now, many of those 2001/2002 vehicle owners are starting to buy again and that is churning up a wave of economic activity.

Cars create jobs like no other manufactured goods. Do the math. When most folks buy new wheels they get some sort of financing. They may pay to secure those payments or buy an extended service plan as well. Then, of course, their mandatory auto insurance goes up to cover the increased value of their new ride. They might also request some special protection like rustproofing, tire and wheel coverage or anti-stain treatment for their upholstery. Dealers pay to train their sales and financing people and advertise to get you in the door, even hiring specialists to paint their windows like oversized signs or they rent huge green dinosaurs for their rooftops to attract shoppers.

Cars include steel, rubber, plastic, textiles, leather, aluminum, wood, glass, paint, chemicals, copper and a lot of computers and software. They require many experts to engineer, invent, prototype, test, install and service the myriad configurations and components that become personal transportation. What other item do you own that is complex enough to carry you and several other people at sixty miles per hour, in an upright or reclining position, surrounded in symphonic sound and independent climate control, wrapped in a crash-resistant cushion, complete with interior and exterior lighting, illuminating your way to help you avoid collisions with an anti-lock braking system and standard electronic stability control? You get the idea.

Meanwhile, I talked to a lawyer from the West Coast this weekend and he said his firm could easily hire six attorneys and six paralegals right now, but he can’t get his bank to loosen the purse strings. And he has millions in accounts receivable for collateral. Ironically, his father was once a Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank.  This barrister makes his living defending huge corporations, yet he believes the banks are again playing an undue role in orchestrating our financial future. There’s another tealeaf to consider.

Recently, my wife, Ellen and I visited a local furniture boutique that features quality, American-made products. One afternoon in the sweltering heat there were a half dozen folks test driving the cushions and puzzling over fabric, leather and wood samples.

The economy is beginning to slowly accelerate.  We’ve seen car sales continue to improve. Next, housing should bounce off the bottom. That is, if the banks return to applying conventional mortgage standards. Then the realtor, carpenter, plumber, and big box hardware stores will get rolling.

Go ahead, buckle up. The world is looking to America to lead the recovery, and Detroit is revving up its engine.

Rising tides of laziness

Last week, National Geographic News reported that the Atlantic Ocean was rising on the east coast of the United States, approximately three to four times faster than other areas in the world. Consequently, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore could experience more frequent future flooding. Instead of floodwaters occurring every three to four years, they are likely to hit these urban centers three to four times annually.

Don’t panic. The real high tides won’t rise until the year 2100. But if you care about your grandkids and their children, then this might be reason to take notice and action.

What really got my attention was a report this week that the big boss at ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson, is now acknowledging climate change. Wow! So, global warming is no longer flawed science? What triggered the shift in company opinion? Maybe it’s the triple digit temperatures from sea to shining sea, the raging forest fires in Colorado and the mega storm that depowered several east coasts states and Washington, D.C., leaving two million Americans in the dark this weekend.

The oil company’s CEO went on to declare that instead of trying to prevent the higher temperature trend, we should begin investing in ways that will allow us to adapt to a planet that’s growing too hot for humans. “It’s an engineering problem,” he said. In other words, keep consuming fossil fuels at record rates and turn up the AC or some super solar shield that enables us to keep things just as they are. Spoken like a guy who makes his living selling energy. Why bother inventing groundbreaking alternative energy technologies when you can subsidize the fossil fuel industry and secure the status quo? The ExxonMobil chief also said the impact of climate change is being exaggerated.

Although I don’t agree with Tillerson’s analysis, he did say something that I support at some level. He blamed our misunderstanding of climate science on a “lazy” press. He believes our failure to grasp climate change issues is due to journalists who simply accept and reprint environmental rhetoric.

In my opinion, Tillerson is half right. It’s not that tree huggers are on the wrong side of the issue, but it’s the failure of the researchers, reporters and editors to dig and independently develop the story and guide readers and viewers to genuinely validated and transparent information.  And many consumers have refused to explore and educate themselves, as well. We tend to accept what we’re fed, which is generally a sensationalized screaming match about hot topics producing all heat and no light.

Case in point. When we have a severe cold snap or blizzard, the pro-business lobby mocks the global warming crowd, as if an ice storm means that NASA scientists are quacks. After all, before it was global warming it was global cooling, right? The reality is that our climate is definitely changing. And even if we can’t control it by altering our behavior, I can’t imagine that the average citizen would fight for more pollution. Unless, of course, their livelihood depended on spewing more crud into the air or turning a blind eye to dumping toxic wastes.

Our professional media, the fourth estate, is a necessary filter between the public and propaganda artists. Without vetting, how do you know who to believe or trust? However, you are on firm ground if you doubt media sources for a number of reasons. For example, today, local television stations routinely produce programs for sponsors and pass them off as quasi-documentaries or feature reporting. In reality, they are nothing more than paid infomercials. In the old days, late-night TV junkies might watch a presentation about a new kitchen gadget at 2 a.m. Sunday. It was obvious the manufacturer bought the time. Today, you can see a primetime special about technology at a local hospital, bought and paid for by the healthcare institution, and produced by the station’s news crew. The lines between journalism and marketing have become so faded, you have to ask, is the press dead? No questions about the impact of the technology on healthcare costs; the proven, long-term effectiveness of the therapy or the tradeoffs. Of course not. You don’t do that with marketing, even when it’s disguised as reporting.

During this week’s wall-to-wall coverage of the Supreme Court’s healthcare ruling, one interviewer on Bloomberg News was surprised to learn that hospitals lose 20 to 30 percent of their billings, because uninsured patients fail to pay. How could any competent journalist or literate American not know by now that healthcare providers routinely eat a steady diet of unpaid bills?

Today, about six large corporations control some 80 percent of the U.S. distribution of news. Some 50 companies once shared that business. Visit the Web sites for Disney, NBC Universal, News Corp and Viacom, and see how much media each of those giants own. Unparalleled consolidation has occurred.  Our perspective has narrowed significantly and there are far fewer voices with access to booming amplification. They sing from the same song sheet. The rest of us tweet.

For example, the last time an independent political candidate made a significant impact on a national election was 1992. That’s twenty years ago, before the consolidation that has chilled alternative perspectives.

Meanwhile, it surprised me how little I heard about ExxonMobil’s climate change admission. But then again, all that matters now is healthcare. A major energy company admitting fossil fuels contribute to rising temperatures is a little bit like big tobacco finally acknowledging smoking kills. Yet, where’s the coverage?

So, what have you decided? Is the trend toward ultra dry, hot weather just a blip in Mother Nature’s hormonal cycle or is it a sign of things to come that we should address? In this age of endless information and hundreds of sources do you know where to go to learn?

Big oil says climate change is real, but don’t sweat it. Personally, I'm glad I live in the Great Lakes State.

The power of the purse.

It was an uncanny coincidence. 

Friday, two Pennsylvania juries came in with guilty verdicts in separate high profile trials involving child sexual abuse.

One was with former Pennsylvania State University football coach, Jerry Sandusky. The other convicted a Catholic clergyman, Msgr. William J. Lynn, of endangering children by assigning a known pedophile to a church community without warning its members.

A state university and a church had broken the ultimate trust. To protect the children they educate and nurture. Sandusky and Lynn are just the faces of these scandals. They are poster boys for our deficit of trust. But university officials as well as the shepherds of the Church are hiding behind the scenes, along with the leaders of countless corporations and our governing bodies.

Our institutions have failed us and the most fundamental levels of our confidence have been shaken.

Think about it. Do you trust the banks? How about your financial advisor and Wall Street?

Many people feel helpless about the state of affairs, both economically and morally. But in these financially fragile times, we actually have more power than ever. The power of the purse.

Consider the nation’s law school applicants who chose not to apply to Penn State this year. Now, applications are down at all U.S. law schools, but they’re down 30% in Happy Valley, far outpacing the national average. The message is, we don’t want to go to a law school where university leadership allegedly broke the law and recklessly endangered children. Every application is worth $60 to the university, and when your talking thousands of them, the registrar’s office notices.

So, if you’re disgusted with banks, move your money to a credit union. Some will handle your business accounts, too. If you think Apple is exploiting its store employees by paying them less than $12.00 per hour, don't buy their stuff. If you feel oil companies are gouging you at the pump, buy the most fuel-efficient car you can afford, car pool and drive 55 mph on the highways. Or take the bus.

Register to vote, cast your ballot at the polls and then vote with you wallet. If there’s one thing business and institutions understand, it’s money. But to be sure they don’t miss the message, send them a letter, place a phone call or show up at your legislators’ office. If you just slide your account from a bank to the local credit union they’ll never miss you. But if you hand the bank manager a letter and explain you’re removing your principal on principle they’ll take notice.

It may be inconvenient, it may cost you a little more in the short run, but voting with you're your wallet will ultimately make the loudest, most powerful statement.

Occupy Wall Street, Oakland, Detroit, and Miami got attention but it didn’t change anything because no money was involved. But during the Civil Rights Movement, the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott made a difference. It wasn’t violence or noisy protests. It was the fact that people stopped riding the buses and paying fares that ended centuries of discrimination.

If we want to move trust to the front of the bus, we have to be willing to walk the talk and let our money do the talking for us.

No free ride.

If you told most future parents it would cost about $235,000 to raise a kid to age 18, how many would go through with it? And that doesn’t include college.

Adjusted for inflation, the number is a little closer to $295,000 for a kid born in 2011. That’s a sobering thought on this Father’s Day weekend, especially in an economy where good jobs are rare and even professionals struggle to find gainful employment.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its kid-cost estimate this week, including this breakdown.

Childcare and education (18%)

Food (16%)

Transportation (14%)

Healthcare (8%)

Miscellaneous expenses (8%)

Clothing (6%)

The line that jumped out at me was transportation; it’s as much as healthcare and duds combined, and just shy of food costs. Based on the cost estimate, 14% equates to over $30,000 before adjusting for inflation.

Why is it so expensive to move kids around until age 18? Does that assume parents buy Suzy and Johnny cars at 16? I doubt it.

My guess: it reflects the future costs of vehicles and energy. This should pressure families to move closer to schools, their houses of worship and other activities.

That should lead to the growth of central cities as families cocoon around convenience and urban communities.

If you think about it, it costs society significant sums to build roads and provide infrastructure for a sprawling suburbia. Taxpayers subsidize real estate developments in remote locations, an hour from our urban centers.

In Michigan, the Oakland County and Macomb County Executives, L. Brooks Patterson and Mark Hackel made an ironic announcement recently.  They want Detroit to reimburse them for police assistance their counties will provide during the city’s annual fireworks display and International Freedom Festival celebration. This was their firm public position, despite the fact that tens of thousands will pour into Detroit from the suburbs to enjoy the show.

Maybe Wayne County should return the favor every time residents of Oakland and Macomb come to use our airport. Perhaps out-of-county travelers should pay an extra surcharge since their cops don’t police the facility. Same thing at Comerica Park, Joe Louis Arena, Ford Field, etc. Detroit cops secure every one of those events, and manage traffic before and after the games.

The era of the free lunch is over and costs deserve to be shared. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, and whatever other cliché you’d like to insert. The lack of shared responsibility and public goods has financial consequences. Cities have been shouldering the burden for the suburbs for too long. 

If communities want to encourage families with children to move in, they should provide sidewalks, bike trails and convenient mass transit. In the metro Detroit area, cities like Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods offer all those benefits close enough to the Motor City’s central business district, cultural center and our international airport.

I grew up on the West side of Detroit, where my mom still lives.  My family didn’t have a car until I was ten years old. Mom and Dad were immigrants and they put Catholic school tuition for four kids ahead of an automobile or other conveniences like dining out. They made the tough sacrifices that included schlepping home groceries in a cart from shops on the main street in our neighborhood. And we kids did our part. We walked to school, church and all our athletic and extra curricular activities. And yes, it was miles in the snow, round trip!

Of the items listed by the Department of Agriculture, transportation seems the easiest cost to control. The message for parents is, driving kids to soccer, dance and every other event in their lives not only teaches dependency and a sense of entitlement, it’s expensive.

In a nation that’s battling childhood obesity sounds like a little more walking is just what the doctor and your accountant ordered.

Beware of Job

In George Orwell’s novel, “Nineteen Eighty-Four,” he crafted a diabolical character that oppressed free thinkers. Big Brother was a deified party leader of a dictatorship  that used ceaseless surveillance and mind control to manage society.

Ironically, in 2012, it’s not government that’s invading privacy to manage people, it’s free enterprise.

There’s commotion in Congress and protests on Main Street in opposition to employers who demand that job applicants release their credit reports and Facebook passwords. You can imagine, if you’ve been unemployed for a while, your credit report might look less than stellar. Complete Facebook access might reveal your love life, wacky pictures from your class reunion, your political affiliations and your religious beliefs and disabilities.

A lot of these topics are off limits to employers in job interviews. Here’s a sample of questions that are illegal for companies to ask applicants:

1. What is your maiden name?
2. Do you have or plan to have children?
3. What religion do you practice?
4. Do you belong to a social organization or club?
5. Do you have a disease?
6. Have you ever been arrested?

You get the idea. Employers aren’t allowed to discriminate on the basis of marital status, religious beliefs, social or political affiliation, disabilities and even crime. If an employer has a specific concern about fraud or theft, he or she must ask about those crimes only. An arrest doesn't make you a criminal. You've heard of innocent until proven guilty, right?

Among the rights we consider inalienable is the right to privacy. Seems our freedom of speech is getting some folks in trouble, and their freewheeling approach to social media is inadvertently lifting the veil on their private lives.  

What you post on Facebook can be used against you if you grant access to an employer. This year, a Congressional amendment designed to restrict prospective employers from asking for Facebook passwords failed in the House of Representatives. A coalition of 25 civil rights and labor groups are petitioning America’s largest credit reporting firms to stop selling employers access to financial records of job applicants. Some experts argue and have testified to state legislatures that there is no real world evidence to prove a correlation between credit reports and job performance or any employee crime such as stealing or embezzling.

And in a bad economy, like this one, even the most frugal can run into financial trouble. Yet surveys show 60 percent of employers use credit reports in at least some hiring decisions, and some companies won’t even consider unemployed people.

Now here’s a twist. It’s not uncommon for credit reports to be erroneous, and it can take months for you to get one corrected. Meanwhile, you may be rejected from a series of jobs without even knowing it’s your bogus credit history that’s the problem.

According to critics, Facebook is lax about complying with the Child Online Privacy Protection Act. Some reports estimate 5.6 million Facebook subscribers are under 13 years old. What a sophomoric kid posts as a teenager or college student could affect his future employment status. And unpaid credit card accounts could lead to similar repercussions.

In fairness and in the spirit of full disclosure, perhaps the Feds should require the following warnings be acknowledged before these transactions:

CAUTION: the contents of your Facebook page may be viewed by your future employer and may cost you a job.

WARNING: failure to pay credit card and other bills in a timely fashion could prevent you from getting a job.

CAUTION TO JOB APPLICANTS: during your job interview, the employer may ask you questions that are illegal. Should you work for this employer, you could be sexually harassed, illegally terminated, racially profiled, or discriminated against on the basis of age, sex, religion or political affiliation. This employer may subsequently file bankruptcy and fail to meet obligations to you such as salary, wages, benefits and pension. Federal law affords you the full right to take legal action against this employer in the event of illegalities or any breach of contract.

If nothing’s private then everything should be public, and clearly posted. Let all buyers beware.

Can we get there from here?

What do you write when you have too many unanswered questions going through your mind? I call it blog soup. Hopefully, you’ll find these pithy chunks appetizing and easy to digest.

Our younger son is headed out of town to work a great job for a Chicago law firm for the summer. We thought a train might offer the most affordable way to get there with a lot of luggage. You can fly for $28.00 but the baggage fees will kill you. Now, you can ride Amtrak from Detroit, Dearborn, Ann Arbor, Birmingham or Royal Oak for about $52 one way. But you can only bring two carry on bags, because there is no checked baggage service. However, drive one hour to Toledo, Ohio and you can check three bags to Chitown, up to 50 pounds each at no extra charge, plus two carry on pieces. If you’d like, you can check up to six bags, and pay only $10 each after the first three. What a deal!

My question: why do I have to drive an hour to Toledo? Detroit isn’t a big enough hub to have checked baggage service? During these times of high gas prices and tight budgets, affordable transit is a must.

“Taken for a Ride” was the 1996 PBS documentary that chronicled the demise of urban mass transit under pressure from the American car industry. According to the producers, GM put the squeeze on big city governments in the 1930’s to swap streetcars for yellow buses the car company manufactured. Who’s preventing us from getting checked baggage service at the Amtrak train station in Detroit? Is it the airlines lobby? Will the high-speed rail from Detroit to Chicago offer full baggage service?

On Mother’s Day weekend, we were tied up celebrating with our older son and his lovely new fiancé. So I ran out of time to blog. My topic would have been “Look, Mom … No Job!” Economic signals remain crossed four years into this recession. Why can’t we gain employment momentum, while car companies report record sales and consumer confidence was up in April’s University of Michigan Survey of the U.S.? One reason is companies are exploiting the job shortage to maximize productivity at no cost.  More and more grads and even those with advanced and professional degrees are forced to take internships at no pay.  Plus, in the advertising and marketing business, there’s a whole class of young professionals who are paid low wages and subsidized with vendor perks like free dinners, complimentary cocktails at swank clubs and tickets to must-see events. Unfortunately, they can’t pay their bills with those gratis gifts and swag. That’s what a college education buys you today.

More than 30 years ago, I did two back-to-back internships with ABC-TV, but there were rules. I was getting college credit, a grade and my professor required a supervisor’s evaluation. I had to submit a journal of my experience and meet with my professor twice during the term. In fact, I had to beg my prof for permission to do a second internship, because the TV station was predicting they’d have a job for me if I could hang on for another few months. I did and they made me an offer two days before graduation. What’s happening today with college grads is a lot like what happens to illegal aliens desperate for work. They’ll take anything, even toil for free, rather than atrophy on the unemployment line.

There’s another key point in this story; when I did my internships, my four-year scholarship at Wayne State University was valued at $4,800.00. At the time, my brand new 1977 Chevy Monte Carlo set me back $5,700 cash. Try going to college today for the price of a midsize car.  Despite all these inequities, we’re soon going to hear cries for a tax amnesty program so big American businesses can bring their enormous offshore profits home without paying the piper. If they don’t get the tax break, will corporations continue to hold jobs hostage?

Meanwhile, the presidential election is coming. What should we believe about the race? I’m going to make a prediction. Regardless of what actually happens, we will continue to hear that the polls are tight. It’s in the best interest the TV and radio networks. There are billions of dollars in ad revenues at stake. Both political parties have huge war chests, and with the U.S. Supreme Court designating corporations as citizens with full freedom of speech, this election will be the most expensive in American history. The tighter the race the more money the media will make.

On Friday, Bloomberg TV interviewed Matthew Dowd, the former campaign strategist for President George W. Bush. His analysis was that in election years, voters actually make up their minds in May, June and July and spend the rest of the time rationalizing their vote for president. So, the money that pours into advertising is designed to prevent you from changing your vote. News organizations face a significant conflict of interest. Report the facts, or muckrake for billions.

Here’s a question for the Supreme Court: if a corporation owns a TV or radio network and it runs a free ad in favor of a candidate, under the equal time clause, is it required to do the same for the other candidate? Just asking.

Gas prices are falling as the summer vacation season heats up. Despite sanctions on Iran to help diffuse their nuclear aspirations, the supply of petroleum is rising with a surprise source filling the gap. Iraq is back and pumping millions of barrels a day and their capabilities are growing. Without the Iraq war, would the U.S. have seen $4 per gallon prices in recent years?

The good news is America has diversified its energy resources and continues to pursue greener options like incredibly abundant natural gas. Even utility companies in coal country are converting their power plants to burn natural gas instead of coal. What special interest is stepping up and attempting to derail our new found trend toward energy independence?

There are answers to all these questions. Do we have enough real journalists with the courage to ask them? I’m still waiting to find out.

Sunday Night Live

In our dizzying world of text messages and virtually constant electronic connections, people still crave live human contact. Perhaps now more than ever. And that’s an important lesson for marketers.

My wife, Ellen, and I spent the afternoon in Ann Arbor, Michigan enjoying a paddleboat ride on the Huron River and working up an appetite. So, we headed to South Main Street for a meal at a sidewalk café. Afterward we strolled over to Kilwin’s so Ellen could grab an ice cream. I would only taste it, of course. And to our surprise, there was a show in the window. One young woman crafting waffle cones and the other making caramel and peanut butter fudge on a chilly slab of white marble. It was quite entertaining to watch scrumptious delights handmade the old fashioned way. And people stopped on the sidewalk to enjoy the artisans at work.

We went off looking for a cup of coffee and stumbled across two street entertainers near the corner of South Main and East Liberty. On the east side of Main, a mime performed, a delightfully cute woman in a white bobbed wig and white face mesmerized pedestrians. People stared and then dropped a buck or two in her beaded basket.

But across the street in front of the now shuttered Parthenon Restaurant was the main attraction. Twenty or thirty people formed a semicircle around a willowy character, a tall, dark Ichabod Crane of magic man. His name is Alexander the Magician and he says he’s performed his street show around the world, from France and Italy to Tunisia in the Arab Spring and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Alexander captivated families, young couples, toddlers and seniors with his slight of hand. His close-up magic was flawless and he involved a number of volunteers including kids. At the end of his 45-minute act he passed a hat.

“How much money do you typically get?” I asked.

“Enough,” Alexander replied. Enough for him to work about two days a week and make a living. He’s been plying his craft as a street performer for 10 years. After attending Central Michigan University and the University of Michigan, Alexander earned degrees in Philosophy and Drama. And he’s proud to work for himself.

“So, you’re an entrepreneur,” I declared.

“I’m a free man,” he replied.

Besides his magic, which is genuinely impressive, Alexander’s ability to grab audience attention and hold it in the midst of a bustling urban community speaks volumes. No microphone, no lighting, no set or staging other than a few props like coins, handkerchiefs, playing cards and dollar bills. He had people smiling, laughing, gawking, clapping and cheering for 45 minutes. The audience was eating out of his hand. And then they dug into their pockets and paid him for a show they never planned to see. One guy came by five minutes after the act ended to drop a couple bucks in the hat because he had stepped away to take a phone call.  

Alexander’s act occurs spontaneously when he finds an open corner where merchants and proprietors will allow him to perform in front of their establishments. He calls out to people as they pass and the show begins. Soon the crowd gathers.

For a few minutes, the pressures of the world melt away. No signs of a bad economy. Just priceless moments with awestruck little kids and parents laughing out loud. Not via text, but real belly laughs.

You can find this talented guy at alexanderthemagician.com and you might stumble across a video of him on YouTube. But it’s nothing like the real thing. He’s available for hire.

Ironically, amidst the explosion of Web advertising, marketers have discovered that the best way to really reach people is through experiences. And experiential and guerilla marketing are gaining importance. Market research demonstrates that people will spend 15 to 30 minutes engaged in a brand when their invited to participate in an experience. It’s the value of a test drive, a taste test or an open house or plant tour.

So, if you’re looking for a little magic in your marketing, get up close and personal with your audience and put on a show. They just might fill your hat with dough.