Happy Holidays!

Nancy Pelosi demonstrates how to control the narrative.

On December 18, 2019, The House of Representatives impeached President Trump for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

The next step in the process is for the Senate to hold a trial. 

Unfortunately, Mitch McConnell the Speaker of the Senate, indicated on October 8, 2019, that he was coordinating preparations for the trial with the White House counsel.  Do you suppose that he forgot that Senators act as jurors in an impeachment trial?  Surely the jury should not be coordinating their efforts with either side.

But he doubled down on December 17th on CNN when he announced: "I'm not an impartial juror."  (Barrett & Zaslav, 2019)

Hmm.  Perhaps he shouldn't be a juror at all then.  And what about that pesky oath he took to uphold the constitution?  Doesn't it preclude attempting to turn an impeachment trial into a sham?

Enter Nancy to the rescue. 

The intrepid Speaker of The House announced on December 19th that she would not send the articles of impeachment to the Senate until they indicated what the rules of the trial would be.  And, wait for it - that it will be a fair trial.  (Hughes & Andrews, 2019)

Then she sent everyone home for the holidays ensuring that the main topic of conversation at family gatherings over the next two weeks will be - "Why won't the Senate hold a fair trial?  What do they have to hide?"  It's brilliant. 

According to an ABC/Washington Post poll released on December 17th, 70% of Americans think that Trump's aides should testify at the trial.  That figure includes 64% of Republicans, 72% of Independents and 79% of Democrats. (Langer, 2019)

So this is not a partisan issue.  But rather one that all Americans care deeply about.  That makes me think some Senators may come back from break with a whole new attitude.

Thanks Nancy.

Barrett, T. & Zaslav, A. (2019, December 17) Mitch McConnell: 'I'm not an impartial juror' ahead of Senate impeachment trial.  cnn.com.  Retrieved December 24, 209, from

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/17/politics/mcconnell-impartial-juror-impeachment/index.html

Hughes, S. & Andrews, P. (2019, December 20)  Pelosi to Delay Sending Impeachment Articles to Senate.  wsj.com.  Retrieved December 24, 2019, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/after-house-impeaches-trump-timing-of-next-steps-is-unclear-11576755097

Langer, G. (2019, December 17)  Most expect fair trial for Trump; 7 in 10 say let aides testify (POLL)  abcnews.go.com. Retrieved December 24, 2019, from https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/expect-fair-trial-trump-10-aides-testify-poll/story?id=67761813

Peloton may have the last laugh.

When the controversy broke out about the Peloton ad, Sarah Mahoney of mediapost.com noted that her first impression upon seeing the commercial was that it was unlikely to be successful. (Mahoney, 2019)

I realized belatedly that I too had seen it, but not remembered it because 1) I am not in the market for an exercise bike and 2) the ad was meh.

So it may just turn out to be a stroke of good luck that Peloton got a much needed PR boost from people who are unlikely to ever be users of their product.  And what a boost it is.  Eva Victor's parody of the commercial on Twitter has over 3 million views.  (Ortiz, 2019)

Then Ryan Reynolds put his own twist on it for Aviation America Gin.  And just how much do you think that mention on Saturday Night Live was worth?  (Hsu, 2019)

In one of the many articles written about Peloton since the controversy erupted, I read something interesting, which sadly I cannot attribute, but will paraphrase and share anyway.  "My Twitter friends are outraged.  My Facebook friends have no idea what's going on. And my Instagram friends all want a bike." 

Yeah.  That sounds just about right to me. 

Mahoney, S. (2019, December 8)  What The Peloton Backlash Says About the D2C Universe.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved December 18, 2019, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/344292/what-the-peloton-backlash-says-about-the-d2c-unive.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=116412&hashid=ybq2buULrntyGS6NfbELk0afrrI

Ortiz, A. (2019, December 3)  Peloton Ad Is Criticized as Sexist and Dystopian.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved December 18, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/03/business/peloton-bike-ad-stock.html

Hsu, T. (2019, December 9)  Peloton's Cringe-y Ad Got Everyone Talking. Its C.E.O. Is Silent. nytimes.com.  Retrieved December 18, 2019 from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/business/media/peloton-ad-ryan-reynolds.html

Amazon demonstrates how to change the narrative.

Amazon has been getting some really bad press lately. Workers are rallying over high injury rates - more than double the national average according to The Center For Investigative Reporting.  The New York Times wrote a multiple page cover story about Amazon's $15.40 wages and the company's effect on Baltimore.  And then there's the fact that Amazon paid $0 in federal taxes this year, for the second year in a row.  LOL. (Evans, 2019)

So what is Amazon going to do?  They could improve working conditions for their employees.  But why bother when they can simply change the narrative?

Research shows us that once we believe something to be true, we block out messages that challenge those beliefs; and listen more closely to those that support them.  So just pointing out that Amazon donated $250,000 to food banks in 2019, was enough to convince my students that they didn't need to give up the convenience of Amazon even if Amazon's practices conflict with their values. 

You can read their comments here...

http://pjlehrer.blogspot.com/2019/11/amazon-workers-are-rallying-over-high.html

Maybe Amazon did.  Because on December 3, two days after the story ran in the New York Times, Amazon announced their new "Toys for Tots" holiday partnership featuring Robert Downey Jr.  (Gazdik, 2019)

That should certainly distract everyone. 

At the very least it will influence Google's algorithm so that when people search for Amazon, the negative stories aren't the first to pop up. 

And that's the beauty of changing the narrative.  It's just so darn easy these days.

SiLive (2019, Monday November 25)  Amazon Donates Dinners While Employees Protest Safety Issues.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved November 27, 2019, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/343821/amazon-donates-dinners-while-employees-protest-saf.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=116246&hashid=ybq2buULrntyGS6NfbELk0afrrI

Kovach, S. & Pagano, A. (2019, February 14) Amazon will pay $0 in federal taxes this year - here's how the $793 billion company gets away with it.  thebusinessinsider.com.  retrieved December 11, 2019, from  https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-not-paying-taxes-trump-bezos-2018-4

Would you buy a candy bar or two to get free shipping?

As more purchases move online the candy companies are facing a dilemma.  

According to Hershey's 56% of shoppers always or often buy a snack at checkout.  No doubt due in part to frustration from waiting on long checkout lines.  (Gasparro, 2017)

But how can candy companies replicate that in an online environment?

Some are trying to use the same technique and are offering up a variety of items at the end of the transaction under headlines like - "have you forgotten," or "other people have purchased." 

But a more interesting idea might be to help consumers reach their free shipping minimums.  We've all experienced that moment when you realize that you are just a few dollars short of free shipping, so you buy one more item to reach the threshold.  Why can't that item be a candy bar or two?

Another option would be to offer customers a coupon to get them to add the item to their list.  Once a product is on the list, chances are that it will remain there and be repurchased.

So what do you think?  Do you make impulse purchases online?  What prompted the purchase, and what did you buy?  Do you think any of the ideas discussed will be effective?  Do you have a different idea that might work?

Gasparro, A & Haddon, H. (2017, October 16)  Food Companies Revamp for a Digital World.  wsj.com. Retrieved August 13, 2018, from  https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-food-companies-get-people-to-make-impulse-purchases-online-1508119561

Geller, G. (2019, December 3)  Recreating The Impulse Buy Online.  mediapost.com.  Retrieved December 4, 2019, from

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/344015/recreating-the-impulse-buy-online.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=116329&hashid=qPjrjs2d4CzuoIyymSYheeVOsxs