Strategy in TECH...
In a telephone interview today, new Thiel Audio CEO John Wittman told us that the company “struck a chord with me personally,” virtually compelling him to take over as CEO after the owners’ invited him to look at the company last winter. Over the course of an interview that went on for more than a hour, Wittman candidly shared his thoughts and perspectives in an enthusiastic and – to the degree he felt appropriate – open manner.
Report Says Sharp Plans to Withdraw from Consumer Electronics & Solar Businesses in EuropeIn a new report out of Japan, the Nikkei is forecasting that Sharp Corp. will book a net loss of around ¥2 billion ($19.6 million) for their fiscal first quarter (April – June) this year. The report further says that the company plans to exit both the consumer electronics and solar panel businesses in Europe in order to refocus their efforts on other markets.
Major New York Metro & Mid-Atlantic sales representative company Audio Associates has been selected by both Bay Audio and Wilson Electronics to represent their brands. In addition to this, Audio Associates separately announced that it has promoted long-time salesman George Christianis to the position of Sales Manager for the company.
Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared.
Eddie Rickenbacker
Thiel Audio dealers were surprised to receive an email Wednesday from the company announcing plans to – in their words – “revitalize” the storied audio brand. We last reported in April that the company had finally acknowledged to its dealers that it was moving its operations to Nashville, TN – after 38 years in Lexington, KY. This acknowledgement came one week after we reported to Strata-gee readers that the company planned to move.
Since then, the company has been silent. Now, this announcement sets out a new agenda for change – and it is an ambitious one.
In what was a complete surprise to many last week, several industry reps and dealers received a letter from Audio Control Technology Partners (ACTP) CEO Mike Anderson that announced the return of Turn it On (TiO) to the market. TiO, as you might recall, lost funding back in May and ultimately disappeared from view…all before they shipped their first product.
Whether you’re a manufacturer/brand, distributor, rep…or even an integrator selling largely commercial installations…you are a business-to-business or B-to-B marketer. And you’re going to want to pay attention to this new data on marketing trends for B-to-B marketers.
New data released by Advertising Age shows a continued swing away from traditional media to digital media spending by B-to-B marketers. Some of the numbers from this new survey are eye-popping.
Have you seen any of the latest “Weird Al” Yankovic spoof videos from his newest album Mandatory Fun? One of them caught our eye as it was picked up by – are you ready for this – the Wall Street Journal. Set to one of our favorite Crosby, Stills, & Nash tunes, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, this video, titled Mission Statement, unabashedly (and quite humorously) lampoons the ever-ubiquitous corporate-speak. [You can see the video below.]
You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.
Wayne Gretzky
Strata-gee.com and The Stratecon Group are taking a break this week for a short summer holiday. We’ll be back next week with all new posts on marketing and business strategy in TECH today!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!
