Media II, Inc. - Profile

Timely Tidbits from Media II Advertising, Public Relations, Sales Promotion

In This Issue:

So How Much Should You Spend?
Fishing Lure Warning
Teleworkers Offer High Productivity
Workplace Stress --- You Are Not Alone
Quote of the Month
Bumper Sticker of the Month

So How Much Should You Spend on Marketing as a Percentage of Revenues?

If you are San Francisco CRM software startup Salesforce.com, it’s 65%. No that’s not a typo. In their mid-December IPO filing, Salesforce.com listed spending $33 million, 65% of total revenues, on sales and marketing in 2003. General administration, 26% and R&D, 9% completed the revenue pie.

As a comparison, Oracle spends 22% of revenues and Microsoft spends 18% of revenues on sales and marketing. Most business-to-business companies spend a scant 0.5 to 5%.

Of interest, consumer products and technology companies include sales and marketing costs in their total cost of a product just like ingredients, mixing, packaging, etc. Most business-to-business marketers however, see it merely as an expense that comes off the bottom line.

Fishing Lure Which Warns, ``Harmful if Swallowed,'' Catches Award In M-LAW's Seventh Annual Wacky Warning Label Contest

A five-inch fishing lure which sports three steel hooks and cautions users that it is, "Harmful if swallowed," has been identified as one of the nation's wackiest warning labels in an annual contest sponsored by M-LAW, a consumer watchdog group.

The Wacky Warning Label Contest, now in it's seventh year, to reveal how lawsuits, and fear of lawsuits, have prompted many manufacturers to issue warnings against even obvious misuses of consumer products.

The winning labels were selected from a list of M-LAW's finalists by listeners of the Dick Purtan show on Detroit radio station, WOMC-FM. The fishing lure warning actually placed fourth. The $500 grand prize for the wackiest label was awarded to Robert Brocone of Euclid, Ohio for a warning he found on a bottle of drain cleaner which reads: "If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product." Brocone also wins a copy of the book, "The Death of Common Sense," by Philip K. Howard, chairman of the legal reform group, Common Good.

The $250 second place award went to Alexander Tabarrok of Fairfax, Virginia for a label on a snow sled which reads: "Beware: sled may develop high speed under certain snow conditions." Third place and $100 goes to Bob Skowronek of Northville, Michigan who purchased a 12-inch-high storage rack for compact disks which warns: "Do not use as a ladder."

Teleworkers Offer High Productivity at Lower Cost

An increasing number of corporate and association meeting departments are now working with “teleworkers,” individuals who are full-time or part-time employees who telecommute regularly. Numerous surveys have found that such workers are highly productive and often less costly than on-site staff. Of course, there are keys to making that type of relationship work. According to a recent report from AT&T, here are five of them:

Two-way trust is essential. Individual managers and employees who can be trusted know best about their own suitability for teleworking.
Working technology is a must. If a teleworker’s computer is down, he or she may be temporarily at a standstill. Working technology is more important than ever.
Face-to-face interactions still matter. There clearly are times to go to the office for almost every type of position. In-person interaction should not be eliminated.
Costs need to be properly allocated for the teleworker(s). You can’t tell how much a teleworker is costing you or how much it’s saving you unless direct and indirect costs are appropriately assigned.

Your organization’s culture makes this work, not the job function! Some managers mistakenly feel that they must find the “right job position” to be teleworked. In fact, technology and culture, not job function, are the best predictors of teleworking success.

Source: AT&T’s “Point of View”: Remote Working in the Net-Centric Organization.

Workplace Stress – You Are Not Alone

According to the StressPulse survey by ComPsych Corporation, employees in the category of "high stress" have increased by 15 percent. The survey revealed more than 29 percent of employees come to work five or more days a year when they are too stressed or distracted to be effective - a 10 percent increase over six months ago. In addition, the survey showed a 13 percent increase in 'lack of job security' as the main source of stress.

"The levels (of stress) employees are dealing with now are counterproductive," said Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, chairman and CEO of ComPsych. "What we are seeing is a workplace situation that is incongruent with the economic rebound. The recovery has brought more work, yet there are few new hires and fewer pay raises."

ComPsych's StressPulse Results - Second Half, 2003 Stress Levels

63% Have high levels of stress, with extreme fatigue/feeling out of control
32% Have constant but manageable stress levels
5% Have low stress levels

Quote of the Month

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

- Sir Winston Churchill

Bumper Sticker of the Month

POLITICIANS & DIAPERS NEED TO BE CHANGED FOR THE SAME REASON

(Thanks Peter)

The Public Bath?

In ancient times, public baths were places that men of learning and curiosity gathered to exchange ideas. Today those places no longer exist (unless you count hot tubs), so we've tried to adapt the bath's open freewheeling tone into a newsletter. We hope you'll read our Public Bath in just that spirit.

The Public Bath is not "first-thing-on-Monday" reading. Rather, it is more like "fifteen-minutes-till lunch on Friday" or, "on hold" reading. Some material is amusing, some sociological, some newsy and we hope -- all thought-provoking.

We also want to answer your questions and hear your reactions. Have a topic you would like us to explore? Let us know that too. After all, public baths are places for both listening and talking.

About Media II, Inc. – Media II is a full-service marketing communications firm that specializes in serving business-to-business marketers in a wide variety of industries. We offer marketing communications planning, print and email advertising, public relations, sales literature development, graphic design, direct mail, web site development, webcasting, database publishing, and search engine placement services. Like to know more? Visit our web site www.mediaii.com

Media II, Inc. / 34900 Chardon Road / Willoughby Hills, OH 44094 / 440-975-8201 / www.mediaii.com

If you have a topic you would like to see us address or if you would prefer not to receive this newsletter, please let us know. Email roy@mediaii.com