Bernays in the 1920s

The modern master of propaganda and public relations -often termed the modern day Machiavelli- is Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud’s Vienna born nephew. Based in the United States, Bernays -(November 22, 1891 – March 9, 1995)- was a pioneer in collective manipulation. To this effect he skilfully and successfully combined individual and social psychology, public opinion studies, political persuasion and advertising. He used all these to create what he termed necessary illusions which he then presented (or filtered) as reality to the masses. Bernays referred to this social process as the engineering of consent. He’s one of the first people in advertising who used manipulation of the subconscious as a tool to influence public opinion. Bernays himself believed that manipulation was needed as society was dangerous due to it’s “herd instinct”.

One of the reasons this came to mind and blog is related to cigarette smoking and women (more specifically as I mused on why I had started smoking in boarding school in Britain as an early adolescent).

One of Bernays campaigns in the 1920s was made by request of the American Tobacco Company to increase cigarette sales among the female population, among which it was considered taboo to smoke in public. To this effect, he sent a group of young models to march in the New York City parade. He subsequently told the press that a group of women rights marchers would light “torches of freedom”. On this prompt, the women lit up Lucky Strikes cigarettes in front of eager paparazzi. According to Wikipedia, The New York Times, on the 1st of April 1929 edition, printed: “Group of Girls Puff at Cigarettes as a Gesture of Freedom”. This helped to break the taboo against women smoking in public.

More on the man and his third party authorities here. Third party authorities is a method based on the statement that: “If you can influence the leaders, either with or without their conscious cooperation, you automatically influence the group which they sway”.

Portrait of Edward Bernays via wikimedia commons

Found a good photo today in the Freakonomics blog; made me think of the times we live in under a tragicomic, self-gloating and perverse light. Some food for thought, I guessed.

Thanks to Author.

In yesterday’s Russian daily RBC, the president of Mindshare Group Russia, Vladimir Rass, conveyed that he expects the ad market will decrease 25-27%, to RUB 195-200bn (EUR 4.41-4.52bn) in Russia in 2009 vs 2008.

• The TV ad segment will fall 20-22%, to RUB 107-110bn
• Outdoor ads by 30-40%, to RUB 27.3-32bn
• Ads on radio by 35%, to RUB 9.1bn
• Ads in printed periodicals by 40%, to RUB 34.56bn

In his opinion, the amount of ads in the Internet will remain at the level of 2008 by the end of 2009, or will grow about 5%. Thus, demand for ads in Runet will total RUB 7.5-7.88bn. Managing Director of Aegis Media for Russia, Andrey Brayovich, supposes that the segments of TV and Internet will overcome the crisis faster. The Russian online advertising market grew by 5% in H1 2009. Original article in Russian here.

I read a good list of tips for entrepreneurs from Larry Page, Google’s co-founder, in the very cool website ecorner. I like number three a lot!

Tip 1: Just don’t settle. Especially with employees, it is very important to find great people you are compatible with.
Tip 2: There is a benefit from being real experts. Experience pays off.
Tip 3: Have a healthy disregard for the impossible. Stretch your goals.
Tip 4: It is OK to solve a hard problem. Solving hard problems is where you will get the biggest leverage.
Tip 5: Don’t pay attention to the VC bandwagon. Don’t start a company just because you can. Instead, have a really good idea that is good regardless of the funding situation.

Russia’s single and most acute problem is the demographic trend of the country. National Human Development Report, Russian Federation, 2008: Russia Facing Demographic Challenges is a study recently released by the United Nations. This report projects that Russia would lose at least 11 million more people by 2025. According to the study, “in the coming decades, the nation confronts accelerated population decrease; a dwindling of the working-age population; the general aging of the population; the drop in number of potential mothers; a large immigrant influx; and a possible rise in emigration rates”.

“The mortality crisis is one of the clearest manifestations of Russia’s long-term demographic crisis”, the report warns, with the gap between Russia and other developed countries widening since 1964. Further, life expectancy for both sexes was shortest in Russia among 33 European nations, and Russia lags far behind both the United States and Japan.

A two-pronged strategy is needed to reverse these trends, the new report said, calling for the promotion of active and healthy lifestyles on the one hand, and the adaptation of social services and institutions to the needs of the aging population on the other. It also pointed to migration as a possible way to fill gaps and boost the workforce to support economic growth.

In the past 16 years, nearly 6 million immigrants have come to Russia, but the study warned that for migration to be a truly effective solution, Russian society must adjust to accept the newcomers. Another UN report said last year that the population could fall to as low as 100 million in 2050.

More news and analysis here and here. Images of the Republic of Karelia, courtesy of Eero Korhonen.

Finland encourages domestic expertise in clean technology, which it promotes worldwide. Testimony of this reality follows.

1. Between 1998 and 2007 Finnish companies invested 337 EUR Million in energy efficiency, saving 7,35 terawatt hours of energy
2. The International Energy Agency has established that “Finland is a model for the world” in combined heat and power generation
3. A whooping 7% of Finnish exports are in clean tech, the highest of any OECD country
4. The number of Finnish nanotechnology companies has tripled since 2004
5. Since the 1990s, Helsinki has increased energy production by 60%, and has also increased air quality

Sources: Helsinki Times and Cleantech Finland

Summer in Savonia, Eastern Finland, can be a relaxing -albeit industrious- event. Here’s a great way to spend your time when you’ve got some Silver Birch, Alder and Aspen to deal with for winter’s wood (for your sauna, for example) and a Zetor from the 1960s to help you get the job done.

Before - Zetor on the right lending a hand

After - Ta-da!

My warmest regards and compliments to Matti and Sirkka for this incredible work. Hope to participate in this one next Summer!

Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School developed Porter’s Five Forces Analysis in 1979 as a framework for industry analysis and strategic development. The goal of the model is to derive the five forces that determine the competitive intensity and, thus, the attractiveness of a market. If profitability is high across the market, it’s attractive; if the combination of forces drives profitability of the market or industry down, it is deemed “unattractive”.

Porter refers to these forces as micro environmental, as they are forces close to the company and which affect it’s ability to serve its customers and make a profit. In the model, should a change occur in any of the forces, the company must re-evaluate the marketplace. Also, it is important to note that the overall industry attractiveness does not mean all companies in it will yield the same profitability, as specific business models within them might allow individual companies to deliver above average profitability.

The model is nice to assess the attractiveness of a market we’re in or planning to enter by stating under each epigraph the reality of the micro environment. The model’s graphic representation is as follows:

According to a survey made by the company Kelly Services, about 65% of Russian office workers are ready to change their job. 84% would be glad to accept an offer to work with another employer since they “do not like the tense atmosphere at their company and the unstable position of their employer”.

1/15 office workers have quit their jobs on their own accord as a result of bad relations with colleagues and top managers. About 41% of workers are ready to find new jobs due to their company’s instability. During the crisis, the work load of 72% of office employees changed; about 38% started to work less and 44% more.

According to the survey:

• over 50% of Russians would like to work at “an international company”
• 22,5% at a “young developing international company”
• 10,3% at a “Russian company with high potential”
• 8,1% at a “Russian state-run company”, and
• 7,7% at a “Russian private company”

A total of 2.400 office employees all over Russia were polled. This news item comes from Trud, edition of 22th June 2009.

In the picture, Metro Moscow escalators by Sansculotte licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 3.0

Frutales Fruit trees
cargados, charged,
Dorados Golden
trigales… cornfields…

Cristales Glass
ahumados. smoked.
Quemados Burned
jarales… rockroses…

Umbría, Shade,
sequía, draught,
solano… easterly wind…

Paleta Palette
completa complete
verano. summer.

Manuel Machado (Seville, 1874 – Madrid 1947)
Spanish poet and playwright of the Generation of ‘98