Author Archives: Aldon Lamb

Keeping Up With The Joneses

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Would you categorize the way the Jones family lives as personal selling? Why or why not?
The Joneses are masters at a few things and one of them is personal selling. This is personal selling in its truest form because they are making induvial and personalized sales to everyone they encounter. The “family” unit each works their own specific brand and age group. They have created a personalized group of products for each group they’re in. They started smaller and then worked themselves into bigger and bolder items. Video games, hair products, etc to safaris, high end cars and jewels.

What similarities do you see between the sales tactics the Jones family employs and the marketing tactics of some of your favorite brands? Give an example.
I’m going to use Instagram as my brand for this. The similarities between the Joneses and marketing tactics today used by Instagram are different visually but more similar than you’d think. Instagram’s marketing is more about reading all your personal info, your google searches and your internet likes. After that info is all sold to other companies, it is then used to create personalized items that the user may be interested in.

Based on what you read in the course materials and what you observed in this movie, do you think the way products are marketed in this movie is ethical?
I don’t think that what they are doing technically classifies as unethical. It is gross and underhanded but its more gray than black and white. They didn’t set out to force people into bankruptcy and foreclosures. We must have our own limits when it comes to the way we compare or compete with other people. I think we see this in its realest form when the neighbor ends his own life after burying himself in debt. We honestly see so much of this now too when people bury themselves trying to keep up with all these influencers who are also getting paid a lot of money to promote these products.

How would you feel if you were friends with someone in the Jones family before you found out their secret? What about afterward?
I don’t consider myself easily influenced, though there was a time in my life when I lived back home in Atlanta (Shoutout to the Real Housewife of ATL in the party scene) like the Joneses, that I was. I wanted to do all the fancy things and have a cute car and buy expensive clothing. I get what they’re doing, and it really is a brilliant way to market if you’re in the absolute perfect market. This wouldn’t work in a market of low-middle class people as they have more real-world problems than people with a large income. I probably wouldn’t be friends with them now. I don’t surround myself with people who boast or are super materialistic. I wouldn’t be friends with them now for that reason and I wouldn’t be friends with them after because just going that deep into a deceit is not something that I would want to be around.

Fundraiser for LNFY

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts: Aldon Lamb (aldonlamb@gmail.com)

LOST-N-FOUND YOUTH CHARITY FUNDRAISER

(Atlanta, GA 05/02/2023) Lost-n-Found Youth (LNFY), a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ homeless youth, has announced the return of its fifth annual springtime fundraiser, ‘DRAG ME TO SCHOOL,’ which will take place on June 24th, 2023, at 9 pm at Piedmont Park Greystone in Atlanta. Tickets are available for purchase at www.lnfy.org. The drag show and charity event will raise money and collect school supplies for current and former residents of the Lost-n-Found Youth shelter as they prepare for the 2023-24 school year.

Atlanta-based drag queens Sister Dixie Normous, Edie Cheezburger, and LouAnn Behold have been announced as performers, with more to follow. Tickets for the event start at $50 for standing room and go up to $500 for a seated VIP table with bottle service. Alcohol will be included in the price of admission, and local food trucks, including ‘King of Pops’ and ‘The Loaded Taco,’ among others, will provide complimentary fare. Any tips collected over the course of the evening will be donated to the cause.

Since 2011, Lost-n-Found Youth has aimed to end homelessness for local LGBTQ+ youth and provide them with resources and support for success in education. LNFY has helped hundreds of children and teens grow into successful, talented young adults. Many previous residents now play professional sports, hold roles in local government, or have become advocates for similar causes.

The profits from the fundraiser will be used to provide school supplies, orchestrate and fund doctor visits, supply daily lunches, and cover any expenses for extracurricular activities. In previous years, ‘DRAG ME TO SCHOOL’ has raised enough funding to support clients through high school and into college.

LNFY operates a 24/7 crisis hotline, a drop-in youth center, and shelter. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.LNFY.org.

Contact: Aldon Lamb, Public Relations
aldonlamb@gmail.com
770-382-6872
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Works Cited

“Lost N Found Youth.” Lost N Found Youth, http://www.lnfy.org/.

Dapper Boi

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Aldon Lamb
MAR 100- B051

Dapper Boi

This essay choice was an easy one for me. As a queer person who doesn’t fit a ‘normal’ body type, I immediately connected with Vicky and the pitch for their brand, “Dapper Boi.” Vicky and Charisse Pasche began their brand for the simple reason that Vicky wasn’t comfortable in typical men or women’s clothing. I loved the enthusiasm of the wife team and the models they brought with them. The couple really cares about their brand and their inclusivity and that’s why I chose them.

The product that they presented is their “Dapper Boi” brand with its gender and size inclusive jeans, tops, and outerwear. The pair came in hot and started presenting their original dilemma which was that Vicky couldn’t find women’s clothes that fit her style or men’s clothes that fit her body type. They wanted to create a brand that she felt comfortable in as a queer person of a larger body type with “a booty”. They work to create a brand that reaches people of all shapes, sizes, and origins so that they can feel comfortable in their clothing without having to shop in a section that may make them uncomfortable.

Vicky and Charisse are hoping to use their brand as a way to bridge the gap between the two mainstream genders with an androgynous style for people who don’t necessarily subscribe to our society’s gender norms. A ’genderless’ clothing brand is a great concept in today’s push for breaking gender roles and understanding that we are all much more than what gender we are assigned at birth. I do believe in what they are trying to put forward and that they have done a great job thus far with the exception of a few marketing mistakes.

As far as branding and packaging goes, I think they have some room for improvement. To begin with, I think the name is a little… divisive even if the intent is to bridge a gap. They are trying to become more mainstream and appeal to more audiences, but their brand has a gendered term in it, even if the term is spelled in playful way. I think this creates a subconscious pause in a lot of female-identifying humans. A change of brand title may draw the eye of a broader audience.

The pair do however seem to be in the best position as far as having their online store as opposed to brick and mortar. I think that unless they built their own brick and mortar stores, they don’t make a ton of sense in a department store. The idea that they would create a “middle area” just isn’t practical for 90% of stores selling clothing and would cost the company a substantial amount of money up front.  In my opinion, they could do more business by taking the “bespoke box” approach. This would give them the money to purchase the garments before they’re made and have a better idea of how many to order. They would be able to send out a monthly box that has all the right sizes for the consumer and that consumer can purchase what they like and return the remaining items. The leftover garments that aren’t purchased by the original recipient can then be sold as individual items on their store as a limited supply.

When it comes to the question of, “Do I need this?” and “Does this fill a hole that I have in my everyday life?”. I think the answer is yes. To the right individuals, something as small as pants that are the correct fit and style or a shirt that fits and hides the parts of themselves, they don’t identify with, can be life changing. While this may not be a need for everyone, it is a need for a growing number of human beings who are struggling to find a place where they are comfortable and feel beautiful in their own skin. As a person that wears clothes that don’t always identify with my gender, I really think Dapper Boi is doing a beautiful thing.

Work Cited 

“Shark Tank .” Season 14, episode 20.

Dapper Boi, https://www.dapperboi.com/.

My fancy dinner in SLC

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I just moved to the fabulous capital city of Utah, Salt Lake City and I am craving a nice Italian meal. I spent the past few days moving into my beautiful new home with my husband and we deserve a nice sit-down Italian meal. I am dreaming of house made pastas, maybe a steak and some great wine. I know now what I want and what I don’t want. From here, I am going to explore the options around SLC so that I can compare and make a choice that best fits my needs.

I start out my search by using good old fashioned, google. Google is useful because it gives a list sorted by location and reviews, but it also has websites that contain things such as, “Best of SLC: Italian Restaurants”. I quickly narrow down my results by seeing photos of the restaurants themselves and the food they offer. I know I don’t want somewhere like ‘Buca di Beppo’ or ‘Olive Garden’ because they are chain restaurants. I can also cross of ‘Osteria Amore’ and ‘Eva’ because while they are cute and cozy, I am looking for something that WOWS me. That’s when I see ‘Veneto’ and I know that I’ve hit my mark. I want a place that really welcomes me to SLC with an incredible array of out of this world food and a just as exquisite wine list. I quickly go to their reviews on Google and then when that passes my high standards, I hop over to Instagram. I want to see the photos that the restaurant posts so I can see their caliber of food, but I also want to see their tagged photos. Do the patrons look like they’re having an incredible meal? Do they look comfortable in the restaurant or is it too stuffy? All of them look happy and I decide that Veneto is for us!

While I know that what I want for this meal is a little too fancy for a lot of people, it is what we wanted for our welcome to SLC meal. Through my search I saw places that I could order from on a Tuesday night when I don’t want to make dinner or when I want to have a more causal night with friends before we go have drinks at The Sun Trapp. A positive thing about the internet is all the ways to find what you want. There are so many publications that put out new restaurant lists so it’s easy to stay up to date on what is happening in the SLC food scene.

Dinner was unreal. We did the Chef’s Tasting Menu with wine pairings. Every bite was so perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The chef came out and described each course in detail. The service was top notch and the bartender sent over Espresso Martinis to end our meal. I could not rave higher about the evening.

Our dinner has now come and went, and we are in a food coma at home. We are both glowing with happiness and this meal has made us feel even more hopeful and happy about our move to SLC. We both share photos from our dinner on social media. We write a stellar review for google. We text local friends to tell them that they absolutely must visit Veneto.

Sustainability and Social Responsibility at Nintendo

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For today’s assignment on sustainability, ethics, and social responsibility, I have chosen Nintendo. Nintendo is a big part of my life as it was a way for me to escape as a child and even now as an adult when I want to take a step away from reality and relax my anxieties. Nintendo has been around since the end of the 1800’s when it was formed in Kyoto, Japan. I believe that they have made huge strides in becoming a company of the future, but everyone has room to grow and do better.

Nintendo takes employee care and relations very seriously. They have created employee programs that educate and aid in closing the gender and racial gaps that have been in place for so long. The first group is called Black at Nintendo or “B@ND”. B@ND is in place to promote racial equality and help advocate for black communities. During the BLM protests in 2020, Nintendo double matched their employee donations to charities and causes in support of the movement. They have since created outreach programs to aid the black communities with health and mental health advocacy. Nintendo’s second employee program is called “Nintendo Women and Allies”. This program is in place to help increase the number of women in tech through hiring practices and increased promotions from within to managerial status.

When it comes to employees overall, Nintendo adheres to their Global Corporate Social Responsibility with strict worldwide guidelines. Under the guidance of the Responsible Business Alliance, they have created rules that all their production and distribution centers must adhere to. They routinely check in on employee conditions including legal minimum wage, work hours, housing, child and forced labor. Nintendo has employees from around the world convene each year to discuss employee conditions and ways to increase conditions and retention so that they can always keep their employees happy.

Before I give my opinion on Nintendo and how I believe they can improve their green standing, I want to highlight a few things that they do for the environment. A few years ago, they created what they called the “Take Back Program”. This program is a way for anyone to donate any video games or consoles to Nintendo and those items will be fully recycled. They began refurbishing and donating consoles and games to charities around the world that work with children or the elderly. When it comes to other green practices, Nintendo uses sustainable packaging anywhere possible. They use 100% recycled energy in their Washington offices and their Japanese offices use solar and wind power.

In my opinion, Nintendo Is on the right path for sustainability but they are a few years behind and not strict enough on their green energy. I believe that Nintendo could go a step further and make all their offices zero energy. They can afford the installation and upkeep of solar power and most local energy companies will buy the power you don’t need back from you. I think there are also a lot of holes in the energy Nintendo uses to produce and distribute their products. There are no known regulations for their production facilities so even though Nintendo uses as much green energy as they do, the companies that create their physical product are under no such guidelines. I believe that they could tighten up the ways they produce by producing more of the individual products in facilities closer to each other rather than shipping pieces around the world to one place, building them and then shipping them again internationally.

Aldon Lamb

Hi all! My name is Aldon and I am a business management major. I spend most of my time with my husband and our big mutt of a dog, Elton. My hobbies include exploring Japanese cuisine around NYC, seeing as many concerts as I can and hosting dinner parties on our rooftop. I'm in college for the first time in my life at a later age and that's pretty cool!

My BMCC email is: aldonlamb@gmail.com