The Amtower B2G Market Report

The Amtower B2G Market Report
Volume 3, #12, March 22, 2004

(Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this, please pass this along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, email me at amtower@erols.com). Past issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)

1) Amtower Off-Center Observations: Short-Cut Culture
2) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: March Madness - FOSE
3) Government Marketing Best Practices Spring 2004 Road Show
4) SmartPay FY 2003 Top Vendor Categories

Amtower Off-Center Observations: Short-Cut Culture

The latest in what is becoming a long string of embarrassments for newspapers hit USA Today. One of their star reporters has apparently been filing borrowed or otherwise invented reports for several years. When other reporters complained of shoddy reporting, they were told to emulate, not criticize. This created (as reported in the 3/20/04 Washington Post) “a culture of fear.”

Then, icing on the cake, the publisher “said he will end such a culture if it exists.” Wake up, Mr Publisher. If this culture exists, you are responsible, because it happened on your watch. If processes were not in place to fact check stories, you and your editors were not doing their respective jobs. Indeed, if the complaints about the star reporter were not isolated, and he was still held up as an example for emulation, you are responsible for helping to create the culture.

Years ago the Washington Post had a reporter who created stories about drugs (I don’t recall the details). Then the New York Times had their recent embarrassment, all the news that’s fit to borrow and repackage. Now there is USA Today.

This is not restricted to print media. We have succeeded in creating a culture that seeks and rewards short-cuts, regardless of the ethical and moral implications.

Occasionally I get to report on these for our market. MicroWarehouse Gov, for example, at the bottom of its press releases, wrote: “MicroWarehouse Gov/Ed Inc. was launched October 2002 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Micro Warehouse Inc. With annual sales at about $400 million, the subsidiary expects to reach $1 billion in annual sales by 2005.” This was somewhat beyond hyperbole (see Off-White 23: http://www.federaldirect.net/offwhite23.html). If MicroWarehouse Gov had annual sales of $400 million, they would not have sold at a fire sale price, yet they were never questioned about these numbers..

Hard work, time in the trenches, and slow growth are not sexy, and attract the attention and admiration of only a few. Among these few we will not usually find Wall Street (which has its own batch of short-cutters), many main-stream reporters (it is not what their editors want, why write about hard work and slow growth: who will read it?), and truth be told, many of us. Why else watch “reality” television? Why play the lottery? (Disclaimer: while I buy lottery tickets, I do not watch any “reality” television, other than the news.)

In Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan discuss what it takes to build a strong, winning organization, and none of it is fast and sexy. This is a truly great book, but it is not easy to read, because it is not fast and sexy. Get it and read it. Or use my short-cut: I have it on CD and am listening to it for a second time.

It is little wonder that I hear advertisements for video programs that will teach children manners: apparently too few adults are engaged in the practice. People who don’t have manners want to buy them for their children, rather than to teach by example. It is another short-cut.

My take on this? Disappointment, but not surprise. I wrote about a similar topic in June, 2003 (http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletter060803.html), with this comment: “It is indicative of a character flaw so deep that it would cause a forensic scientist to coin a new phrase during an autopsy: insufficient body parts for gender recognition.”

This combination of greed and hubris, this perpetual dash for cash and fame, the endless search for short-cuts and short-term gain, is becoming too pervasive and is nothing short of evil.

Not that I have an opinion.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY: MARCH MADNESS – FOSE

Washington, DC’s version of March madness is FOSE, and the hype that normally accompanies it. When I was on the FOSE Board of Advisors (1992-94), there was major hype: tons of radio spots, major direct mail (no email then) campaigns, and ties-ins with the publication sponsors (FOSE was not owned by a publication then).

I don’t know if it is my influence (see Off White 21, http://www.federaldirect.net/offwhite21.html) but FOSE is saner in its advertising this year. The radio spots are not hyping “tens of thousands” of attenders. There are many special interest groups hosting events at FOSE (AFFIRM is hosting a breakfast, as are others), and FOSE did not rescind the $50 fee for industry to attend (if not exhibiting). This means the traffic will be more qualified, even if there is a little less of it.

The radio spots have touted the training, the exhibits, keynotes, and some specific exhibitors. I did not see post cards telling me there would be no “trick or treaters” (trinket collectors), who show up at every trade show. The post card I saw touted the event and some exhibitors with a neat cartoon style drawing of the US, with planes, trains, trucks and buses headed to FOSE (each vehicle named a sponsor). There has been little or no hyperbole. This is good for the rest of the world, but bad for me. It gave me so much editorial fodder last year, it damn near spoiled me. It is a good sign though, as the expectations are more realistic.

Does this mean there will be no Off-White Paper for FOSE 2004? Well, that depends on what happens at the show. I know GSTI is kicking off the “I rely on GTSI” campaign. Will GTSI try to emulate the 2003 MicroWarehouse FOSE performance (see Off White referenced above)? I hope not, for their sake. I hope so, for mine.

How will Insight Public Sector step in and try to garner some recognition? Insight is sorely lacking in market presence, and it needs to turn up the heat. It has already spent some money to increase its pre-show exposure. Insight is on the post card, in the space ads, at the web site. But does it have a “big bag?”

Will there be a “battle of the bags?” CDWG will have its big bags, so we will have to see how big the GTSI bag is, and if Insight has one at all. (Unrelated but extremely amusing aside: Richard Mackey of Capital Reps emailed me Saturday as I was writing this to say he was at a flea market and there were CDWG bags on sale for $1, a stack one foot high. No Warehouse or GTSI bags, just CDWG bags.)

Lurking around the show floor, last year’s hero Alan Bechara of PC Mall will be covertly applying the yellow “Call the Mall” sticker to every big bag within reach. I’m sure his yellow sticker will look good in the red “I rely on GTSI” circle.

I’ll be there at the opening bell, and I’ll be back for a while on day two. So you will hear from me again on this.

GOVERNMENT MARKETING BEST PRACTICES SPRING 2004 ROAD SHOW

If you like this newsletter, you will love this seminar.

The government marketing man in black is going on the road again, five cities in April, and more this fall. More use-able information in three hours than you get from most multi-day events. No platitudes, but the Amtower attitude, with real information in what works in government marketing - and what does not work. Registrations are coming in and seating is limited at each venue - register today!

Government Marketing Best Practices (version 4.1) will be visiting
Vienna, Virginia, April 14
San Jose April 20
San Antonio April 21
Denver April 28
Chicago April 29

This 3-hour seminar covers proven tactics that work in the government marketplace.

best web site characteristics for attracting Feds
eight tips for successful Federal direct mail and email
tried & true methods for event identification, selection and marketing
identifying, creating and exploiting press opportunities
the role of special interest groups and how to find the best one for your niche
and more - with lots of new examples, and audience interaction.

Once again, this will include new material (version 4.1). Our 2004 sponsors are DM News, the Federal Business Council, Federal Computer Week, Government Security News, Carroll Publishing and the Public Sector Institute. If you have suggestions for city selection for the fall, 2004 Road Show, email me!

Over 700 professionals have attended Government Marketing Best Practices since the first session in March, 2002. Register today and find out why!

Information is available at http://www.federaldirect.net/bestpractices2004.html

SMARTPAY FY 2003 TOP VENDOR CATEGORIES

The vendor categories are reported by the five banks that participate in the SmartPay purchase card contract. The categories are SIC or NAIC codes that the reporting companies claim as their primary business code. I obtain the data from GSA.

Top categories for FY 2003:

Drugs: $3.17 billion
Direct Marketing, other marketers: $1.46 billion
Lab, Medical, Dental equipment: $1 billion
Govt Services not elsewhere classified: $694 million
Direct marketing, catalog: $502 million
Misc/specialty retail store: $500 million
Industrial supplies: $435 million
Business services, not elsewhere classified: $420 million
Hardware: $200 million

The combined computer category (listed last week) is $630,953,363.27

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As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
Mark Amtower

The Amtower B2G Market Report is published and copyrighted by Amtower & Company. It combines our former newsletters into a single, bi-weekly newsletter for companies targeting the government marketplace. Contact us at Amtower & Company, PO Box 339, Ashton, MD 20861-0339 (301-924-0058). This material is copyrighted and may not be duplicated, reprinted or otherwise replicated without written permission of the publisher. EMAIL subscriptions are free by request: sign up at www.FederalDirect.net.


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