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Top of Mind Thursday Memo Archive
Top of Mind Thursday – December 14, 2023: Dodge Ball
This week, Shohei Ohtani signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Ohtani is a unique entity—perhaps the best two-way player (both pitcher and hitter) since Babe Ruth. He was the first player in history to unanimously be named Most Valuable Player multiple times.
Ohtani’s contract is a quarter of a billion dollars larger than the previous highest salary in Major League Baseball—in fact, it’s the largest contract in the history of sports. Nearly the entire amount—$680 million—will be deferred to the end of the contract, allowing the Dodgers to meet payroll ceilings for the next decade.
While Ohtani is an outstanding talent, one wonders how wise it is to invest such an enormous amount of money in one player for such a long period of time—especially since Ohtani had surgery on his pitching arm in September (for the second time).
Athletes who appear healthy today can easily be derailed by accidents and injuries. Yet, the Dodgers will owe Ohtani nearly 3/4 of a billion dollars, regardless of whether or not he stays healthy and is able to perform.
Ask the NY Mets what happens when a big investment like this goes south. In 2000, they agreed to pay Bobby Bonilla a deferred $1.2 million per year for 25 years, starting in 2011. Bonilla last played in the major leagues in 2001, but he’ll be paid by the Mets until 2035 (when he’ll be 72 years old).
Will the bet on Ohtani pay off? Only time will tell. Will he bring a championship to LA? Or will his new team be on the hook for a payment that’s hit long and deep but doesn’t score?
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
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Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – December 7, 2023: A Light in the Darkness
Tonight marks the start of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
Hanukkah celebrates the victory of a small band of Jewish rebels who resisted the efforts of the Assyrian king Antiochus to prevent them from practicing their religion. The Maccabees were able to defeat Antiochus, but when they went to light the menorah in the Holy Temple, they only found enough oil to last one day. Miraculously, the oil lasted for 8 days, until more could be made.
For the last 2200 years, Jews the world over have celebrated the victory of light over darkness, of good over evil, of communal strength over bigotry and repression. We light candles in our own menorahs for 8 days, and eat foods cooked in oil, such as potato latkes or doughnuts.
This year, with the atrocities perpetuated against innocent men, women, and children by Hamas, skyrocketing antisemitism in many countries in the world, and Ivy League colleges refusing to condemn those calling for the genocide of Jews, some are questioning how much celebrating we can do.
The answer to me is simple: We must continue to light menorahs, to celebrate small victories, and to refuse to buckle before seemingly unsurmountable challenges.
This year, some non-Jews are lighting menorahs in support of their Jewish friends. Many of us will be setting candles in an additional menorah and leaving it unlit—in memory of those who were murdered on Oct 7th and to honor the hostages who are still held in captivity two months later.
This year, we celebrate the strength of the Jewish people worldwide against antisemitism and terrorism, and we join with others who believe that good does triumph over evil.
This year, it is even more critical that we continue to spread the light.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – November 30, 2023: Thanks for the Memories
In a time when most commercials are less than 30 seconds—with some only 10 or 15 seconds—Chevrolet hits the mark with a long-form sentimental holiday video about the power of memory.
The video walks us through a holiday gathering where Grandma’s deteriorating mental condition puts a damper on the celebration—until one of her grandchildren uncovers the old Chevy truck in the garage and takes Grandma for a ride that triggers old memories and brings her back to the family for a short while.
Will this video sell Chevy trucks? Maybe, maybe not. But in a world with escalating political conflict, two ongoing wars, massive polarization, and just general nastiness, it was nice to watch a heartwarming story and remember a less antagonistic time.
Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. Those were the days.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com
Top of Mind Thursday – November 23, 2023: A Different Thanksgiving This Year
Thanksgiving this year feels different.
This year, we have two wars waging. The Ukrainians are still fighting to preserve their independence from Russian aggression, and in Israel, the war against Hamas atrocities and terrorism continues.
It’s not the first time families will feel sadness and loss at the absence of family members who have been killed, tortured, or are missing in action. This year, though, there are also nearly 240 Israelis—including the elderly, women, and young children—who are being held hostage underneath Gaza by Hamas. Communities around the world have set empty tables, like the one above, to ensure we keep them in our minds and in our hearts.
This Thanksgiving, while we are grateful for all we have in our lives, we need to remember those who are less fortunate. While we wonder how to handle prickly family discussions over dinner, we need to remember those who would give anything to have a missing family member back to argue with. And while we are relieved that a temporary pause in the fighting will allow some Israeli hostages to be brought home imminently, we need to remember that no one in that region will be really safe while Hamas holds not just Israel, but all of Gaza hostage.
This year, let’s serve reflection and concern together with our festive holiday meal. And let’s be grateful for those who are willing to stand up to all forms of hatred and oppression—even at the risk of their own lives. For all those who fight back and will accept nothing less than what’s right, we are truly grateful.
Check out our marketing leadership podcasts and the video trailer for my book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters.
.
Let us help your business rise to the top.
linda@popky.com
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com