A helpful suggestion for my friends in the NRA

Yesterday's unspeakable killings in Newton,  Connecticut have already unleashed a loud,  emotional discussion on gun ownership in America.  We need this discussion.

However,  this discussion will probably have the same one-sidedness as previous tragedy-borne gun discussions.   Gun proponents, particularly the National Rifle Association, will denounce the tragedy and then retreat to the position that limiting access to guns will not make anyone safer.

While I personally believe that our country should tighten up gun control,  it's clear that to see any progress, to keep our children safer, we need the help of gun advocates as well.   Furthermore,  I take the NRA, whose membership includes some of my friends,  at its word when they say that they don't like dead children any more than I do.

I don't sit in Congress or on a court bench.  I can't legislate or regulate the problem.  I can, however, approach it from what I do know: marketing.  So let me re-phrase the question: how do we market our way into a safer America?

Here's my suggestion: implore the NRA take up mental health as an issue along with gun owners' rights.

How to lose a customer, by Filson

In one of my early posts, I wrote that a company could create a great brand through direct channels rather than rely on traditional brand media such as broadcast TV or print.  You can argue my point all you like, but I think we can all agree that a brand can destroy itself through direct media.

Case in point: Filson.

OK, I still want one, but still...

For those of you unfamiliar with Filson, they have made clothes since the 19th century in Seattle (predating Boeing and even Starbucks).  While they originally created clothing for Yukon gold pioneers, they quickly established themselves as a premiere American manufacturer for outdoorsmen with handsome, functional and well-built items.  I own three: a vest, a briefcase (see below) and, of course, a safari jacket.

Also, thanks to them, I have been solicited by one of the most repugnant organizations in America: the National Rifle Association.