The Obama Niche
In just a very short while, Barack Obama will become our 44th president. Change indeed has come to the USA, and its because of a whole bunch of hard-working folks all across the nation. Whichever side you were on during the elections, you have to admit that it was heartwarming to see such a high level of participation in presidential politics.
Something that is troubling though, and I guess I should have expected it, is the sudden appearance of the Obama Niche. Just about anything that will hold his name or image is being sold, hawked, peddled, and moved. It’s almost like those guys who hoard bottled water before a hurricane and then sell it to desperate people at cutthroat prices.
Hell, some would argue that the timing of this blog post is designed to attract some kind of attention, and I guess you’d be right about it.
Don’t get me wrong. Anything in the world can become a niche. Anything. Even the man who will be our leader.
So your question to me is, “Is there a right way and a wrong way to handle public events or personages?” Think back to all the folks who made a buck off the sudden passing of Princess Diana. In the midst of all that outpouring of grief we got a mailer for “commemorative china” with her likeness on it. Meh.
The point is, people wanted that stuff, and if I guess you’re in the “commemorative china” business, then go for it. Otherwise, I think it’s a bit tacky. Beyond the tackiness, you have to consider the ephemeral nature of such things. We’re about to hit the high water mark of the Obama niche. Give it about 90-100 days into his administration, and the bloom will be off the rose.
If you’re in the Obama Niche, better get ready to move on to the next thing, or you’ll be left holding a whole lot of bags, each filled to the brim with t-shirts, caps, mugs, tea towels, christmas ornaments, dinnerware, and whatever else has the man’s visage on it.
The only smart way to handle niches like this is to either have extraordinary (and uncanny) market timing, or to be an expert in ephemeral niches. In other words, you’ve either got to be really lucky, or really experienced at working these kinds of deals. I suspect that anyone who has the latter probably has any number of things going on at the same time.
(And if that’s true, I can’t help but chuckle at the niche marketing firm handling Tonya Harding, Michael Jackson, Girls Gone Wild, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all at the same time, then suddenly moving on to whatever is hot next. Must be exhausting. Better have a good system.)
In any case, it’s time to watch the inaugural, so I’ll leave us to it.
