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Show The Salt LakeTribune BUSINESS WM MOTLEY FOOL. £2 MECHARLES JAFFE, E-3 @ RHONDA ABRAMS, E-4 ME HUMBERTO CRUZ, E-6 JUNE 6, 1999 Clothing That’s Tailor-Made for Advertising Companiesfindit lucrative to put logosonshirts,ties, jackets Logowear’ and Promotional Product Sales ilyillness. What do these things have in common? They're all types of personal crises that can makeit nearly impossible for an employee to focus on the job, according to Personnel most popular promotional products distributed by companies. They represent more than 25 percentof all promotional merchandise handed out andsold in | — Gannett News Service Oo Reports Can Be Fun Asinstant electronic reporting and data-packed proxies grow in use, some companies turn to “humanized candor” in their annualreports, says Leslie Segal, a principal in the New Yorkoffice of Addison, a branding consultant. Hershey Foods Corp.'s report asks, “Remember your first a) iniseing about favorite candies. Other companies pile on the gimmicks. Medical AssuranceInc., Birmingham, Apparel maker Quiksilver Inc., Costa Mesa, Calif., uses a newspaper format with photos of surfers and others wearingits clothes. Little surfboards chart sales and earnings growth. “Think Inside The Box!” says the cover of Nabisco Inc.’s annual report, which pictures a box of Oreos. — The Wall Street Journal o Fastest Growing Sports Snowboarding was the fastest growing sport last year based on the number of participants, reports the National Sporting Goods Association. The NDP Group of Port Washington, N.Y., conducted a random survey of more than 15,000 households and found that snowboarding grew by 29.1 percent over 1997 to 3.6 million participants. The secondfastest growing sport was backpacking/camping, up 21.8 percent to 14.6 million. No. 3 was windsurfing, which increased 3 percent to 600,000,followed by orkeling with 17 percent growth to million, and baseball, up 12.1 per- cent to 15.9 million — TheAssociated Press oO Where Did It Hurt? Thenumberofpatients who saw primary-care doctors for routine physical exams last year rose more than 13 percent to 13.2 million, says a surveyby Scott-Levin Inc., a consultant in Newtown, Pa. Hypertension continued to topthelist of patient complaints, accounting for 62.3 mil lionofficevisits. — The Wall Street Journal Qa Making Golf Pay arious companies approachtheis sueof golf entertainmentand exses in various ways. If youarene gotiating for a job that hes a club membership as an executive perk, be awarethat someorall of the dues paid by the company may be added as incometo your W-2 ai the end of theyear. Since personal country club initiation fees and dues arenot de. ductible, some companies reimburse executives not only for client greens fees but also an equivalent amount for the executive to help defray dues ~ Knight-Ridder News Service o Twenty Years Later Entrepreneur magazine, celebrating its 20th anniversary, notes through someinteresting factoids just how much technology hasaffected busi ness people's lives and madesomeof themverywealthy. The magazin ports that David Filo and Jerry Yang founders of the Internet company Ya hoo!, havea net worth of $3 billion eachtoday. If both menhad not droppedout of Stanford University’s Ph.D. program, they might have gone onto earn $56,000to $110,000 The Associated Press THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ing and other items with their corporateinsignias have been climbing in recent years. The Promotional Products Association International's latest surveyofdistributors showsales of all types of products with company logosreached $12 billion in 1997. up 25 percent from the year before. Figures for 1998 are notyetavailable. wichsign bearing an advertising message ontheir front and back. But now. companies hand out branded mer chandiseat trade shows. giveit away free to customersor sell it to the publicas a wayof generating free advertising. Turning consumers into walking. talking advertise ments who take sales messages with them to lunch counters, gymnasiumsand supermarkets has becomebig rables represent the largest category segment amongpromotional products. accountingfor 27 percent or $3.24 billion in sales in 1997 said Angela West spokeswoman for the Promotional Products Association So what is behind the trend? In part. the boomin logowearis dueto businessesallowing their employeesto dress more casually “You have casual-dress days becoming very popular with businesses,” West said. And for the 12th consecutive year, wearables — Tshirts, caps and jackets — were the most popular products. “It is hard to imagine the idea getting much bigger.” said Cardon, who says he declines most such gifts. “It is already everywhere. 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 Source: Promotional Products Associationinternational And nowherehas logowear caught on morethanin the high-technology industry where casual dressis the norm High tech in general is a casual environment. You see very few people wearingsuits andties,” said Bill Rozier. director of worldwide branding and marketing communications at Novell in Provo. 1 would be willing to guess The “logowear” phenomena harkens to decades past Steve Baker TheSalt See CLOTHING. Page E-4 when business owners would pay someone to wear a sand- Whistle While You Work and Other Advice By-m OTA NEN Oe AtDisney. managersstress that every employeeis actually a cast member with responsibility for the show guests cometo enjoy. As a result. hiring emphasizesthat Disney's businessis show business. and focuses on company image Walt Disney World conveysinformation in a way cast memberswill find meaningful. Managementinforms employees through well-designed company and Disneydazzles business world with its management magic departmental newsletters, bulletin boards and e-mail, gets feedback from frequentcast surveys, round-table discussions and suggestion cards; andleads with BY SCOTT NOLAND Kiss?” and features stockholders rem- Ala., prints its cover upside-down BY STE VEN OBERBECK Jeff Cardon could easilyfill a closet with all the Tshirts, jackets and hats he has been offered A portfolio managerat the mutualfund firm Wa: tch Advisorsin Salt Lake City. Cardon visits dozensof publiclyheld companieseveryyear whereheis routinely showered with gifts of clothing and other merchandisebearing corporate logos The numbersof companies whogive awayor sell cloth- recentyears. Decisions International (PDI) of Minneapolis. Lois Tamir, vice president for the management and human resources consulting firm, said, “Keeping your mind on thebusiness at hand can bevery difficult when you're rattled and you're not funetioning well. But there are things you can do to manage your stress, maintain control and manage expectatiol She offers these suggestions: @ Keepit simple: Break your work into small easy tasks you can easily accomplish. Stay true to your values. @ Pace yourself: Don't overwork. Keep your expectations in check. | (PROJECTED) A work scandal. A divorce. A fam- | Billions of Some Tips for Working Through A PersonalCrisis Clothing and other wearable items are amongthe nD eoRaAAnNe®@ Compiled by Lisa Carricaburu @ informal department meetings, an open-doorpolicy and by having THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE Managers goout in the park to Every career can't be a Cinderella sto- ry. i interact with the cast But treated right, every employee should feel that they are playing their part in fairy tale. At least that’s the line management ex- perts from Walt Disney World’s Disney Institute are selling businesses in Utah CPUCR Ce Disney's version of the Golden Rule: We expect cast membersto treat each other the way we treat out guests. For management, that means taking careof the physical environment, developing cast member benefits and special merchandising and nationwide opportunities(after all, it IS Disney) as well as a They say the way to achieve customer and employee loyalty is to adapt the Disney Way: They call employees “cast members" and customers ‘‘guests,"’ and win the hearts of both by involving them in the ongoing show at Walt Disney staff-only recreational facility, World. Part of that show wasplayingat the Salt Palace Convention Centerrecently, during the Salt Lake Community College-sponsored management seminar on “The Keys To Excellence.” From the start, this was no ordinary management roadshow Mickey Mouse-shaped balloons deco- rated the room. Instead of drab flow charts, large video screens showed Pocohantas warbling her way down a waterfall, and featured a whole montage of otherfamiliar Disney faces Participants competed with each other in Disney trivia contests. One man beat out a woman sporting a “101 Dalma- tians’ necktie for a special fan award by showing the room twoteeth capped with specially made Mickey Mouse crowns. As well as giving fans an opportunity to strut their stuff, “The Keys to Excel. lence” seminar showcases Disney's fam ousability to bring customers back to its parks again and again It reflects a management trend that extolls the value of helping employees find meaningin their work At Disney, that means tying every cast member's job into the “magic” the com panypromisesits guests. But Disney Institute program leaders who have taken their presentation to 44 U.S. cities in the last year, say theprin: ciples behind what they call “perfor mance excellence” can work for any business. It's making surethat leadersare able to giveall the tools and resources and mind-sets to everybody sothat they want to come back tomorrow,” explained SteveRiley, the Disney Institute's man aging instructor for professional devel Rhonda opment programs. Unlike regular management consul tants, Disney Instituteinstructors do not specifically suggest how to change com: panies. Instead, they present their own systems for creating that “exciting workplace so the audience can compare their workplaces to the Disney Way ‘Theyexplainthat employees are given theauthority and resources to help the companyacheiveits mission, which in Disney's case is “creating happiness.” This mission is supposed to make the scorching hours wearing costumein the Orlando heat, or the long nights sweep ing cigarette butts off the pseudo-side walksof MainStreet worthwhile Thetheory thatleaders can help their employees find significant meaning in their work is particularly well-suited to Walt Disney World in another way Many potential employeesalready have Hailes Maylett) The Salt Lake Tribune an emotional connectionto the company and there is mythology to spare for the yet-to-be converted Bythetimetheyfinish anorientation program that teaches them as much about the company’s traditions asit does about their duties, every housekeeperor “textile engineer” (read launderer) is a citizenof the "magic kingdom.’ See DISNEY, Page E-5 Online Brokers Are Setting the Stage for a Bull Run Into Cyberspace stock trading. As morefirms enter the BY SANDRA BLOCK field, potential do-it-yourself investors USA TODAY shouldreview Now that Merrill Lynch has decided to offer low-cost, online investing, more eral online services be- fore opening an account. In addition to comparing tradingcosts, ask about other rill customerswill be ableto buyandsell trade and requiresits customersto have stocks on line for $29.95 a trade. But to an opening balanceof $2,500. opening balanceof at discount brokers with low minimums, qualify for the service, you must have an least $20,000 in your account. However, if your balance people will havethe opportunity to trade services, such as research reports and ontheInternet But investing on the Internet is alot free dividend reinvestment falls below $20,000, Merrill won't cancel the account and reliable, said David Root, a financial which will become available in July, has vice that offers research and dividend mumannualfeeof $1,500. That pricetag like in-line skating: It's legal, available and definitely not for everyone. Nonetheless, many investors will no doubt betemptedto try it. In addition to low-cost trades and free research, Mer rill will offer active traders unlimited trading for an annual sets. Online in n points goodfor frequent-flier miles Merrill is just the latest entrant in a long list of companies offering online Look for a service that is easy to use plannerinPittsburgh. A dependableser reinvestment “may be worth paying a few extra bucks” for, he said Before you sign up with Merrill Lynch or any other onlinetradingservice, re view your assets and liabilities, financial planners say Whatyou'll need @ Money: Starting in December, Mer: Merrill's unlimited trading program, Evenif you opt for one of the deep- don't invest unless you've got moneyyou can affordto lose. “You almost have to look at it as an education account, where you're willing no minimumbalance, but charges a mini: to try trading on your own and making makes the programunsuitablefor all but m Education: Even if you feel comfortable picking your own stocks, are the most active investors. Unless you planto make morethan 52 trades a year the $29.95 account is a better deal Merrill's minimums and fees aren't your owndecisions," Root said you ready to trade? Do you know the difference between a limit order and a market order? unusual in the online world, Charles ‘There's a degree of sophistication re- Schwab, which also offers free research and other goodies, charges $29.95 a See STOCK MARKET, Page E-3 |
