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Top of Mind Thursday – December 4, 2025: Tis the Season?
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, the holiday shopping season is in full form, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale days hitting this past week.
Except it seems like many of these events have lost their bloom. Black Friday now starts as early as three weeks ahead of the 4th Friday in November, and it’s not clear how that differs from Cyber Monday, which is not necessarily on Monday nor is it limited to products bought online.
While some stores seem busy, in many places, parking lots were only half full and the special deals were few and far between.
There are likely multiple reasons for this. Besides the sales starting earlier and going longer, prices for everything—including staples like food—are higher now. The economy is weaker and many people are either out of work or just barely making ends meet. Thousands of government employees just endured a 43-day shutdown and are probably less likely to splurge this season.
There also don’t seem to be many terrific deals, or new “must have” products that drive consumers to be the first in line so as not to be left out. And it’s easier to buy products online, especially when the inventory in many brick-and-mortar stores seems limited.
Does this mean we’ve seen the end of this late November madness? Probably not. The American public is conditioned to buy heavily during the last six weeks of the year. But perhaps not as heavily as in previous years. Maybe we’re becoming more well-seasoned.
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 – November 27, 2025: Thanks Giving
Today we celebrate Thanksgiving in the United States—with parades, sales, football games, and lots of great food.
We have a lot to be thankful for, on both an individual and a group level. Yet, we live in a world where so many are still hurting—whether that’s because of war, natural disaster, or just plain bigotry and hatred.
An ongoing civil war in Sudan has left 2 in 3 people in desperate need of aid. In just the last week, 300 girls were kidnapped from a Catholic school in Nigeria, suicide bombers killed 3 people in Pakistan, and a drone attacked an Iraqi oil field, triggering massive blackouts.
Yesterday, nearly a hundred people (and possibly more) were killed in a fast moving high-rise fire in Hong Kong, and two National Guard soldiers are in critical condition in Washington, DC after being shot at point-blank range by someone shouting, “Allahu Akbar,” a phrase commonly used to justify terrorist attacks.
This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t celebrate our freedom or good fortune. But we need to think beyond our own tables and TVs and realize we can not just give thanks but enable thankful giving to help those less fortunate.
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 20, 2025: Great Expectations
This week, President Donald Trump signed legislation to release the files collected by the Justice Department related to the trafficking of young girls by the late convicted felon Jeffrey Epstein.
Although releasing the “Epstein Files” was something Trump vociferously backed during his presidential campaign, he later did a 180-degree turn and called this a made up distraction once it became clear he is named within. However, even his strongest Republican backers voted overwhelmingly to demand release of the files, and Trump finally conceded.
For years, Republicans were convinced that leading Democrats were associated with Epstein’s misdeeds—and it’s quite likely they are. However, abusing young women appears to have no political boundaries, and Republicans—including Trump, who was a known associate of Epstein—are likely named as well. The man formerly known as England’s Prince Andrew has already been brought down by this scandal.
Many people are expecting there to be some kind of smoking gun—a list of people associated with Epstein’s nefarious activities, perhaps even noting who did what with which young girl. However, the case has been in the justice system for years. If such a “black book” existed, it would have certainly come to light by now (or been found and destroyed to avoid incrimination).
Make no mistake about it: What Epstein and his cronies did was despicable. The victims deserve justice and the people involved deserve to be punished. But experience tells us it’s unlikely that such major revelations will occur, and even less likely that everyone involved will be punished for what they did.
Perhaps the most promising outcome of all this would be measures put in place to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t happen again—including clear and decisive punishment outlined for both the people who enable this AND for those who participate. That might be expecting too much, but it would be an effective way to channel our collective outrage.
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 6, 2025: Eyes Wide Shut
The longest US federal government shutdown in history is over after 44 days.
It’s not clear what was accomplished by this action. The issue of subsidies for health care payments was not resolved. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers weren’t paid for a month and a half. Many had to take other jobs to meet their day-to-day obligations. The air travel system was thrown into chaos by a severe shortage of air traffic controllers.
All of this was for what? The resolution to this mess is to kick the can down the road and run the same exercise in January again. Meanwhile, members of Congress were paid while their constituents were left out in the cold.
For years, California faced a similar budget crisis almost every year. Budgets were never approved on time and the state was in turmoil. Then, in 2010, a proposition was passed that modified the state constitution so that legislators and their staffs would permanently forfeit pay and expenses for every day a budget was late.
Guess what happened? The state budget has been approved on time every year since.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Congress will have the courage and discipline to follow a similar path on the federal level. In the meantime, ordinary people like you and me, as well as hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be impacted by this game of political marksmanship.
It’s too bad our elected representatives refuse to open their eyes to the damage that results from their actions.
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