[Re: Loose Cannon: Captive Audience, Captive Marketers, March 5, 2007, (directmag.com/loosecannon/loose-cannon-captive-audience-marketers-030507)]
Your “Captive Marketers” piece brought back Navy days in dry (both ways) Oklahoma where the only PX sold near beer (1/2 of 1% alcohol) to base-bound sailors. That was indeed a captive market with one brand, one price and one supplier. But your behind-bars market is much tighter. The very thought of it must be warming the heart of every predatory brand manager in America. Unfortunately, our jails are already overflowing. We may have to buy Tuvalu and turn it into a closed-circuit penal colony.
Your lateral market expansion to “Jailhouse Frocks” was a brilliant move, perhaps foreshadowing “Jailhouse Rocks” for teens? But your “25-50” market and your built-in loyalty program were the highlights. In fact, I soon expect to see reports of frustrated loyalty program managers jailing rebellious customers. The charge: unpatriotic behavior too often characterized by opportunistic purchases of competing brands.
Mal Decker
President
Malcolm Decker Associates, Inc.
Greenwich, CT
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