Bonus pod, tough loss, 'Shrinkflation,' and more
Final countdown to BEC and GPAD
Bonus Podcast time: with the final countdown to the big BEC and GPAD events here, I decided to do a bonus podcast with two guys that have significant roles in both, and also have a lot to share.
- First up is Matt Kamper of Woodbridge Glass. Matt is off the charts unreal. He shared some incredible insight on approaches and focus, and his thoughts on importance in the volunteering and event area was huge. Plus, he throws out a ton of credit to some big industry icons. Love it. And of course, he’s been a huge factor in BEC, so we covered that.
- Next was Kyle Lindersmith of Burkle. He made a major splash at the GPAD event two years ago and is gearing up again. We talked about that, along with trends and usages and he also shared some great views on what is next tech-wise for laminating. GPAD was good for him and the fabricators that met with him so expecting the same next month.
Fun pod overall with a lot of takeaways. Thanks for giving it a listen or watch! And if you’re not registered for BEC or GPAD yet- do it now! Register for BEC here, GPAD here.
Elsewhere…
Newt Little Passes Away
Tough one this week with the passing of Newt Little of Ace Glass. Newt was a super super human. Nice, funny, inspirational, classy, and a friend immediately to all. I loved getting any time I could with Newt during various industry meetings. He always brought the energy, and was a true industry guy.
His son Courtney has picked up right where Newt had left off being everywhere he can, so I know that had to make Newt super proud. Huge loss of a wonderful human. My thoughts and prayers go out to Courtney and the entire Little family and team at ACE. Newt will be missed!
Greg Grothoff named president of Southwest region at GlassFab
On the positive this week, it’s nice to see a good man get a great new title. Greg Grothoff was named president of the Southwest region for GlassFab. I met Greg 2 years ago at the Texas Glass Conference (the next one is coming in May, can’t wait) and you could tell this was a guy who “got it” and really had a passion for our space. Was fun chatting with him then and look forward to doing it again. Congrats again Greg and GlassFab!
Shrinkflation flashback
In March of 2022 I wrote this:
Last this week… inflation. Pure misery. Has anyone else noted that not only do most food items cost more, but they are coming in smaller quantities or packaging not coming close to containing the normal or advertised amount. This whole stretch we are in is a mess and I don’t see it getting better. Just a tough one all around. And I didn't even mention gas prices....
As I ended up noting a few weeks later in ’22, the term for this was “Shrinkflation” and now this past week it’s become a national issue. How about that? Interesting that I was ahead of this two years ago. Sad that it’s taken two years for the powers that be to jump in (and probably nothing will get accomplished).
SuperBowl Commercials Review
Last this week- Congrats to all the KC fans out there on the Super Bowl. I really should’ve kept with my original pick of the Chiefs, eh? I learned my lesson and got a few messages from folks on that!
Now, onto the commercials. I thought this year was better than last, but still not great overall. I mentioned Andrew Haring could take these over, but I should also add I think Keith Daubmann for sure could be the Czar of future Super Bowl commercials. I know Keith would do better than the awful ones from people like Homes.com. Anyway, here’s my list of winners and comments!
- Best overall. M&M’s. “Almost champs.” Funny. They never fail. Just always gets a chuckle out of me.
- Why spend. Lindt candy. Seriously these ads are $7 million. Why? Odd marketing outlay for a candy that doesn’t even make the cut at tradeshows.
- Lio the Great. The Messi one soccer on the beach was fun and cool to watch, plus as a bonus Messi and industry stalwart Hernan Gil are friends.
- “Ahnoll.” Funny accent sure but I love Arnold. And these State Farm ones were well done.
- Movie I’ll see. Twisters. Great trailer and considering I usually use a clip or two from the original in my speeches, I may get some new material now.
- Nice Touch. Gronk commercial paying tribute to the great Carl Weathers was super. RIP Apollo Creed.
- Pickleball. E trade babies come through again and the text of this was great as the comical imaging.
- May be just me. But for the second year in a row, I loved the Affleck/JLo Dunkin’ one. This year the addition of Matt Damon was clutch, and one week later people are still talking about it.
- Music for the win. Queen’s music in the Pfizer commercial just made it work a billion times better.
- Coach. For Friday Night Lights fans (TV version) coach Eric Taylor was the best. Actor Kyle Chandler reprised the role for United and it was awesome.
- Understated and perfect. Last but not least, kudos to Disney for doing a sharp one with just all-time famous quotes from their movies. It hit perfectly and gave me chills. I think even the news king of Disney (the one and only Zach Perilstein of Boardwalktimes.net) would agree. Good stuff!
Otherwise, after these I was in the “meh” camp. Brands trying too hard to be edgy or funny and sometimes just overdone overall. It’ll always floor me the spends involved, and then this is the swing you take? Just my opinion though, feel free to share yours in comments on my LinkedIn post of this blog or always feel free to e-mail me.
