AMAZON’S MULTIPLIER EFFECT:  Here’s a stat to get your morning started.  In 2017 Amazon will transact 43% of all Ecommerce sales in the US, compared to 37% in 2016.  So Amazon’s slice of the pie is growing, while the Ecommerce pie itself continues to grow.  With this growth comes an interesting multiplier effect, which allows Amazon to vertically integrate its business and compete outside its traditional swim lane.  As noted in the attached Inc.com article, Amazon is beginning to lay the ground work for its own distribution system – because why pay Fedex or UPS to ship your goods and make a profit when you can just in-house it?  To give you an idea of how big of an opportunity this is, consider that Amazon makes up 10% of UPS’s shipping volume today.  You’d hate to be the UPS rep who loses that renewal deal.  Or what about Amazon’s new Business Prime B2B platform which allows manufacturers to sell directly to consumers while cutting out the middle man.  If you’re Sysco you might suddenly have a new competitor on your hands.  These are just a few examples of the transformation which may come from Amazon’s dominance of an entire distribution system.  Remember when these guys were just selling books online?!?

OF POLITICS AND PIZZA:  We all know the power successful sports sponsorships can have to create a brand’s identity and drive sales.  But can a sports affiliation also drag you down?  That appears to be happening, or is at least the excuse given, for Papa John’s sales decline.  PJ’s sales were down in Q3 and the stock dropped 13%.  According to the attached AdAge link, founder John Schnatter is assigning blame for the decline squarely on the NFL’s national anthem controversy.  He pulled no punches on their earnings call by saying, “The NFL has hurt us by not resolving the current debacle to the players’ and owners’ satisfaction.”  Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the past decade you’ve seen Mr. Schnatter starring in NFL-themed ads with football legend Peyton Manning.  Together the pair helped drive up PJ’s sales thanks to the high profile of the league.  Now it appears there might be a downside to this type of association.  Because if something goes poorly for the player, team or even the league a sponsoring brand could be exposed.  It’s also worth noting that Schnatter was a donor to the Trump campaign, so there could be a little bit of personal politics involved in his assessment of the situation.  Either way PJ’s sales are down, the NFL isn’t happy, and Peyton Manning now has some free time to make more Nationwide ads.

RISE OF THE PARENNIALS:  When I say the word Millennial the image that comes to mind is usually of a goatee-donning barista named Ethan at your nearest high end coffee shop.  Of course that’s a stereotype.  The reality is Millennials are a diverse group who’s rapidly aging up into adulthood.  Consider the fact that there are 16M Millennial moms in the US right now.  This group, referred as Parennials, has a unique set of priorities and family dynamics which are unlike their parents or grandparents.  The idea of Dad going to work and Mom watching the kids is out, and co-parenting is in.  Since Millennials aren’t on as stable an economic footing as previous generations they’re more likely to have a parent directly involved in their household operations – either by watching the kids during the day or even helping to pay the rent/mortgage.  Parennials are less likely to own a home and are less likely to have a religious affiliation, but are way more likely to use Social media for peer interaction.  The NY Times has a solid profile of this group in the attached link.  It’s important for marketers to get to know the specific tastes and trends of Parennials.  We’ve known how big the baby sector has been for decades, and now it’s the Parannials turn to be the ones making the purchase decisions.

Have a great Tuesday guys!