In the effort to try to promote the business environment and economic climate
of this state, as the self –proclaimed Chief Evangelist Officer of California, I do
my best. But some days, I feel it just isn’t worth getting out of bed to do it.
One would think that during a period of recession, specifically when Californians
are complaining about how bad the economy is, (12 percent unemployment
statewide, along with being over regulated and taxed) that they would be working
together with something like a ‘Buy California First Program.’   Apparently and
unfortunately that is not the case.  Two recent public relations fiascoes illustrate
a lack of unity and ‘one for all, all for one’ attitude.
                  
First, in what can be described as ‘udderly’ foolish, the California Milk Advisory
Board and their happy cow commercials are going to be filmed in New Zealand. 
The lovable cows with the mantra, ‘Great cheese come from happy cows and
happy cows come from California’, have become the stars of TV commercials
and publicity products, but they may not be lovable for long given the Board’s
current direction Apparently, the Board has been impacted by the recession and
identified that they too have to be cost conscious and look where to save money,
thus New Zealand provides a lower cost of doing business. So the Board plans to
film some of the ‘Happy Cow’ commercials down under.

                       

I say, why stop there? Let’s start buying our cheese, milk and other dairy products
elsewhere, because the industry has been bemoaning the fact that the state is too
expensive to do business, so let’s just outsource the industry, just keep the California
brand, and put it on cheese and dairy products from Wisconsin.  By the time the
catatonic California consumer wakes up to the fact that the product is label only and
that they have been hoodwinked by marketers and producers, it will be too late to retain
the industry.  Do you suppose New Zealand has happy kiwis?

Second, the California Travel and Tourism Commission apparently has outsourced
its tourism call center to a firm in Kansas City, Missouri.  The bureaucratic rhetoric
provided to Kevin Riggs of Sacramento television station KCRA who interviewed a
Commission representative was that it was all a part of the bidding process.  States
don’t need to recruit our businesses we seemingly provide it to them and it appears
we would be more valuable as Californians in Missouri.  Maybe Missouri ought to be
known as the Golden State.

    

Tim Johnson
tjohnson@CaliforniaBusinessMinute.com