The New Jersey Business & Industry Association is calling on lawmakers to vote on legislation expanding eligibility under the state’s angel investor tax credit program, which would allow for investments in the holding companies of qualified, “emerging,” New Jersey-based tech businesses.On Monday, the Senate Economic Growth Committee voted to advance the measure, sending it forward to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
“Small and emerging technology companies will help drive New Jersey’s economy today and into the future, and these companies put a high priority on being able to access capital,” said Andrew Musick, NJBIA’s director of taxation and economic development. “Expanding the Angel Investor tax credit program would make it that much easier for companies to raise the capital needed to take an idea from the laboratory to the market.”
The bill would allow for qualified indirect investments in the holding companies and would also mandate that any tax credits due to a corporation as a result of investments will be distributed to its individual owners based upon their proportional ownership shares.
“The Angel Investor Tax Credit was a key component of NJBIA’s plans for improving New Jersey’s innovation ecosystem,” Musick added. “The original law was one of the recommendations of NJPRO (New Jersey Policy Research Organization) Foundation, the Association’s research arm and we think it is a crucial component for the state’s innovation ecosystem.”
Tag: South Jersey
NJBIZ stories taking place in and involving South Jersey businesses, companies and business news.
The money municipalities don’t know they have coming How Airbnb could impact the New Jersey economy
Suzanne and Jeffrey Cameron bought their three-story townhouse with a garden apartment in Jersey City back in 1998, when they were looking for a place for them and their two young boys that was near New York City.
Sixteen years later, when their young boys were young men — and both away at college — the Camerons realized they had more space than they could use.
A friend suggested they try renting out their garden apartment on Airbnb. It’s been the best financial decision they ever made.
With a list price of $95 dollars a night (less for long-term stays), the Camerons have had no trouble finding takers. They are booked for months out. And, at the end of the month, they average a $500 profit.
That’s a $500 profit after paying off their mortgage, insurance and local property taxes.
“It has become a cash cow for us,” Suzanne Cameron said.
It may soon be for Jersey City, too.
The municipality became the first in the state to set up a system for taxing home-sharing: An Internet-age business model in which owners can rent out rooms or their entire residence for a few days a year or on a full-time basis.
In March, Jersey City will get its first revenue from the 6 percent hotel tax that will be added when anyone pays to share a home in the city.
Ryan Jacobs, the spokesman for Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop when the deal was announced, said the city expects to receive up $1 million from this tax in 2016 — providing a roughly 15 percent increase to the $6 million in taxes it will receive from traditional hotels.
More money for residents. More money for municipalities. It appears to be a win-win for all involved.
If only it were that simple.
***
Let’s start at the beginning.
The origin of Airbnb goes back to 2008, when Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia — young industrial and graphic designers in San Francisco who were struggling to pay their rent — decided to rent out their unused loft space with air mattresses when a convention in town had taken up all of the nearby hotel rooms.
They quickly saw a market for the business, brought on a third founder, created their own app and struggled, but eventually raised millions in venture capital funding. The company is now valued at $25 billion, with more than 2 million listings in 34,000 cities in 192 countries.
The company pays taxes on its earnings — as do the owners of the dwellings on the site. The only group losing out are municipalities. Fixing that problem isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Company spokesmen Chris Nulty and Max Pomeranc both insist that Airbnb is eager to pay all applicable taxes — monies they agree need to be collected. There’s no fight, here.
And they insist Airbnb will handle all of the paperwork and collection that comes with it.
How much any of that is remains the question — one with few definitive answers in every municipality in the state except one.
“We’re excited about what’s happening in Jersey City,” Pomeranc, the company’s East Coast head of public policy, said. “We’re excited about the process there. This was about land use and zoning codes. Often, it comes down to zoning codes, which are often older than we are. And often there are updates necessary to allow people who want to rent their homes to do so.”
Nulty, the company’s public affairs lead for Eastern North America, said the company has made educating both renters and local officials a top priority.
“We need to work with the individual towns and cities to make sure they have the tools and information they need to craft the sort of legislation that’s right for them,” he said. “One of the biggest roles we can play while working with local government and our host communities is educating both parties.
“Educating governments about the sort of activity that happens on our platforms: how frequently people are sharing their homes, how much money they are making doing that?” he said.
Airbnb was not able to provide estimates as to how much money changed hands in New Jersey in 2015, but it did say the state had more than 5,000 residences available during the year. It’s a number, Pomeranc says, that often shocks local officials.
“I’ve had my share of meetings with local officials who have downloaded the app and called up their city and just said, ‘Wow,’ ” he said. “Most mayors don’t even know this is happening in their towns. So it’s found money for the cities.”
Not everyone involved needs to be educated.
***
Mark Giangiulio is the general manager of the Grand Summit Hotel in Summit and the chairman of the New Jersey Housing and Lodging Association.
He and his members know all about Airbnb. And they’re not happy.
They feel the company is able to eat away their profits because it has an unfair advantage — one, he said, that makes it unsafe for consumers.
“My main concern is that they’re not following the same rules, same licensing, same regulations, same fire codes, same health inspections — all while not having to pay the fees associated with it,” Giangiulio said.
“From sprinklers throughout the premises to all of the updates needed because of the (Americans with Disabilities Act) — all the things hotels have to follow — they don’t.”
Because of it, Giangiulio feels the company is hurting the state’s economy.
“They are eating away at the marketplace that’s overly saturated,” he said. “And this is not a normal business — they have no employees. Are they creating jobs? The answer is ‘No.’ ”
Airbnb has fought — and is currently fighting — issues all over the world.
In San Francisco, there are disputes about limiting short-term rentals. In Los Angeles, there are concerns about how it may be hurting the availability of rent-controlled apartments. In New York City, there’s a movement to ban their listing.
The latest came earlier this month, when the company was criticized for having listings in disputed settlements on the West Bank in the Middle East.
Airbnb officials say they defend the company one case at a time — and feel most of the complaints against the company stem for one basic issue: A lack of understanding of what Airbnb does.
“The hotel industry has made it clear that they are concerned about our growth and they are funding things (in opposition to us),” Nulty said. “But we have made it clear where we stand. We believe that this doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.
“There has been dramatic growth in the travel industry over the last few years. Business travel has exploded. If you look at hotels in major cities, they are at high-capacity levels they haven’t seen in decades. We think there is room in the market for both of us to grow. And if you look at the market, it’s been demonstrated time and again.”
Pomeranc said misconceptions are the issue — and that’s why he’s working to change the view of how the company operates.
“It’s new and it’s different,” he said. “And if you’ve been in the hotel business, it scares you. But when you dig into it more, it scares you less.”
Company officials feel more and more cities are seeing the company for what it is and what it can bring municipalities: more tax revenue and more economic growth.
Airbnb feels as if it’s making its case.
***
The city of Philadelphia had many seemingly outdated regulations on home sharing, some based more on 18th century values than the 21st century economy.
That has all changed.
The papal visit last September coupled with the Democratic National Convention this July meant the city had two major events that were going to bring in far more visitors than the city’s hotels could possible handle.
It worked with Airbnb to create new policies to help with the overflow of people, many of whom stayed or will stay in South Jersey units.
“Philadelphia was a great example of how we can all work together,” Pomeranc said. “The hotel industry actually spoke to in favor of it to the (city) council.”
Nulty said being able to supply supplementary housing for a major event is one of the things the company does best, saying it expects to be a huge part of the process for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — following up on its impact on the 2014 World Cup there, when Nulty said the company estimates that one in five visitors stayed at an Airbnb location.
Both Pomeranc and Nulty said the company did plenty of business around the Super Bowl in New Jersey in 2014 without having a specific plan in place. And they said the company has not talked with any municipalities in regard to preparation for the PGA Championships coming to Baltusrol in Springfield this summer.
But they are eager to.
“We want to work with cities on large events,” Nulty said. “It’s something we’re thinking more and more about. I’m not aware of any conversation we’ve had with the PGA event in Jersey, but this is the sort of thing where we feel we can be a real strategic partner to a city to provide that elasticity that enables them to house a large infusion of people over a short period of time.”
The business model, however, is not built around major events. It’s about offering a different way for people when they are traveling.
And while the accommodations are almost always cheaper than a hotel, Airbnb officials feel the company is putting more money into local economies — and will be even after all taxes have been properly collected and paid.
“We need to start conversations with cities, explaining who is doing this and talking through the economic benefits,” Pomeranc said. “In addition to the benefits that come with sharing your home to pay your rent or your business, there’s a whole swap of benefits that come to light for small businesses, because many of our travelers don’t stay in traditional hotel districts, so small businesses who are not in the traditional hotel districts, from restaurants to coffee shops to the corner store, see a whole lot of benefits.”
Nulty said it’s a matter of percentages.
“With Airbnb, 97 cents on the dollar stays in the community that you are staying in and stays with the host,” he said. “If you stay in a hotel, it drops to 50-something percent. To us, it’s a pretty clear choice. And that’s if it’s a zero-sum game, and we don’t think it is. We think there’s room in the industry for growth for both of us.”
Call it the modern-day economy.
***
Airbnb is not Uber.
It’s easy to make the comparison. Both are disrupters of longstanding business models. And both are businesses that essentially run off an app on a smart phone.
The differences are striking.
Uber needs to decide which communities it wants to participate in because it needs a fleet of potential drivers to have impact. Airbnb just needs one residence to be available one night of the year to be in an area.
And then there’s this: Driving in an Uber car does not impact other citizens; sharing your home can.
Dave Brogan, the executive director of the New Jersey Apartment Association, says that aspect cannot be overlooked.
“Apartment living is community living, so actions taken by one resident can and do affect other residents,” he said. “Restrictions on subletting benefit the residents in a community by ensuring that everyone has undergone the same screening process and that the building does not start to feel like a hotel with new people coming and going with their baggage.
“Our members professionally manage their properties and there are screening procedures in place that protect the residents, the owners and the property itself. Our members’ biggest concern is to ensure that any lease provisions that prohibit subletting of apartments remain in effect, regardless of any local ordinance authorizing, regulating and taxing Airbnb or any similar service.”
Airbnb officials understand the concern and point to the company’s vetting and review service — which can and has blocked both renters and rentees from participating — and the company’s $1 million liability insurance that comes with all transactions.
And while there have been some instances of homes being rented turning into wild parties, the company says the percentages are on its side.
“We had 17 million guests from Memorial Day to Labor Day last year and we received 350 high-urgency calls,” Nulty said. “This demonstrates the scale of how infrequently we hear about serious concerns. The conversation here shouldn’t be any different than if a neighbor hosts a party.”
Suzanne Cameron’s guests have not been a problem in the 18 months she has been participating.
In fact, she said, she and her neighbors usually don’t realize they are there.
“The people that come in are a lot of Europeans or professionals,” she said. “They usually get up early in the morning and they have their days so scheduled they are not around much. They take the private separate apartment because they are on a business trip or a vacation and they don’t want to be bothered.
“Out of a year and a half, we’ve entertained maybe three of our 50 or so guests. They may show up with a bottle of wine and say, ‘Do you want to have dinner?’ Often it’s because they don’t know anyone in the area and just want some company. But for the most part, they want their privacy.”
The question is: Can this model be repeated throughout New Jersey?
***
Airbnb officials say the company has had discussions with leaders of many municipalities across the state.
They were not willing to share details on most, but did say they expect to have an agreement with Newark in 2016.
And while doing so would give them agreements in the state’s two largest municipalities, it doesn’t mean others will easily follow. Each area, they say, has different issues and concerns.
“There’s no better example than in New Jersey, where the regulations you would need on the Jersey Shore would be different than urban areas such as Jersey City or Newark, where the housing market and housing needs are dramatically different,” Nulty said.
And the potential financial benefits, Airbnb officials repeatedly point out, do not just go to the cities.
“The vast majority of our hosts are sharing their primary residence, whether it’s a room in their home or their entire residence when they are gone,” Nulty said. “They are taking what is traditionally their largest monthly expense and turning it into an economic opportunity. They are monetizing something that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to monetize.
“Our community is overwhelmingly middle class, so we are talking about creating an economic pipeline for people who previously didn’t have the opportunity. When you think about real estate investment, it has long been preserved for the wealthy. We have created opportunities for anyone to take what is their greatest monthly expense and turn it into a way to pay bills.”
Of course, paying bills is a big incentive for cities, too.
Jersey City officials said they have received calls of inquiry from other municipalities to get a better understanding of what the city is doing and how it will benefit.
It will not, it appears, be getting calls of complaint.
At least it won’t from the state’s hotel and lodging association. Battles with Airbnb may not be fought in New Jersey, Giangiulio said.
“There’s no campaign to stop them,” he said. “We just have to deal with them as competition.”
Nulty said Airbnb is ready for the competition — and willing and eager to wage it on equal terms.
“The current laws and regulations that sometimes challenge people’s ability to share their homes were not written with home-sharing on an Internet platform in mind,” he said. “We’re working to change that, to update that.
“But you have to remember — this is not a new idea. People have been sharing their homes since the dawn of time.”
Or about as long as local governments have been collecting taxes.
Making her mark Bonstein finds Advaxis satisfies her desire to work in finance while working for a better world
Sara Bonstein is the senior vice president and chief financial officer of Advaxis Immunotherapies, a Princeton-based clinical-stage biotechnology company working to develop cancer immunotherapy treatments. Prior to taking the role in 2014, Bonstein held several finance positions in the health care industry, working for Eli Lilly & Co., ImClone…
Bonstein recently spoke with NJBIZ about how her ambition to sit in the C-suite was never tempered by being a woman in a male-dominated role.
Name
Sara Bonstein
Age
35
Hometown
Newtown, Pa.
Hidden talent
Baking
Career I’d pursue outside of finance
Own a gym or be a fitness instructor
NJBIZ: Did you always aspire to the role of CFO?
Sara Bonstein: At my first job out of undergrad, I had a conversation with one of my first supervisors about wanting to be a CFO and asked what I needed to do to get there. This was always an aspiration of mine. Even at the earliest junctures of my career, I wanted to position myself for success.
NJBIZ: What skills or qualities do you believe helped you ascend to the C-suite?
SB: From the time I started my career, I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind and challenge people in an appropriate and respectful manner. I didn’t say yes just to say yes. Speaking up and sharing ideas is what gets you recognized and allows you to continue to grow. It helps you create roles within an organization that may not have existed before you challenged a specific activity.
I also think being respectful to everyone throughout your professional career is really important. From the time you walk in the door as an entry-level person and as you grow to take on increasing responsibility and new titles, giving the same respect to everyone regardless of their position or function is critical. The industry is very well-connected and giving respect goes a long way.
NJBIZ: As CFO, how do you help to shape the overall strategy of the company?
SB: I see finance as a partner of every single role within the organization. Right, wrong or indifferent, everything costs money. Finance touches every function. There is a fine line that finance executives have to walk between their core finance functions and operational functions. A CFO can’t be responsible for everyone’s spending, but (coworkers in other functions) are not financial experts. That is why the CFO is there. It’s my role to help the other executives understand the ROI, the net present value, the probabilities and the potential tradeoffs of the strategic decisions they want to make.
NJBIZ: How did you end up with a finance career in the health care industry?
Still a boys’ club
While several of the female CFOs interviewed this week said they did not believe their gender impacted their career trajectory, recent studies show there is still a dearth of women executives in the top finance positions at major companies.
According to a study of the Standard & Poor’s 500 published by the Harvard Business Review, females make up only 11.6 percent of the CFOs at these companies.
This, despite the fact women make up 54.3 percent of the total finance industry labor force.
Catalyst, the nonprofit research organization, recently reported that, as of February 2014, there were only 58 women CFOs among all of the Fortune 500 companies.
SB: I worked at Merrill Lynch briefly while I was in college. I wanted to try the banking industry, but I felt it wasn’t for me. The pharma industry is really where I wanted to be, so I went to Johnson & Johnson, and I have been on the oncology side of the business for most of my career.
I give people who work in more traditional finance industries and banking a lot of credit, but I wanted to work in an industry that helps people live longer and have better-quality lives with their families and loved ones. I am not a scientist by any means, so this is a way I can give back using my skillset.
NJBIZ: What trends happening in the biotech pharma industry are having an impact on your role?
SB: (Payer) reimbursement is going to be a big thing. From my point of view, companies with products in infancy stages, such as preclinical phase one, need to think about what the pricing and reimbursement strategy is going to be. You can have the best product, but if you can’t get reimbursement for it, you are going to have a hard time. Companies recognizing these constraints during the development phase can get creative with their development plans, their manufacturing methods and their pricing strategy.
NJBIZ: What are some of the challenges you face as a CFO in health care?
SB: We are continuously challenged to do more with less. We have to figure out how to work with fewer resources, how to do things faster and how to do a broader scope of activities with the same or fewer resources in the same or less time. While working at Eli Lilly, I had the opportunity to take on a Six Sigma role. I took a lot out of the experience and applied it to my future roles. It is really important that we look through our everyday tasks to eliminate waste and redundancies. We have to challenge the norm in order to be successful at doing more with less.
Efficiency is especially important in the pharma industry. The longer we take to develop medicines, the longer patients have to wait to get the medicine they need to live a stronger, healthier life. You have to be smart about how you are doing your work. Are you doing work just to be busy or are you creating good output?
Another challenge a lot of CFOs face today is that we are being asked to go beyond the traditional accounting role. Today, we are asked to function as a chief administrative officer in several ways. I have overarching responsibilities in human resources, IT, legal and facilities. As a finance professional, these areas were out of my comfort zone. I had to be able to rely on my team and be open to learning from them.
NJBIZ: Do you face any particular challenges as a woman CFO?
SB: Maybe it is due to the way my parents raised me, but I never felt that gender was a roadblock in my life. I always felt hard work and determination are what yield success. We all know that finance is a male-dominated field, but as long as you have confidence in your abilities, work hard and show impactful contributions to your organization, you’ll succeed as an individual regardless of gender.
Today, I’m a wife and a mom of two kids. Most working parents — not just women, but men, too — will probably say that life is a constant balancing act. I am triple- and quadruple-tasking all the time, but I wouldn’t change that. It is what keeps me fueled and energized.
I will say that while our society has come really far with equal rights for women, there is that stereotype of what the traditional mom role is. I don’t have all the answers as far as how to fill that role, but open communication with your spouse, your kids and your coworkers helps you get through each day.
NJBIZ: How does having open communication with coworkers about your role as a mom help you?
SB: I try to meet with my team every week or every other week and I’m really open with them. I’ll tell them when my husband is going to be traveling or I have other things come up at home. And it’s a two-way communication so we can develop two-way respect for the balance we are all trying to find in our lives.
E-mail to: [email protected]
On Twitter: @dariameoli
College student cashing in on Asian beauty craze
While most college freshmen are working for the weekend, Elina Hsueh is working on the weekend. Every two weeks, the 18-year-old Babson College student travels from Boston to her hometown of Holmdel to work on her growing e-commerce business, Beauteque.
Beauteque serves as an online marketplace for Asian-manufactured beauty products that are not well-known or marketed in the U.S. Customers can either purchase individual products or, for a $25 monthly subscription, have a box of products sent to them.
The idea for the company came to Hsueh when she was 16. A friend visiting from Korea introduced her to some beauty products from that country. Hsueh saw a business opportunity.
She took her idea to the first investors she could think of: her parents.
“I took my parents out to dinner at a local restaurant and presented them with my business plan,” she said. “I think they were surprised, but they ended up giving me my first investment to start the business.”
With $5,000 of seed money, Hsueh and her mother, Josephine Hsueh — who serves as the co-CEO — researched products online and took a trip to Taiwan and China to see how the Korean beauty trend had expanded its reach across Asia.
The company went online on March 7, 2014.
In the company’s first year, when Hsueh was just taking the SATs, the company did more than $10,000 in sales revenue.
In 2015, her revenue increased by more than 1,500 percent.
The company now has six full-time employees along with three part-time employees and three interns.
Hsueh attributes the growth to the introduction of the company’s subscription service, one that is similar to those provided by other e-commerce companies, such as Blue Apron and Dollar Shave Club.
Biz in brief
Company: Beauteque
Founder: Elina Hsueh
Founded: 2014
Employees: 15
One more thing: At age 18, Elina Hsueh fits right into the company’s target demographic of millennial females, ages 15 to 35, something the young CEO leverages in her business planning. “I really know what young people are thinking,” she said.
Beauteque currently has 3,000 subscribers.
“That’s what really helped our revenue increase a lot,” she said.
She said the company is currently looking for investors to help foster this momentum.
Hsueh feels another contributing factor to growth is the quality ingredients of the products — a result of stricter manufacturing laws in Asia.
“The ingredients are amazing,” she said. “They’re not all 100 percent natural and organic, but many are; they use a lot of ingredients from the ground like fruit, vegetables, rice and flowers.”
Hsueh and her mother learned this firsthand.
“Before starting the company, we did a lot of research and actually went back to Asia the summer before (we launched),” she said. “We saw how crazy of a fad it was. It was all over, and that’s really what confirmed our beliefs.”
Since that initial trip in 2013, the fad of Asian beauty products has started to make its way to the United States.
BeauTube
Like any e-commerce entrepreneur, Beauteque co-founder Elina Hsueh relies heavily on social media marketing and engagement to spread the word about her company.
And while there are possibilities on every social media outlet, there’s one in particular that is popular for her company’s industry.
“YouTube is huge. Everyone’s on it,” she said. “And a huge sector is beauty.”
A lot of this is driven by tutorial videos posted on the site.
“A lot of girls need to know and now have access to how to do a cat-eye or put on false lashes,” she said.
“It used to not be relevant on the market, but in the two years, we — and other companies — all started to push it at the same time and it just became a huge trend,” she said. “Now it’s featured in many chain stores; it’s in Forever 21, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Walmart and all over the media.”
And the momentum has helped Hsueh grow her company.
“Just recently, last quarter, we began to work with chain stores to get the products in these stores,” she said.
The company has recently secured a deal with national chain Rue 21 and is in currently in talks with several other chains.
“We are the official U.S. distributors for many of the Korean beauty companies (and) we resell the item, with minor adjustments including English labeling, into these chain stores,” she said.
Which doesn’t leave much time for school. Or does it?
Hsueh said her mother plays a big part in running the company when she’s at school, but she feels the education she is getting (she is majoring in entrepreneurship) will only help her.
“I wanted to stay closer, but Babson had a great program for young entrepreneurs and is well-known for entrepreneurship,” she said. “But four to five hours is doable and I come back biweekly now.”
Despite all of this early success, Hsueh remains humble about her limited experience.
“I’ve really learned a lot. No one’s perfect, especially a young 16-year-old who’s trying to run a business,” she said. “I’m not there ordering this to be done or that to be done, but I’m just like everyone else; I value everyone’s opinions as much as I value my own.
“I always tell myself that I don’t know the world and that every day is a learning experience.”
E-mail to: [email protected]
On Twitter: @sheldonandrewj
Cooper hires former Horizon spokesman
Cooper University Health Care has announced a new vice president of communication.Thomas Rubino is formerly a spokesman for Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
Rubino, who has 20 years of experience in the field, will be responsible for Cooper’s public and media relations, corporate and employee communications, social media and the corporate website, according to a statement from Cooper.
“Cooper University Heath Care is a leading hospital and physician network and, over the past several years, through strategic partnerships, has established exceptional programs such as MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper, and the state’s newest medical school, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. I’m looking forward to helping communicate how Cooper is making a positive impact in the lives of so many people through its mission to serve, heal and educate,” Rubino said in a statement.
Rubino left Horizon last month. There, he had served as director of public affairs and advertising since 2004. At Horizon, he led the public relations, advertising and social media teams as well as handling a number of marketing responsibilities for the state’s largest insurance company.
“Tom joins us with significant health care, public relations and marketing experience and will be an asset in helping us communicate how Cooper is transforming health care for the many people we serve in the region,” said Adrienne Kirby, CEO and president of Cooper, in a prepared statement.
Building their brand The best ‘Super Bowl ads’ already are on the air
As the editor of NJBIZ, I hear the same concern from top executives at top companies: “How do I grow my brand … properly?”
As the editor of NJBIZ, I hear the same concern from top executives at top companies: “How do I grow my brand … properly?”
Anyone can blitz the public with an ad campaign that brings recognition of the brand name – but does it bring the right type of recognition, a branding that resonates with the audience?
This weekend, many top companies will take to the Super Bowl in an attempt to do just this. A Super Bowl ad — even with the current cost of $5 million for 30 seconds — can bring an amazing one-time ROI, assuming you have the ad the public is talking about (and re-watching) the next day.
I’ll argue the most effective ads for branding already are on the air. And for a lot less.
In an era when companies are devoting so much time and energy to not only build their brand, but also define it, I present three current ads that serve as how-to lessons in branding.
These three all hit the advertising triple play: They build the brand, make you laugh and — most importantly — make you want to talk about them or share them with friends.
And for more than just one day.
Here are my picks for ads airing now that will bring a far better ROI than those airing Sunday. Let me know if you agree.
Geico: “It’s What You Do”
The ad: It appears to be a preview for the next action thriller with a young, well-dressed, spy-type man being chased to the roof of a building by thugs on foot and in a helicopter. Then the phone rings … and it’s his mom. “Well, the squirrels are back in the attic,” she starts while casually flipping through a magazine. “If you’re Mom, you call at the worst time … it’s what you do,” the salesman starts before subtly hinting that you call Geico — “it’s what you do” — when you want to save money on insurance.
Why it resonates: Geico is selling a funny moment in life that most people have never stopped to think about (sort of the entire premise of “Seinfeld”). And everyone notices that the man, despite fighting off the villains, never hangs up on his mom.
Why it sells the product: Have you ever talked about an Allstate or Liberty Mutual ad for car insurance? This commercial is seemingly selling comedy, not the product. Viewers like that.
Final thought: We appreciate that Geico frequently changes their pitches (remember the Caveman idea and the amphibious green Gecko campaigns?). But not all of their ideas work. The one with shirtless guys lifting weights while making ‘bro’ jokes is as dumb (and, quite frankly, disturbing) an ad as there is out there right now.
DirecTV: “We’re Settlers”
The ad: “Geminia” plows his front yard in a modern-day neighborhood with an ox pulling a carriage while his son begs him to switch to DirecTV from cable. He refuses, proudly boasting that the family are “settlers” who proudly settle for cable. He tells his neighbor that he’s “working the land, hoping for a fertile spring” with a perfect 17th-century accent and mannerisms, before ordering his son to churn butter and make his own clothes.
Why it resonates: It’s a wonderful take on the word “settler” with great time-period jokes.
Why it sells the product: It subtly explains why DirecTV is better (listing customer service awards), but does it while you can’t stop laughing.
Final thought: Comedy sells. And makes a coveted positive impression on the viewers. Remember any Dish Network ads?
Volkswagen: “Beth”
The ad: A father sees there’s a call coming in from his wife, Beth, while he’s driving, but he doesn’t take it. His two young sons are begging him to have the ultimate father-son day at an amusement park, music studio, movie theatre and bowling alley. It’s all done with the classic Kiss ballad, “Beth,” playing in the background.
Why it resonates: It’s selling father-son moments that any man wishes he could have with his kids. And it has the perfect catch ending: After failing to call his wife back all day, the dad sheepishly texts the key line from the song, “Beth, what can I do?” to his wife. She brings him back to reality by telling him to get milk.
Why it sells the product: Because Volkswagen, in the midst of one of the worst fraud and environmental scandals in modern business history, desperately needs to rebuild its image. And while the 1970s song won’t necessarily resonate with millennials, it will with a great number of people between the ages of 35-55, a key car-buying demographic for the company.
Final thought: I was 7 or 8 when I first heard the song, and I just assumed “me and the boys will be playing” was talking about a father and his sons having fun, not guys in a rock band having an all-night jam session.
This article originally appeared on Editor Tom Bergeron’s LinkedIn blog page. Want to follow NJBIZ on LinkedIn? Click here. Connect with Tom on LinkedIn here.
Update AtlantiCare CEO Tilton announces retirement
AtlantiCare announced its CEO and president, David Tilton, is retiring June 30, and will be succeeded by Executive Vice President Lori Herndon, the CEO and president of AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.(Editor’s note: This report was updated at 4:30 p.m. with comments from David Tilton of AtlantiCare.)
AtlantiCare announced its CEO and president, David Tilton, is retiring June 30, and will be succeeded by Executive Vice President Lori Herndon, the CEO and president of AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center.
Tilton has been with AtlantiCare for 29 years, and oversaw the expansion of the health system as well as its recent merger with Geisinger Health System.
In health care today, “competition can come from any place. We are always striving to improve. It can come from Philadelphia, Shore (Medical Center) or other providers outside of the region,” Tilton told NJBIZ.
Keeping up with that competition meant listening to consumers and making sure AtlantiCare expanded beyond its main campuses in Egg Harbor Township and Atlantic City.
The system currently includes six major campuses and almost 90 sites, making it a regional health system since its establishment in 1993.
Despite the depressing headlines from Atlantic City coverage, AtlantiCare continues to grow, Tilton told NJBIZ.
The reason was a strategic move away from reliance on the Shore town market, and expanding into counties north, south and west of Atlantic County, he said.
But that doesn’t mean it has abandoned Atlantic City, Tilton said. In fact, quite the opposite.
“As a community-based organization, we are concerned that there are people out of work, and ensure we continue providing access to care,” Tilton said, adding that patients are being seen regardless of their insurance coverage.
“We have a responsibility to them and care deeply about (those patients) and want to continue to do that. Hopefully, things improve over time.”
“Under David’s leadership, AtlantiCare became an early adopter of population health, helping to innovate how we care for our patients. Fortunately, that strategy led AtlantiCare to us. I am grateful for his support and guidance during my first year as Geisinger’s CEO and know he’ll continue to make contributions to our industry,” said David Feinberg, CEO and president of Geisinger, in a prepared statement.
Tilton received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient in 2009, the nation’s highest presidential award for quality, according to a statement from AtlantiCare. This meant Tilton became a mentor, speaking with national and international health care leaders to share best practices and help identify opportunities for improvement related to organizational culture, results, leadership, customer and employee engagement, innovation, process management and social responsibility.
He has also been recognized in the state as a powerful business and health care leader, including earning a spot in the NJBIZ Power 50 Health Care in 2015.
“I have been humbled to lead an organization that is committed to excellence as well as to our patients, to each other, and to the communities we serve. I am equally proud of the culture of caring we have built — AtlantiCare family members, board, physicians and volunteers are here to make a difference each and every day, one person at a time. I have worked with Lori for many years and have great confidence in her ability to lead AtlantiCare. She is deeply committed to our patients, this community and the AtlantiCare family,” Tilton said.
Herndon has been at AtlantiCare in an executive position since 2007, and has played a role in the expansion of the health system as well as overseeing the major campuses.
She begins her role as CEO and president of the entire health system July 1.
Democrats unveil plan for 15 minimum wage bill planned for Thursday
Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto and Assemblyman John Wisniewski announced Wednesday that they plan to introduce a bill that would raise New Jersey’s minimum wage to $15 per hour.“As we continue to review other proposals as part of our new anti-poverty initiative, this will be an integral component in our efforts to stop the decline in the middle class and lift working families out of poverty,” said Prieto (D-Secaucus). “In order to do that, our first step must be to ensure that all workers are paid fairly for their labor.
“The constitutional minimum wage that we established a few years ago set a floor, not a ceiling. While that was the best and most feasible thing we could do at the time, we now need to strive for better to reverse the poverty trend in this state.”
The state’s current minimum wage, which was tied to the consumer price index through a passed voter referendum in 2013, is $8.38 per hour.
“With middle class families in decline and the ranks of low-income families growing, it’s time New Jersey took bold action to stop the backsliding and rebuild an economy that works for everyone,” said Wisniewski (D-Sayreville). “It’s not that long ago when American families could live on the earnings of one worker. Today, middle class families with two incomes are struggling to provide for their family.
“Anyone working hard at a full-time job should, at the least, be able to provide their family with the basics — a roof over their family’s head, food on the table and clothes on their back. Is that too much to expect?”
Democrats plan to introduce the measure Thursday. Even if passed by the Legislature, Gov. Chris Christie would be unlikely to sign it.
New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Michael Egenton said that such a drastic increase from the current rate “would have a huge effect” on the business community.
Egenton added that, back in 2013, opponents to the minimum wage referendum warned supporters that by embedding a mandated CPI-tied increase into the state constitution, it would set a dangerous precedent that allowed for “no flexibility” on future discussions.
“This is exactly the argument we made about why the constitution shouldn’t be a vehicle for the pension issue, the minimum wage or anything else,” Egenton said.
New Jersey Policy Perspective’s Jon Whiten didn’t see it that way.
“New Jerseyans who work hard every day shouldn’t have to live in poverty,” said Whiten. “All hard-working men and women should be paid enough to be able to put food on the table, a roof over their heads and clothes on their back. Yet this is not possible for many low-wage workers in the Garden State. We applaud Speaker Prieto and Assemblyman Wisniewski for taking this important step forward for these working families.”
Update First PARCC test results are in. How does your district rate?
Common Core has been controversial, to say the least. One argument suggests standardized evaluation is necessary to mark the abilities of large groups of students, while the other says it’s akin to judging a fish’s ability by asking it to climb a tree.(Editor’s note: This report was updated at 1:30 p.m. Thursday with additional information.)
Common Core has been controversial, to say the least. One argument suggests standardized evaluation is necessary to mark the abilities of large groups of students, while the other says it’s akin to judging a fish’s ability by asking it to climb a tree.
Supporters of either side will still no doubt be interested to see the first scores of the exam, which have just been posted by district.
The scores rate the districts on five levels, with Level 1 representing the percentage of students not yet meeting state expectations and Level 5 representing those exceeding expectations.
The results are also divided by grade level.
One of the most interesting results is that the schools with the highest percentage of students who scored at Level 5 are all county vocational schools. They include Morris, Middlesex and Monmouth counties’ schools.
Below is the top ten districts for each grade and subject, accompanied by their mean scale score.
3rd grade English:
- Demarest Boro; 789
- Boonton Township; 785
- Saddle River Boro; 783
- Millburn Township; 782
- Harding Township; 782
- Allendale; 781
- Alpine; 781
- Rumson; 781
- Mendham Township; 780
- Bay Head; 780
4th grade English:
- Mendham Township; 788
- Closter; 787
- Demarest; 787
- Alpine; 786
- Essex Fells; 786
- Little Silver; 784
- Ridgewood; 783
- Cresskill; 782
- Allendale; 781
- Cranbury; 781
5th grade English:
- Mendham Township; 791
- Spring Lake; 788
- Cranbury; 781
- Mendham; 781
- Mountain Lakes; 781
- Bernards Township; 781
- Allendale; 780
- Saddle River; 780
- Essex Fells; 780
- Alpine; 779
6th grade English:
- Essex Fells Boro; 790
- Englewood Cliffs; 784
- Closter; 782
- Cranbury; 782
- Mendham Township; 782
- Mountain Lakes; 782
- Spring Lake; 781
- North Caldwell; 780
- Tewksbury; 780
- Woodcliff Lake; 778
7th grade English:
- Closter; 796
- Cranbury; 795
- Alpine; 794
- Mendham Township; 794
- Avon; 793
- Spring Lake; 793
- Little Silver; 787
- Mountain Lakes; 786
- Margate; 784
- Monmouth Beach; 784
8th grade English:
- Alpine; 798
- Mendham Township; 796
- Haworth; 795
- Linwood; 789
- Montvale; 789
- Union Township; 789
- Woodcliff Lake; 788
- Closter; 786
- Little Silver; 786
- Mountain Lakes; 786
9th grade English:
- Glen Ridge Boro; 776
- Millburn; 775
- Bernards Township; 773
- West Morris Regional; 772
- Ridgewood; 770
- Summit; 770
- New Milford; 769
- Montclair; 769
- Verona; 768
- Northern Highlands Regional; 767
10th grade English:
- Bernards Township; 786
- Glen Ridge; 772
- West Morris Regional;778
- Chatham; 776
- Mahwah; 775
- Midland Park; 775
- Princeton Regional; 775
- Mountain Lakes; 773
- Leonia; 772
- West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional; 770
11th grade English:
- Montgomery Township; 786
- West Windsor-Plainsboro Township; 783
- Leonia; 777
- Chatham; 777
- Mahwah; 775
- West Windsor-Plainsboro Township; 775
- Bernards 775
- Parsippany-Troy Hills Township; 774
- Elizabeth; 774
- Scotch Plains-Fanwood Regional; 774
3rd grade math:
- Spring Lake Boro; 786
- Harding Township; 780
- Saddle River; 777
- Millburn; 774
- Bernards Township; 773
- Woodcliff Lake; 772
- Mendham Township; 772
- Windsor-Plainsboro Regional; 771
- Rumson Boro; 771
- Chatham; 771
4th grade math:
- Closter; 778
- Spring Lake; 775
- Essex Fells; 773
- Mendham Township 772
- Saddle River; 770
- West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional; 770
- Bernards Township; 770
- Cresskill Boro; 768
- Millburn Township; 768
- Allendale Boro; 767
5th grade math:
- Essex Fells; 778
- Allendale; 774
- Bernards Township; 774
- Mendham Township; 773
- Alpine; 771
- Glen Ridge; 771
- Morris Plains; 770
- Upper Saddler River; 769
- Mendham Boro; 769
- Demarest; 768
6th grade math:
- Essex Fells Boro; 780
- Tenafly; 774
- Closter; 770
- Cranbury; 770
- Mendham Boro; 770
- Alpine; 769
- Mountain Lakes; 769
- Sea Girt; 768
- Bernards Township; 768
- Englewood Cliffs; 767
7th grade math:
- Closter; 774
- Alpine; 772
- Englewood Cliffs; 771
- Avon; 769
- Upper Saddle River; 768
- Glen Rock; 767
- West Windsor-Plaisboro Regional; 767
- Demarest; 765
- Madison; 765
- River Dell Regional; 764
8th grade math:
- Woodcliff Lake Boro 774
- Mendham Township; 771
- Hope; 770
- Riverton; 768
- Union Township (Hunterdon); 768
- North Wildwood City; 763
- Little Silver; 762
- Rochelle Park Township; 757
- Harrington Park; 756
- Upper Saddle River; 756
Algebra I:
- Closter; 805
- Franklin Township (Hunterdon) 805
- Old Tappan; 802
- Northvale; 798
- Harrington Park; 797
- Little Silver; 795
- Mendham Township; 795
- Central Regional; 795
- Ho-Ho-Kus Boro; 794
- Upper Saddle River; 794
Geometry:
- Oakland Boro; 798
- Warren Township; 797
- Princeton; 792
- Marlboro; 791
- Cranbury; 784
- Chester; 784
- Wyckoff; 782
- Mendham Boro; 781
- Millstone; 780
- Franklin Lakes; 779
Algebra II:
- Readington; 773
- Bernards Township; 770
- Livingston; 768
- Princeton Regional; 768
- North Hunterdon/Vorhees Regional; 766
- Montgomery Township; 764
- Summit; 764
- River Dell Regional; 763
- Ridgewood; 762
- Madison; 762
To see the complete 2015 results, go to the state Department of Education website.
Virtua to host heart disease support group for women
A new women-only heart disease support group has been launched at Virtua Health after two patients put their experience to help create greater awareness.Two New Jersey women, Lynn Niblick of Easthampton and Joan Wisniewski of Monroeville, both in their 60s and married with children and grandchildren, survived heart attacks in 2015.
“Imagine being in great health, showing no unusual symptoms, getting perfect stress test scores, and finding out that a diagnostic catheterization test showed 97 percent blockage in your artery. Think about driving yourself to the hospital because of persistent and uncomfortable chest pain only to find out that what you were feeling was actually a heart attack,” Virtua said in a statement, adding that was the combined experiences of Niblick and Wisniewski.
The two were encouraged to join WomenHeart, a national coalition for women with heart disease, by Virtua.
The result of their time as volunteers with the national organization is the upcoming launch of a local WomenHeart at Virtua. The program is set to start this month and help provide a safe zone to discuss heart disease and receive support for patients’ conditions.
Aetna, Meridian to debut co-branded, tiered accountable care health plan
Aetna and Meridian Health are launching a co-branded, tiered network, accountable care model health plan for employers.The new commercial health plan will be available July 1 for small and large employers, including self-insured businesses, in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Aetna will expand the plan, Aetna Whole Health – Meridian Health, into other New Jersey counties in the near future, and the plan will be available on the individual market in 2017, according to a statement from Meridian Health.
Like other tiered network plans in the state, members benefit with lower out-of-pocket costs.
For example, visiting a tier 1 provider means a lower copay — about $10 for a primary care visit versus $25 at a tier 2 provider, said Meridian Health Executive Vice President Patrick Young.
How this affects the anticipated merger of Meridian with Hackensack is still unclear, but Young said they are still separate entities, and only after the deal goes through can there be any understanding of how to move forward.
But Young doesn’t expect any issues, since the payer strategy is similar to the arrangements with Horizon and AmeriHealth for their tiered network products, he said.
“People say this is the wave of the future, but it’s already here,” Young said.
The accountable care aspect is similar in format to the Medicare model, which is already implemented at Meridian, but stresses the idea of a clinically integrated network, Young said.
Doctors who are part of Meridian Health Partners, doctors at Meridian hospitals and affiliated ancillary providers and independent physicians include more than 200 primary care physicians and 700 specialists, as well as six hospitals, as part of the plan, according to Meridian.
A co-branded plan helps patients identify with the strong brand already established in the region by Meridian, Young said.
Aetna currently pays 30 percent of claims for value-based care, with a goal of reaching 50 percent by 2018, and 75 percent by 2020, according to a statement.
“Meridian Health and Aetna are helping to shift the health care industry from one focused on quantity of services to one that focuses on quality of care,” said Michael Costa, executive director of Aetna’s New Jersey operations. “We want our members to enjoy more healthy days, with reduced costs and improved efficiency.”
Young added, “Innovative partnerships like this one with Aetna are helping us maintain this focus and transform the way care is delivered.”
PBF Logistics buys four East Coast Terminals for 100M
Parsippany-based PBF Logistics LP is paying $100 million for four refined-product terminals in the Philadelphia area, it announced Tuesday.PBF Logistics, the terminal and pipeline facilities partnership of PBF Energy Inc., said in a news release that a wholly-owned subsidiary bought the four terminals from an affiliate of Plains All American Pipeline L.P.
The deal for the “East Coast Terminals,” as PBF referred to them, will be financed through cash on hand, borrowings from its senior secured revolving credit facility and equity, which could include common shares sold to PBF Energy.
“The acquisition of the East Coast Terminals is PBFX’s first third-party acquisition, adds meaningful third-party, fee-based revenue and represents an attractive acquisition multiple,” CEO Thomas Nimbley said in a prepared statement. “The addition of the East Coast Terminals increases the partnership’s total capacity by over 100 percent, to approximately 8.1 million shell barrels, and diversifies its customer and asset base.”
PBF plans to invest about $5 million in cash to improve infrastructure at the terminals, it said.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to customary terms and conditions.