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4B LIFE/tC^t C^STlotte Thursday, October 26, 2CX)6 Does your lifestyle determine how you vote? THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK - Worried about the economy? Up in arms over abortion? Ccaicemed about Iraq? Those issues are odb way to figure out how you’ll vote in the Nov 7 midterm elections, but here’s another way What kind of soda do you drink? What’s your favorite TV show? What brand of car do you drive? A new book, “Applebee’s America,” contends that your lifestyle—what’s in your refi'^erator or your garage- says as much about your poli tics as your position on gay marriage or whether you live in a red or blue state. And if politicians want to succeed, the book says, they would do weU to follow the example of successful busi nesses like Applebee’s or Starbucks, which have con nected with consumers not just because of the product they are selling, but because Will South switch doughnut loyalties? Continued from page 3B Rosemary Evans was dear ly in the Krispy Kreme camp as she shared a dozen dou^- nuts with her children on a recent Saturday morning. “Dunkin’ Donuts just don’t have much flavor,” said Evans, who grew up in Alabama. “These are just more moist. You can fold them up and stuff a whole one in your mouth.” Dunkin’ Donuts fan Jack Lehnhart disagrees. “Wax doughnuts,” he says about Krispy Kremes. Lelmhart, an Ohio native, and his wife Nancy brought their out-of-town guests, Jo- Ann and Bob Ruel, to the Dunkin’ Donuts store in Franklin before the Ruels started driving home to Chatham, Mass. ‘When we’re on the high way we’re always looking for the DD' sign,” Jo-Ann Ruel said. Josh Owens, an equity ana lyst who follows the restau rant industry for Momingstar in Chicago, said Krispy Kreme is still a rela tively small chain compaied to Dunkin’. “Dunkin’ Donuts has a rea sonably strong brand. It’s a brand a lot of people are familiar with. It’s not neces sarily going to have the fad element that Krispy Kreme had with its expansion,” he said Krispy Kreme went public in 2000 and became a nation al sensation as it expanded across the coimtry Its stock price and profits climbed rapidly, but then crashed in 2004. Krispy Kieme executives at the time blamed the low-carb craze for dedining sales, but the company had serious pioblems —it faces share holder lawsuits and investi gations alleging it engaged in faulty accounting—and ana lysts said it grew too fast. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. recently hired two former tobacco executives who are expected to help the company dear some of its problems. Dunkin’ Donuts executives say that won’t happen to them because they plan to expand slowly and with a broader line of products. “We’re very different,” Eodr^uez said “Our brand and om- model is v^y differ ent. We’re a full line of baked goods. We’re renowned for om’ coflfee, which is a major, mgjor player.” In fact, Dunkin’s coffee may be more important to its busi ness prospects than its cakey doughnuts. While Starbucks Coip. leads the growing $11 biUion industry there’s stiU plenty of room, Owens said. of the values and Hfestjde they represent. “Before you get to some issue or discussion about your product, you have to establish some gut-value connection with people. It’s, Dow can we convey a sense of values that taps into what people care about,’ as opposed to, “Buy this for $13.95,’’said “Applebee’s America” co author Matthew J. Dowd, who was a strategist for President Bush’s White House campaigns. Once you establish a brand, Dowd adds, whether in busi ness or politics, “you have to constantly tend to, preserve, and understand the connec tion people have with your brand.” When voters lose faith in a political party, he says, it means “they’ve lost their connection with the brand.” Dowd and his co-authors, Doi^as Sosnik, a strategist in the Clinton White House, and Eon Fournier, a former political writer for The Associated Press, see their book as offering a roadmap for success whether you are selling a product, a concept or a candidate. Dowd, who now consults for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, says that just as Americans are polar ized on many issues, “there are also polarized product choices. ... People’s product choices are becoming more and more likp value choices. It’s not, ‘I fike this water, the way it tastes.’ It’s T feel like this car, or this show, is more reflective of who I am.’ More and more people make those choices based on a value.” AmeriCare^I^Health AmeriCare Health “Sugar Creek” Medical center 721 \t. Sugar Creek Rd. • 704-941-8020 “Now Open” “A New 3 Million Dollar Facility” (across the street from Mayfield Memorial Baptist Church) “On The Plaza” • 704-535-0400 18® Milton Road • Charlotte, NC 28215 “At The Park’’ • 704-399-2677 6023 Beatties Ford Road * Charlotte, NC 28216 . Visit AmeriCare at eitlier location For All Family Healthcare Needs ■ Accepting New Patients - “Appointments Not Necessary” [ff Comprehensive Healthcare You Need and Deserve: ♦ • State-of-the Art Pediatrics • Urgent Care • Internal Medicine • Minor Trauma • industrial Medicine • Diagnostic- Center Dr. Fidelis Edosomwan Open Mon-Fri, 9am-7pm, Sat. 9am-5pm “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thy wounds, saith the Lord. ” ■ Jeremiah 30; 17 -Say Yes To Success! “Dr. Arrington teaches you how to lead a healthy, balanced and successful life Dr. Carl Arrington, Director of Market Expansion If You Don’t Like It! One of the easiest things for us to do when life does not go the way that we want it to go is to complain. We may find ourselves faced with situations that we feel are obstacles to the kind of life that we have dreamed of having. We may tell others how bad life is for us. We may look at a situation and complain about how unfair life is to us. We wonder why others seem to be doing so well when we are doing so badly. For some of us, we sometimes believe that people are intentionally trying to do whatever they can to make us miserable. We are convinced that people are actively working against us. One of the things that we have a tendency to do is to complain about how miserable we are with a situation whenever we are with our friends. Sometimes we take turns with each other, sharing with one another how bad lifq is. However, the question we must ask ourselves in the midst of all our complaining is this: "Do we really want our circumstances to change?" Some people complain about a situation for years. If we really think about it, we must ask ourselves that if a particular situation is as unbearable as we say it is, why do we choose to stay in it. The truth is that often we do what is called venting. We face a situation that we do not like ana we just want no intention of changing it. On the other hand, when we really become fed up with a situation and find it unbearable, we will begin to take steps to change our lives. That is the key. If we find something in our lives that we do not like, it is up to us to change it. No matter how much we may complain about our situation, no one has the power to change it except us. We must always take the first step. Whatever you may find in the world that you find unacceptable, it is up to you to do whatever you can to change it. It may have to do with your career. There may be things about your family that you do not like. There may be something in a personal relationship that you wish were different. Whatever it is, if you do not like it, it is up to you to take the steps to change the situation. Even if you feel that you are unsuccessful in your attempts to change something, at least you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you tried to make a change in your life. The change may not be as complete as you would like it to be, but you are further along than if you had not taken some action to change. The goal is to keep moving. This will bring you closer and closer to the kind of life you really want to live. Learn the way to Success!” Contact Dr. Arrington cia (S’ maxfitrumsuccess.cdm someone to listen to us. We really have Your Source for Total Life Success! Contact Dr. AiTingtonfor details 704-591-19S8 • cla@maximumsuccess.com (PotCtltXClCf IttCt*..‘Tapping into the tPozoer of‘you! INFORMATION REQUEST FOR MORE DETAILS * FAX; 704-S66-8704 Don’t Delay, Call Today! 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The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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