WEBVTT - Study Hall: Scarcity Marketing: Lessons from Nintendo and Elmo

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<v Speaker 3>I have a two part question. But the first part

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<v Speaker 3>is can you really describe that? Because everybody knows the

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<v Speaker 3>scarcy model. You just you put less product out right,

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<v Speaker 3>drive up to demand. But I think there's some more,

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<v Speaker 3>there's other elements that actually make that. It's not like

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<v Speaker 3>you can just make ten water bottles and say I

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<v Speaker 3>only have ten water bottle, I'm a charge one hundred

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<v Speaker 3>dollars for them, right, Like, from your understanding and working

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<v Speaker 3>inside of it, what made the scarcity model work when

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<v Speaker 3>you guys were doing.

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<v Speaker 4>It, Yeah, it was specifically when Nintendo, or just in general.

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<v Speaker 3>Just in general, but Inintendo, let's talk about that since

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<v Speaker 3>you were in it.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so we were in experiential marketing. We travel from

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<v Speaker 4>city to city putting up like these literally bringing the

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<v Speaker 4>video game to life, like that was my job, right,

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<v Speaker 4>and we were doing that, but the supply in the store,

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<v Speaker 4>the product wasn't available. So like the hype gets built

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<v Speaker 4>up of like where can I find this thing? The

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<v Speaker 4>value gets built up of, like where I will pay

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<v Speaker 4>above what it's asking for to get this thing because

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<v Speaker 4>I've experienced it.

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<v Speaker 1>And so so you.

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<v Speaker 3>Were promoting a product with no product available. Correct, The

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<v Speaker 3>promotion was done with no even release date.

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<v Speaker 4>No, the product was out, you just couldn't find it.

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<v Speaker 4>But we like our teams, and this was one of

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<v Speaker 4>many teams all across the United States. We were out

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<v Speaker 4>every single day literally creating the portions of the video

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<v Speaker 4>game that you could walk into. That is very commonly

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<v Speaker 4>known now, ten fifteen years ago, it was unheard of.

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<v Speaker 4>This is also like social media was just becoming like

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<v Speaker 4>a business utility, but it was like, how do I

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<v Speaker 4>create my product and turn it into an experience? If

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<v Speaker 4>people have an immersive experience as opposed to just being

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<v Speaker 4>in the isle of best buy and trying the product.

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<v Speaker 4>It's a completely different compelling moment that also makes you

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<v Speaker 4>have a buying decision more expensive than you would usually have.

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<v Speaker 4>Right games were like maybe forty to fifty dollars. At

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<v Speaker 4>the time that we fit board, I believe it was

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<v Speaker 4>about three hundred dollars, So it was a different gap

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<v Speaker 4>in the buying decision. What I'm telling you now is

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<v Speaker 4>I didn't realize what was happening until I read the

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<v Speaker 4>book The Psychology of Influence. And so we were traveling

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<v Speaker 4>all across the country setting up these activations, and no

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<v Speaker 4>one could buy it in this door. And so by

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<v Speaker 4>the time Christmas comes around, it's like, hey, hey, fever, like,

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<v Speaker 4>everyone's trying to find this product no matter where, they'll

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<v Speaker 4>find it, and they'll ever they'll pay triple and double

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<v Speaker 4>for the product. We see the same thing happening in

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<v Speaker 4>the sneaker industry, right like, people will pay way above

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<v Speaker 4>the fifty or one hundred dollars because they cannot find

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<v Speaker 4>it anywhere else. And so what I learned in the

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<v Speaker 4>Psychology of Influence is the first time that they saw

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<v Speaker 4>that happen was with the Elmo doll. Elmo took on

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<v Speaker 4>me Elmo, and they the marketing industry and product industries

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<v Speaker 4>were kind of conspiring to do this because they realized

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<v Speaker 4>they could get parents to buy two products as opposed

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<v Speaker 4>to one. So if I'm a kid and I want

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<v Speaker 4>this we Fit or I want this Elmo doll the

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<v Speaker 4>entire year Christmas comes, as a parent, you have promised

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<v Speaker 4>them that you get to the store, you can't find

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<v Speaker 4>it anywhere, So you know what, you buy them the

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<v Speaker 4>next best thing. And then what those companies were doing

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<v Speaker 4>is is right after Christmas, it's flood. Almos were flooded

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<v Speaker 4>on the shelf. You can find it any and everywhere,

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<v Speaker 4>and so as a parent, you also buy them the

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<v Speaker 4>Elmo doll. And so they literally increase the lifetime value

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<v Speaker 4>of that customer by not having the product that everybody

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<v Speaker 4>wanted the most available when they needed.

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<v Speaker 1>It the most.

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<v Speaker 4>You're gonna buy something to just wrap and put under

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<v Speaker 4>the shelves, and you're gonna buy that thing when it

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<v Speaker 4>becomes available, and you literally doubled the lifetime value of

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<v Speaker 4>that customer. What I learned when I read that book

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<v Speaker 4>is that's exactly what was happening with that product. At

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<v Speaker 4>that time that we were promoting it is parents went

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<v Speaker 4>and bought anything that they could possibly buy from an

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<v Speaker 4>electronic standpoint for Christmas. Right after Christmas and right after

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<v Speaker 4>the holidays, that board was flooded and any and everywhere,

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<v Speaker 4>And I just didn't realize that. I only understood the

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<v Speaker 4>experiential component of bringing people in so that they can

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<v Speaker 4>experience it and so that they would buy the product

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<v Speaker 4>when it was available. So it was a weird time

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<v Speaker 4>that we were in that I had that realization once

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<v Speaker 4>I read that.

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<v Speaker 3>So the whole idea is like to have it not

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<v Speaker 3>in demand when you need it the most, and then

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<v Speaker 3>overflow of demand after peak season is over.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, So to not have it available when you need

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<v Speaker 4>it the most, when you need it the most, you'll

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<v Speaker 4>buy something else.

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<v Speaker 5>I'm going to buy Mario tennis.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 4>It's like if you you have a significant other and

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<v Speaker 4>she wants this very specific diamonds, you can't. You've promised

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<v Speaker 4>the diamonds because you know how important it is. It's

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<v Speaker 4>the only thing that she's asked for. So you get

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<v Speaker 4>to the jewelry store. The diamonds are nowhere to be found.

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<v Speaker 4>You've gone to numerous stores, you cannot find it. You're

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<v Speaker 4>not going back home without something that's done by design

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<v Speaker 4>and intention. So you're going to buy that thing. And

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<v Speaker 4>now when that thing becomes available that she really wanted, well,

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<v Speaker 4>that want doesn't go away just because you got you

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<v Speaker 4>buy the thing again.

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<v Speaker 5>The stinker thing is perfect. It's like every Christmas Join

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<v Speaker 5>is going to release eleven, right. If the kid doesn't

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<v Speaker 5>get the eleven, they'll probably buy the kid pair of KDS.

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<v Speaker 5>Nike sees that, Oh, restock and now everybody gets to

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<v Speaker 5>have the shoe, and now you have the customer more

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<v Speaker 5>than more than one purchase.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it's it.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think one of the things about reading that

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<v Speaker 4>book and understanding is that at first it pisses you off, like, man,

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<v Speaker 4>I felt for all these.

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<v Speaker 5>Traps as you was saying it, and I'm like, I

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<v Speaker 5>think I felt it.

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<v Speaker 4>But then I think as an entrepreneur, you can use

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<v Speaker 4>that and turn that around, right. And so the difference

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<v Speaker 4>between the two is, I think on the advertising industry

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<v Speaker 4>it's there's a little bit of manipulation, and from an

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<v Speaker 4>entrepreneurship standpoint, you can use that in your favor of

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<v Speaker 4>thinking like, well, how do I market a product to

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<v Speaker 4>this person? Where they if I don't have it available,

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<v Speaker 4>then there's something else that's equally or close to what

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<v Speaker 4>they want, but they still keep them around long enough

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<v Speaker 4>that they also buy the thing that they want. There's

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<v Speaker 4>one way to look at it, right. The other way

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<v Speaker 4>to look at it is intention. Is your intention to

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<v Speaker 4>manipulate people into buying two things? Or is your intention

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<v Speaker 4>to increase the lifetime value of the customer in a

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<v Speaker 4>meaningful way that increases their affinity to who you are

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<v Speaker 4>and what you're building.

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<v Speaker 1>I think there's another way to look at that, right.

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<v Speaker 4>And then when I think of like black businesses, and

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<v Speaker 4>I see this happen in the food business more than anything.

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<v Speaker 4>You'll go to a restaurant they don't have like nine

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<v Speaker 4>things on the menu.

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<v Speaker 1>You're like, man, I'm never gonna come to this restaurant again.

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<v Speaker 4>And then I've seen other other menus and other companies

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<v Speaker 4>who will say, well, first come first, sir, right like

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<v Speaker 4>if we run out, we run out, And you start

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<v Speaker 4>getting to that early because they've set a different kind

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<v Speaker 4>of expectation around the scarcity and limited availability.

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<v Speaker 1>It's how you communicate it.

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<v Speaker 4>In one instance, I see black businesses being demonized for

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<v Speaker 4>that they never got what they say they gonna have.

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<v Speaker 4>They never open when they say they're supposed to open,

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<v Speaker 4>they close in early. And then I've seen it manage

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<v Speaker 4>the expectation, manage around that. In other south By Southwest,

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<v Speaker 4>the barbecue place there is a prime example. You know

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<v Speaker 4>that if you don't get there at six o'clock in

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<v Speaker 4>the morning, you may not get that barbecue because they

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<v Speaker 4>once they run out, they run out. You're not saying, like, man,

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<v Speaker 4>they don't have anything together. You know what, You wake

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<v Speaker 4>up the next morning at six o'clock because you really

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<v Speaker 4>want that barbecue. Everyone's spoken so highly about it, and

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<v Speaker 4>you know that it's now a very kind of sacred

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<v Speaker 4>experience that you have that you wouldn't have anywhere else

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<v Speaker 4>because you get to try something that other people may

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<v Speaker 4>not try because they've a lot. It's about how we

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<v Speaker 4>manage expectations in business, and then how we communicate the

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<v Speaker 4>value of what we're doing. In one end, you never

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<v Speaker 4>going to go back there because they don't never have

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<v Speaker 4>anything together. Is literally no difference. The supply is gone.

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<v Speaker 4>You get there first, You get there first, one instances coveted,

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<v Speaker 4>and then the other instance is demonized. And that's not fair,

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<v Speaker 4>but it's a business lesson that people have to learn.

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<v Speaker 6>An illegal alien from Guatemala charged with raping a child

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<v Speaker 6>in Massachusetts. An MS thirteen gang member from Al Salvador

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<v Speaker 6>accused of murdering a Texas man of Venezuelan charged with

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<v Speaker 6>filming and selling child pornography in Michigan. These are just

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<v Speaker 6>some of the heinous migrant criminals caught because of President

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<v Speaker 6>Donald J. Trump's leadership. I'm Christy Noman, the United States

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<v Speaker 6>Secretary of Homeland Security. Under President Trump, attempted illegal border

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<v Speaker 6>crossings are at the lowest levels ever recorded, and over

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<v Speaker 6>are here illegally, your next you will be fine nearly

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<v Speaker 6>one thousand dollars a day, imprisoned and deported, you will

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<v Speaker 1>Sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security,