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Not everyone who makes their
living through advertising
wears a tie to work
How market research could help Ann Arbor
panhandlers make more money
,o-w .0.- S -*
drinking beer
For the more sophisticated among us, beer is the fruit of an aged and artful craft,
not something to spit out onto your shirt after a keg stand. Matt Greff, owner of
Arbor Brewing Company, imparts some wisdom for beginners about considering
abandoning the flat Pabst Blue Ribbon in favor of more robust flavors.
Brewing guidebook "The Complete Joy of Home Brewing" is a useful reference for
fledgling brewers and seasoned hops-heads alike.
When brewing pale ale, a batch should be left in the fermenter for at least a week
and a half. Afterward, the batch should be bottled and kegged and left for at
least a month before it's drank.
he most famous advertising
slogans live in our memory.
Mentos's "The Freshmak-
er," Wendy's "Where's the beef?"
and Rnergizer's "He keeps going
and going and going" are just
a few that have emhedded
themselves in our minds and
tugged at our wallets. As any
marketing exetutive could
tell you, familiarity is a basit
tenet of advertising. And that
might be why Ronnie makes a fair
amount of money.
For years, Ronnie, who usually
stands near the Engin Arch or on
State Street, has greeted pass-
ersby with a refrain that's now
famous around campus: "Spare any
change, my good friend?" Unceas-
outfitters looking at the ground,
holding an empty cup. For those
not as well-known or well-loved
as Ronnie, soliciting quarters can
posesa more formidable challenge.
Picture this scene: You're walk-
ing down the street when you
spot two panhandlers asking for
that spare change in your pocket.
There's a man in a wheelchair, a
disheveled Vietnam veteran and a
woman sitting on the ground with
a sign that says, "Please help." Who
do you give your quarters to?
If thinking about this makes
you uncomfortable, it's supposed
to. This is the exact scenario web
designer Cathy Davies tried to rec-
reate on her website, NeedCom,
which was taken off-line in 2001.
wasn't very much information out
there," Davies said.
The question of panhandling
and beggingris one that is both
intriguing and uncomfortable for
average Americans. In the eco-
nomic spread, panhandlers tend to
represent the failure of capitalism,
Is Ronnie's line
the best slogan in
the history of A2
advertising?
Graduate School
Informaton Fair 2007
Wednesday, October 10th
2:00-6:00pm at The Michigan Union I
Meet with over 100 graduate schools from
across the country
Explore options, collect application
information and ask about financial aid
Visit The Career Center's website for a list
of schools scheduled to attend
Because..one day can make all the difference!
For more information contact us at:
3200 SAB
(734)764-7460 The Career Center
wwcareercenter.umich.edu MfisionofStudent Affairs
ingly polite, he offers both the gen- For her student thesis project on even though they're a staple of it.
erous and the stingy the same wish, web design at Hampshire College People asking for money are found
"Have a nice day." in Massachusetts, Davies wanted in almost every urban setting, from
Ronnie's doing fairly well, and to make a site that had information dense, bustlingcities like New York
though his efforts pay modestly for about panhandler stereotypes and to smaller college towns like Ann
so many hours standing in the cold resources and tips for panhandlers Arbor.
or the heat, people feel a little more who haven't developed a technique While research on panhan-
comfortable talking to him and on how to bring ina greater profit. dling as a money-making method
handing him their change instead "At the time, panhandlers were is sparse, it has been done, but not
of the men who sit in front of Urban thought of as tragedies. There always well or with ease. In 2003,
a Pennsylvania State University
study called "Buddy, CanYou Spare
FOR GLOBAL A Dime?" looked at the available
OPERATIONS data of major national surveys on
the topic. Studies in panhandling,
BLSIN ESS ENGINEERING L EADERSHI P wrote authors Barrett Lee and
Chad Farrell, usually involve s lim-
Ta uber Lecadership Speaker Series ited number of people in specific
sites, which makes it hard to get
uaccurate, applicable data about the
success of different techniques.
Researchers curious about pan-
handler strategies have had to
create their own methods to find
4 answers.
Davies's website incorporated
humor and serious issues to apply
market research to panhandling.
The site included a survey for
visitors to take and pass along to
friends. Pictures of different pan-
handler "types" - likea disabled
veteran or a woman with a child
- popped up on the screen and
visitors were asked how much, if
anything, they would give to each
person if they were actually out on
See MONEY, Page 8B