The managers at xchange and its parent company, Virgo Publishing, recently decided to establish an xchange advisory board in an effort to encourage more industry involvement, ensure we are providing the best possible coverage and education, and are moving in the right direction.

These goals apply not just to the monthly print magazine, but to all of our xchange products, which also include the xchange Web site, Webinars and eBooks, as well as support for trade shows such as Billing & OSS World and Channel Partners Conference & Expo (both owned by Virgo), among other industry events in which xchange plays a role.

We recently finalized the lineup for xchange’s 2009 Advisory Board, which I’d like to share below. Also, I would like to personally thank all of xchange’s new board members for accepting our invitation to participate.

The xchange Advisory Board includes:

• Mehmet Balos, EVP & CMO, GENBAND
• Gary Bolton, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Product Management, Hatteras Networks
• Luc Ceuppens, Senior Director, Head of Product Marketing, High-End Systems Business unit, Juniper Networks
• Randy Eisenach, Market Development Director, Fujitsu Network Communications
• Carl J. Grivner, CEO, XO Communications
• Ajay Joseph, CTO, iBasis
• Teresa Mastrangelo, Principal Analyst, broadbandtrends
• Chris Nicoll, Principal, Nicoll Consulting Inc.
• Keno Thomas, Senior Vice President Affiliate Sales, Starz Entertainment
• Dave Parks, director of Product Marketing, CIENA
• Tom Phelps, CEO, ENMR - Plateau Telecommunications
• Frederick Reynolds, Vice President of Marketing, Taqua
• Eric S. Rosenfeld, Vice President of Network Architecture, CableLabs
• Kevin Walsh, Vice President of Marketing, Zeugma Systems
• Steve Zimba, Vice President of Marketing, Cbeyond Inc.

Each of xchange’s advisory board members is asked to attend a quarterly conference call. During this call, board members will be asked to comment on the most recent issues of xchange; and offer their insights on what key issues our readership, C-level executives at domestic service providers, want to know about, and provide guidance on how xchange might cover those issues. We may also ask for input on the Web site, shows or other topics.

On occasion, the advisory board call will double as an industry roundtable on an issue of the day, and xchange will use comments from the call as part of its coverage online and/or in our print publication.

We’ll also ask board members to respond to brief xchange surveys from time to time.

Additionally, board members will contribute to xchange one column/blog each year on the topic of their choice.

We at xchange look forward to the year ahead and the exciting new possibilities that the 2009 xhange Advisory Board will present for you, our readership, and the industry as a whole.

My daughter got her American Girl catalog yesterday, and I noticed that the first several pages were dedicated to the Kit Kittredge doll, which is modeled after an imaginary girl who lived in the 1930s. A summary on page 5 reads: “Growing up during the Great Depression means Kit’s family doesn’t have money for much of a celebration. So Kit pinches her pennies and plans a surprise that fills Christmas with light and love!”

The headline on page 10, which features Kit in a doll-sized treehouse, reads: “Happiness is homemade.”

The Kit doll set sells for $105. The treehouse: $250.

There is no small amount of irony in pushing these expensive doll things under the themes of “homemade” and the Great Depression at a time in which many real American families are struggling like never before. But I have to give American Girl credit for trying.

While this probably is not the best example of marketing in response to the country’s economic turmoil, it certainly points to how businesses need to be in tune with customers thinking. And while generally pushing value, offering promotions and even lowering costs can help address the financial pinch consumers are now feeling, more specific messaging mentioning the economy and positioning products against that economic backdrop could be even more effective.

As American Girl aptly demonstrates, it’s ok to refer to tough times in the past in these new marketing messages. For example, a company selling TV services could pitch its products by noting that consumers may be staying home more in light of the tough times, but offer up its entertainment packages as a way to make at-home leisure time more pleasurable. A broadband services provider could mention that board games were hot during the Depression, and offer an upper-tier broadband package for folks who want save money by staying at home, but may also want to play online games while doing so.

Like so many things today, it’s a stretch. But considering the shifting mood of the country, it just may work.

It’s not uncommon for industry giants to pair up to bring a product to market. Still, I had to laugh when I saw the news that Wal-Mart (WMT) is selling the U-verse bundle of services from AT&T (T) (whose trademark has been dubbed the Death Star, in case you didn’t catch the reference in the headline).

While huge numbers of Americans consider Wal-Mart to be a great place to buy everything from diapers to ammo, to me the nation’s largest retailer is a scary company that publicly emphasizes the value of its employees (Have you seen those cute kids in their fliers?), but has been stingy in providing them with a fair wage and benefits, among other problematic behavior, and led to the demise of a many mom-and-pop business.

But the salad days of affordable health care and downtown areas across the country teeming with independently owned stores are over. So, hey, at least we can have a laugh at Wal-Mart’s expense, right?

Whether you’re a fan of Wal-Mart, Harry Potter or AT&T – and the numbers show that you’re probably a fan of at least one of the above – here’s a link to one of my family’s favorite YouTube videos, aptly titled “Harry Potter and the Dark Lord Waldemart”.

Enjoy. And an early Happy Halloween to ya.