May contain odd things

I love the vagaries of retail packaging. Things often seem as clear as mud.

Last week I was in a Dollarama store and saw these olives. I don't particularly like olives, but my wife and daughter love them. And for a 3-year old, olive with pits are probably not the best idea. So I picked up a tin of these olives. The label proudly proclaims that the tin contains "Pitted Black Olives". Great, except the fine print at the bottom says "Caution: May contain pits".

Either the olive packing factory's machines don't work properly, and they miss some pits, or the factory just doesn't care. Either way it makes me wonder what other undesirable ingredients may make it into the can.

What's next? "Manufactured in a peanut-free facility" with the tiny type announcing, "Caution: May contain peanuts!".

Image misuse? (Part 2)

Source: http://www.panoramaresort.com

Talking about logos is getting to be a habit, but such is life. In the case of the Canucks it was the colours, here is it the people in the photos? (Or perhaps it is the people in the photos.)

Since 2004, I have been doing a 7-day mountain bike race, the TransRockies. Every year it has either started or finished in Fernie. In 2008 and 2009, it started at the Panorama Mountain Village, near Invermere, BC.

For 2010 and 2011, the race starts in Fernie and finishes in Canmore. (I know, I'm mixing tenses, but it will all make sense.)

Panorama has built some new XC bike trails and this year is the first year for a new race, the Gatorade BC Cup XC.

Now here is what is interesting. The riders in the picture were racing in the Transrockies in either 2008 or 2009, and Gatorade was not a sponsor of that race. (The beverage sponsor was Ultima.)

So, who owns those riders likenesses? Can Panorama use the photo because it was taken on their property? Does the image belong to the TransRockies because it is their race? The TransRockies gets a release from all riders to permit the use of their photos. Is that release transferable? Has it been transferred? Is this just way to complicated and bogged down in legal mumbo jumbo?

Well, perhaps, unless one of the riders objects and takes someone to court.

So, what is the lesson for marketers? Everyone is becoming much more vigilent about their intelectual property. You play "fast and loose" with copyright at your peril.

Taxing the Canucks Bandwagon

Apart from all of the obvious businesses that hopped on the Canucks bandwagon; bars, clothing retailers etc, there were a few odd organizations that tried to bask in the glory of the Canucks run for the Stanley Cup.

British Columbia is in the midst of a referendum on the HST. This value-added tax replaced a 5% federal value-added tax and a 7% provincial sales tax. The end result was that the price of lots of things went up, including bicycles, and businesses saved money and time doing paperwork.

As there is a referendum in progress, the two sides have been covering the province with signs in an attempt to sway voters. Is it just me, or are these not the exact colours of the Vancouver Canucks logo? Tell me that is a coincidence.

Save this bookstore

I'm passionate about three things. Books, bikes, and babies. Yesterday I read an article in The Globe and Mail about a small children's book store in Victoria, Tall Tales Books. (talltalesbooks.ca) Well, this shop cover 2/3 of my three things, and 66% should be a passing grade in any course.

Since the shop opened almost two years ago, Drew and Kate (The owners and only employees) have struggled with all of the challenges that a small business faces. Fixed costs, uneven revenue, cash flow etc.

But, they have come up with an innovative way to try to address their problem. For $10.00 per months you can join the Hero Society. The $10.00 goes on to your account and you can spend it at any time. This is a great way to smooth out the irregularities of cash flow, and hopefully increase customer loyalty. They are trying to get 400 people signed up by July 1. I signed up yesterday and I wish them luck.

Welcome to mba4rent

I know, just what the world needs another blog from some marketing guy. Well you are correct. The world does not need another blog, and in many cases does not need marketing. There is so much rubbish out there, and ocassionally some real gems.

This will be an effort to look at both the wheat and the chaff. And there is plenty of both.

So, sit back enjoy and let me know what you think.