Will it be a thirsty weekend?

On Highway 5, South of Kamloops

I was in Kamloops recently. While out for a ride on my bicycle, I came across this scene about 20 kilometres from the centre of town. One lane of the road was blocked as there had been an accident. As you can see in the above photo, the wheel of a vehicle got off the edge of the pavement and into the dirt on the soft shoulder.The driver was not able to recover, the load shifted, and the vehicle rolled into the ditch. This happened at about 6:00 PM on dry pavement. The driver was injured, broken arm and broken collarbone, but was otherwise unhurt and was out of the hospital by the next day. I came across this scene at about 10:00 AM and the driver had been there about 30 minutes before. So, what was the vehicle carrying?

The contents of the trailer

Clean up in progress

Some of the inventory restacked and ready to ship

It was full of President's Choice Cola bound for the Real Canadian Superstore in Kamloops. Once the wheels went off the pavement, and the trailer tilted, the load shifted to the right hand (ditch) side of the trailer and the situation was irreversible. The truck and trailer rolled onto their right hand side and the trailer exploded.

By the time I got there the clean up had been going on for over 12 hours. (As evidenced by the generator and lights visible on the bank on the far side of the ditch, and the empty pizza boxes.

The truck had been towed away, although for some reason its windscreen remained by the side of the road. And the base of the trailer had also been removed. In the picture above you can see that all that remains of the trailer is the right hand wall and the roof. The floor and wheels, rear door, left wall, and front were all removed and taken away.

So here are a few questions;

1. What will happen to all of the cola? It has been shaken and while the cans and boxes are not too obviously damaged, will the cans explode when opened, showering the customer with cola? How long will it take the carbonation to "settle down"?
2. This accident happened on the Wednesday before a long weekend. How quickly did the store manager react to this and what actions did they take? Were they expecting the truck full of cola for the weekend rush? Did they fill in by stocking up with Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola?
3. How quickly could the supplier, Cott, replace the order? Cott has production facilities in Calgary, Alberta and Surrey, British Columbia. Both are less than a day' drive from Kamloops. Although a full truck holds thousands of cases of cola, I would guess that Cott could produce  that amount in no more than a few hours. The question is, did they have the right flavour concentrate on hand, and what other orders would they have to juggle to fit this replacement order into the production schedule.

I'll probably never have answers to these questions, but I'm curious none the less. The next time I'm in Kamloops I'll drop by the Superstore and see if I can speak to the manager. Even in the hectic world of retail, I'm sure that they'll remember this event.

How old is this design?



Jewellery Store Job Bag

Today I came across this job bag from a jewellery store. I find it interesting that this bag, 3.25" by 5.5", has so little space for the telephone numbers, no place for a mobile telephone number, and no place for an email address.

I suspect that when they ran out they just ordered the same bag again. Too bad that customers now have far more modes of contact.

Just another reason not do do something just because, "that's the way we've always done it". 

This won't work in the winter

Domino's Pizza Flier - June 25, 2012

There are few activities in Canada that say summer more than barbeque (BBQ). This morning this flyer from Dominpo's Pizza arrived in my mailbox. It seems prefectly timed for BBQ phobics in the summer.

Is BBQ really an alternative for pizza? In consumer behavior they walked about the "evoked set". For example, a consumer's "evoked set" of luxury sports cars might include Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborgini, and Maseratti.

So my question is, what is the "evoked set" of summer time foods? BBQ, with hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, etc. I don't see pizza as a real alternative to food cooked on the BBQ, but some people might. The other question is how can Domino's position itself in the winter. The BBQ comparison won't work at -40C.

Our bees don't speak English

Billybee Honey at No Frills in Vancouver, BC

YMY Billy Bee Honey (Ethnic)

What the hell is "ethnic" honey? Are the bees Italian? Do they buzz in Tagalog? Are the hives the shape of the Taj Mahal?

Okay, I'm being a bit facetious, but really, "ethnic"?

I presume that what the shelf sign is indicating is that this spot on the shelf is for honey that is labelled in English and French and some other language as well.

Now for the part of Vancouver where this store is located the additional "ethnic" language of customers is probably Chinese, so the three languages in the pots of honey on the shelf make sense. But what if Billy Bee also packages its honey in Arabic or Punjabi. While that might broadly be referred to as "ethnic" I don't think it would be as much use in this particular retail location.

And why does the shelf tag not say "Chinese" instead of "Ethnic"? (Would you buy honey from China?)

This little shelf tag raises more questions than it is entitled to. There is a reason for everything that happens in a retail store. We just need to figure out what they are. But that is what marketing classes are for. To ask these questions and get students, and instructors, to think.

Do you think they're having a dig at Starbucks?

Blenz "Matcha" Postcard

Blenz "Matcha" Postcard (Reverse)

I've never had a "Matcha" beverage. Despite my antipodean ancestry, I'm not a big tea drinker. But this postcard caught my eye primarily because Blenz seems to be having a dig at Starbucks.

That white cup with green writing sure brings Starbucks to mind for me. But I have a question. If Starbucks is the company they are having a dig at, and Starbucks does use "lesser green teas and fillers" they why doesn't Blenz identify Starbucks by name.

If you are going to take the moral high ground, as Blenz seems to be doing, then it would help if the customers knew who was down in the moral swamp.

Comparing yourself to no one in particular really isn't offering a useful comparison.

Does it matter if this pipe comes fron India?

Fence around the Basketball Court at Mt. Pleasant Park, Vancouver

Country-of-Origin identification on fencing around the basketball Court at Mt. Pleasant Park, Vancouver

It must be pretty cheap. This galvanized pipe has come all the way from India to a Basketball Court in Vancouver.

Now, on one hand people may raise questions about the quality of this pipe, especially since it must have been a lot cheaper that Canadian-made pipe. On the other hand, it's just a piece of pipe. What could go wrong? It is holding up a fence, and the whole thing is so grossly overbuilt, who cares if it is 10% weaker than a Canadian pipe?

And so, as long as there are no catastrophic pipe failures, municipalities will continue to specify, purchase, and install materials from developing counties. And it make me wonder just when some story comparing Indian pipe to Chinese drywall will hit the media. The fact that this website, http://www.chinesedrywalladvisors.com, exists might be giving the pipe importers some concerns about whether their business will end up going down the same road.

Does this make sense?

Real Estate sign in Vancouver, BC

Does the text on the bottom sign, "For services in Mandarin or Cantonese please contact *** at 604-305-2795" make sense?

If I only speak Mandarin or Cantonese there is probably a pretty good chance that I can only read Chinese characters. So, does this sign really help?

I'm of two minds. On one hand, since I can't read the three Chinese characters on the sign I'm in no position to judge. For all I know they might stand for "Chinese Real Estate Agent". On the other hand I think that a more complete Chinese-language explanation of the services available might be in order.

Just another case of not knowing enough to know what I don't know.

You can't call it that any more!



Logo Source: http://www.goodwillindustries.ca/

When I was a young child the Toronto location of Goodwill was not called Goodwill. Founded in 1935 as the Society for Crippled Civilians, the store was known to most of its customers as "Crippled Civilians".

In 1976, the Society joined the  International Goodwill Federation and the name changed.

Was that a good idea? Even in those less politically correct days, it was a great idea. It still is.

A clever business card design

Card from real estate agent - Front

Card from real estate agent - back

I regularly get these card in my mail box. Gabe has another property he is trying to sell. But the most clever part of the whole campaign is the tearoff business card.

It is simple, but lots of good ideas are simple. I just wish that I'd thought of it.

Does the "Chinese Wall" really exist?

Road and Track, February 2012

Road & Track spread on the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype

In periodical publishing there is supposed to a separation between the editorial and sales departments. But does the separation, also called a "Chinese Wall" due to it's supposed impenetrability, really exist. Can editorial coverage be bought?

This story, and the advertisement on the opposite page, feature the same vehicle. I wonder which came first, the tyre advertisement, or the story on the vehicle? Or perhaps I am just being far too cynical about the whole issue.

Perhaps the Corvette is worthy of a full page and after the editorial decision was made the sales department went after Continental to sell they the facing page.

I thought it was "sugar"

Covered Bridge Potato Chip package

Covered Bridge Potato Chip ingredients

Do you know what "organic evaporated cane juice" is? You probably know it under its more common name, "sugar".

So, why does this firm use the phrase "organic evaporated cane juice", when they really mean "sugar"?

Well, I guess that it sounds better. Sugar has got somewhat of a bad reputation recently, especially with the connection between high rates of sugar consumption and high obesity rates. (In the US the maps that shows obesity rates and diabetes rates are very similar. The logical conclusion is that high rates of sugar consumption, combined with low levels of physical exercise, contributes to both diabetes and obesity.)

Will the use of this euphemism really fool anyone? Probably not. People who read the ingredients will probably see through the terminology straight away.

And the people who should be paying attention probably won't even read the content label. Do I think that consumption of sweet and fatty foods leads to health problems? It can, but I think that there are two main issues. 1) How much of this stuff do you consume? and 2) How much exercise do you get?

When I'm doing a long mountain bike race, like the 7-day TransRockies Challenge, I eat a huge amount of sweet and fatty food. But I'm also burning off 6,000 to 8,000 calories per day. You can't eat the diet of a Victorian farm labourer, while living the life of an Elizabethan office worker. (Here endeth the lesson.)

Do you want "moral"?

Poster on the Skytrain, Vancouver, BC

Detail of Poster on the Skytrain, Vancouver, BC

It is interesting that two of the most popular websites in North America are not really conventional businesses. Wikipedia continued existence has relied to a large degree on the generosity of donors. And Craigslist has so far resisted the temptation to become a conventional marketplace driven solely by the profit motive.

But Craigslist has developed a reputation for being a place for shady transactions, often of a sexual nature. And from that reputation emerged an opportunity for a website like UsedVancouver.com.

But, do many people use the site? I have no idea. I have not seen any publicity for the site since I took these photos in January 2009 and I've never used it. But obviously someone must have felt that "100% Moral Content" was a market segment that presented an opportunity. It kind of reminds me of the days when non-smoking sections were introducing on planes in Australia. The problem was the only people in non-smoking were grandmothers and small children. Anyone interesting was sitting in the smoking section, regardless of whether they smoked.

I wonder if all of the interesting people, and listings, are over at Craigslist? 

Is light weight important? (And how light is light?)

Sony eBook Reader Brochure

Sony eBook Reader Brochure (Detail)

There are certain things that are important to customers. If you are buying a minivan to drive your kids around then "the safest minivan" might be a pretty compelling selling point. If you are purchasing long-haul planes for your airline then "lowest fuel cost per passenger kilometre" might sway your purchase intentions.

Is light weight really the most important thing when you are buying a eBook reader? I would think that screen size and legibility would be of critical importance. Or perhaps access to the largest library of books. Or a long battery life.

But for some reason, the light weight is the key feature that Sony is using to try to sell its reader. Hidden on the inside of of the brochure is the comparison Sony assumes that most consumers will make. How does the weight compare to a paperback? And the answer? "lighter than most paperbacks".

Sony eBook Reader Brochure - Page 2

Sony eBook Reader Brochure - Page 2 (Detail)

But is that sufficient? How big are "most paperback"? Is it George Orwell's "Animal Farm" or Charles Dickens' "Hard Times"? Is is a slim pocket book or a thick trade paperback? A graphic novel printed of coated paper?

Perhaps I'm being too pedantic, and it won't be the first time, but the paperback is not a standard measure of weight. (I weigh 70 kilograms, or 417 paperbacks.) The immense variability in the size and weight of paperback books might make it a tough standard for most consumers to understand.

You have to spell it out for the boys



Price List from Stripped Ladies & Gents Wax Bar

There are some interesting contrasts between the price lists for Ladies and Gents. The Gents seem to need to have everything spelled out for them,  while the Ladies know what is going on.

There could be a couple of reasons for this. One is that the terminology for the Gents services is less standardized among waxing providers. The other is that Gents are relatively new customers and many of them may be less familiar with the the available services.(And may need more complete explanations.)

Either way, removing hair seems to be a thriving business as Stripped now has two locations in Vancouver.

Blue for boys and purple for girls

Postcard from Stripped

Detail of reverse of postcard

I was passing by stripped on Friday and picked up this postcard at the shop. The establishment offers waxing for men and women.

The reverse of the postcard features a whole range of hair removal services which I'll write about later. The real reason I'm including this is the use of colour.

The logo for the "Gents Services" is in blue while the logo for the "Ladies Services" is in purple. A bit less "girly" that making the logo for the women pink, but still distinctive.

If the shop also offered services for children, I wonder what colour they would use?

Does purple say Peru?

Rubber band from Asparagus, Produce of Peru

When I was a kid, my parents bought an old farm in the Pine River Valley, north of Toronto. The farmer, one Albert Mews, died and the farm was sold off. When I say the farm, I mean the remaining 5 acres. I have no idea if the balance of the farm was sold off my Albert in his declining, years, or by greedy relations.

Anyway, the farm had a pretty comprehensive garden. It included some asparagus and every year we would get to eat fresh asparagus with butter.

This one of the gastronomic joys of my childhood, and asparagus with butter is still a pretty nice treat. Except it is almost impossible to find local asparagus any more. All you can find is stuff held together with a purple rubber band. And what is printed on the rubber band? "Produce of Peru".

Now I sure that fresh asparagus from Peru is fine, if you are in Peru. But after travelling thousands of kilometres is has lost a lot of crispness and flavour. I guess that is one of the prices that we pay to satisfy our demand to have every fruit and vegetable available every month of the year.

So, when I see asparagus with a purple band around the bottom of the stalks, I will assume it is from Peru. I wonder how I will identify local asparagus? Or if I'll ever see it again?

Your intentions are good, but you are two days late

POP sign from Starbucks, June 12, 2012

POP sign from Starbucks (Detail), June 12, 2012

The (RED) program is intended to raise money to continue to the fight against AIDS. By anyone's standards that is a pretty worthy goal.

My problem with this sign, which I saw at Starbucks, is not the intent of the fundraising, or even the method, but the timing. I saw this sign today, June 12, 2012, and according to the fine print at the bottom of the sign, it was supposed to come down two days ago, on June 10th.

To have this sign up two days after the event is over just shows that you either don't know, or you don't care.

So, either Starbucks should have extended the fundraising for another two days, until today, or they should get the signs down.

Of course the fact that no one noticed shows how little attention the Starbucks patrons, and staff, pay to the POP signs inside the shop. A pretty telling indictment of the value of in-store advertising.

Am I a "guest"?

According to the staff at the LEGO store, people who come in buy things are not "customers|, they are "guests".

According to my copy of The Concise Oxford Dictionary a "guest" is, "Person entertained at another's house or table". The dictionary also makes a distinction between a "guest" and a "paying guest". One example of a "paying guest" is a person staying at a hotel.

So, is someone in the LEGO store, someone expected to make a purchase, really a "guest"? I think that "customer" would be a much more honest term to use.

Do I expect LEGO to change? Of course not. Guest is a friendlier term. I'm just not used to having my friends expect me to buy the things in their house.

Garbage at the LEGO Store

The LEGO Store, Oakridge Shopping Centre, June 10, 2012

Okay, I admit it the photo is pretty terrible. But I was taking it on the sly in a busy shopping mall and the store was filled with people. This was the first chance I had to take a quick snap without a ton of customers in the entrance. (You will notice the large yellow LEGO bag in the left foreground.)

Now that is out of the way, why another photo of the LEGO store?

At the store customers, or as LEGO calls them, guests (And I'll deal with that term in another post) can assemble their own mini figure, and also buy bulk LEGO by the container full. But any time you provide customers with access to bulk products you have two problems. The first is sampling. In a grocery store that is the occasional snack, here is is the brick in the pocket. The second problem is all of the stuff that falls on the floor.

With food on the floor you just sweep it up as no one wants to eat anything that has been on the floor. (The five-second rule for home spillage not withstanding)

So what does the LEGO store do with bricks that fall on the floor. The same as food, into the garbage. I asked one if the clerks and was told that as the store has no control over what people are tracking in on their feet, they can't take any risks with the cleanliness of the floor and some kid taking some contaminated brick home and putting it in their mouth.

That is a legitimate concern but there is a better way. Has LEGO not heard of recycling? LEGO could actually make the "on the floor" problem part of its environmental commitment to its customers. I think that the firm is missing a big opportunity here. What downside could their possibly be to recycling? The next time I'm at the store I'll ask the manager.

What is a "cap"?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/wall-street-athletes-2012-3#josh-lewsey-13

19 Hot Shot Athletes (Detail)

So, a "cap" is a point. That is news to me. A "cap" is awarded to a player who represents their country in an international sporing match or tournament. So, according to this piece on the Business Insider website, Josh Lewsey "won England 55 caps (points)".

What they really mean is that as a rubgy player Josh Lewsey was awarded 55 "caps" for representing England 55 times.

But Business Insider is a US-based website and the writers and editors are probably not very familiar with rugby, or the English tradition of "caps".

One of the common problems with internaitonal marketing is understanding terminology that is used in other markets. Every sports fan in England would understand what the "55 caps" meant and many of them might be perplexed that American's didn't understand the term.

But even though it is just a sporting term, the underlying problem of different terminology used in different markets is one that international marketers can not ignore.

Creative Advertising Requires Creative Media Firms

Ruffles poster on a Vancouver bus shelter, June 8, 2012

Ruffles poster above the top of the bus shelter, June 8, 2012

Here is a piece of transit shelter advertising that actually makes sense. "Flavour with no limits" and the bacon has broken through the top of the poster frame.

I think that this is great and it caught my attention. I can see this concept being used by Ruffles for other chip flavours. Getting the media firm to go along with the idea must have been a bit of a battle.

The real test is; will it get me to buy this brand and flavour of potato chips?

I've written before about the AATPRP model. (Awareness-Attitude-Trial-Purchase-Repeat Purchase) I think that this addresses steps 1, 2 and 5 pretty well. It introduces the brand (Ruffles) and talks about the big benefit (Flavour). And for existing Ruffles customers it reinforces their brand loyalty. (I buy Ruffles because of the great flavour)

However, I'm not a regular Ruffles buyer. I don't see much differentiation among potato chip brands and am unwilling to pay a big premium for Ruffles chips. So, while I'm now aware of the brand promise (Flavour) I remain unconvinced. (Even though I still remember a very old campaign for the brand, "Ruffles has ridges".)

It will be interesting to see if this campaign includes other flavours. I'll keep an eye out. It will also be interesting to see how quickly the bacon extension succumbs to vandalism. I give them less than a week.

Confusing Receipts

Cash register receipt from Skiis & Biikes, Vancouver

Sale conditions on cash register receipt from Skiis & Biikes, Vancouver

While I don't expect to return my purchases to this store, I still find the cash register receipt a bit confusing. Well, it should be more specific, I find the conditions at the bottom of the receipt a bit confusing.

What does "Items purchased at retail" really mean? Is this store selling stuff at wholesale prices out the back door, and I don't know about it? Or do they mean "items sold at regular price"?

And "40 discount or more is a final sale". What, they could not find space for a % symbol after 40?

Most people will be able to muddle through, but the pedantic might have a problem with the lack of clarity. But then I guess that the pedantic have a problem with lots of things in life.

Market Segmentation by Retailers

LEGO Store, Oakridge Centre, Vancouver

LEGO has come to Canada and now has four stores. If you were in charge of finding retail locations for LEGO in Canada where would you put the stores? What would your location selection process look like?

Without knowing LEGO's market segmentation process, I assume that they looked for locations that served high income families, especially malls with very high sales per square foot.

So, Oakridge is a good choice. One of the staff told me that this was the fourth LEGO store in Canada. I guessed that two of the other locations were Yorkdale and Sherway Gardens in Toronto, and I was 50% correct. The current Toronto stores are Sherway Gardens and Fairview. (I'm sure that a Yorkdale store in in the works. One report on Yorkdale said that the Apple store there sells $10,000 per square foot. For most retailers selling $1,000 per square foot would be record breaking.)

The other Canadian store is Chinook Centre in Calgary. (Now there is a shopping centre that dominates its market in a city with lots of kids and lots of money.)

Another way that some retailers segment markets and malls is to see which retailers are already tenants. If the anchors (department stores) are Zellers and Walmart, then the mall is probably not a good fit for a LEGO store. However, if the mall has an Apple store then I'd say it is probably a great fit for LEGO. (Chinook, Fairview, Oakridge, and Sherway Gardens all have Apple stores.)

I'll keep an eye on LEGO to see where they open more stores. I'm guessing that they'll be on Apple's coat tails all the way.

I was expecting something much better

This spring LEGO opened its fourth Canadian store in Vancouver. Today I took my four-year old daughter along for a visit. The store is great and we both loved it. You can buy blocks in bulk, build your own custom LEGO figures (3 for $12.99), and find a HUGE selection of LEGO kits, many only available at the LEGO store.

The store design is great with the ceiling recreating the underside of a 2x4 LEGO brick and the staff are knowledgeable and helpful.

So what is my problem with the store? The business card. It is hideous and the back is a left blank. Both are unforgivable mistakes. For a company that sells design, this crummy business card should be an embarrassment. And the blank back is a shocking waste of valuable space. This would be the obvious place to put your wish list with columns for model numbers and prices.

Retail is a business of details, and this sort of failing is inexcusable.

On my next visit I'll have to ask the manager if this card is a temporary measure, or the mistake it appears to be.

What radio station do you listen to?

Source: The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2012

Source: The Globe and Mail, June 2, 2012

At one time,  the 1980s, WTJX was a radio station in Champaign, Illinois. Now, according to the meagre research that I managed to do, it is a TV station in the US Virgin Islands.

But that is all a bit irrelevant. I saw this advertisement in The Globe and Mail. It is an ad for a new improved version of the Bose® Wave® Music System.

Among the things that this device will do is receive AM and FM radio and play CDs. So, if you are advertising this in Canada, as evidenced by the Bose.ca website, why would you use a US station's call letters to show that this can receive FM broadcasts.

In International Marketing  one of the ongoing debates has been about adaptation versus standardization. Do you standardize your marketing for all markets or adapt it to meet the needs of each market you sell in? In some cases adaptation is mandatory. Football means very different things in Europe and the United States (US). Hence, with the exception of Mexico, "The Beautiful Game" must be sold as soccer in North America.

This is one of the problems that Canadian consumers face. Far too many American marketers see the Canadian market as a seamless extension to the US market. And accordingly plenty of American marketers just take their home market advertising materials and use them in Canada. And that is why we see Bose's Wave music system shown without a Canadian station's call letters on the display.