We make them. We sell them. We just don't use them.

Sign on the front door at Staples, West Broadway, Vancouver, BC

This sort of things just drives me crazy. This firm is in the business of selling office supplies. This location also has a print shop that can print and laminate signs. So, after the hours changed do they print a new sign? No, it gets changed with marker not once, but twice.

What a damning indictment of the quality of your own services. Inexcusable!

What is this?

Photo taken April 29, 2013

Do you know what this is? I saw this yesterday in front of the Mountain Equipment Co-op store on West Broadway in Vancouver.

All I can say now is that it is a sign of the times. and one that Canadians should have been expecting for the past 30 years of so.

Watch for full details on May 1st.

Nice packaging

Rubicon juice at No Name in Vancouver

Smart packaging. Someone has put a bit of thought into the design. The passion fruit on the end of the box match those on the adjacent box. (And the passion fruit also match up with the pomegranates on the next box.)

If does not take much to make a simple and nice looking box, but far to few manufacturers do it. This packaging got me to stuck a couple of boxes into my shopping cart. Well done.

Is that your logo?

Rolling Stove food truck Kelowna, April 21, 2013

I'm old enough to remember when the Rolling Stone's tongue logo adorned almost everything. (Ah, the 1970s.) And at one time I subscribed to Rolling Stone magazine. (Back in the late Hunter S. Thompson days.)

But now we are facing the year where both Mick and Keith turn 70. So, does anyone else recognize the logo and that fact that typography is a direct lift?

Should either The Rolling Stones or Rolling Stone magazine protest the use of their image? Well, it highly unlikely that they'll ever find out, but IP is IP. You either protect it or you lose it.

Keeping the signs up-to-date

Paramount Theatre, Kelowna (April 21, 2013)

Paramount Theatre, Kelowna (April 21, 2013)

This, dates on signs, seems to be a consistent problem for businesses around town. But this is the worst example of an out-of-date sign I've seen so far. 8 weeks ago, that's when the sign should have been changed.

This out-of-date sign, along with the construction in front of the theatre, does not give potential customers a good impression. I wonder how much longer this sign will be up?

Doctor Who merges with IKEA

Dalek action figuires (Source: http://merchandise.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/dalek-paradigm-action-figures/)

When I was a kid Doctor Who was played by Jon Pertwee and the show was in black and white. The costumes were great, but the sets looked as if they were made with cardboard, chewing gum, and piano wire.

But the in the new version of Doctor Who the Daleks are in colour. When I first saw the coloured version of the Daleks I immediately thought that IKEA had taken over the design and production of the Daleks. And Dalek even sounds like an IKEA product name.

Just goes to show how embedded IKEA is in modern commerce and culture.

Control the cooler and you control the contents

Cooler at the checkout at a Safeway store in Kelowna

There are a few interesting things about this cooler. (I spotted it at my local Safeway this week.)

1) It is not branded. Usually coolers in retail stores are branded. Coke only wants Coke products in its coolers and Pepsi only wants Pepsi products in its coolers. This cooler contains Pepsi, and 7-Up, with are both Pepsi products in Canada, but it also contains Red Bull, not a Pepsi product, and Dr. Pepper which is distributed in Canada by Canada Dry Mott's, a subsidiary of the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group.

2) The cooler door hinge is on the right and handle is on the left. As a result shoppers approaching the checkout can open door without getting in the way of shoppers waiting in line.

3) Despite the sign on the glass, the door must be pulled not pushed to open.

4) The pile of empty shopping baskets is so high that shoppers can't actually open the cooler.

I know, a few petty details, but that is what retail is all about, petty details. Get them right and shoppers will give you their money. Get them wrong and shoppers have plenty of other places to spend their cash.

Published monthly, or perhaps not

First United Church Website (Source: http://firstunitedkelowna.com/page.asp?PageID=25)

First United Church Website (Source: http://firstunitedkelowna.com/page.asp?PageID=25)

I was on the website for the First United Church in Kelowna and noticed a link for "First Word". I was curious and clicked.

"First Word" is the newsletter from the church. According to the website it is published monthly. However, there was no newsletter in February. Will bi-monthly now become the standard, or was February an aberration? Just one of those things to confuse the readers.

I know, I'm one to talk. I try to post every day, but it has been a week since my last posting. I do have a partial excuse, I'm in the midst of grading final exams.  

Simple sign, but well done

Egg Sign at a Kelowna farm (Eggs Today)

Egg Sign at a Kelowna farm (No Eggs Today)

"No" Sign at a Kelowna farm

When it comes to signs and marketing communications, simple things impress me. I saw this sign when I was out for a bicycle ride.

The sign isn't fancy, and could use a bit of a touch-up, but it gets the point across and is both informative and flexible. What more could you ask for? As I was on my bicycle and didn't have an easy way to carry a dozen eggs, I did not stop in to see if they actually did have eggs, as the sign indicated. Perhaps next time I bring a pack with me and support my local farmer.

Notice the details

Sign outside Images & Shades, Kelowna (Suppy)

Sign outside Images & Shades, Kelowna (Supply)

I was out for a walk on Saturday for "Small Store Saturday" in Kelowna and saw these signs outside a store on Ellis in downtown Kelowna.

The person who lettered the sign came out of the shop and I mentioned the typo. (Supply and Suppy) She was so embarrassed and vowed to change it straight away.

Two parties, Two times, One name (Endless confusion)

It's A Wrap (4:00 to 9:00 pm, April 4, 2013)

It's A Wrap (11:30 am to 1:30 pm, April 4, 2013

At Okanagan College it is the end of the semester. So what else to you do but have a party, or in this case two. But even though there are two parties, taking place at different times, they have the same name.

Nothing like confusing the public. How does stuff like this happen? Did no one think that potential attendees would be confused?

I roll my eyes and shake my head. Pretty sad when some of the students at the college take courses in event management. Perhaps they were not invited to be on the planning committee? Perhaps that was a mistake.

We're having a party, but we're not telling you where. (So there!)

Okanagan College Student's Union (OCSU) Party Notice, April 4, 2013

It is the end of the semester and everyone at college is winding down. Someone (OSCU) is sponsoring a party and I'm invited. The only problem is I have no idea where the party is going to happen. (And I'm sure that some students will not be certain what the OSCU is.)

This is a pretty fundamental failure of communications. And it is inexcusable.  Now most students at Okanagan College will suspect that the event will take place in "The Pit", but this notice gives no assurance about the location. (And it could even be taking place at another campus of the college.)

In all, a pretty poor effort.

What if I only want one?

Sign at City Pizza, Kelowna

I was riding my bicycle home through downtown Kelowna over the weekend and saw this sign. Now there is nothing unusual about selling pizza by the slice, in fact it is quite common these days.

My problem with this sign is that it seems to compel me to buy multiple slices. Do I really need to buy more than one slice? Or are there lots of different varieties of pizza that are sold by the slice. I'm confused, and confused customers don't do much shopping. Never good for a retailer.

Coveniently located miles away

Sign for McScoot's Motorcycle & Scooter Rentals

I saw this sign on a chain-link fence in downtown Kelowna.

Like most Canadian beach towns, Kelowna is just coming into its peak tourist season. So, where do I find the McScoot's location? Downtown where all of the tourists are? No, it is bloody miles away on the other side of town. Will that have an effect on business? I suspect that it will be just about kill it.

But the worst part of this is that even though the prime market for rentals is the tourist market, the sign does not give the reader any idea how far away the Yamaha dealership is.

You'd like to think this was not designed to fail, but it sure seems that way.

Great idea! Too bad you didn't implement it.

For sale sign in Kelowna

What a great idea. Set up a website for the house you are selling. Then potential buyers can go straight to a feature-rich site focused on selling that particular property.

The only problem is that the realtor has not even purchased the site yet.

GoDaddy domain search (March 31, 2013)

If I was a more opportunist and twisted individual I would go and register the site and then try to sell it to the realtor. But I'm not. Getting some blog mileage out of this error is all the reward I seek.