A smart place to promote

Coffee cup sleeve promoting ANA Vancouver-Tokyo flights

Coffee cup sleeve promoting ANA Vancouver-Tokyo flights

Two weeks ago I picked up a coffee at the Greyhound/VIA station. This was the sleeve on the coffee cup.

Given that a large portion of the people using the bus services are tourists from Asia, this seems to be a smart place to advertise the new flights.

I wonder which advertiser will replace ANA now that the service has launched.

The poster is up and the promotion is over

Poster, in the window of a  PANDORA retailer, March 30, 2014

Having a promotion is great, and having a time-limited promotion is a great way to pique customers' interest at times that may be traditionally slow. But leaving the poster up a week after the promotion is over does not create a good impression for the customers.

Can customers still get the free bracelet if they buy $125 worth of PANDORA jewellery? If they can, why the end date on the poster. If they can't, why is the poster still up?

Either way it does not reflect well on the brand or the retailer.

As famous now as they were in 1903?

Window on the north wall above of the staircase of the former Carnegie Library, Main and Hastings, Vancouver, BC

There has been a tradition in both libraries and theatres to immortalize the most important creative minds at the time the new buildings were constructed.

This stained class window is inside the former Carnegie Library at Hastings and Main in Vancouver, BC. The library opened in 1903, closed in 1957, and since 1980 has been a community centre with a small library branch on the main floor.

Andrew Carnegie was a remarkable philanthropist who provided funding for over 2,500 libraries, 125 of them in Canada. He donated millions to fund the construction of libraries, the majority of which are still in use today.

This stained class window immortalizes men who, in 1903, were deemed to be three of the greatest writers in the English language. Not surprisingly, Shakespeare get centre billing with the other two spots taken by Milton and Spenser.

Milton I can understand. Paradise Lost is almost universally recognized as a classic, but Spenser? Apart from The Faerie Queen can anyone these days name anything that Spenser wrote? (And apart from English students who can even name The Faerie Queen, or recall Spenser's name?)

For me the lesson is that some brands, like Shakespeare, will live on, while others will be fade from prominence, and years from now people will wonder what we ever saw in them. Crocs springs to mind and Lululemon seems to be heading that way. Only time will tell, and in 111 years I doubt either of them will exist on a stained glass window.

Know your market and you will succeed

Portrait of Eddy Merckx at Musette Caffe, Chinatown, Vancouver

My favourite coffee shop, Musette, has opened a new location in Chinatown in Vancouver. I'm glad to see this shop flourishing.

The interior is filled with musettes and other cycling memorabilia. One of my favourite features is a series of portraits of famous cyclists.

In cycling there is only one Eddy. Any fan will know who he from his first name, although the eyebrows are a dead giveaway.

And as usual, the accent colour is perhaps better known as bike maker Bianchi's signature colour, Celeste. (Evidently Pantone #332.)

As usual, a retailer that pays attention to the details, and is succeeding as a result.

But who is the competition?

Starbucks Coffee Cup Sleeve, March 2014

With a name like "True North Blend" it would seem that Starbucks is aiming at the Canadian market leader, Tim Hortons. According to the 2012 annual report, Tim Hortons, "pours nearly 8 out every 10 cups of coffee sold at quick service restaurants in Canada".

From people that I speak to there is limited cross over between the two market segments. And I can't see a lot of Tim's customer making the switch to Starbucks.

But Starbucks has to keep trying. Perhaps not succeeding, but trying.

Source: http://www.timhortons.com/ca/pdf/Tim_Hortons_Inc_-_Annual_Report_(Final).pdf

A great strength of transit advertsing

Chronic Tacos poster at the Cambie and Broadway SkyTrain station, Vancouver

This restaurant always seems to be busy. (A good sign for a restaurant.) The poster shown above is at the SkyTrain station "Only one block away" from the restaurant.

Location is one of the great strengths of transit advertising. This restaurant would get little of no benefit from a mass campaign throughout the transit system, but this poster, a block away from the restaurant is a great fit.

Are there no original ideas?

Baseball cap from Cottingham Public School, Toronto

Transit advertisement for Langara College, Vancouver

I purchased the blue baseball cap at a fund raiser for my old primary/elementary school. I liked the little typographic trick of turning "school" into "cool".

Well, the fact that "cool" is hiding in the word "school" is not deep mystery, so it is not surprising that another school, or in this case a college, has used the message in its advertising.

Of course not many people will both have the baseball cap and see the advertisement for Langara. Will it make Langara College "cool"? I doubt it.

Who gets to park here?

Concrete parking barrier at the Bowen Island Public Library

Colour is an important signalling device for the public. Some colours have almost universal meanings. Red commonly signals danger or warning, but it also is the colour of passion and love.

But what about blue? In this case the blue-painted concrete barriers are used to mark the spots reserved for disabled library patrons. The message of blue-painted concrete is reinforced by a sign on the library wall.

And I'm happy to report that even while the balance of the parking lot is filled, I have only seen vehicles with disabled tags in these spots.

Is this advertisement in the right place?

jetset parking advertisement on the Canada Line SkyTrain, Vancouver, BC

The Canada Line is a very popular way for travelers to get to the Vancouver airport. Passengers can walk directly from the terminal to the train. If you have tickets, rather than paying cash, a round trip to downtown is priced at under $10.00.

While there will be lots of people on the heading to airport, is this really a compelling message? Is the complexity of parking really what keeps potential customers from using jetset's services? Or is it the price?

Or are the people who travel on the SkyTrain not part of the driving public? I'm not convinced that this campaign, highly targeted though it is, will be effective.

The week is over. Why is the advertisement still up?

Responsible Gambling Awareness Week advertisement, SkyTrain, Vancouver

Responsible Gambling Awareness Week advertisement, SkyTrain, Vancouver (Detail)

The location of this advertisement makes a lot of sense. I saw it on the SkyTrain that goes from downtown Vancouver to RiverRock Casino.

Location appropriate advertising is one of the great strengths of transit advertising. However, transit advertising has a reputation leaving posters up long after the advertised event has finished.

In 2014 Responsible Gambling Awareness Week ran from February 16th to 22nd. I saw this poster on the SkyTrain on March 4th. While encouraging gamblers to be responsible is a timeless message, the fact that posters remain on the SkyTrain weeks after the event speaks to the low demand for transit advertising or a lack of service keeping the message up to date.

Either way, it does not bode well for the future of transit advertising.

It certainly looks like Spring (But does it feel like it?)

Display window at Ashia Mode, Vancouver, BC (March 13, 2014)

We've started daylight savings time, but Spring does not begin until the spring equinox, March 21st. Despite the miserable weather that has affected much of the country, retailers are filling their windows with Spring merchandise.

While these windows are a refreshing counterpoint to the weather outside, I wonder how long it will be before the weather outside will accommodate sleeveless dresses and shorts?

But isn't that the essence of fashion? You selling hope.

How long ago?

Sears sign on the wall at Orchard Park Shopping Centre, Kelowna, BC

Sears sign on the wall at Orchard Park Shopping Centre, Kelowna, BC (Detail)

This very badly photographed sign is on the outside of the Sears store at the Orchard Park Shopping Centre in Kelowna. As you may be able to see, there is a whole bunch of replaced brickwork to the left of the SEARS name on the wall.

In 1971, the mall was built on a former orchard, hence the name. When the mall opened the two department store tenants were The Bay and Simpsons-Sears. In 1984, The Bay purchased the Simpsons department store chain and the Simpsons-Sears stores all became Sears locations.

So, 30 years after the name change, the brickwork at the mall hints at the former name of Simpsons-Sears.

In 2014, Sears appears to be on the brink of collapse. Perhaps some more brickwork will be required soon.

Now 100% metric!

Fido transit shelter advertisement

Tape measure on Fido transit shelter advertisement

No one else notices this stuff. It is not a complaint, just an observation that I notice too much pretty useless junk.

I saw this advertisement for Fido on a transit shelter outside the ferry terminal. The tailor/tape measure visual metaphor is a bit heavy handed, but it gets the point across.

What I find most interesting is that the tape measure is only in metric. Every tape measure that I have is in both inches and centimetres. This one is centimetres only.

I'm not complaining about the absence of imperial units (inches) on the tape measure, I just wonder why the advertising agency felt the need to abandon inches. (Unless the people at the agency didn't even notice, which is unlikely but possible.)

The value of doing the little things right

Instruction Book for LEGO Friends 41006

Partial parts list for LEGO Friends 41006

Parts list (detail) for LEGO Friends 41006

My daughter recently had a birthday. I was not at all surprised that she received some LEGO. One of the items was this LEGO Friends kit. As I assembled the kit I discovered a missing piece. A small three by two turquoise LEGO plate.

I called the toll-free number at the back of the instruction book. I was a bit surprised at how helpful and cooperative the person I spoke to was.

The LEGO warehouse in Denmark is going to ship out a tiny piece of LEGO that is worth pennies. And what does LEGO get out of this? A lifetime customer. (Not that I wasn't already a lifetime customer of LEGO.)

The Word-of-Mouth value of this sort of service is not to be undervalued. (Or perhaps no word-or-mouth should be undervalued.)