How can I "explore" a phone I can't even see?

Sign promoting Google's Pixel phone, Rogers Mobile store, Vancouver, BC

Sign promoting Google's Pixel phone, Rogers Mobile store, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Wow! There is a new phone from Google. I saw this sign in the window of a Rogers Mobile location and went in to have a look at the new Pixel phone.

And what do I discover? Despite the fact that the sign says, "Come in and explore", the store had no phones available to look at. (Evidently a space and security issue.)

A failure at so many levels.

Is this really needed?

Sticker on the ceiling, Ramada Hotel, Vancouver, BC 

Common sense is far from common. And perhaps that is why notices like this are needed.

When a fire sprinkler is triggrered the mess is remarkable. Thousands of litres of dirty water can do a huge amount of damage. My guess is that this notice is on the ceiling because someone hung something from the sprinkler head, triggered the sprinkler, and made a hell of a mess.

Knowing your demographics

Poster promoting the 2016 Canadian Mahjong Championships, Oakridge Shopping Centre,  Vancouver, BC

Poster promoting the 2016 Canadian Mahjong Championships, Oakridge Shopping Centre,  Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Knowing your target demographic are a key part of survival for any retailer, or shopping centre. Over the past decade or so the consumer demographics of Oakridge Centre, and the rest of Vancouver's upscale retailing segment, have changed. Chinese consumers have become an increasingly important part of the target demographic.

This demographic change is seen in the number of Vancouver retailers who have Chinese (lunar) New Year promotions.

And now the shopping centre is offering its customers a chance to get the inside track to the Finals of the Canadian Mahjong Championships. I wonder how many of Oakridge's non-Chinese customers know or care about Mahjong?

How does IKEA spend the other 40%?

Advertisement for IKEA, Granville SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC

Advertisement for IKEA, Granville SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Advertisement for IKEA, Granville SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC

Advertisement for IKEA, Granville SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC

Advertisement for IKEA, Granville SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC

Many years ago I remember reading that 60% of IKEA's promotional budget went to the cost of producing and distributing the annual catalogue.

Some of the remaining budget goes to to television commercials such as the great Book Book spot from IKEA Singapore.

These transit advertisements are unusual as they are expensive, large format advertisements for low-cost housewares. Following the classic "features and benefits" format, that are eye-catching and cleverly art directed.

The biggest promotion of the year (Although Tim Hortons may not agree.)

In-store poster for McDonald's Monopoly promotion

In-store poster for McDonald's Monopoly promotion (Detail)

It's back. McDonald's annual Monopoly promotion is back. From October 11 to November 14 McDonald's customers will be snapping up game pieces in the hope of winning one of more than a million prizes.

Like most sales promotions the intent is to drive more business into the store. With a one in five chance of winning, I always see longer than usual lines at McDonald's locations.

In recent years when Tim Hortons has run its "Roll Up The Rim To Win" promotion McDonald's has countered by offering free coffee. I wonder if there are any similar disruptive actions planned by Tim Hortons?

A little PR campaign. I wonder if the tax man will be interested?

Advertisement for Airbnb, Broadway City Hall  SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC

Advertisement for Airbnb, Broadway City Hall  SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC

Vancouver is in the midst of a bit of housing problem. The prices have been going crazy, especially for single family homes. (Have a spare $2,000,000 for a fixer upper?)

And now Airbnb rentals are taking a chunk of the already limited accommodation out of the long-term rental market. (Short term rentals are generally more lucrative for landlords.)

This poster campaign seems to be an effort to influence public opinion that Airbnb is helping people stay in their homes and continue to live in the city. Of course the other side of the argument, the resulting decline in the size of the city's long-term rental pool, is not mentioned. (And the fact that the only place I've seen the campaign is at the City Hall SkyTrain station can't be a coincidence. Have to influence those politicians and bureaucrats some how.)

Will this campaign have the desired effect? Who knows, but in one of the world's least affordable cities, many residents are looking to the revenue from an Airbnb rental to help pay the bills. Of course the tax man may well be interested. If you are getting $100 a night and renting out the room 100 nights a year, are your declaring that $10,000 in annual income? No? Well perhaps you might  expect an audit.

I hope I'm not too late

Advertisement for Jim Pattison Toyota, West Vancouver Transit bus, Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, BC

Advertisement for Jim Pattison Toyota, West Vancouver Transit bus, Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Sometimes I see advertising on public transit that is a bit out of date, but I think this takes the cake. This advertisement on the side of a West Vancouver bus is at least two years old and may have been on the bus for as long as three years.

Why is this aged advertisement still on the bus? And of course the more important question, can I still get a RAV4 for $25,560? Well I can't. The best price I was offered on the phone was $26,125.

Advertising should inform customers, not annoy them. This advertisement fails on both counts. Inaccurate information and thus annoying.

It turns out I am too late for this deal, by two or three years.

How did this brand come to Canada?

Down jacket from Pull & Bear, Fashion Outlet, Vancouver, BC

Down jacket from Pull & Bear, Fashion Outlet, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Pull & Bear is a brand from the Spanish firm Inditex. Better known in North America for its Zara retail chain, Inditex operates under a handful of banners in scores of countries around the world. Pull & Bear is not one of the banners that Inditex is current running in Canada.

So, how did this these down jackets get to Canada, and why are they for sale at an outlet retailer? My best guess is that the garments were excess stock, or seconds, from the Chinese factory manufacturing the jackets for Inditex. Or they could be counterfeits.

Regardless, I doubt that Inditex would be overjoyed to find that the brand is available a discount outlet such as this.

Who owns orange?

Advertisements for Tangerine, Skytrain station, Vancouver, BC

Langara College advertisement, SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC

TNT delivery van, Vancouver, BC

Home Depot logo
 (Source: homedepot.com)

Last week I saw the advertisements for Tangerine (An online bank) and Langara College (A public post-secondary institution) next to one another at a SkyTrain station. The same day I also saw the TNT delivery van.

All three of these firms use orange as their signature color. (And essentially the same shade of orange as Home Depot.)

In other categories there are often multiple organizations that use the same colour. (I've lost count of the firms that use red.) But these four organizations all operate in different industries and so the issues around colour identification and confusion are pretty limited.

I wonder who else will attempt to adopt orange as their signature shade?

Interesting comparisons

I saw these advertisements at SkyTrain stations last week.

The new version of this campaign from Scotties offers some interesting comparisons. I'm not sure which is the bigger tragedy, "Broken heart" or "Broken phone". The team, one does not work quite as well for me. But the "Hillary wins" "Donald wins" advertisement is wonderful. That woman's expression is priceless.

But what have you been doing for the last four years?

Sign at Safeway, New Westminster, BC

Sign at Safeway, New Westminster, BC (Detail)

It is all well and good to be charitable. But you can only get credit for your good deeds for so long. Do Safeway's employees really deserve credit for volunteer hours that provided four years ago? What have they done recently?

Based on the fact that this sign has not been updated since 2012, I might assume that they have given up volunteering.

Getting social at the mall

Sign promoting free phone changing, Pacific Centre, Vancouver, BC

There was a time when security guards in the Pacific Centre attempted to stop the public from taking photographs in the mall, but how times have changed.

Retailers today, especially fashion retailers, could not survive without the free publicity from fans taking and sharing photos.

I wonder if there is a point at which there is too much photography? Jewellery stores do not permit photography in their stores for security reasons. I wonder if other retailers will follow suit?