A service I didn't even know existed

Card from Express Container Management Inc. (Obverse)

Card from Express Container Management Inc. (Reverse)

When I worked in warehouses and we had containers arrive we just had to deal with it. Our regular tasks would go on the back burner while we dealt with a 20'  or 40' metal trailer filled with boxes.

This represents a great improvement. As long as the firm knows when their container will arrive they can schedule contact staff from ECM to unload the container. As as the ECM staff are paid on a per-container basis, they have a strong incentive to be fast and efficient. (I was told that the top employees can make $70,000 per year.)

Sounds like a winning proposition all round.  

A small problem at the bottling plant. I wonder what else has gone wrong?

Unlike a Coke bottle, theses bottle for Mott's Clamato juice are not symmetrical. There is a moulded handle at the back of the bottle to make it easier to pick up and pour. But something has gone wrong in the bottle orientation and label application part of the packaging line. The bottles have two labels, a large one of the front with the promotion and demonstration messages, and  a smaller one at the back with the nutrition information.

Bottles of Mott's Clamato Juice, front view

From the front the labelling looks fine. 

Bottles of Mott's Clamato Juice, side view

From the side view we can see a problem. The right-hand bottle has been labelled correctly, but it appears that the lefthand bottle was rotated 90 degrees when the label was applied.

Bottles of Mott's Clamato Juice, back label

From this shot you can see the effect of putting the labels on wrong. On the righthand bottle the label is in the middle of the back between the two indentations that make the handle. On the lefthand bottle the label is on the side of the bottle.

This is not a huge problem as the bottle is still usable and the juice tasted the way I expected. But whenever I see any errors in a production environment I wonder what else could be going wrong and what steps the firm has taken, if any, to prevent problems from occuring.

Great way to promote something that you don't offer.

Advertisement for TransLink's Compass Card

I use TransLink's Compass Card. It is a stored value card that can be used across the TransLink system. I've used mine on the SkyTrain, SeaBus and on both trolley and diesel buses.

A couple of days ago I saw this advertisement for the Compass Card on a bus on Bowen Island and noticed that it showed a vessel in the background.

Advertisement for TransLink's Compass Card (Detail showing ferry)

The problem is that vessel is not part of TransLink and I can't use my Compass card to pay for a journey on that vessel.

The vessel pictured appears for be the Queen of Capilano which is part of the BC Ferries system. 

Queen of Capilano
(Source: https://www.bcferries.com/files/images/about/bcf-qcap-ferry-649x254.jpg)

To travel on the Queen of Capilano I need to use an Experience card, which is issued by BC Ferries. However, almost everyone who uses the bus on Bowen Island will have travelled on the ferry to get to the island. 

But this is just confusing for users. Either that or a change is on the way and soon I'll be able to use my Compass Card to pay for a journey on the ferry. 

I'm not holding my breath.

A great idea. No wonder I didn't think of it.

Yeti demonstration model, Cargo Logistics Show, Vancouver, BC

Last week I attended the Cargo Logistics show in Vancouver. It was filled with interesting innovations in, as the name of the show might indicate, cargo and logistics.

The Yeti looks like a great idea. A snow blower system to remove the buildup of snow and ice from trailer roofs.

According to the firm's website, removing the buildup of snow and ice can not only prevent accidents and the accompanying lawsuits, but can also reduce the amount of fuel used and increase freight capacity.

But not being a driver it is no wonder that this didn't occur to me.  Still a very good idea.

Is this the target market?

The Province newspaper (Front and back cover), February 9, 2018

The last 25 pages of this newspaper, over 1/3 of the total page count, is sports coverage. NHL hockey, lacrosse, basketball, soccer, golf and even horse racing.

And yet on the outside back cover of the newspaper is a full-page advertisement for the Rolex Explorer II watch.

The Province newspaper (Outside back cover), February 9, 2018

The demographic profile of the readers of The Province really do not seem to be a good fit with the profile of Rolex buyers. So why did Rolex and Montcristo pay for a full-page back cover advertisement? I can only guess that the price must have been very attractive indeed because the utility of this advertisement is very limited indeed.

A sign of the times

YMCA advertisement, SkyTrain, Vancouver

There might have been a time, not that many years ago, when this advertisement would have featured a man and a woman. But given the current gender climate, the portrait of the YMCA as a place to "pick up chicks" would go over like a lead balloon.

However it is interesting that these two women have decided to use the gym at the "Young Men's Christian Association". I wonder if the YWCA was all booked up?

And the branding battle is running at full speed

Heinz tomato ketchup dispenser

Heinz tomato ketchup dispenser (Detail)

Heinz tomato ketchup dispenser (Detail)

Over the weekend I was passing by a food truck and saw this dispenser. The ketchup was dispensed into small paper cups.

A huge cost and environmental saving over delivering ketchup in small plastic packets. And a great big branding message.

Making its way into the mainstream

French's tomato Ketchup 

A few days ago I missed my transit connection and had to wait for 45 minutes. I went into the local pub for a beer and saw this bottle of French's Ketchup on the table.

A few years ago French's ketchup hit the big time in Canada when Heinz closed its Canadian factory in Leamington, Ontario. As a result, all of the Heinz ketchup sold in Canada is now imported.  

French's has been making inroads into the Canadian Ketchup market with both consumers and businesses. This special food service package, identifiable because it the bottle is made of opaque red plastic, is another step in gaining market share.

Meaningless and pointless

Advertisement for Sage fishing reels, BBC Website
(Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-42884631)

I was on the BBC website a few days ago looking at an article about FujiXerox laying off 10,000 workers in its photocopier division and I saw the above advertisement.

I don't fish. I don't own a fishing rod. I have fished perhaps 10 times in my entire life. I saw this ad for a Sage fly fishing reel and had no idea what the product was. The term, "one revolution sealed carbon drag" was completely meaningless to me. At first glance it looked like a automobile wheel.

It was not until I clicked through to the Sage website that I discovered what was being advertised.

I had no interest in fishing before, I have even less interest now. But, because I clicked on the advertisement I suspect that my browsing will now be filled with advertisements for fishing gear.

A waste of advertising space for the BBC and an appallingly poor example of advertising targeting.

Perhaps not the perfect winter shoe

Sign on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, Science World SkyTrain station, Vancouver

In the wintertime the platforms of the SkyTrain stations get wet and slippery,. In an effort to reduce accidents, and probably lawsuits, there are signs all over the stations and carriages encouraging passengers to take precautions to avoid accidents.

Sign on the floor at the bottom of the stairs, Science World SkyTrain station, Vancouver (Detail)

This sign warning about "proper footwear" bears a startling resemblance to the Converse All Star.

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star
(Source: https://www.converse.com.au/chuck-taylor-all-star-classic-colour-low-black-19166)

A great shoe and a fashion classic, but probably not the best choice for a wet SkyTrain platform.