Finding Mu

I was down in San Francisco a week ago, flying on United. Still have yet to write something about the trip. But, while flying something happened I thought was blog-worthy.

When the guy was coming around to serve coffee, he'd go around to every seat saying: "Starbucks? Starbucks for you? Starbucks?" Whatever happened to just saying what it is, coffee?

So, obviously Starbucks and United did some deal, but a pretty detailed one: the flight attendants must actually use the word "Starbucks" instead of "coffee". Sneaky eh?

Reminds me a lot of Kleenex and the way the extreme success of that brand eventually led the the word being used to refer to the type of product itself. Nobody says "can you pass me some facial tissue?", they say "pass me some Kleenex." It's the ultimate win in marketing it seems, building a perfect cultural association between the brand and the product itself. iPod is another good example.

Could it be that someday you'll wake up in the morning and say "time for some Starbucks", and head over to the nearest coffee shop, whether it's Starbucks or not?

Posted by at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You get home, open your mailbox, and what do you find? A cheque! For you! For $25! Sweet!

Or is it? Look more closely and you'll see this is just another "marketing cheque". Oh I'm sure the marketers have a more technical term for them, but that's what they are: cheques with strings attached. Sometimes, big strings. The cheques look just like normal cheques- nice designs, very legit-looking. But then you get the fine print: "Singing and cashing or depositing this check will enroll you in.... blah blah blah..."

So you do the obvious thing... take the free money, of course! But you're not just signing a cheque (or "check" as Americans call it), you're signing a CONTRACT. And I figure that very often, people sign these contracts without having the slightest clue what they're signing up for.

It could be credit insurance, a magazine subscription, or that ever-elusive volcano insurance you've been looking for. The point is, the marketers make these things so real-looking, the intention is obvious: use the lure of money to flat-out trick consumers into signing up for something they don't want.

These "marketing cheques" are new to me, being a relatively recent resident of the U.S. I can't see this flying in Canada (along with other marketing tactics, like 50 credit card offers per day, often several from the same company- do they not learn?) But, I have a problem with these shady cheques. Not for myself- I'm not the one I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about the people who just cant distill the fine print, who really NEED all the money they can get, and can't afford to be scammed.

Is it just me? Is this just fair-game marketing? Like using hot women to sell beer? Or is this type of behavior seriously harming consumers, to the point it should be made illegal?

There's a fine line between marketing and trickery, but even marketers must have souls, right?

Posted by at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There was a recent entry on the blog Creating Passionate Users by Kathy Sierra about innovation, and how users/customers can't be held responsible for driving it. I can't agree more.

It reminds me of my electric toothbrush... maybe a few years ago I'd laugh at the idea- I mean, come on, how lazy can you possibly be? But if you've tried a good electric toothbrush (mine's the "sonic" kind), you know that feeling like you just went to the dentist and had your teeth cleaned... and trust me, you can't go back. There's something that hardly anybody would "ask for", especially when it's 7 a.m. and you're still half asleep!

I'd go even farther than Kathy. Not only can't users define innovation, but the vast majority of users/customers will often resist innovation for some period of time. Sometimes it takes time to realize that something is good for you. :) Think of the innovations that went through (or are going through) periods of ridicule or rejection before wide acceptance... cell phones ("why would I want two phone numbers?"), hybrid cars ("who wants to drive a golf cart down the road?"), botted water ("um, the tap's right there."), and of course, electric toothbrushes.

It takes vision, determination, and some faith... to not only bring innovation to users, but stick with innovation as users slowly adopt to new and better ways of living, working, and playing.

Posted by at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Toronto Star ran an article announcing that today is the scientifically-calculated "happiest day of the year". British psychologist Cliff Arnall developed a formula based on a variety of factors. Today, being a Friday right at the outset of true summertime, comes out as the best-scoring "happy day".

The psychologist has, in fact, developed the formula that looks like this: O + (N x S) + Cpm/T + He.

Within that, O stands for being outdoors and outdoor activity, N for nature, S for social interaction, Cpm for childhood summers and positive memories, T for temperature and He for holidays and looking forward to time off.

Friday, June 23, was finally pinpointed because Friday marks the end of the work week for most, tapping into the "Thank goodness, it's Friday" feeling.

This day deserves a smile. :)

Posted by at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)