Pita Put Off

I love the Pita Pit. I think they have a lot of good things going for them. They have capitalized on the healthy eating trend and established their retail locations when this trend was exponentially gaining popularity. Not only have they capitalized on the biggest nutritional phenomenon of the decade, but they have a slogan that says it all:

"Fresh Thinking, Healthy Eating."

Well yes... Their ingredients are fresh and their product offerings are healthy; but I'm not sure about the "fresh thinking" aspect when it comes to their advertising efforts. Below is a picture that I snapped with my camera phone during my weekly visit to my local Pita Pit.  

I've been visiting the same location all summer on lunch hour, and this sign has been bothering me for the past four months. Well, it's not just one sign, there are actually ten of these signs. 

So what's wrong with them?

These signs are located in front of Pita Pit parking spaces. By the time I see the sign, I've already made the decision that I'm going to Pita Pit to devour delicious food. These signs aren't compelling me to buy more pitas, and they're not driving me to visit Pita Pit when I wouldn't have otherwise. Therefore, I see these signs as a waste of Pita Pit's advertising budget.

Assuming that each sign costs ten dollars, that means that this location spent approximately 100 dollars on these signs. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, and in the scheme of things, it isn't. However, this 100 dollars could have been used effectively. For example, Pita pit could have given away ten free pitas spontaneously throughout the year. Imagine walking into Pita Pit, ordering your pita, reaching for your money, and the cashier saying "Don't worry, this one's on us." I think that this approach would evoke one of the two following emotions from customers:

1. The customer would insist on paying, and think that it's absurd that they are trying to give you a free pita. 

Or

2. The customer would be more than grateful to accept the offer, and enjoy the delicious, free food.

Regardless of what reaction the customer has to this offering, they would most likely tell a friend, family member, or colleague about it; therefore helping to spread positive word of mouth about Pita Pit, and achieve more than a 12" x 12" vinyl sign ever would.

Fix Or Repair... A Toyota?

Brand association is anything which is deep seeded in the customer's mind about a brand; whether it be positive or negative. Brand association can really help improve the image of a business, or drastically hinder it. For example, Donald Trump licenses his name to numerous different business projects. In one case, he had licensed his name to a real estate development in the states. The real estate development ultimately failed, and investors in this development were outraged- 'I thought Trump was behind this, how could it fail?' When in reality he had nothing to do with the development, rather than the name "Trump" falsely backing up a poor business venture. Poor judgement calls (like this one on Trump's part) can seriously devalue a brand. 


Enter Toyota and Ford. They recently signed a deal to jointly develop gas-electric hybrid trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).  To me, this sounds like a great partnership!... For Ford, and not Toyota. Is this a poor judgement call on Toyota's part?

Here are the details of the deal:

• Ford and Toyota will share development costs in order to make the technology more affordable for customers and bring it to market faster [than if they had both pursued this development independently].
• Will help both companies meet more stringent fuel economy and pollution standards in the U.S.
• Toyota gas-electric trucks/SUVs will have same engine as Ford gas-electric hybrid trucks/SUVs

Areas for concern:

• Ford has many negative brand associations. There are numerous acronyms for Ford, such as: Fix Or Repair Daily, Found On Road Dead, Fast Only Rolling Downhill, and Fork Over Repair Dough, just to name a few. (Visit http://www.abbreviations.com/FORD for more acronyms).
• Toyota has a strong brand image; an image of reliable and well built automobiles. Toyota has engineered it's operations to produce quality products, and as a result, they have seen huge financial success. Ford on the other hand, has not seen the financial success of its Japanese competitor. 

I believe that Toyota doesn't need Ford, but Ford needs Toyota. The only benefits that Toyota is receiving from this business partnership (in my opinion) is the increased speed to market and reduced costs. But in the end, if you have number one market share and are producing the best product, who cares about reduced costs in the longterm? 

Happy Cab 15

I currently work as VP Marketing for my family business, Cambridge Label. Cambridge Label is a wholesale manufacturer of pressure sensitive labels, whose customers are advertising agencies, label brokers, and print suppliers. Prior to this summer, Cambridge Label really hadn't done any marketing. Once I started working, it was overwhelming for me to choose a place to start; when our logo, advertisements, promotional giveaways, website design, packaging, and other projects needed to be redone, or re-examined. 


While I was working this summer, I realized that B2B marketing for pressure sensitive labels is more difficult than it seems. It's a very specialized and heavily manufacturing based industry. I haven't had much exposure to this type of marketing before because it's so different than the advertisements found on television, in the newspaper, and magazines; the advertisements we encounter on a daily basis.


While I was thinking about my challenges and how I should go about branding Cambridge Label, I encountered "Happy Cab 15." Happy Cab Fifteen is a cab in Guelph Ontario, driven by a man who speaks philosophically about life, and channels positivity into his customers. He provided me with inspiration- if you can create a name for yourself and spread word of mouth as a cab driver in Guelph Ontario, you should be able to successfully brand a pressure sensitive label manufacturer. Not only does he lift your spirits, but he also has a quirky aspect to him. He listens to Abba, and has a spinning disco ball hanging from the ceiling of his cab (which does light up). Although this might sound strange, it helps to spread word of mouth, and it gets people talking. You can find Happy Cab 15 on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2235773885&v=wall), where his customers speak positively about their experiences in his cab. He also has shirts that you can purchase (and yes, he did try to sell me one):

Not only does this cab have an online presence, but Happy Cab 15 has also travelled across Canada and the United States with a mission to spread word about himself, and promote his life values. Always with a positive mentality, he said to me:


"The 'happy disco ball' is like your spirit that lives on." 


My point here is that branding is difficult regardless of what field of business you're operating in. There are no excuses for not reaching your target market, or creating a positive image for your company; or in this case, your cab!

First Impressions

It's funny how they say "never judge a book by its cover," when a large majority of the population does (myself included). I've been thinking a lot about first impressions these days. What is the best way I can make a good first impression at a networking event? How can I look as professional and polished as possible? Since first impressions are on the forefront of my mind, I couldn't help but develop an opinion on the following book:

What do you think of when you see this book? Would you purchase it? 


I certainly wouldn't. I find the front cover difficult to read. You think that a book on presentation skills wouldn't have a hyphenated word on its cover. Why would I want to take advice from a book that looks so sloppy? Especially when presentations need to be organized and easy to follow. 


I'm not trying to sound pessimistic; I'm simply stating the facts. Consumers make decisions about products based on their aesthetics, packaging, and branding everyday. I'm a living example of this. I'm sure T.J. Walker has some good content in this book, but unfortunately his branding efforts don't measure up. 

McDonalds- Product offerings aligned with branding strategy?

I volunteer as a marketing assistant for a local business (momstown KW, check it out!). In my most recent meeting with the owner, she expressed concern about McDonald's iced coffees. Unfortunately, McDonald's iced coffees are made with milk. 

So what? 

This means that those who are lactose intolerant cannot enjoy a delicious $2 iced coffee from McDonalds (unless you take lactaid pills of course, but who really likes drugging their body...). After contacting McDonalds numerous times informing them that they should provide soy milk, a healthy, lactose free alternative, my colleague has still yet to receive any feedback.

I decided to do some investigating of my own, and see if McDonald's product offerings are aligned with their overall business strategy. In particular, I decided to investigate the possibility of McDonald's providing iced coffees made with soy milk as opposed to regular milk.

• 308,745,538: U.S. Population as of 2010
• 72.4%: The number of caucasian people living in America
• 13,411,906 - 33,529,766: The number of lactose intolerant caucasian Americans. 

This means that McDonald's is ignoring at least 13 million consumers by providing their iced coffees made with normal milk.  

I then looked to McDonald's website in order to see what they had to say about their menu choices, and strategy.

"We have to be customer-centric and follow trends and the way people are eating. We have to be careful we don't forget about taste and fun, and we need to offer a choice... How we approach it at McDonald's is to make sure there's a balance on our menu, a wide range of items to suit a wide range of needs."

        -Chef Dan Coudreaut, Executive Chef and Director of Culinary Innovation, McDonalds

If there is a consumer trend that is prominent today, it's healthy living. Isn't soy extremely healthy for you? Is McDonald's really catering to a "wide range of needs" by ignoring those who are lactose intolerant? Thoughts?

Resources:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance

http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/trends_innovation/chef_dan_coudreaut.html

Get at me.

I also forgot to mention this in my last post...

If you would like a customized business card, I'd be more than happy to help you. (For free, of course). 


I'm new to designing, and would like as much practice as I can get. Feel free to contact me via email (Dsinclair.HBA2012@ivey.ca).

Tis the season for recruiting

School is fast approaching, and so is full-time recruitment season at the Richard Ivey School of Business. In order to prepare myself for the chaotic months that are approaching, I'm spending all my spare time preparing cover letters, brushing up on interview skills, and strengthening my personal brand. 


Last year I received business cards from school. The business cards displayed my name, contact information, and the Ivey logo in the upper right-hand corner. The Ivey logo is recognizable, and symbolizes one of the best business schools in Canada. However, there is a downfall to using this card; all of my peers have them! A business card is something that you can be remembered by. Unfortunately this statement doesn't hold true if 525 other students have the exact same card design, and attend all the same events that you do.


I want to stand out a little, so I decided to ditch the Ivey business cards and design my own. The only problem I'm facing now is which one to choose. 


Option #1: Clean and simple.

Option #2: Seth Godin, my inspiration.

I strongly prefer one over the other, but don't want to sway your decision. (Please ignore the thick border around each of the images, this is formatting that remains consistent throughout my blog).


Thanks for reading, your feedback, and for helping me stand out.

Skinny Scoop. Skinny Consumer. Happy Girl.

If you haven't heard of the company Skinny Cow (www.skinnycow.com), I highly recommend that you check it out. Ice cream is a pleasure to enjoy, but what isn't so pleasurable is the calories and the high fat content that accompany it. Fortunately there is Skinny Cow, a company that supplies the market with lower cal, lower fat content dessert products. 

On a recent family vacation to Florida, I visited an ice cream shoppe The Royal Scoop that I have been visiting ever since I can remember. The Royal Scoop have branded themselves seamlessly. They've created an experience around attending their store- a retro diner ambience, 60s rock music, and delicious homemade ice cream. 


So how does Skinny Cow tie into The Royal Scoop? 


Now that I'm more health conscious than I've ever been, I realize that The Royal Scoop gives you way too much high fat content ice cream for $3.49. One scoop costs $3.49, but they really give you 2.5 scoops for this price. I truly think that they should start selling "The Skinny Scoop" (inspired by Skinny Cow) which is one regular sized scoop of ice cream for $2.99. (Another thing to keep in mind is that The Royal Scoop is situated in an area where the average home is worth 1.8 million US dollars, so I'm making the assumption that consumers aren't price sensitive for small-ticket items.)


I'd certainly like to pay slightly less for considerably less ice cream. I'd visit The Royal Scoop more often if each time I visited I didn't feel so guilty afterwards. I emailed The Royal Scoop with my idea and have yet to hear anything back from them. Am I the only one who thinks this is a good business idea?