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!