Tag Archives: StrategySteven

Gig economy, Gag jobs

Below: unsurprising coverage how ‘Gig economy’ aggregators (businesses that consolidate & resell the ‘product’) gain equity & leverage power, yet show little empathy or consideration for their relatively powerless front line workers.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/uber-eats-pay-system-cuts-wages_ca_602052e1c5b6173dd2f7156b

One might claim “No one forces these drivers to work for” a power-wielding employer (this firm is notorious for arguing they’re not an ’employer’, ergo not subject to employment laws or standards). That “No one forces them to…” phrase, typically uttered by society’s Well-Born, should be removed from vocabularies. They are forced to take these jobs. Some to pay the bills; some to realize their potential (eg youths raised with little wealth who aspire to a post-secondary education, must not only win every high school scholarship, they also take multiple simultaneous part time jobs- they aren’t forced to take minimum wage jobs; those roles are just the only ones available).

Apologies for waxing philosophical, but Gig Economy Worker Rights is a looming #ethics issue, like Data Privacy & compensating Local News providers (yes, I’m aware of the irony of linking to this article). The issue begs for government or inter-government action, but who will tackle it? Gig Economy behemoths work the ‘hazy spaces between‘ existing regulations, beyond national governments’ usual zones of control, squirming between laws, past traditional definitions of jurisdiction. A certain accommodation-sharing aggregator app plays like a hotel, but not one that follows hotel rules for zoning, hygiene, worker rights, etc. A taxi service aggregator app plays like a taxi service, but not one that follows taxi rules for driving training or vetting, vehicle safety, worker rights. One must respect the dark genius of the Gig business model! All upside and control- no accountability or cost!

Behold Ozymandias! As in the intimidating battle looming for Nations/Citizens vs Social Media giants on Data Privacy or Local News, you can expect Canada will not play a role putting the Beast At Bay. It’ll be the European Union, or Australia, or another nation that values its workers & citizens, more than it values ‘not rocking the boat’.

Sleep on.

Rorschach

Can’t Touch This? Maybe, just maybe, you can!

I was privileged to learn about Linguistics from a fine Queen’s University Prof, and learn Trademark treatment from Legal/Paralegal guru’s advising some of the world’s most valuable brands in USA & Canada. These 2 worlds have never before collided; but this article
https://qz.com/quartzy/1663810/chinas-nicknames-for-foreign-cars-like-porsche-and-bmw/

made me consider rethinking classic ‘guidelines/rules’ for Brands facing what is, in my mind, the ‘intersection’ of two previously unrelated topics.

Formal training advises to prosecute and not acknowledge a brand name mistreatment. But that guideline predated Brands & Business going fully, irreversibly global. If a nation’s people (in this case, China) have spent a lifetime using a fully functional language that doesn’t ackowledge English consonants, vowels &/or pronunciation, and if (prospective customers) have difficulty pronouncing some Western words (and BRANDS!), should we –aghast!– consider the unthinkable?

Should we not just acknowledge the mistreatment, but leverage it? register their ‘alternate’ brand-equivalent phrase? use it in our communications? in our advertising?

If I were BMW’s agency (the article claims tht the BMW brand, in China, has been adapted to ‘Don’t Touch This‘), I’d meet MCHammer for music rights in China, to test a ‘working with it, not against it’ alternate brand campaign. Is it time to customize to the local market? Show some empathy?

imo the key is subtlety/tone- no ‘talking down’ or being obvious or patronizing. If you can master that, such a campaign, if done correctly, wouldn’t** destroy brand protection (it’s China! Bootlegs & Patent ripoffs are a much bigger worry than trademark protection!) but it might convey you ‘get’ the customer ie “Yeah thanks for recognizing our brand & btw we love what you’ve done with it”.

As always, this is just creative food for thought- **do NOT proceed with this idea until you clear it with your Trademark/ Legal gurus! They’ve saved my butt many times; their counsel is worth heeding with care & reverence.

StrategySteven

SpongeBob … couture???

bet you never expected to see ‘SpongeBob’ and ‘couture’ together.

Seems avant-garde fashion is about to see a new brand- from deep-down. Benefits of licensing deals include: added revenue, added exposure, appeal to new audiences. Drawbacks? Streching and diluting a brand.

When a certain revered Motorcycle brand launched branded dog harnesses & dog clothes imo they jumped the shark.

While I was managing Dr Scholl’s- consistently pushing for performance perfection in orthotics and footcare- Head Office licensed out the name to a shoe marketeer who put ‘my’ brand on imported el-cheapo everyday walking shoes sold at discounters. Wince.

Is this a step too far, even for SpongeBob? Not necessarily, as long as they ‘keep it light’ ie don’t take the fashion items to seriously. https://www.licenseglobal.com/apparel-accessories/spongebob-goes-couture-amsterdam

Drinking Up some GROWTH

Drink Up another example how marketing behemoths (especially FMCG players), grow by monitoring closely who is growing, then candidly and honestly gauging whether it’s wiser to Build a copycat (Coke launching PowerAde to combat Pepsi’s Gatorade) or to Buy (Dr Pepper-Keurig buys CORE)  

https://csnews.com/keurig-dr-pepper-acquire-enhanced-beverage-company

For DrPepper, adding CORE beverages boosts strength in ‘USDA-certified’ organic water, and ‘nutrient-enhanced’ water– err sorry, ‘Hydration vehicles’. Scoff if you will, but fruity water, organic water & certified water is hot; and accounts for a growing share of occasions for beverage drinkers. This buyout adds incremental consumers, consumption occasions & channel credibility (particularly with health shops, organic grocers, restaurants & cafeterias offering ‘organic’ fare,  fitness/bodybuilding shops or gyms).

DrPepper already has a huge stable of ‘any occasion’ sports/ activity/ energy/ rehydrating beverage brands that would give a marketer a week’s worth of drawing classes on Positioning Maps (Snapple, Keurig, Motts, Venom, Bai,…and now CORE)

CORE’s channel credibility & Influencer cred may boost Influencer support for ‘the rest of DrPepper’s stable’; this is critical. Arch rival Coke has PowerAde, Dasani and (now) BodyArmor;  Pepsi has Mountain Dew, Lifewtr and Gatorade (imo presence in ‘high-cred’ Influencer-rich outlets keeps the Pepsi group ahead of Coke’s  line, in terms of having a reputation for being more viably ‘athlete-credible’ or ‘health-credible’ but the purchase of BodyArmor def help out Coke!).

The CORE acquisition certainly raises the efficiency of each DrPepper sales call, however imo something more exciting is that DrPepper gains credible beverage brands that might be expanded into solid foods- eg protein supplements, protein snack bars, meal replacements (these are huge, active markets -imo with exciting futures given Gen Y/ Gen Z tendency to eat & snack on the run &/or possibly as vehicles to pursue opportunities in medical/ serious nutrition counselling markets, or even with Seniors).

Steven

 

Loyalty Programs vs Tech Ecosystems

Two topics covered lately that have caught passion of savvy Seneca students: 1. Ecosystems; and 2. Loyalty Programs.

How many Ecosystem partners does a typical consumer need?

Just ONE! imo it’s critical for Ecosystem players to be present in ALL ‘related’ categories of use, or risk being abandoned for a truly full-service tech partner.

Amazon, fb, Google & Apple all ‘play in’ several of these: file storage & sharing, photo storage & sharing, social media sharing, home security & home device monitoring, interactive voice recognition queries & trivia, home audio speakers, mobile shopping, customer reviews, personal banking, mobile payments, chat apps, mobile phone, film viewing, amateur video production & sharing, facilitating communities for ‘sharing’ resources, skills & time, etc, etc, etc…

Also catching students’ interest: Macro (multi-channel) loyalty programs: eg Aeroplan, AirMiles, PC Optimum. Loyalty players, in contrast to Ecosystem players, need not be present in every category, but typically tether to 2 anchors:

  • a partner providing ‘dreamer you’  an aspirational, indulgent big incentive (a vacation); and
  • a low value (frequent-use) anchor motivating ‘rational you’ to keep that loyalty tag/card on hand day to day.

Case in Point: Aeroplan lost both its Dreamer anchor – Air Canada- and its Rational anchor- Esso- but quickly regrouped, securing an Amazon partnership to fill both roles! (ie use Amazon for daily shopping, or buy yourself a holiday!).

However, the ‘anchor principles’ of critical relevance, don’t constitute the full list of success criteria for Ecosystem players, or for Loyalty programs.

What made this more evident lately? Evidence of their need to AVOID something- Leaks. And evidence they need to SHOW something- Respect.

iCloud leaks, fb leaks, Equifax leaks, etc make some consumers leery of ever joining a loyalty program. And undoubtedly cause others, to drop out.

Loblaws’ ‘transitioning’ of  trusting SDM Optimum & PC Plus loyalty members to a newly consolidated [ ahem- more efficient(!)] program has been awkward for the very customers they should respect & value.  A few years ago, AirMiles not only accelerated point expiry; they also imposed a needlessly complex, restrictive new 2-tier- award redemption structure. The 407 de-certifies members who spend ‘merely’ $3,000/year on their service via a rude letter (“You no longer qualify….”).  I received such a letter; its inept wording prompted a few laughs (a ‘Hall Of  Shame’ candidate, says a nearby CRM expert).

Loblaws, AirMiles and the 407 violate a basic principle of Loyalty programs: treat longstanding customers with some respect.

If you soon encounter press releases or Investor explanations about how tough the Loyalty industry has it, or how consumers are being more difficult, etc, feel free to join me in a laugh or two at their deserved expense.

Of course I could be wrong.

I’d welcome any comments!

Steven

 

Marketers: Make some noise! Problems are Opportunities

Sorry to be insensitive but Problems DO signal opportunities for marketing professionals. Undoubtedly you have already ‘heard’ of some obvious solutions to Noise Pollution –> increased opportunities for hearing aid chains.

But think a step further away, Marketers! There’s also growth in

  • noise-cancelling headphones;
  • improved  sound insulation for the New Construction/ Home Renovation industry;
  • New Product Claims such as quieter vacuums, dishwashers,…
  • New Services such as ‘Quiet Rooms’ where creative people can write their next great novel, screenplay or manuscript.

http://www.businessinsider.com/noise-pollution-effects-human-hearing-health-quality-of-life-2018-1

FMCG ‘old biz’ categories are- surprise! -increasingly shopped online

Omnichannel shopping. If you’re in FMCG marketing and believe that “online is a ‘future’ factor”, you’re already wayyyyyy behind, according to Nielsen.

http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/us-fmcg-trends-to-watch-in-2018.html

Years of work enroute to ‘Overnight success’

This is good! http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/luvabella-is-this-the-hottest-toy-of-2018

A fine article & video illustrate how Spinmaster Toys puts itself in a position to be ‘lucky’.

Years of work, and many iterations, to create the next ‘overnight sensation’. (Hmmm – that sure is poetic, or perhaps just pathetic).

This also gives tons of practical insight into the New Product Development process, eg the  iterations of development, costing & cost-optimizing at stage 1,and stage 2 and stage 3 etc; their inspired choices for R&D input for a doll (Mimes! Puppeteers!); and even their thoughts on estimating market size & growth (MRK200 students should def observe 6:00 to 6:33).

Enjoy, baby!  

Steven

 

Amazon finds Key To Rebecca…and Rita & Jake & Jamal &…

According to updates from RetailWire, Amazon ‘Key’ delivery service aims to offer:

  • more convenience than some other models eg BufferBox, or pickup/drivethru at Loblaws- and
  • more security  protocols than some other cheap & available home delivery models- a certain Mass Merch behemoth delivering via cheapest, no secuirty cleared driver- and
  • more geographic reach than the market-specific icons eg Longos.

Should be interesting to check in on its acceptance and return customer rate.

Amazon to begin making in-home deliveries in 37 cities

grocery channel- shopper trends

Worth reading: a fine article by Canadian Grocer on shopper trends:

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/top-stories/headlines/amazon-meal-kits-and-beer-sales-among-the-hot-topics-at-gic-conference-76357