Lee Dunbar

Aug

9

In a post I wrote about a month ago, I outlined my frustration with changes made at the concession stand of a drive-in my family frequents. I shared that we have given up on the concession stand and were now bringing our own snacks and drinks. It seems we are not alone, and the owners may very well have noticed a decline in overall sales, as the drive-in in question has added a few lines to their website:

“We ask that you kindly refrain from outside food and beverage … “

Hot, fresh, spend half an hour in sweltering heat lining up to get it. No thanks!

Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Customer Service Stuff, Design Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Retail Stuff
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Jul

23

The Round-Up

July 23, 2008

Well, here’s today’s collection of things that caught my eye …

Gizmodo gets an exclusive tour of the Lego factory. See video showing the entire manufacturing process of the Lego bricks. Kinda like learning the Caramilk secret.

An article in Computerworld outlines how web 2.0 can facilitate development 2.0, facilitating better software quality and a more efficient process.

Isn’t it ironic? From the fossil fuel capital of the US, the state of Texas Approves a $4.93 Billion Wind-Power Project.

Can product piracy be a good thing?

Wired reports that, seeking to make money from mistyped website names, some of the United States’ largest ISPs instead created a massive security hole that allowed hackers to use web addresses owned by eBay, PayPal, Google and Yahoo, and virtually any other large site.

It’s reported that Tesla Motors is starting to deliver their production electric cars. Here are the stats: 220 miles per charge, 125/mph top speed, 248hp peak, 3.5 hour charge time and 0-60 in 4 seconds! That’s a serious entry in the green car market. While you’re at it, take a look around their website. Great use of blog software to build community around their brand.

Are computer manufacturers really bowing to the RIAA’s demand to disable stereo sound on computers?

I love this idea of “crowd-sourcing”. Reuters has an article about “eCars – Now!”, a Finnish Internet community seeking to apply the collective approach to start converting used petrol-fuelled cars to electric ones, with the first roll-out due this year.

Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Community Stuff, Design Stuff, Technology Stuff, Web Stuff
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May

18

One thing I remember from college is what we nicknamed the “Mac and Cheese Theory of Economics”. This occurs when consumers trade down from higher-end products to less expensive products in times of economic down-turn. While a middle class family of four may eat mac and cheese a couple times a month, (kids love the stuff don’t they?), in times of economic pressure they may eat mac and cheese once or twice a week.

We have seen a couple indications of this in the last week. First, Report on Business reports that Miller Brewing CEO, Tom Long, has outlined that while Miller’s premium beers are struggling, they have seen the market shift towards their economy beers. While they expect to see volume remain the same, they also expect to see a continuation of this trend — especially if the price of gas continues to remain at current levels.

Second, there are a couple of stories I saw this week that are related to how gas prices will affect peoples’ travel plans. While there has been a trend for people to travel closer to home because of pressures related to time constraints (a cost as well), the increase in the price of gas is exacerbating the trend. There are two things to look at here that affect the local tourism market. First, air carriers have added a fuel surcharge on flights. Second, the hassle of crossing the US/Canadian boarder.

While we are expecting to see considerably fewer tourists from Northern New York in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario, it is also expected that even more people will travel closer to home.

Look and the trends and focus your resources appropriately. Don’t completely abandon previously strong markets as the economy will strengthen, In fact, studies show that companies that continue marketing through poor economic times return stronger than those who cut their efforts.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Marketing Stuff
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May

12

Monday Round-Up

May 12, 2008

Will fuel surcharges added to airfare force Canadians to vacation closer to home? That’s one thought — but this could be offset with the strong Canadian dollar. But then again, disposable income is disappearing fast! “It’s going to increase the cost of travel and will eat away at discretionary income of Canadian households, which will have an effect on leisure travel,” says Randy Williams, head of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.

The Emergency Management Office is cautioning Nova Scotians that 911 calls placed over the Internet may not be as safe as emergency calls over a land line.

Are you being watched when you’re online? Odds are good that you are. The National Post writes that the Privacy Commissioner is launching an investigation into whether Canada’s telecommunications giants are breaking the law when they use technology that allows the companies to monitor the online activities of their Internet customers.

Over at bloomberg.com, Kevin Hassett questions whether the humble polar bear could cause oil to go over $200. If the polar bear is declared as a threatened species, it could cause some serious side effects.

Are regulations getting in the way of the adoption of green fuels? Yet another reason to shake your head.

What’s wrong with the NHL? Here’s just one thing.

Tags: Business Stuff, Community Stuff, Sports Stuff, Technology Stuff, Web Stuff
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Apr

28

Monday Round-Up

April 28, 2008

Disney has announced the winner of its Chief Magical Officer competition. Congratulations to Justin Muchoney who took the prize. And of course, if you, like thousands of others, applied for this position and are still interested in working at the Most Magical Place on Earth, (or any other Disney property for that matter), you can head over to the competition’s sponsor, Careerbuilder, to view open Disney positions.

A piece of our cultural lexicon holds on — the New York Times profiles what is thought to be the last pinball machine manufacturer. They are able to stay open as their market shifts from the arcade and pub to the rec room.

The University of Texas has discovered a new source of bio-fuel. To me, for a whole host of environmental, social and political reasons, it is clear that we do need to find new sources of energy — clean energy. And I don’t think that there is one answer or one technology that will satisfy our needs. It will take a combination of technologies and behavioural changes.

Spam is turning 30! Happy Anniversary! While I detest spam — as both a consumer and marketer, I also appreciate legitimate use of email marketing tools. Opt-in newsletters, service reminders, news updates and subscription notices are all useful communication between organizations and subscribers. Always try to offer value in your communications.

Disney invests money in public transportation to help get its 62,000 employees to its Walt Disney World parks and resort properties. As the country’s largest single location employer, its important to guarantee that service to the parks will not be reduced due to budget cuts.

Here is a story about a woman who was falsely accused by the RIAA of music piracy. She is now taking the RIAA to task for their questionable investigative procedures. Good luck Tanya!

Speaking of the RIAA, since the success of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails releasing their music online for free, there is a hint in the air that Metalica may follow suit (pun in tended).

Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Community Stuff, Customer Service Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Neat Stuff, Technology Stuff
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Apr

20

Tomorrow is shaping up to be a pretty busy day, so we hit the wires a day early …

You had to see this one coming. After success with the increased amount of product placement campaigns, (I’m looking your way 24, CSI and ER), NBC Universal and an ad agency are teaming up to produce shows written around products.

Dilbert has gone all Dibert2.0. That’s right, a new Flash-heavy version of the site has been launched and according to a few reports I’ve read, some of the regulars aren’t overly fond of the new digs. You can even create your own Dilbert Mash-Ups – how trendy. Next thing you know, he’ll be shedding his pocket protector.

AT&T has made claim that without serious investment in infrastructure, the Internet will reach capacity by 2010.

Speaking at a Westminster eForum on Web 2.0 this week in London, Jim Cicconi, vice president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned that the current systems that constitute the Internet will not be able to cope with the increasing amounts of video and user-generated content being uploaded.

“The surge in online content is at the center of the most dramatic changes affecting the Internet today,” he said. “In three years’ time, 20 typical households will generate more traffic than the entire Internet today.”

And finally, here’s a pretty good article about how companies that engage their customers with [buzzword alert] 360 degree experience design [/buzzword alert] are flourishing. CEOs, CFOs, and COOs please take note of this article, your entire marketing department isn’t on crack after all. ‘Design’ is the differentiator that will separate the successful companies from the rest of the pack – more-so now than ever before.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Design Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Funny Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Technology Stuff, Web Stuff
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Apr

7

Monday Round-Up

April 7, 2008

Facebook and three music companies are teaming-up to create a new music site. The site would allow for streaming music as well as the option to purchase songs. There is even some thought that they are considering an unlimited subscription service.

Neuromarketing takes consumer behaviour to a whole new level.

Apple suing the “Big Apple’s” over the GreenNYC logo.

One of Dell’s key points of differentiation was the fact that they built custom systems on demand. Now, they are taking a more mass market approach by pushing standard prepackaged configurations. They are also using retail outlets, (I have even seen them in my local Wal-Mart), as a distribution channel – abandoning their direct-to-consumer model.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Customer Service Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Retail Stuff
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Mar

20

bestbuy.gifBest Buy has joined other retailers in the US such as Future Shop, Circuit City and others who are reaching out to customers who purchased HD DVD players. They are offering a $50 gift certificate to people who purchased an HD DVD player from them before February 23, 2008 – and really, if you bought one after that date you should have known what you were getting into.

This is a good move. On the PR/reputation management side of the equation, it comes off as a feel good story. Brian J. Dunn, president and chief operating officer for Best Buy was quoted in a press release as saying, “At Best Buy, we understood and shared our customers’ frustrations as they were being asked to choose one format or the other. Now that the format war is over, we hope these gift cards will reassure our customers that we will help them make a smooth transition into the right technology for their needs…” … and I’ll add, “…and we are confident that with these $50 gift cards, they will be purchasing their new machine from us.” ;)

Best Buy states that this program will cost the company $10 million. That’s a lot of gift cards – and more importantly a lot of customers who have already adopted the technology (high definition players) that will be looking to replace the obsolete technology. And – maybe more importantly, the need to get in and sell as many of these players and titles as they can before they are replaced with newer emerging technologies. The customers who purchased HD DVD players are the low hanging fruit for Blu-Ray and PlayStation players so this action will certainly result in sales and there is a good chance that consumers will also see this as good will.

Tags: Advertising Stuff, Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Customer Service Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Retail Stuff, Technology Stuff
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Mar

17

Monday Round-Up

March 17, 2008

Well, back from a nice long vacation in sunny Florida. We had a fantastic time – mostly spent right on the Disney Resort with an added excursion over to Universal, (I am sure Disney hates hearing that!). Of course the best part is that we missed about 70 centimetres of snow that was dumped on those back home. A special, special, special thank you to our neighbours who kept our driveway nice and clear. :)

As with our last trip there, the “Disney experience” has served as great inspiration and has generated about 1000 ideas. I look forward to posting some specifics in later posts.

 Well onto the round-up.

China has blocked access to YouTube because of videos showing the violence and protests in Tibet. Clearly, China is not a place where residents can take full – or even much – advantage of social networking and web 2.0 technologies. The conflict between our interest in human rights vs commerce is a complicated one when it comes to China. It is a market with potential for hundreds of billions more in trade, and yet the actions of the Chinese government towards its people is clearly objectionable to most of us. It seems as a society, we have taken a “hold your nose” approach so we can get our cheap goods at the local Wal-Mart or make a deal that is profitable for our company.

Google has a patent application to interrupt online video signals with advertising. There is a trend to show a sponsored message at the beginning of an online video – especially when it comes to web sites hosted by media companies. As a consumer I find this acceptable, I understand that companies need to turn a profit and there is great opportunity for advertisers to reach a targeted market. But at the same time, it would be annoying to have a 30 sec video served in the middle of a minute long clip.

The music industry wants to charge all broadband users $5 /mo. to subsidize them to compensate for sales lost to P2P file sharing. I have an idea – lets charge an entrance fee to anyone who steps into a store or mall to cover retail losses due to shop lifting. Let’s charge a monthly fee to library card holders to subsidize authors who do not sell books because people can borrow them for free. The music industry has mismanaged the impact of the ‘net from the very beginning. This is their problem, they need to come up with a solution instead of these ridiculous ideas of subsidization – especially since they will be charging some people who do not even download music. There are a number of opportunities to meet the needs of consumers and still make a profit. Instead, they used their resources and effort to fight the technology instead of embrace the technology and use it to its full advantage. The ‘net offers clear opportunity for record labels to actually increase sales, (the long tail theory for example), but they have blinders on and have largely ignored many opportunities – and for that I have no sympathy. There is no excuse to charge what amounts to a 10% tax to broadband users to subsidize an industry that is losing money due to its own mismanagement and misdirected focus.

Tags: Brand Experience Stuff, Business Stuff, Community Stuff, Retail Stuff, Technology Stuff, Web Stuff
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Feb

22

With Toshiba bowing out of the battle between their HD DVD technology and Sony’s Blu-ray machine, I have read many articles declaring an outright victory for Sony. I can’t agree.

While on the surface it may look like Sony, backed by the majority of major studios, was victorious when they finally piled so high on Toshiba’s aspirations that they finally turned with tail between legs and ran for cover – to do so would be forgetting two other major sources of competition for the $400+ Blu-ray players.

First, with blazing high speed connections reaching ubiquity in North America, downloading movies (legally) will become the norm. As people become more comfortable with the idea of hooking their media PCs to their 46″ LCD screens and DVD/Hard Drive players are network enabled, this will take a good chunk of the market – especially once some of the larger distributors like Apple jump on the scene. Cable and satellite distributors have made on-demand movie rentals as easy as selecting a movie and punching in a password – all right from the comfort of your couch. HD pay-per-view movies are already available and I wouldn’t think that HD on-demand is that far behind. But I still don’t see this as the largest competition for Blu-ray.

The second, and deepest entrenched front I see in the HD market, is against upconverting 1080i and 1080p DVD players. I foresee that a large part of the market will not be able to justify dropping another $400 or more on a player when they are already getting a pretty damn good picture with their current DVD player. Apathy and inertia are a marketer’s two most dangerous foes – and I see this to be the largest potential stumbling block for the Blu-ray.

So in effect, what we have is a situation where the true bleeding edge crowd will likely jump into the virtual/download space while the mass market will likely be quite happy keeping their current upconverting DVD player until they need to upgrade it – and by then they might just go directly to the hard drive or PC model.

Somewhere in the middle is the market that is left for the Blu-ray. Unfortunately, the HD war took so long that many people were turned off buying a player until one format took hold. A large portion of the window for the HD technology was missed as was opportunity to really market these players to the hoards of consumers drooling at the mere thought of picking up a nice HD player to hook to their new HDTV.

The people who have already bought their big screen are seeing pretty good results with the upconverting DVD players, and the techies are already seeing how close the next wave is coming over the hill.

The war isn’t over for the Blu-ray – just one battle has been won. The war for consumer dollars is still very much in play, and I would think the next battle will be even harder to win.

The Blu-ray does have a couple things going for it, and a couple potential strategies.

For $400, the Play Station 3 will play Blu-ray disks, (the optional $25 remote would be a good idea), and you get to play games with smokin’ hot graphics too!

If they are smart, the studios will provide content exclusively on the Blu-ray versions of their releases – and what about adding downloadable versions for the iPod or PSP – it’s all about the added value.

And the best market is obviously the thousands of consumers who have been chomping at the bit waiting for the HD war to end. I would suspect that their will be an initial ‘blip’ in sales and then again at Christmas (when prices are reportedly going to go down) – gotta love the low-hanging fruit.

Tags: Business Stuff, Experience Design Stuff, Marketing Stuff, Retail Stuff, Technology Stuff
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