╠ Because it all counts ╣

In my catching up on TV I came across a set of coles ads advertising that 'it all counts' and detailing the ways in which you save money with them. There is one of these I would like to draw your attention to and it goes like this.

You shouldn't be taxed for being a woman, so Coles is paying the GST on all feminine hygiene products for you.

I'm not sure about all of you female types out there but is 11% off a tampon a real winner for you? Is it a deciding factor in where you shop? Do you feel particularly cared for? As far as I have heard feminine hygiene isn't something you really talk about too much so a big conglomerate saying they care isn't something I see as really convincing.

Now also the other problem is as a male I feel completely ignored by this campaign. Granted us males don't really need anything like this on a monthly basis. However the point is that sales work by being sustained by full price purchases. So as a male our purchases are funding something with which we receive no value unless we are particularly whipped by our significant others.

So I just have to question this particular idea, alienating half of the population for a relatively ineffective minor price cut. What are your thoughts?

╠ Is waiting for when I'll apparently love coles ╣

Now I must start this post with saying I am actually a woolies boy, I've worked there, got the discount card and also got the credit card. So therefore my view of Coles may be a bit skewed.

However one thing that has been popping up on Facebook is 'Which you'll love coles item are you?'. What makes it more curious is that people are doing it and liking it. When prompted as to why the answer I got was you have to shop there to understand it. Seems shopping at Coles makes you part of some special club...

Whilst I am confused at the succesfulness of this quiz I must admit it is quite good for Coles. Once you get an item you identify with that item and I would think that in most cases you would pick up and have a look at yourself as a product. When you're raking in 4000 of these quizzes a month that's a pretty good investment for something that probably cost them nothing.

It's also an eye opener because it shows that for some people at least the value that they must get back for interracting with a brand isn't high at all.

FYI I'm you'll love coles milk apparently...

╠ Victoria Burns, Samboy Earns ╣

Some of you have probably seen the Samboy is Back facebook group for donating to the bushfire appeal. When Samboy started this group I doubt they would have believed this could ever be so successful. The idea itself is one you would never really believe to be all that successful. Basically come Feb 15th whatever group has the most members hilst having 'Samboy is back' in the title wins $10,000 and a bunch of chips.

One user took this as an opportunity to start a group that will donate the money to the bushfire appeal and within days has 50,000+ members. If this group wins then basically Samboy has inadvertently donated $10,000 to a current hot appeal while probably getting a return equal to if that amount was spent on advertising. In just this group alone they've paid less than 20c per person to see the 'samboy is back tagline' and this is without factoring in any other groups created in this competition that has been open for months. It's odd to think that something like this could turn what seems like a not too optimistic campaign into a hugely succesful one.

One thing I have been thinking about recently is what companies would do to promote their donations. Companies as a whole are soulless and only interested in doing things for profit so I was thinking of the best way to donate whilst making it known that you are giving without wasting money on advertising that could go to the donation. The two chain supermarkets have taken two different approaches.

Woolworths gave a cool $1 million off the bat, whilst Coles is donating a day of profit. You have the woolworths option which is most likely known by little more than the staff themselves whilst Coles is common knowledge and has facebook groups and the such as well as causing people to use Coles services for the day. Personally I doubt the profit donated will probably be as high as woolworths yet Coles have built a lot of brand equity.

Whilst it technically is not really the point of donating to get a little back but when it comes down to it why not get a little back, be it the Facebook Samboy group leader getting to keep the samboy chips for her gracious donation or Brands ssimply getting recognized for their donation. Don't just donate, donate smart because not only does it promote you but it promotes the appeal itself which encourages more donation. It's win win.