╠ Who needs the truth, when lies are more believable? ╣

So over at the good old Facebooks I was invited to this curious event. The event instructed people to go 30 days without eating Arnotts shapes.

The event claims Arnott's have 'snuck' palm oil into their products and are therefore lying about their claim of using vegetable oil. The side effect to this being that palm oil is a 'leading cause of deforestation'.

So therefore to save the forests of the world everyone should stop eating Arnott's for 30 days. The curious thing is that the event offers no proof, nothing more than one paragraph of information. This event currently has over 3600 attendees and it's still going considering the event will only end come Oct 22nd.

So with zero actual proof that's 3600 that have potentially changed their habits for this event. The fact that it's 30 days as well is quite interesting because if you do something straight for 21 days, say not eat shapes, then any cravings are meant to leave your system...of course this is on average and ignores things such as cigarettes. This points out that it will not simply be 30 days of damage, but there could also be follow on.

So who's behind it, surely some random page that no longer has any admins? No just one person, who if they are fake has gone to a lot of effort to be fake. The amusing point from here is that effectiveness leads to damage and damage has to be paid. So Miss Amy Smith I hope you have very deep pockets when Mr. Arnott comes to sue for damages.

╠ To lie, to cheat or to steal? Where is the line ╣

This is an old campaign and for those of you who don't remember it basically this video was posted, went viral and then went to such a stage that it got actual media coverage on TV. What was criticized though is that it was a complete lie, and when asked if it were true, lied some more.

From stories like this there has been a sort of established guideline that marketing and promotions should not be fake. However I believe that is too broad. I don't think the problem here is that it was fake...personally I actually think its because you can't tell the brand of the jacket and therefore have no idea what you're meant to be getting an interest in. However branching along the fake vein I believe where they went wrong is lying. The video was fake yes, however I don't think that's a big deal, it may irk some. But clearly coming out and saying it isn't fake and then doing a 180. That cost them dearly.

It's always good to get other peoples thoughts though. What do you believe? Is being fake even too far? Or do you believe I may be onto something with separating fake from lie?

╠ Not so Hidden Pizza ╣

Yesterday I'd finally seen enough of this hidden pizza on facebook and twitter to actually trial it. Seems everyone else had a similar idea and thus caused quite a line leading to a 45 min line ride before the pizza.

Now for those of you completely out of the loop there is a hidden pizza restaurant in Melbourne. The idea is that you find the number via the yellow pages website, call up, order your pizza and they give you an address. Now the trick is that the Pizza is free and the restaurant is only open for 2 weeks.

So who is possibly sponsoring this campaign? A Pizza company? Pizza product company? Drinks company? I puzzled my head on this thinking about it. Then I discovered the answer Yellow Pages.

Now depending on which blog you read some people think its amazing, others less so.

My personal opinion is that it is effective and now yellow pages is a little more prevalent in my mind....however it isn't enough to change my habits. So yes I think better of yellow pages and remember its there...But its not enough to stop me using google which is currently much more integrated into my everyday life and also more powerful in most cases.

Now this is only if you recognize Yellow Pages as the sponsor, which is the hard bit. You go to this restaurant and there is no branding at all. It literally is branded as its own restaurant. So the entire feel is nice and everything, but no mention of anything yellow pagey to make you like that brand.

So the actual feeling that I got is actually that perhaps I would like to go to the hidden pizza restaurant again...therefore my brand loyalty is built for that more than yellow pages. Further more you have to wonder how much is spent on this. It isn't a cheap excersize to build and setup something big. Once you consider the time its open, setup and other expenses as well as the fact people will come back multiple times in some cases I'd estimate cost per person at $5 which would be a really hard cost to recoup.

That being said there are still other elements to look at. This is a unique event and for Yellow pages this makes them look quite smart which is good for their business relations. So I'd say this would be a great excersize for increasing business attention for them. This is especially good considering yellow pages is definitely something that would be in decline.

So overall I don't think it's worth it on the consumer level but on the business level I think its incredibly clever marketing and overall I have to say kudos...even though my pizza did seem undercooked...>_>

╠ Of Facebook and Ads ╣

With Critical Hit's launch I decided to use Facebook as the best tool for quick advertising. However I quickly ran into a pitfall. For those of you facebook users think of the amount of ads you see and the amount you click...very minimal.

With facebook ads I learned that they are best used for a non-demanding purpose. Simply showing a product and a price isn't enough. You have to sell the message and that message is easier sold if the link is say look at this site or look at this video and stuff like that so that they don't feel like it's blatant advertising demanding you buy now.

Facebook is certainly a powerful tool. But you need to learn how to use it right.

...And that's the story of how I wasted $50. More blunders coming soon.

╠ Critical Delay! ╣

Hey everyone. You may have noticed a large amount of not much going on around here. The reasoning for this is that I have devoted my time to setting up my own business. This business is first of all a learning tool to not only test my marketing skills but management as well, but also a god ay to try and embrace something I care about in that of Video games. Critical Hit as it is called is a video game and anime merchandise e-commerce retail operation.

Using this will allow me to actually apply my ideas to a real business, hopefully with success. So expect to see more real life examples with actual outcomes. I'm excited and I hope you are too.

To see the site in action head over to www.criticalhit.com.au

╠ Boy is dead around here! ╣

Apologies for my inactivity around here. Every year I have periods of heavy activity and unfortunately some things fall by the wayside. One thing I have found is that marketing is definitely something you have to stay active in. The longer you go without using it or thinking about it you forget.

I fear for the marketing grads who have to wait 6 months to get their first job and don't do anything active like blogging.

Anyway I was walking to work the other day and I noticed this truck drive past. I thought it was one of the most clever thigns I've seen in a while. It attracts attention wherever it goes but also has positive connotations. The material they used is commonly associated with fresh or health which is a good thing for water. On top of this what I think is really good is that it probably wasn't that expensive so it's certainly a win-win situation. So kudos Another Bloody Water

╠ My Bank isn't a bank! ╣

One thing that has left me pondering over the last year or so is the shift in banks. Some of the advertisements are almost literally trying to say that they aren't actually a bank. Commonwealth advertising their 'unbank like conversations' or others advertising that their workers have the best work-life balance...

I'm not sure about the rest of you but when I go to a bank I go there because they have special attributes and benefits suited to a banklike profession and to have banklke conversations.

It's amusing that the bank as a type of institution is such a damaged reputation that those under it have to pretend they aren't to get ahead.

However on top of this another interesting fact is that they're all doing it together. Each bank is trying not to be a bank in its own oddly similar way.

This change is sort of evidence to one of the biggest things I've learned from my years of studying marketing. Innovation does not guarantee success...instead what you have to do is find a way to be the same different.

If you can make sense of that maybe you should be telling the banks how to be unbanklike next.

╠ Is making no money really the better option? ╣

I'm sure a lot of you have started to hear about the SarcMark. A punctuation mark that can be added to any text to infer sarcasm. In theory its a good idea, and there is demand for it. However the issue that seems to be stirring people to rebel against it is that it costs $1.99 to download.

Now the reason this is so bad is that people don't like to pay for software over the internet normally. Those who aren't scared of internet transactions are usually savvy enough to find ways around paying for things, even if illegally.

So now you're left with a problem. You've got this little mark that noone understands because only fractions of people have downloaded it. This means that instead of having peer pressure to downlad it because everyone else has it, instead there is ridicule for being silly enough to pay.

But the question stands as to what was the alternative? Not charging? Where would the profit be in such an activity?

Well my recommendation would be first off that if you're going to get a lot of people getting this advertising on your website can do wonders. Further more once everyone is stating to get one you can release premium ones for sale so that people can use sarcasm in style. At the moment there is just the basic one...but imagine how cool you'd be if you had a hollow one...or during christmas time one wit a santa hat. Now these aren't million dollar ideas...but overall they would probably make the business more than just initially charging.

╠ Experimenting outside your field ╣

This picture is of the soon to be opened Ludia's bar in Japan. What relevance is this?

Well this bar actually originally featured in a video game series called Dragon Quest. The bar itself will also serve themed meals and beverages.

Now this brings up an interesting point of whether such endeavours will be successful. Now it's hard to know just what the Japanese market is like, however thinking of it in a more local context I cannot see it succeeding unfortunately.

Gamers are those who usually spend their time inside...valued bar patrons spend the majority of their time outside. Thus wherein lies an issue.

However I hope that this type of thing does succeed as I would love to have the potential to build some video game locales :P

╠ Mistakes make money ╣

I came across an interesting ad the other day(left). This ad mentions the existance of a PSP-4000. A console that does not exist and therefore was taken up by gaming sites as news of a possible leak towards the future.

One simple ad has generated huge press simply because it stated support for a non-existant console. This is only doubled when the blogs post again saying 'It was a mistake'.

The amusing thing is that the ad will have no backlash...just a lot more valuable targeted impressions. All because this item supports a non existent console.

It makes you question whether this mistake was in fact on purpose or could lead to future accidentally on purpose mistakes.

╠ Competition drives ambition ╣

One thing that I have discovered in life is that one of the easiest way to drive an individuals ambition is competition. Challenges that must be met or overcome in order to feel pride.

The greatest source of this is other individuals with like minded ideals. Two people competing for the same goal will cause greater outcomes than an individual.

Even for the loser, even though they lost they still would have competed harder, so in cases where there is not limited results, where everyone can benefit from harder work. For example high school where everyone trying harder pushes everyone else along. MHS and Macrob in Melbourne are examples of this.

So overall competition is good...But that leaves one thing. What happens in a blue ocean market space, where there is no competition, limitless opportunities and no one to challenge you to do your best?

Do you continue the momentum? Or does you ambition fade? Or are there other ways to drive it?

╠ Whose Mcfault is it? ╣

McDonald's has been slammed by a parents council about their advertising efforts this year. One of the points as highlighted by the Gen Y marketing blog is that they were slammed for sponsoring athletics.

The question I have is where does the fault for this product really lie if this is perceived as a negative outcome. Is McDonald's really to blame for attempting to increase their brand perception by supporting a non negative activity? Is not the role of a business to make profits? Is it the athletics organization fault for accepting money from what may be perceived an unethical source.

Does the problem fall to the parents? Should they be making sure their kids only get their athletics in environments away from advertising aimed at them? Is it the kids fault for being sponges?

Personally I think it does fall to the parents. Markets work via demand. If parents conciously took the effort to demand more appropriate advertising it would work up the chain. A complete boycott would lead to the creation of new athletic alternatives where the parents will pay instead.

The point of the matter is that you need to pay for athletics and McDonald's is subsidizing that for the parents. If they don't want that, they have to cough up the equivalent amount. This sponsorship exists because the market supports it. Parents are currently happy to have their children advertised to rather than pay for it.

╠ The internet is stalking me! ╣

So via facebook everyone can see photos of you, twitter can share your every thought and foursquares allow people to know where you are. Is it just me or does the internet have enough information to make any stalker happy?

With each of these opportunities there are chances for organizations to access this information as well and try and use it for their own advantage.

I have to ask at what point will we rebel? At what point will the internet ask for too much information? We seem to all have a sharing fetish and I believe its something that will come back to bite us.

╠ Apologies with meaning ╣

I got an interesting email earlier today which basically said that ebay was sorry for an inconvenience I may have experienced with my last transaction. Now I don't really know what inconvenience they were referring to...but they attached a 10% off voucher. Basically meaning I can now go and buy something big and shiny and save 10% after I just spent $7 on a trinket.

At first I was confused because I wondered how ebay could do it considering they don't own what they 'sell'. But it makes sense...it's a nice offer, encourages repeat purchase and actually means something because it literally is out of their back pocket.

Additionally what I like is it is conforming to a norm that people are used to from bricks and mortar retailers and using it to segway them into online auctions.

So Kudos ebay...now off to buy a yacht!

╠ You're in the way! ╣

This picture to the left is what came up when I went to read an article that caught my eye in an RSS Feed. However instead of being able to read the article this video popped up over the start of it and began to play on its own accord. Furthermore there was no button I could press to remove it or drag it away.

So I figured I may as well let it end and hope it disappears. When it finished it just stayed there so my entire point of reading the article was ruined. I had to refresh and hope it wouldn't load again.

So basically this ad has said 'Instead of that thing you wanted, look at me!'. This is the worst kind of advertising. Yes advertising is normally an interruption but this is a step beyond that, this is a disruption and detour, and on top of this at the cost of downloads as it did seem to be quite a high quality video it was displaying.

Advertising like this is horrible because it hurts both brands. You don't agree with the messge of the ad because of your emotional state of annoyance and you dislike the site for allowing such poor advertising. It's a ridiculous lose-lose situation and I hope to never see it again.

╠ Allocating consumer costs correctly ╣

I recently discovered the haste with which stock can clear from an Aldi store. If you want that special item that they have every week then you better get in before 11am on the day of launch.

The thing about Aldi is it allocates the cost paid by the consumer accurately. Aldi consumers are not necessarily monetarily rich, but instead time rich. Therefore they can go to the extra effort.

I wondered why Aldi didn't simply raise prices to meet demand. However it goes back to the time rich nature of consumers. Yes, there are people who miss out a lot of the time, however most of their consumers are time rich meaning they can head in early. If they really want the product then they will be in at 9am. So whilst you may have people in throughout the week asking for the product, a lot of them only want to look at it. It's not unreasonable to assume that 90% of people who want the product may be in early on that Thursday.

What makes a good business is to set your costs to the consumer focussed around what they're most willing to pay. Are they time poor, travel distance poor or just money poor. Making sure you align your business with what your customers are rich in means your customers will be overall more satisfied. Another example of this is 7-11 which survives due to catering to time poor consumers.

╠ What is Expensive? ╣

Throughout Uni I've always heard about how things add value to a product, make people willing to pay more for it. Basically working as if people have an exact dollar value they're willing to pay for an item that fits into a product category and then additional for extra components and branding.

However in practice it isn't like this. On my most recent large purchase I was negotiating a price down for an outdated display item and I realized I don't have an exact price that I won't pay a cent more. Instead what the situation is in most cases is as the price rises, your percentage chance of purchase goes down.

What this is known as in economics is price elasticity, how much demand changes with an increase in price. The greater the change,the more elastic a product is. The elements that reduce the elasticity of a product are elements such as brand and reduced alternatives. Basically it is shaped by the opportunity cost of not purchasing it. Is today your only opportunity? Do you need it right away? Someone saying yes to these will be more price inelastic and therefore will be a higher chance of purchasing the same product for a higher cost.

So pricing isn't about hitting a magic number that everyone will buy at, it's about picking a value that will create the highest percentage chance of purchase in the average situation without sacrificing too much profitability.

To finish I'd just like to share what was one of my favourite thoughts on this issue. The definition of expensive is wrong, instead of just being a high cost item it is instead an item that is priced above your expected expenditure. Or in relation to my explanation priced at an area with low purchase intention.

╠ Hypocrisy has a place in the market ╣

One man. One mission. To get a Windows 7 Whopper. Over in Japan to celebrate the release of Winodws 7, Burger King (Who we in Australia all know as Hungry Jacks) has created the Windows 7 Whopper. 7 Beef patties for the low cost of 777 yen.

I find it amusing how Hungry Jacks can get away with this, however McDonald's as the market leader is slammed heavily for being the case of obesity. As the biggest they are the easiest target. McDonald's has to adapt to the demands of the ethics spouting consumers who believe they are the evil of the world.

The thing I find even more amusing is that McDonald's facing these concerns and adapting their menu to the complaining consumers desires hasn't hurt them. If anything it has made them a stronger market leader. In normal circumstances you would think that putting limitations onto a player in a market compared to its competitors, would disadvantage it until it loses it's competitive edge.

So in this case acting ethically was the more beneficial option. Though this raises the question why if healthy is competitive, such a burger would exist as the Windows 7 Whopper.

The idea of ethical actions leading to benefits for a company is known as the Business Case for CSR. CHeck it out if you want to find more about the ethical side of corporations.

╠ Why there is no PSPhone ╣

One thing that I find more and more as I study the depths of marketing is that a lot of decisions that I originally thought as stupid now have grounded theory behind them.

A rumour or fan desire that I've been hearing for years is the PSPhone. A PSP that multi functions as a phone.

However there is a clear point as to why this won't work. Phone's life cycles are minimal. The iPhone is probably the longest living, where one model can hold strong for an entire year. Consoles are different, they have a lot longer life cycles.

The reason Consoles work is that they have a wide library of games that they build up over the years. Reduce that time frame and games are reduced. Once you reach that point what is the point of having a PSP? You ay as well just get a handheld computer for PC games.

The only way to conquer this is through digital distribution where everything is guaranteed to be forward compatible. An example of thisdone right is the iPhone. The PSP is clearly trying to catch onto this with the PSP Go. However belief in the success of it is near rock bottom.

Some markets are mearly not meant to have crossover. Add too many things to your phone and all of a sudden you face other problems like battery life as well.

So to all my gamer readers out there, I hopethis stops you holding your breath for the PSPhone.

╠ The Paradox of choice ╣

Normally in Uni I'm faced with the same boring stuff every day, however one of my classes is a little different. There is no textbook. Therefore the learning isn't restricted, the content can alter and variate. This is valuable because if there's anything that can be said for reality, things don't stay the same for long.

Today in this class an interesting theory came up, 'The Paradox of Choice'. This theory refers to the choices we have when we go out to purchase something. I'll try to keep it simple. First of all it can be inferred that for every purchase you make, your happiness with that purchase is gauged by the performance of the product, relative to your expectations. By this method it is possible to be dissatisfied with a good product if you had ridiculously high expectations. So what's the secret to happiness? Low expectations!

Now this is where choice factors in. If you have one choice of a product your expectations won't be too high because it's not customized at all, it's basically all that's there and if you want a product in that category, you have to have that one. Now if you had two options things are a little different. You can weigh up the choices and pick the one that suits you a little better. But this comes at a cost, since you're no longer just stuck with what's there and you have a choice, your expectations are raised. This increases with every additional product choice. The more options there are, the more likely you are to find a product that suits all of your requirements better and therefore the better you feel the product has to be to reinforce that you made the right choice.

Thinking on this further I found it to apply to me a lot. Especially with technology there are so many options. Therefore the one you pick has to do everything you want and more for it to actually exceed your expectations and make you happy with your purchase.

So theoretically the best purchase you will ever make is when you walk into a store and the only thing left on the shelf is one sole product that satisfies your needs, however was there anything else you would still pick this one.

This also interestingly ties into my work where we're now told to take a brief reach into our customers mind and then stick to and try and focus on one sole product.

For any of you quite interested in this please do give the video below a look, it is quite interesting and the speaker himself is also a bit witty and humourous to boot. The point I'm referring to here is mainly referenced at around 10 mins in.