By Leo Valiquette
Do you remember that Knorr commercial about how it had reduced sodium in its packaged side dishes?
Global advertising agency DDB Worldwide took a clever approach to promote a relatively humdrum message by portraying the perspective of that one individual unhappy about sodium reduction. It came up with an ad that features a despondent little salt shaker neglected at the family dinner table who trudges out of the house into a cold dark world.
Such creativity, says Jeff Swystun, is the most powerful force in business, especially in today’s world where technology has fuelled social interaction between consumers and the brands they use like never before. In this new reality, advertisers and marketers can no longer afford to focus on connecting people to brands. They must instead focus on connecting people to people.
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This is the first in a continuing series of articles that examine the state of the ecosystem necessary to successfully bring technology to market. Based on dozens of interviews with entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors, business leaders, academics, tech-transfer experts and policy makers, this series looks at what is working and what can be improved in the go-to-market ecosystem in the United States, Canada and Britain. We invite your feedback.
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
“Companies that can’t clearly articulate their customer and market are not real serious companies, they are research projects … Engineering and marketing need to work together from the get go.”
So said Ronald Weissman in a recent interview. And Weissman should know. He is chair of the Software Special Industry Group at Band of Angels, Silicon Valley’s oldest angel investment organization. The Band has seeded over 200 companies in the past 16 years, yielding more than 40 profitable exits via acquisition and nine via initial public offerings on Nasdaq.
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By Leo Valiquette
The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is one of Canada’s leading marketing organizations, tasked with making the most of the fact that, when it comes to having a globally recognized brand in the international tourism industry, Canada ranks number one.
CTC president and CEO Michele McKenzie spoke at the Ottawa Chamber’s monthly Eggs n’ Icons breakfast this morning about how the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver served as a platform for promoting that brand to the world and how, in the Olympics’ “afterglow,” the challenge remains on how to capitalize on all that positive press.
International tourism is a huge and growing market. According to McKenzie, emerging economies are firing shots across the bow of traditional, more established tourism destinations that must scramble to maintain market share, redefine their messaging and ensure their brand remains visible in markets such as Brazil, China and Korea. These emerging markets are experiencing dramatic growth in the volume of outbound travellers versus “traditional” sources of foreign tourists, such as France, Germany and Great Britain.
While Canada has experienced steady growth in the volume of foreign visitors, 80 per cent of our tourism industry remains driven by domestic tourists. While this is a rich and valued customer base, McKenzie acknowledged, and rightly so, that it is limited, especially compared to a market such as China, which expects to have 100 million (yes, that number is correct) outbound tourists heading to international destinations by 2020.
As a big brand with a premium product to sell, we need to put ourselves on the radar of these huge new customer segments. As with any business, we can’t afford to keep most of our eggs in one basket. Market diversification is crucial to long-term sustainability.
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By Linda Forrest
…rather than what they need?
This question is inspired by Starbucks‘ announcement that Trenta-sized iced drinks are being introduced as a result of customer demand. These 31 oz. caffeinated beverages are still dwarfed by other options on the market – the Super Big Gulp comes to mind – but the supersizing of these drinks begs the question posed in the headline. As you can see in this handy illustration, the Trenta contains more liquid than the human stomach can readily hold.
In addition, it sees people drinking up to 230 calories in the sweetened versions of the drinks contained therein, and because they’re consuming caffeinated drinks rather than the water our bodies need to operate optimally, their nutritive value is almost nil. Yet, Starbucks claims the product meets an unmet customer desire. One could read into its siren logo: Is the company beckoning a customer base with dismal health, weight and fitness with yet another BIGGER option that isn’t good for them?
Ellen Degeneres has a funny take on the introduction of the Trenta.
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By Leo Valiquette
First up, a very happy New Year wish from all of us here at inmedia Public Relations.
Many of you were no doubt in the same boat as my wife and me over the holidays, at home with one or more young ones to entertain for two weeks during their break from school. Santa’s leavings only keep energetic rug rats occupied for so long. With various cousins in the west end of Ottawa all six years of age and under, the challenge for the parents was to find fun activities all could enjoy that did not involve exhaustive car trips or aimless visits to toy stores and pet shops.
So, given the vast expanse of Ottawa’s Countryside, what could we do that was easy, convenient and fun in the days leading up to Christmas Eve? Answering that question yielded an interesting example of how a business can position itself in its market niche and build goodwill with potential customers.
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By Leo Valiquette
