Cultural Snapshot

IKEA is in the news as it has decided to remove some authentic Swedish food brands from its shelves and replace them with generic IKEA packaging.

Is it to provide flexibility in order to change suppliers when necessary (ding! ding!), a decision to promote the IKEA brand to a wider global audience, or an opportunity for IKEA to enter the food market in a big way?

The obvious answer (and the answer provided by IKEA PR) is that it allows for greater flexibility with suppliers. The nice way of portraying this is that they can maintain a certain level of quality and standards. Of course it also means they can play hardball with their suppliers and demand better terms. Fair enough.

But does their new food strategy hurt their brand perception?

A discussion was started on Tom H. C. Anderson’s blog and I really enjoyed the discussion. An excerpt that caught my eye was this one:

Nationality as a branding strategy has been on the wane recently it seems. According to a study my firm did in 2007, only 38% of US college students knew that IKEA was a Swedish brand (24% assumed it was American).

Besides appearing to me to be a “Such as Maps” moment, I can see why IKEA might think their new food strategy is a valid one since many people don’t know or even care that IKEA is Swedish.

Does it matter that some very key influencers combined with the network effect of Social Media could influence the buying patterns of the larger mass of people? Do a small group of vocal, influential and motivated people armed with social media sites and blogs have disproportionate influence? Yes, but does it matter to a brand?

As always, it depends.

If the brand relies on authenticity or some sort of “coolness” factor, then the bad word of mouth from key influencers can affect whether or not the brand suffers with fewer and fewer customers. It doesn’t even matter if these influencers are customers themselves. Time will tell and in cases like these, market research could be the answer! (*ahem*)

Did you see the feature length commercial last summer called “Transformers:Dark of the Moon”? They sprinkled in some dialogue and “acting” to showcase 71 different products in various explosions. Brandchannel has recognized this feat of marketing chutzpah with an award for achievement in Product Placement in a Single Film. Kudos.

The winner of the award for overall product placement is (quelle surprise) Apple. Apple took this award last year as well. The company’s products were featured in 17 of the 40 movies that made it to number one at the box office. So that means that (carry the one…uh…argh, math is hard) just under half of all the big hit movies featured an Apple product.

An interesting fact about product placement of Apple products is that Apple does not pay for, or seek out product placement deals. While Ford and Coke pay mucho dinero, as do almost all the other companies, Apple has always allowed film makers to use their products. Word on the street has it that it never asks for payment, but requests that the product not be shown in a bad light or with negative connotations.

The real reason their products are featured is because traditionally most if not all directors and screenwriters use Macs to write the movies. It also doesn’t hurt that the computers look good on film and were less common than PCs and stood out in the various scenes. Now iPhones and iPads are the sexy and cool new gadgets and the main character in a movie has to look cool and smart.

Well, I’m off to the commercials (I mean movies)…

Bonus: Those of you old enough to remember “Wayne’s World” might remember the classic scene where Wayne winks at the camera while doing his product placement. Yep, there is an award for that too.

It’s Valentine’s Day and that means there will be a lot of chocolate given today as gifts and eaten with gusto. What is interesting about chocolate is that not every Canadian eats chocolate the same way.

Some marketers found this out with research (*ahem*). Others only found out after sales dipped in certain areas of the country, and then did some research on why sales were so different in other parts of Canada like Quebec. It turns out Quebeckers are good at exercising control when it comes to large chocolate bars. Quebeckers do not want to compromise on taste and they appreciate the better value of buying a big bar and they can stop after a few bites and save the rest for later.

This behaviour is very different from the people in Toronto (for example) who simply eat the whole chocolate bar and wish to have portion controlled sizes to help them with their caloric (or chocoloric) intake.

If you are going to sell chocolate to Quebeckers, make sure it tastes great and is perceived as a great value. The bigger the bar, the better, especially if it tastes great.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

What do you need to know when you have a research project and you need to hire another moderator because you don’t speak French, Spanish, Cantonese…or an Italian moderator needs you?

Understanding all the objectives

It is important to respect the overall research objectives of the end client, but it is also crucial to understand the objectives of your research partner. Make sure that all the objectives are made clear at the beginning, and throughout the project as needs change. The hiring moderator also needs to know that they can trust their partner to probe and help out with all the objectives of the research study.

Respecting the methodology (Hired moderators, take note!)

If you are organizing groups in many markets, it makes sense to use the same methodology in all markets. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a different market requires a different methodology and change it without informing the hiring moderator. Even if you have a preferred methodology, as a hired moderator you must set aside your preferences.

Sharing results before the groups

While in theory you do not want to bias your moderating partner with findings in other markets, sharing some past findings can be more productive than any slight bias may be disruptive. If the findings are different in another language or culture, the hired moderator will know where to probe to find out why. For example, if there is a concept that does very well in English Canada, but does not work well in Quebec, the Quebec moderator will need to know to probe deeply on why the concept is not working in Quebec if it ranks dead last. Probing may uncover that it is something strategic or merely a translation issue.

Getting all materials translated

This one is obvious, n’est-ce pas? It is all too common to receive concepts, taglines, statements or products that need translating. We all know that a lot of these materials are created just-in-time in our fast paced world and this is another reason why you should not do your foreign language groups first. Translators need time, not just to translate the words, but also to translate the meaning.

It is worth mentioning that while many moderators are very bilingual, they are not necessarily good translators and are probably terrible copy writers. You wouldn’t expect a moderator to write the ad, so don’t ask them to translate the ad. There are agencies (*ahem*) who specialize in adapting for other markets. It is always a good idea to use local translators as well.

Make sure to ship the translated material to the hired moderator as soon as possible. It is quite possible that the concepts are not literal translations and you don’t want the observers to be surprised as they watch the groups.

Simultaneous translation

“A moderator is only as good as his/her translator”. Scary, but true. Make sure you pay as much attention (or more!) to your translator as you do with the food. Interpreters should get a copy of the materials in advance so they can prepare – let them know what kind of research it is (groups, dyads, triads), what kind of respondent (teens, doctors, Moms) to help them get into the right mindset.

A great interpreter will not only translate in real time, but they will also mimic voices and tones. As an example, “Yeah, sure” can have very different meanings depending on the tone of voice and delivery.

If you know a great interpreter, book them early as they will be very busy.

One last thing – as great as they are, any interpreter will be talking for two, four, six or even eight hours with the same voice and they can only translate one comment at a time.

Moderating

As a hiring moderator for groups, you will likely hear spontaneous reactions to the groups (and the hired moderator) as you sit with your clients. There are a few tips if you are the hired moderator that can help.

1. Ask people to speak up and to speak one at a time so that the translator can translate!

2. Use Flip charts a lot. What the translator doesn’t say, the observers can read.

3. Make to summarize frequently if you are not sure the translator caught it all the first time.

Be extra careful when saying the coding of concepts so as not to confuse “F” for “S”, “M” for “N” or the B/D/P/T combinations. Very important: In Quebec, don’t use the letter “Q” as it can phoenetically have a rather rude and vulgar connotation.

And don’t be shy about describing body language such as “why all the frowns for this concept?” or “wow, I have never seen so many smiles for a commercial before”.

After the groups

Spend some time after the groups with just the other moderator. A quick debrief with your fellow moderator can avoid many problems. This can be a very worthwhile exercise as you can make sure all the important comments were translated and communicated.

A growing trend with web sites in general, and blogs in particular is the popularity of aggregator sites that collect other people’s content and publish it all together.

In the old days, (2003) there were two kinds of successful blogs – Linkers and Thinkers. At the time, it was the “Thinkers” blogs that were popular as they were long form reads and were written by people with some sort of authority on the subject they wrote about. These “Thinker” type blogs are still popular in their niches, but with the rise of online advertising and the push for more and more page views, a few of the so called “Linker” blogs are now the most popular. They have a new high falutin’ name of “Content Curators” and one of the most popular content curators on the web is the Huffington Post which just launched a Quebec specific blog today.

“But it won’t be a sibling rivalry; it will be a powerful collaboration, a reflection of our commitment to being the hub of reporting, comprehensive curation, group blogging and engagement across all of Canada”

It’s called Le HuffPost Quebec, and there is nothing Provincial about it…(Ba doom, crash!)

Check it out HERE.

Valentines Day is next Tuesday and can you guess how much money will be spent this year in the United States? Close to 15 Billion dollars will be spent this year on chocolate, flowers, teddy bears and jewelry, up from 14 Billion last year.

The average amount a man spends is $158 (Please don’t tell my wife!) and the average amount a woman spends is $75.

So why do we do this every February 14th? (Other than as an excuse to sell more cards and gifts in the middle of the winter?) Is it because we all want to celebrate in the name of St. Valentine of Rome or St. Valentine of Terni? Is it because we love to remember old pagan festivals of fertility in pre Christian times?

It is cold in our Canadian winters so maybe it does have to do with “fertility festivals” – are there a lot of babies born in early December? (Note: I think a LOT more research is needed – please tell my wife. -ed)

I’m pretty sure it is not to remember the St. Valentines Day Massacre ordered by (allegedly) Al Capone. As gruesome an event as that was, at least Al decided to send flowers. After all, it was Valentines Day.

Have fun this Valentines Day, even if you do not have a special someone to enjoy it with – treat yourself to something nice!

*This infographic was found using the ThinkInsights tool by Google labs.

This sunday is Super Bowl XLVI and that means all those expensive ads will be shown and talked about, dissected and rated with as much energy as the game itself. (I’mma let you finish, but…) Last year we talked about some of the best Super Bowl ads of ALL TIME. Click HERE to see.

This year, many companies are targeting the “second screens” people will be using during the game. With many viewers using an iPhone, iPad and a few using some other phones or tablets, advertisers are creating ads and campaigns that will reach fans on these small devices. TV is still the big kahuna for ads with prices reaching upwards of an average of 3.5 million dollars US for a 30 second spot, but online ads and even apps are being used to reach consumers during the Super Bowl.

The use of second screens is a growing trend and I am looking forward to the results from this years Super Bowl, both on the field and with the ads. Is the ad buying frenzy over hyped? Or are the ads actually too cheap for the impact they deliver?

The TV ads will be talked about on Monday morning, so head on over to YouTube to see the ones you missed, and the ones you want to see again.

I like this one by Kia – it’s like that little elf is inside my head!

And if you can’t make it to Indy to watch the game in person, take a look at the zipline they have set up for visitors in the Super Bowl village!

We have a tradition up here in Canada (on the 26th of December) called Boxing Day where legions of bargain hunters brave the cold and venture out to the malls to grab large TVs, video game consoles, DVDs and clothes at fat discounts.

It seems like the day originated in the U.K. when the rich people would hand out day old leftovers from the Christmas feast to their servants and slaves in a box as payment for the past year. It has now come to its natural evolution as a day of insane discount shopping.

Boxing Day is a relatively new phenomenon in Canada as shopping has expanded and grown in the past few decades. For example, in Quebec, stores have only been allowed to open on the 26th for the past 15 years or so, and even now they are only allowed to open at 1:00 PM. There are still a few municipalities in Canada that do not allow boxing day sales.

The majority of Canada does enjoy Boxing Day sales and now this phenomenon has expanded to not only Boxing Week sales, but some stores offer “pre-boxing day” sales BEFORE Christmas. And the insanity is complete.

Boxing Day is quite similar to Black Friday in the US, but comes at the end of the holiday shopping season instead of at the beginning. If the two shopping extravaganzas are combined, they form a nice set of “book ends” to the holiday shopping madness.

I found this clip on Youtube to give you a sense of the Canadian Boxing Day holiday shopping madness. Notice how incredibly crowded it is, yet in a very Canadian way it is very orderly. People are patient, lining up and probably saying “excuse me” and “sorry” a lot as they move about the crowds.

Enjoy! (Click on the picture to see the video…)

Have you heard the news? Tablets are hot, and by tablets I mean iPads. 15 million iPads were sold during last Christmas season while the other tablets may have sold a few hundred thousand. (Maybe) Single use tablet devices like Kindles have sold better with a few million sold.

Since many people now own iPads and surf the web while sitting on their couch, the term “Sofa shopping” is creeping into the retailer’s lexicon. (That’s fancy for “vocabulary”)

This term is starting to be used by some during the US Black Friday weekend and is used for “Sofa Sunday”. So now we have Black Friday, Sofa Sunday and Cyber Monday. While not as common or well known in Canada, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are appearing in Canada with various retailers.

Some of the results from this last holiday season look very promising for the future of online mobile retailing thanks to the iPad. The details can be found in this handy dandy report from Adobe Digital Marketing Insights. Some of the highlights are that iPad users are three times more likely to make a purchase than smartphone users, and iPad shoppers spend 50% more than smartphone shoppers and 20% more than computer shoppers.

Research done by IBM also found that mobile sales doubled from the previous year, and accounted for 11% of all online shopping this holiday season.

The trend for Sofa shopping is up, up, up and away!

Forbes magazine recently ran a blog piece by Larry Downes entitled “Why Best Buy is Going out of Business…Gradually” which created an online stir. The gist of the article was that Best Buy was going the way of the dinosaur, due to horrible customer service and an inability to adapt to new pressures in the market.

After the initial brouhaha, he published a followup with some great stats on page views, the effect of Social Media in spreading the word and some more great insights. Click HERE.

Mr Downes opined that Best buy is focused on the customer, but in an aggressive, overpowering manner, and not focused on the customer in order to serve them.

Another big problem noted is the lack of integrated IT systems. This is a common problem of many large brick and mortar retailers. No one cares that it is hard, they just want the online experience to be integrated, hassle free, seamless and just another retail outlet. That means continuity for the customer, not the company. For example, some people will browse the showroom, then use their smartphone to order online. Some will order online and then pick up in the store. Some will buy online and expect to return their items in store.

Another key point he brings up in his article is if a modern big box retailer no longer want to be a commodity seller, they should move to a premium service for a premium price. He mentions that the successful modern retailer is creating an experience and not just selling goods. Examples include Apple, Rain Forest Cafe, Starbucks, and Nordstrom.

Add Value or Adios!

None of this is retail rocket science, but sometimes you just need another set of eyes to see the forest for the trees. (Like some independent research, perhaps? -ed)

The easy answer, but not always simple to do – offer a seamless, no hassle, integrated online/offline retail experience and focus relentlessly on the customer, not yourself. Basically, be Amazon but with brick and mortar stores as well.

Finally, here is the response by the CEO of Best Buy to the brouhaha around the Forbes article and online storm of posts.

(Make sure to click through the links above to get the full story)