| Marketing |
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| Scialatielli with Wild Sockeye Salmon at Dani in New York |
OK, here is something that does not work well yet, but is a great idea. The web site
Dishola is a consumer-review site about food. But instead of rating restaurants, it rates
specific dishes. You can upload review and images of the best pizza or Steak Diane that
you ever had, along with restaurant information.
In the land of Philadelphia Cheese Steaks, people will argue over who has the best
cheese, rolls, seasoning, grease quotas. Knowing why someone feels this stand is the
best is a great idea.
Dishola has interesting elements such as Dish Roulette - it selects dishes by random
if you do not know what you are in the mood for.
You can search by dish, city, favorites. It links to Google Maps. When I tried it, it knew
via my ISP that I was in Shanghai, and tried to find me the best pizza (it couldn't).
There isn't enough critical mass on Dishola yet to make it really useful outside of a few
cities. But the idea is a good one. I will use it if and when it has more than one
Philadelphia dish (which isn't even a Cheese steak).
Dishola is a consumer-review site about food. But instead of rating restaurants, it rates
specific dishes. You can upload review and images of the best pizza or Steak Diane that
you ever had, along with restaurant information.
In the land of Philadelphia Cheese Steaks, people will argue over who has the best
cheese, rolls, seasoning, grease quotas. Knowing why someone feels this stand is the
best is a great idea.
Dishola has interesting elements such as Dish Roulette - it selects dishes by random
if you do not know what you are in the mood for.
You can search by dish, city, favorites. It links to Google Maps. When I tried it, it knew
via my ISP that I was in Shanghai, and tried to find me the best pizza (it couldn't).
There isn't enough critical mass on Dishola yet to make it really useful outside of a few
cities. But the idea is a good one. I will use it if and when it has more than one
Philadelphia dish (which isn't even a Cheese steak).
In the past three years, one in five wine producers have chosen to place an image
of a animal on their label. This may be in imitation of the successful entry-grade wine
label, YellowTail. But according to The Journal of Consumer Research, there is
another reason.
People like products that feature images that they can identify with. Since wine is one
of the most mysterious of purchases, lowering our anxiety level about decision making
helps us feel comfortable about the purchase.
According to the article, “Whereas common branding wisdom suggests that identifiers
should be strongly associated with the product category, our findings suggest that it
may be beneficial to choose visual identifiers that consumers strongly associate with
themselves,” write the authors.
of a animal on their label. This may be in imitation of the successful entry-grade wine
label, YellowTail. But according to The Journal of Consumer Research, there is
another reason.
People like products that feature images that they can identify with. Since wine is one
of the most mysterious of purchases, lowering our anxiety level about decision making
helps us feel comfortable about the purchase.
According to the article, “Whereas common branding wisdom suggests that identifiers
should be strongly associated with the product category, our findings suggest that it
may be beneficial to choose visual identifiers that consumers strongly associate with
themselves,” write the authors.
Why are so many web pages bad? Even companies with large marketing budgets often
have terrible sites.
Advertising Age reports that: "Avinash Kaushik thinks one of the reasons why so many
websites "suck" today is because of the hippo -- as in the "highest paid person's opinion."
Kaushik was a consultant who now works at Google. He feels that the highest paid
person involved at approving how a web site looks and feels is the "hippo", and that hippos
are the furthest person in an organization you can get from the customers.
A big believer in customer surveys, Kaushik says that customers should be involved in
shaping the look and usefulness of a site. His own web page asks the questions:
* How satisfied are my visitors?
* What are my visitors at my website to do?
* Are they completing what they set out to do?
* If not, why not?
* If yes, what did they like best about the online experience?
By not asking "why", he thinks we make too many bad assumptions about our marketing
sites, resulting in too many pages that, well, suck.
have terrible sites.
Advertising Age reports that: "Avinash Kaushik thinks one of the reasons why so many
websites "suck" today is because of the hippo -- as in the "highest paid person's opinion."
Kaushik was a consultant who now works at Google. He feels that the highest paid
person involved at approving how a web site looks and feels is the "hippo", and that hippos
are the furthest person in an organization you can get from the customers.
A big believer in customer surveys, Kaushik says that customers should be involved in
shaping the look and usefulness of a site. His own web page asks the questions:
* How satisfied are my visitors?
* What are my visitors at my website to do?
* Are they completing what they set out to do?
* If not, why not?
* If yes, what did they like best about the online experience?
By not asking "why", he thinks we make too many bad assumptions about our marketing
sites, resulting in too many pages that, well, suck.
When was the last time you had a Hydrox? If you are like me, you have no idea. Just as
I had no idea that the brand had been taken off the market for several years.
Not only was Hydrox not a knock off of the Oreo, but in 1908, it was the first chocolate
sandwich cookie, produced by a company that became Sunshine Baking, eventually
bought by Kellogg. Nabiso's Oreo came four years later. Oreos were distinctive because
they were sweeter, and contain lard.
Some consumers preferred the Hydrox, because their filling was somewhat tangy,
and because there was no lard, they were kosher.
While Oreo was always supported by better promotional campaigns, Hydroz also
suffered from a more simple problem; the name sucked.
The original bakers thought that by combining the name for the elements of water,
hydrogen and oxygen, the cookie would seem pure-sounding. In retrospect, the name
better fitted a drain cleaner.
To make matters worse, Kellogg attempted to change the name to Droxies erasing
even the odd characteristics of the brand.
Since 2008 is the 100 year anniversary of the Hydrox cookie, it is being brought back
for a limited-time appearance in the supermarkets. Be sure to conduct a taste test.
I had no idea that the brand had been taken off the market for several years.
Not only was Hydrox not a knock off of the Oreo, but in 1908, it was the first chocolate
sandwich cookie, produced by a company that became Sunshine Baking, eventually
bought by Kellogg. Nabiso's Oreo came four years later. Oreos were distinctive because
they were sweeter, and contain lard.
Some consumers preferred the Hydrox, because their filling was somewhat tangy,
and because there was no lard, they were kosher.
While Oreo was always supported by better promotional campaigns, Hydroz also
suffered from a more simple problem; the name sucked.
The original bakers thought that by combining the name for the elements of water,
hydrogen and oxygen, the cookie would seem pure-sounding. In retrospect, the name
better fitted a drain cleaner.
To make matters worse, Kellogg attempted to change the name to Droxies erasing
even the odd characteristics of the brand.
Since 2008 is the 100 year anniversary of the Hydrox cookie, it is being brought back
for a limited-time appearance in the supermarkets. Be sure to conduct a taste test.
Living near Philadelphia, I travel on US Air a lot. They have just
announced changes to their program - fees for booking with agents
and for reward travel, bags, etc. this is no surprise, given the terrible
financial shape the airlines are in, due mostly to energy costs.
But one change stands out. They will now charge $2 for any
non-alcoholic beverdge, (coffee, soda, juice, water). This is a mistake.
Yes, $2 for water is not high, relative to airport charges. But most
people will discover this charge in-flight, and be angry.
Eventually folks will carry on their own drinks, and just feel a little
worse about their carrier.
The fact is, airline tickets are too cheap to support the business.
Instead of adding $2 to a ticket for a drink, the airlines really need to
make up the $80 or so they lose, on average with every domestic
passenger today (between 10 and 15 cents per mile).
Tickets need to go up by $200 or so, and the travel experience
needs to become better, not worse. Someone will take a chance and
do this. If they improve service at the same time, they may be the first to
pick up profitable market share.
announced changes to their program - fees for booking with agents
and for reward travel, bags, etc. this is no surprise, given the terrible
financial shape the airlines are in, due mostly to energy costs.
But one change stands out. They will now charge $2 for any
non-alcoholic beverdge, (coffee, soda, juice, water). This is a mistake.
Yes, $2 for water is not high, relative to airport charges. But most
people will discover this charge in-flight, and be angry.
Eventually folks will carry on their own drinks, and just feel a little
worse about their carrier.
The fact is, airline tickets are too cheap to support the business.
Instead of adding $2 to a ticket for a drink, the airlines really need to
make up the $80 or so they lose, on average with every domestic
passenger today (between 10 and 15 cents per mile).
Tickets need to go up by $200 or so, and the travel experience
needs to become better, not worse. Someone will take a chance and
do this. If they improve service at the same time, they may be the first to
pick up profitable market share.