“Word of mouth is more than 10 times more effective than advertising.” “Word of mouth generates more than twice the sales of paid advertising in categories as diverse as skincare and mobile phones.” Both of these quotes originate from the McKinsey Quarterly, a quarterly publication by McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm. They’re pretty … [Read more...]
Behaviour economics challenged: What if gym members had to pay more if they don’t work out? And how about pre-browsing Facebook to select your airplane seatmate?
Often fitness memberships are seen as sunk costs, especially if paid at the beginning of the year. But behaviour economics tells us that people are more motivated by immediate consequences than by future possibilities. So what if you turned the business model on it ear? That’s exactly what a couple Harvard grads did in 2011 with Gym-Pact. They offered customers … [Read more...]
8 Reasons why Lay’s Do Us a Flavour contest is brilliant marketing
The “Maple Moose” flavour begged to be selected from the shelf of chips, if for no other reason than the name, and the promise of a great photo-op, along with a Molson Canadian beer in hand, for my visiting American relatives at the cottage. Maple Moose was one of four finalists in Lay’s Canada’s “Do Us a Flavour” chip naming contest. While there were over 600,000 … [Read more...]
Duct Tape Surfing: Authentic storytelling that begs to be shared
A friend from Australia posted a video link to my Facebook page recently entitled “Duct Tape surfing.” The sheer title begged it to be viewed and shared. But add in the fact that it featured a 50 year old paraplegic women who learns to surf attached to back of a thrill seeking 20-something young man and the interest level ratcheted up even more. Quite simply it is an … [Read more...]
The 8-pack long weekend promo
The recently promoted Molson Canadian 8-pack packaging is clearly a BC long weekend up sell. Or is it? Without a 6-pack in sight (likely strategically removed), I had no option but to buy 8 if I wanted something less than 12. Initially I was a little put off, suspecting it was a clever ploy to get consumers to actually buy more, and by default increase their net profit. But … [Read more...]
