Archive for the ‘Great Ideas’ Category

Fewer calories, smaller can

Friday, October 30th, 2009

Old soft drink signs
Photo by Photocapy

Photo by Photocapy

Photo by Photocapy
This is an innovative move on Coca-Cola’s part. By introducing its well-known carbonated drink in a smaller size, the soft drink giant is ensuring it resonates with consumers who are watching what they eat and how many calories they’re consuming.

The 7.5-fluid-oz can is red with a white image of a Coke bottle, and will be available in eight packs. Other brands will be available in 90-calorie cans, including Sprite, Fanta Orange, Cherry Coca-Cola, and Barq’s Root Beer.

The new can will roll out in Washington, D.C. and New York City in December and is expected to launch throughout the rest of the country by March 2010.

But Coca-Cola isn’t alone in marrying portion-control with a package overahaul. According to Mintel’s Packaging Trends in Food and Drink – U.S.- March 2009 report, some brands are taking a holistic approach to health and completely overhauling their packaging to better convey the product’s health qualities.

  • Kraft’s Crystal Light brand has introduced environmentally friendly beverage packaging that features a new 1-quart packet size in the 8-quart canister. The new design helps consumers control how much they want to drink. A window on the front of the canister also shows when packets are running low.

In addition to introducing the 90-calorie mini can, Coca-Cola has announced plans to display calorie information on the front of most of its beverage packages, including Sprite, Powerade, and Full Throttle. This tactic will resonate well with soda drinkers, as they will be able to see how many calories are in their favorite drink so they can adjust their diet accordingly.

Coca-Cola is giving consumers who have moved away from traditional CSDs a reason to come back: portion control. But the interesting – it’s cute! – packaging is also giving its brand fans something new – both to talk about and to consume.

A quick word about the competitive environment

Monday, October 12th, 2009

icearrow“Rainy days and Mondays always get me down”– or at least they did Karen Carpenter as I grew up hearing her sing the song.    Today is Monday and it’s pouring rain.  I’m actually writing this blog article to waylay my having to go out and get wet delivering some printing jobs to clients.  In my mailbox this morning I found a short email about competition.  It conveyed some simple thoughts.  See what you think about them.

  • “How good am I?” is the second question that every business owner must answer. “How good are my competitors?” is the first.
  • Like it or not, your competitors set the height of the bar you must jump.
  • It’s a weary old saying, but true, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.”

And as venture capitalist I knew once told me, “We learned quickly that the most important predictor of success is determination. At first we thought it might be intelligence. Everyone likes to believe that’s what makes startups succeed. It makes a better story that a company ‘won’ because its founders were so smart.  But while it certainly helps to be smart, it’s not the deciding factor. There are plenty of people as smart as Bill Gates who achieve nothing.”

So, essentially making money is easy:

  1. Sell what people want to buy
  2. Offer it at an attractive price
  3. Occupy a high-visibility location
  4. Wave your arms and draw a crowd

Maybe you can’t have all of those, but I have never seen the combination fail.  Need some help?  We’re here.

Using Crisis to Create Success!

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

CATAPULT-COVER_tammy-210x300Everyday, business emergencies, crises, and disasters suddenly liberate organizations from the restraints of the institutionalized barriers to performance improvement. These events evoke powerful and dramatic responses that cannot be matched by any of the structured programs and technologies a company may currently use. They can be large or small.

Here’s an example:

When adulterated Tylenol capsules caused the deaths of seven people in September 1982, Johnson & Johnson organized a crash program to protect the public as well as to salvage its #1 brand product.  One of the most critical tasks was to design a sealed package.  Within seven weeks, a team of engineers and designers had developed and tested a triple-sealed package, redesigned production processes and equipment, developed new package graphics, and moved into full-scale production.  Completing this series of complex tasks under normal circumstances would have taken well over one year, nearly two years. (more…)

Online Business Marketing Success

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
New Online Business

New Online Business

Starting a business online can be one of the easiest things you can do. It doesn’t take much money, and with all of the free software available, it is very easy to automate every aspect of your business.
Start here with our Marketing Grader this free marketing quiz will assist your organization to get on the right track prior to making a commitment to a marketing plan that just isn’t focused.
Once you start to market, things can change very quickly. The Internet is like the Wild, Wild, West. There’s no structure to the organization of the Net, and if you don’t give your customers a way to find you, you won’t make any money from your business.

Although you will find that there are as many “guru” opinions on how to market your business online, as there are gurus, there are four methods than can help you to increase your profits very quickly and mainly involve investing your time. (more…)

Blind Spots and Other Driving Hazards…. On the road and in your business.

Sunday, September 13th, 2009

trafficAs a lot of my friends and business colleagues know, my oldest son is currently in the process of getting his driver’s license; ad guy by day, dad and driver’s instructor by night.  One of the things we have been practicing without fail on a daily basis is parallel parking.  When I was 15 years old, my grandmother was my driving coach and she taught me a few “tricks” about rearview mirrors, side mirrors and the blind spot just over your right shoulder as a way to glide any car into the parking space with just the three maneuvers you can have during your parking test.  With a little practice and these little tips, my son has parallel parking down.

But what about business?  Yes, your business and some of the tips and tricks necessary these days to make the most of your marketing dollars and keep you within the space allotted without bumping or hitting the curbs?  Blind spots in cars are easy to identify.  Blind spots in our businesses aren’t so easy.  Why—because if we could see them, they wouldn’t be blind spots.  Here are a few common blind spots I see in businesses with which I consult: (more…)