Month: October 2010

I was reading Simon McEvoy’s marketing blog relating to Gap’s recent embarrassing blunder when Gap’s attempted re-branding of its logo was met with strong criticism and disapproval from Gap’s customers .

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about…earlier this month, Gap changed its logo on its website from the identifiable white letters in a plain blue box to one where a small blue box edges off the top right hard corner of the lower-case black letters spelling Gap.

Like the thousands of customers who vented their spleen on Gap’s website and social media websites such as Facebook, I feel that the new logo lacks innovation and creativity. It fails to ingrain itself in my brain. Instead, it leaves a painful indentation, marked by a sense repulsion and displeasure…and I have science to back me up here too!

A neuroscience study investigating the reasons why customers were so hostile with the branding was released just last week. It found that the “new logo failed to resonate with consumers on key metrics like attention, emotional engagement and memory retention” (http://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/view/neuroscience-study-analyses-gap-logo-disaster-2468). The researchers concluded that the logo lacked novelty and also violated several neurological best practises:

1. The superimposition of the ‘p’ with the blue square results in the brain ignoring the word in favour of the image, which is problematic when the word is the brand name.
2. The font is ordinary and thus does not appeal to the subconscious.
3. Lack of contrast between the ‘p’ and the blue box also means that the brain is less likely to register the letter.
4. As part of the evolutionary process, brains are tuned to avoid sharp edges. Therefore, the sharp edges of the box provoke an ‘avoidance response’ which deters us from the logo.

 

However, I think that Gap has prevented this blunder from turning into a catastrophic calamity. As Simon McEvoy comments, instead of investing time, resources and money on introducing and changing the logo in its stores, its advertisements and on its products, Gap wisely inserted the new logo onto its website only. In this way, it could test customers’ reactions and opinions – I like to think of it as something similar to exploratory market research.

Secondly, Gap allowed its customers to submit their own designs. I like to think of this as value co-creation, which is a technique many value-based firms use nowadays to increase the value of its product/service and to build relationships with its customers.

Thirdly (and probably the best of all), Gap decided to scrap its new logo completely. With the bombardment of condemnation and disapproval, Gap did what all value-based firms would do; it listened to their needs and satisfied them by recalling the new logo. In actual fact, for such a large company to admit guilt and concede defeat is one damn daring, courageous act, which is testament to Gap placing its customers at the forefront of its decisions. This decision was announced on the social media platform, Facebook.  

 

However, some question the legitimacy of the mistake such as Grant Davidson of Davidson Branding who believes it to be a marketing stunt. He claims that it was a clever way of making customers realise and recognise their loyalty to Gap, which would in turn tighten their link to the brand…not a bad way of creating customer loyalty, eh?

We must keep in mind, however, that Gap did dip its feet into a very unreceptive crowd but to the extent that, in doing so, it hurt its branding and image, I think Gap came out better. Why? Because at the end of day, Gap’s quick, strategic response to customers’ complaints really demonstrates that it is willing to listen to its customers, which is proof that customers are at the core of its values.  

I’m not going to lie…but I’ve been eager to write several blogs in the last week on a few interesting marketing topics but I haven’t because of several reasons: (i) I’ve been really sick with the flu; and (ii) even with the flu, I’ve been studying for 2 mid-terms, but since completing the marketing mid-term just less than a hour ago, I’ve been stuck on the marketing gear.

Earlier today, I read this interesting article on the travel experiences of a journalist on the VIA Train. This reminded me of my 3 night Toronto-Vancouver trip on ‘The Canadian’ VIA Train in late August (I actually broke up my trip into different segments (Toronto-Winnipeg; Winnipeg-Jasper and Jasper-Vancouver) so I stayed 2 nights each in Winnipeg and Jasper).

As I said earlier, since I’ve been shifted to a marketing gear for the whole day, I was relating my VIA experience to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. To be precise, I was thinking how VIA satisfied all my needs. So let me begin…..

 

PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS  – I travelled on Sleepers Class (like the journalist) and so my private cabin contained a bathroom, equipped with a shower, and a comfortable bed. It was my shelter, it was my home for the 3 nights I slept on the train. On the train, there was a cafe that served coffee/tea, sandwiches, soups etc. and there was a really good restaurant on-board that served breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food in the restaurant was impeccable. So my shelter, food and water needs were satisfied.

 

SAFETY NEEDS – For the whole journey, I felt secure on the train. There were train guards who patrolled the carriages and supervised the boarding of passengers. There were safety windows and emergency exits. Safety and evacuation procedures were announced. At no time on the train did I fear for the security of my body and my belongings. Now thinking back on it, maybe I shouldn’t have just left my backpack and belongings on the seat of the dome carriages!

LOVE AND BELONGING NEEDS – As the journalist commented in his review, I was able to have lively, meaningful conversations with the other passengers. I recall meeting several other UBC students who were making their way back to UBC, an Oxford student whose English accent was unbelievably posh, a couple from Canberra (the capital of Australia), an old Indian couple from Missisauga, Ontario, and numerous other people. My friend and I had dinner with a UBC student and the Oxford student on one of the nights. I developed friendships here and felt a sense of belonging.

 

ESTEEM NEEDS – To be honest, I felt happy that I traversed Canada from east to west on rail. To me, VIA Rail was positioned as a luxury form of transportation. Having learnt that the majority of locals have never travelled on VIA, I was proud to say that I have (but I guess VIA is a more ‘touristy’ thing to do).

SELF-ACTUALISATION NEEDS – Travelling through the marshlands, swamps and meadows of Eastern Canada, through the yellow, endlessly flat plains of the Priaries, and through the majestic, picturesque valleys, trees, and turquoise lakes and rivers of the Rockies really compelled me to reflect on the sheer beauty of Canada’s landscape. I also had lots of time to myself – I was able to reflect upon my travels in the 2 weeks prior to the train journey (New York, Washington DC, Boston, Niagara Falls, Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa) and my life away from home, as I came closer and closer to my new home in Vancouver. It’s amazing how much thinking, reflecting, reminiscing and contemplating one does when there’s free time, impressive scenery and comfortable seats in dome carriages!

So to sum up, I think VIA Rail has effectively targeted all of my needs. In my eyes, this has certainly added value to the service. Although I paid a lot for the ticket, I believe that I received great value in exchange – the service, unique experience, scenery, comfort, food (the list just goes on) certainly took me by surprise and I was impressed! I highly recommend VIA Rail.

P.S. I’ve heard that they have last minute specials (tickets sold 3-4 weeks before departure); there are heavy discounts of up to 80%!

Having come back from San Francisco and flown with Alaska Airlines, I can now blog on my postpurchase experience of the airline’s service.

I was thoroughly impressed by Alaska Airlines – they really did satisfy my needs and wants. Check-in was very efficient. They have streamlined the process by installing self-serve electronic check-in booths, thus saving time for travellers. There was also good ground customer service. Alaska Airlines customer service agents were at hand to help me with the check-in service.

Boarding was also efficient. As soon as I stepped onto the aircraft, I felt welcomed by the flight crew. Not only was there pleasant music in the background, but the flight crew made several announcements, during boarding, detailing the estimated time of departure, the route and the journey time. Both the outbound and inbound flights departed punctually and arrived earlier than scheduled. The seats were actually quite comfortable and there was sufficient legroom. The upholstery was leather. To my surprise, there were complimentary drinks and snacks. For me, this complimentary service certainly added value to the service.

During the inflight service, I noticed that my napkin promoted Alaska Airline’s direct services to Hawaii from a range of mainland American cities, and was asking passengers to subscribe to their newsletter. It was informative and I thought that this advertising strategy was good because it reached a wide group of travellers (i.e. all passengers on the flight), and communicated its message effectively through catchy phrases, diagrams and logos. I also learnt from the napkin that Alaska Airlines is interested environmental sustainability as the napkin was made of 100% recycled material in a bleach free process. By being green, Alaska Airlines has increased its value of its services by appealing to consumers who are becoming more environmentally-conscious.

Finally, there were posters throughout the aerobridges and around the baggage claim area stating that if luggage was not at the baggage claim belts within 20 minutes of the plane parking at the gate, Alaska Airlines would offer a $20 discount for future Alaska Airlines flights or 2000 Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan bonus miles. This baggage service guarantee was also advertised on their website. In this way, Alaska Airlines has very cleverly tried to reduce the perceived risk of flying with them and hence, reduced the chances of postpurchase dissonance. (I wanted to take photos of this advertisement but I couldn’t because it would look too weird).

In the future, I would be more than happy to fly with Alaska Airlines. However, whether I will be reluctant to patronise other airlines in favour of Alaska Airlines is doubtful because, at the end of the day, there is so much competition out there in the airline industry. So for every airfare I buy, I would still conduct a long search of alternative airlines and evaluate them according to my evaluative criteria:  airfare prices, departure times, meals, safety, service, reputation/brand image, aircraft type and punctuality.

Nonetheless, Alaska Airlines have earned themselves a spot in my “evoked set” of North American airlines!

  

Japan’s love for technology has taken several leaps forward – this time, in the world of vending machines. 

I just wanted to share with you an interesting marketing blog on Japan’s vending machines.

Vending machines that help a customer choose a drink are becoming increasingly popular in the technology-obsessed nation of Japan. Equipped with a touch screen and a camera, the vending machine can help decide your drink based on whether you’re male/female and whether you’re young/old, whilst taking the weather into consideration. Talk about a whole new innovative level of satisfying a customer’s needs and wants…this is just insane! 

Japan has a “fetish” with vending machines. It has the “highest concentration of vending machines in the world”, mainly because of the convenience it offers. Having been to Japan three times, I have first-hand experience of how difficult it may be sometimes to wait in line to purchase a drink, tea/coffee or other items from a grocery store or local convenience store, especially in busy districts such as Shinjuku, when I can just walk to the front of the store or a few metres down the road to a vending machine.

This is especially so given Japan’s mammoth population of more than 127m – there are just so many people going in so many different directions!! Whilst in Japan, I could not help but be intrigued by the merchandise sold in the many, many vending machines located on almost every street, in every shop and in every nook, cranny and corner – they were basically everywhere. I clearly remember my experience of buying a hot chocolate, cappuccino and meal tickets for a restaurant from a vending machine, and I also remember seeing vending machines selling cigarettes, magazines, electronic goods, underwear and even food!   

In fact, fresh bananas are now being dispensed by vending machines. Re-filled three times a week, these vending machine-dispensed fresh fruits may be a direct competitor for vending machine beverages and may have contributed to the 9.2% fall in vending machine beverage sales between 2008 and 2009. These fresh bananas have found a little niche in the extremely-competitive Japanese vending machine industry. It seems like a wise investment given that the Japanese people are more than willing to catch onto any fun, new technology-oriented quirk.

Also, very recently, Hitachi has invented a Biometric Vending Machine that recognises finger vein patterns, which are linked with the person’s credit card stored on file. This basically eliminates the need of using a bank card, cash or even a mobile (yes, you can scan your mobile for some purchases and use it as a train ticket) when buying items from the vending machine. This has literally re-defined convenience. However, Hitachi has not indicated whether it will mass produce these biometric vending machines. For now, they sit in the Hitachi offices…reading and dispensing. 

But who really would have thought that the humble vending machine dispensing an afternoon snack or drink could turn into an artificial person – essentially – with its own mind and that could read (biometrics)?    

I now know what I want to do next when I return back to Japan, hehe.