I like this post by Eric because it is quite different than most other posts I have gotten a chance to read so far. It is informative and critical and at the same time asks many marketing related questions. It reminds me of an assignment where the professor challenges us to think critically about a marketing strategy and then asks us to answer questions.
Eric starts his post with a news info about Translink’s plan to adopt a smart card for Vancouver’s public transit. He posts a link to a contest page where people are able to suggest ideas for the official name of this smart card. I think it is interesting to think about a name of such product because as marketing students we should be able to think who the target consumers are going to be and what kind of name would be appealing to them. Honestly I was surprised at myself that finding a name that would capture the spirit of Vancouver and still would sound appealing is not an easy thing to do.
I agree with Eric’s critique of the poor marketing campaign this new fare system that Translink plans to introduce. In fact if it was not for Eric’s blog, I would not even know about it. This I think might be considered a missed opportunity by Translink. If they were to base a marketing campaign on this, I am pretty sure that many people would be interested in watching, listening, or reading the ads because it would not just include regular reminder that we should bus to reduce carbon footprint, but also an information about how our use of their services will change in the future. They might also play on the fact that this card is cool or that cities such as London, where the transit system is truly legendary, also use the same way of paying for their fare.