Where Did That 50$ Bill Go?

A cashless society seems environmental, useful, and most definitely an appropriate attribute to a sea of busy consumers, yet a lack of physical commodity will also result in an increase in debt says Melissa Leong of the Financial Post.

“when it is a number on a screen — it’s easier to spend, researchers say.”

As society becomes addicted to a faster paced way of life, as does our attitude towards money. No one has time to fiddle around with cash and coins anymore; consumers want an easier way to pay.

Credit cards, and online payments allow consumers to avoid cash altogether, yet there are consequences. Numbers and spending money actually stimulate a part of the brain known as the insula which is associated to pain, and by speeding up the spending process, consumers are also skipping over the painful thought of spending money.

The average Canadian is expected to carry a consumer debt of around $28,000 by the end of this year.

The Canadian Economy however, is not quite threatened, yet.

As credit cards and virtual payment methods replace traditional systems, consumers must be wary of their spending habits. 50 dollars is easier to spend when you don’t have to give away a big shiny red bill…

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/debt-by-numbers-troubling-trends-in-consumer-spending/article14017219/

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/05/the-end-of-cash-will-it-make-spending-zombies-of-us-all/

Advertising Takes Over Instagram

Advertising took over Facebook then Twitter, and it was only a matter of time before it was sprawled upon the world’s favorite photo app, Instagram. As of now, Facebook (the owner of Instagram) had only one simple goal for the popular photo program: increase the number of users. Instagram now has, “more than 150 million users”, and introducing advertisement within the application could in fact be a gold mine of profit.

If used correctly.

In my opinion, Instagram is going to have to be highly selective as to what type of advertisement will be displayed within the app. The problem with advertisement comes with the aggravated sentiments of consumers who feel as if they are being constantly pressured into buying something. No one wants to see flashy dating ads, or constant windows asking one to fill out surveys. It’s annoying, intrusive, and simply ineffective in engaging the consumer. If Instagram can introduce advertisements by simply integrating beautiful, slick looking photos into a consumer’s photo feed, then the consumer might not even consciously know that they are being exposed to a product in itself. Subliminal advertising could be the key in this whole idea.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/instagram-adding-ads-boosts-facebooks-outlook-analysts-say/2013/10/04/5bed98c4-2d10-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html

Satisfried?

After the lecture on “Brand Positioning & Value Propositions”, I stumbled upon this article. While everybody knows that McDonalds is at the top of the food chain in terms of the fast food industry, one must wonder what it would take to overthrow the golden arch. While subway prides itself on being the healthier fast food alternative, there isn’t much to differentiate Burger King, Wendy’s, A&W etc. Until now?

Introducing a concept that even McDonald has yet to evaluate is Burger King’s new product, “Satisfries”. Introducing a healthier alternative to the world’s favorite finger food, Burger King’s new “Satisfries” are designed to “absorb less oil, reducing fat by 40 percent and calories by 30 percent over McDonald’s fries”. While Burger King has already tried to take a competitive edge to McDonalds by having a variety of types of French fries, this new low calorie option could be just the thing to push Burger King closer to it’s competitive counterpart.

I think the concept is brilliant. Low calorie French fries are the fast-food lovers dream, and could even broaden Burger King’s consumer range by attracting more people who may be wary of fast food in the first place. Is it enough to take on McDonalds? Surely, America’s favorite fast food chain won’t be too far behind on the low calorie concept…

It’s only a matter of time.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-24/for-burger-kings-satisfries-healthier-is-a-very-relative-term