Sayan's Revol[ve]ution

At first I was confused, admittedly, a bit angry as well. Confused because I didn’t understand why BC Liquor had started selling reusable bags; what were they hoping to achieve? Sure it goes along with their slogan (“enjoy responsibly”), but I didn’t see many customers actually buying the bags since its large size and shape seemed more appropriate for grocery shopping. I was angry because my big brother had bought not one, but four of them.

“We already have a dozen reusable bags! What’s the point of buying them, if we’re not actually reusing them?”

“Well, these ones are really good,” my brother rebutted. He pointed out how the pouches that were stitched on the inside, not only safely stored multiple bottles, but could also be folded aside so as to make room for any other kind of purchase. “I’ll use them a lot,” he said reassuringly.

I tried to argue that he shouldn’t be buying that many bottles to begin with, but he just flashed me a smug smile that said “I probably will, and you can’t do anything about it” – thus bringing the conversation to an end.

Flash-forward to about a month later:

I’m at the parking lot of T&T with my mom, who unfortunately has to visit a different store for practically every vegetable on her list (“the eggplants are better here, but the mangoes are much cheaper there”) when I realize that I had forgotten to pack our usual Save-On-Foods shopping bags. It was a tremendously embarrassing moment. My mother was disappointed. I felt like a hippie-crite.

Then I noticed the bags my brother keeps stashed in the car, ready for any occasion that requires the assistance of alcohol. Despite my disapproval of us owning them, having no other alternative I preceded towards the supermarket with the BC Liquor bags in hand.  

Once inside I felt a bit self-conscious. “I’m carrying four BC liquor bags on a Saturday morning in a supermarket. I hope these people don’t think I’m an alcoholic or something,” I thought to myself. That’s when it hit me – the marketing brilliance of it all!

Retail bags have always been a form of advertising. They establish a sense of credibility, add to the perceived value of the purchase, and as shoppers walk around with their purchases other people will see the bags as well (exposure = brand recognition = increased traffic = increased sales). Until recently, however, this cost-effective form of marketing was severely limited by the short-life span of the plastic shopping bags that were typically being used. “It is estimated that more than 95% of all [plastic] retail bags are thrown away when the consumer gets home”.  Even if they are not disposed of immediately, a standard plastic shopping bag is not something a consumer will likely take out on their next shopping trip¹.

Realizing this, and thanks to the growing social trend towards responsible consumption, firms are starting to invest in reusable shopping bags. Though the fabric may be slightly more expensive, intelligent firms see the value in creating this long-lasting form of advertisement. Since consumers have to purchase these bags, not only are they less likely to throw them out, they are more likely to carry the bags, and thus the brands, with them on various shopping trips. Take for instance my T&T experience. BC Liquor was able to market its brand in an environment where it has never before had any exposure. That’s why, I now realize, the BC Liquor bags are so conveniently designed for grocery shopping – the company doesn’t want us marketing their brand to customers already at their stores, they want us out in the world attracting new customers.   

Indeed, successful firms of the future will be those that capitalize on this connection between sustainability and marketing. By providing greener options, firms not only appeal to environmentally-conscious consumers, but as seen in this example, can penetrate a variety of other markets as well.

Source:

1 – http://www.ntake.com/bags-as-advertising/

Marketers are learning. Sadly, they don’t think the rest of us are, and perhaps they’re right. Case in point: Glaceau Vitamin Water. Everything from its self-righteous slogan (“hydrate responsibly”) to its nutritional label is a bit of an insult to our consumer intelligence.  

A full bottle is actually 2.5 servings of what is mentioned on Vitamin Water’s nutritional information. This means that unless you really are planning to drink under half a bottle, this chic substitute for water is loading you up with 125 calories and 33 grams of sugar per bottle – that’s equivalent to a can of Coke (140 calories and 39 grams of sugar)¹.

Would you ever drink a can of Coke to hydrate yourself before or after a workout? Of course not! Drinks that are full of sugar only serve to dehydrate your body no matter how much water they contain², and therein lays my beef with Glaceau. I would have no problem with Vitamin Water if it was promoted like any other sugary beverage, but by selling it as a healthy, responsible, and tasty alternative for water, Glaceau is playing with the health of those who fall for this fallacy.  

Now I know you’re probably thinking, “what about the vitamins, they have to count for something right?” Well according to Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University, the only vitamin that we may not get enough of in a day is Vitamin E, which is a fat-soluble vitamin, along with vitamins A, D, and K. This means that they “can only enter the blood stream to carry out their function if dissolved in dietary fat, like that in a meal.” Plus there is no nutritional benefit in stocking up on vitamins. Vitamins like B and C, which are water-soluble, get immediately flushed out of our system if not needed. ¹

I can go on and on, but I also want to move on to my next point (check the links at the bottom for more shocking revelations concerning Vitamin Water’s “health” impacts).

As an aspiring marketer, though I do feel embarrassed by these tactics, I also wonder if consumers should share some of the blame. If we’re going to repeatedly fall for the same tricks, product launch after product launch, can we dare ask for more from our marketers? With the abundance of information available to us, are we excused from our responsibility to ourselves and our planet by simply pleading ignorance?  

Well I can tell you that ironically, it is because of those of us who saw past “The Dasani Deception,” that Coca-Cola has become increasingly desperate and attempted to pull this Vitamin Water ploy on us.  Dasani was Coca-Cola’s answer to its decreasing soda sales as consumers became more health conscious.  Now that consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and saying no to plastic water bottles, they are trying to hold on to consumers leaving both these markets, by differentiating yet again. Sugary-beverage, then water, now again sugary beverage – we’ve gone full circle. I know I’ve been talking a lot about cyclicality, but this is not what I meant. Still with marketers always having the first-mover advantage, is it possible for consumers to think two steps ahead and take control of what we really want?

Sources:

1 – http://thesparkpost.com/cuff/vitaminwater-tells-its-customers-to-hydrate-responsibly-that.html

2 – http://healthy-eating.fitsugar.com/Truth-About-Vitamin-Water-541747

Both these sites expand on the misconception of Vitamin Water being healthy. The first link does a great job breaking down Vitamin Water’s ingrediants (highlights include a description of what Vitamin Water’s sweetner, crystalline fructose, really is and how it may harm our liver). The second link does the same, but in less detail.