Selling to the penniless

I just returned from a half-month trip in Vietnam and had the most amazing time. My host during my stay in Hue City was a former Unilever brand manager. We visited the market, and he pointed out these shampoo packets, designed for cash-strapped people who cannot afford to buy whole bottles.



Customer needs exist in all levels of the economic pyramid. There is value to be created as long as the needs are identified and met.

Flying buffet

JetBlue is offering an All-You-Can-Jet Pass for $599, valid for any domestic flights within a one-month period.



This is not a new pricing concept, as round-the-world tickets have been around for a while.

With tickets from San Francisco to New York costing close to $300 round trip, at first glance $599 seems like a good deal. Of course, in this economy, consumers are not doing much leisure traveling, especially since hotels and local transportation costs can add up quickly. Travelers who would benefit the most from this deal are the ones with out-of-town relatives or friends with whom they can stay while visiting.

Is it really a good deal? An average round-trip ticket probably costs around $200. One would have to make at least three trips to make the pass worth it. Even a travel lover like me would think twice before planning more than three trips in a four-week period.

So...what is the value proposition? Perhaps it is the spontaneity the pass would provide. As long as seats are available, a pass holder can book a flight only three days in advance. But then again, how valuable is spontaneity when the pass is valid for a restrictive one-month period? And what is the likelihood that seats would be available when I want to fly?

At this price point, I don't think the All-You-Can-Jet pass adds much value to consumers, but that is not the end of the story. Let's not forget about the buzz and the resulting brand image boost, since the pass does seem like a good deal at first glance.

Can a company win something for offering next-to-zero-value to its customers?

Of course. This All-You-Can-Jet pass is but one example of commercial innovation.

Getting noticed

Grabbing attention is important, but sometimes companies try too hard and it becomes gimmicky.

This ad by Ben & Jerry's (in Downtown Berkeley's BART station) does a good job:



It features an upside-down image not just to grab attention, but to introduce its new Flipped Out ice-cream. Well done!

Try me! Look at me!

I went to the San Francisco Marathon last weekend to see my friend Arnold cross the finish line. The whole area was a marketing galore!







Event marketing is a great way for brands to have personal interactions with their target consumers. Besides giving away free samples to these consumers, brands associate themselves with the event's "values," which in this case are fitness, determination, strength, endurance....

As private labels steal market share from national brands, it is becoming even more important for name brands to build these emotional connections with consumers. Event marketing is an excellent way for brands to "touch" consumers outside of the retail environment.

Only the good stuff!

My friend Zach had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago. I've been doing some grocery shopping for him. We communicate mostly through texting:

i am going to supermarket do you need something?

i do need mustard, thanks! i usually get the gulden's spicy kind.

that's it? do you not eat fruits or drink milk?

i don't eat much fruit... i do need milk though. and cookies! those nestle tollhouse chocolate chip ones that are next to the eggs?

i see the cookies they are out are you willing to try the safeway brand?

oh, no way! only the good stuff! ;-) nestle tollhouse are the best... i can wait.

I almost laughed out loud. People like Zach provide job security for brand marketers everywhere.

And then there are those who don't care for the good stuff...



Safeway-brand chocolate bars, sitting next to Ghirardelli.

If you're in the mood for gourmet chocolate, would you pay $3.69 for the "good stuff" or $2 for, um, the Safeway Select kind?

I would've laughed two years ago, but looking at the classy packaging of the Safeway Select chocolate--"Milk Chocolate with Nibbed Hazelnuts," "Product of Switzerland"--Ghirardelli is not the clear winner here.

Safeway Select, well done! Store brands in the US will eventually be powerful like their counterparts in Europe.

What does credit crunch look like?

Yesterday I walked into a Safeway, and my eyes screamed, "credit crunch!!!!!"



The image was like this for many categories, not just yogurt. Are there not other ways retailers can compete against each other?

New shopping experiences? Innovative store brands? Friendly cashiers?

Trying to go viral

I've been helping my classmates Thomas and Norberto on getting buzz for their customized-cereal startup MojaMix.

Alex, I'll take Marketing for one-hundred.

The activity entrepreneurs engage in when there is no marketing budget.

What is social media marketing?

We're trying everything. Contacting bloggers, building a large Twitter following, Facebook fan pages, weekly giveaways, coupon codes,....

Being a skeptic of Twitter, my mission has been to grow the number of Facebook fans for the MojaMix page. It hasn't been easy.

Keeping people interested and engaged using Facebook fan pages is quite straightforward. The companies who are doing a good job at this include Jamba Juice and Starbucks. But how do we get people to join the fan page in the first place?

Yesterday was my birthday. Armed with 800 Facebook friends, I tried to go viral with my status update:



I got over 40 "likes," which is a record high for me.

No, Oprah's assistant did not call. Although I grew the number of MojaMix fans by 11%, it was hardly viral.

Alas, it was a fun experiment. Onto the next idea...