The Price of Gas

Evian water 9 o.z = $1.49
That's $21.19 per gallon!

Why BJ's Restaurants are so great!

Last year I had never even been inside a BJ's Restaurant. My office had an opportunity to work on some FSI ads and do a little brand analysis for them. As it turns out, they didn't need much help. They have an interesting combination of elements that create a very unique "brand experience". First of all, the interior design is just funky enough to appease the elitist snobs who wouldn't be caught dead in a chain restaurant. Next, they have a very diverse menu which has a range of items to handle your entire crew, from pasta to burgers to pizza and beyond.

Okay, now comes the interesting part. They have plasma screens playing all the sports you could ever want -- and they have an amazing line-up of handcrafted beers on tap. Sounds like a sports bar, but doesn't look or feel like one.

It's all in the name: lots of snickering from my teenagers as we roll in for lunch... so should they change the name? No way!

I love BJ's.

Is it all just Tulip Mania?

Okay -- so gas is down to about $1.50 a gallon and the DOW is still fluttering along? Ever hear of Tulipmania? Yeah, well it's the phenomenon that rocked Holland in 1637. People went nutso for tulips as they were the new, cool flower that had never been experienced in that part of the world.

Then they suddenly realized that they were all over priced, stopped buying them -- and the bottom fell out. No more crazy prices... and lots of people burned by the "bubble" that was created. Hmmm. Sounds like the housing market.

Pawn Shops and Thrift Stores thrive in Poor Economy.

Okay, let's be honest. We're all trying to curb our spending and be fiscally responsible in these tough economic times, right? But if you are looking for a sweet dea,l try your local pawn shop or thrift store. Maybe you were too cool to be looking around in these shops in the past -- but these stores are unloading tons of very hip, affordable goodies. You can play Santa while you sift through the bins at the Goodwill store or find a great deal on a slightly used SONY PS3 down at the pawn shop. And if you were looking for a musical instrument, now is the time to negotiate an excellent price on that axe you always wanted! This could be a good year for Guitar Hero after all.

fresh & easy delivers value in a tough economy

The new fresh & easy stores will be a breath of fresh air in these tough ecomomic times. Great quality and variety -- not unlike what people rave about from Trader Joe's and Costco -- but at reasonable prices and located in areas that have been relatively underserved by the grocery world. I think Americans will initially be underwhelmed by the interior space and the lack of faux premium offerings. In time, they will discover that the quality is very top notch -- and the store is very easy to shop. It's about the size of a Trader Joe's but more the vibe of a Costco... no frills, big aisles, slightly industrial.

The biggest consumer promise they have made is that the shopping "experience" will be better because of customer service and the quality/value equation. I think the staff still needs a bit more training in order to teach new shoppers and help them through the check out. It's pretty much all self-check out and my last few visits were unassisted(no one even asked).

In these first months of operations, I really think they will need to step it up on customer service and reach out to the community to let them know that they exist... and WHY they exist.

WHY I CARE: I spent a couple of years in the trenches, helping develop the new fresh & easy Neighborhood Markets. The team from Tesco are amazing and should be given much of the credit for how the stores look and function. Simon Uwins is the marketing and brand leader, a Tesco veteran who spearheaded the design and development of the stores. I headed the team at Deutsch -- mainly working on packaging(over 2000 items), retail signage, uniforms, web site development, newsletters and the flyer. We also created documentary films, internal presentations and tried to help the "Americanize" the brand.

Dr. Pepper finds a way to achieve Chinese democracy

Axl Rose has responded to Dr. Pepper’s offer to give everyone (except Slash and guitaristBuckethead) a free can of soda if Guns n’ Roses finally release the long-awaited Chinese Democracy this year. Dr. Pepper's vice president of marketing Tony Jacobs says: "We never thought this day would come but now that it's here all we can say is: The Dr Pepper's on us."

Guns n' Roses and Dr. Pepper? I know, it seems like a bizarre pairing but who really cares? I will gladly chug a few DP's in order to hear the latest (17 years in the making) offering from Axl Rose. And hats off to the latest ad campaign for getting us to slow down and "taste" our Dr. Pepper... huh? Hmmm. Those spots seem aimed at 40 year olds, not the next generation of DP drinkers. But then again, the Guns n Roses faithful are all getting close to 40 something, so crank it up!

BMX breathes life into Levi's.

The Levi Strauss Signature® brand today announced the creation of the Levi Strauss Signature BMX team and its partnership with four accomplished BMX bike riders: Jamie Bestwick, Morgan Wade, Anthony Napolitan and Corey Martinez.

This is genius. I have witnessed my own teenage sons recent attraction to Levi's and wondered why this brand suddenly became relevant? Such an age old trick: associate with current heroes of the youth of today! Better yet, make it seem like your product was designed specifically for this crowd. I feel like Guitar Hero and Levi's are taking advantage of "brand value" that was already there -- and just needed a new and improved way to appear relevant and compelling to today's youthful audience.

I'm on my way to the mall to get a pair right now. Hmmm... they would look good with a pair of Converse All-Stars right?

The Brand Bubble Bursts for Detroit

I have worked with the automotive industry for many years and always was amazed at how we are so captivated by new cars. We are easily persuaded to toss aside our 3 year old vehicle in favor of the latest offering with a low APR or cash back offer. Also amazing was Detroit's development of V8's, Hemis and Supercharged, Big Block gas guzzlers. Okay... we all get a bit weak in the knees when we see the retro inspired Camaro and the new Charger, right? But the ill-timed launch of these vehicles and the lack of development of "cool" and affordable hybrids really seems like the biggest brain fart of the century. The New Camaro is a sweet looking ride. If it came in a $20,000 Hybrid version, and didn't cost GM $23,000 to make, market and sell... we would be celebrating some great design and engineering innovation!

McDonald's trys to rebuild it's brand

Okay so I finally buy some Starbucks stock after years of living in the Pacific Northwest and along comes Mickey D's and delivers the knockout punch. Thanks Ronald.

McDonald’s beats Starbucks in coffee smackdown

By David Colker, Times Staff Writer
11:37 AM PST, February 2, 2007

In the ultimate coffee smackdown, it was yuppie Starbucks vs. Ronald McDonald.

And the clown won.

Consumer Reports magazine said today that in a test conducted at two locations of each emporium, its tasters found McDonald's coffee to be "decent and moderately strong" with "no flaws." On the other hand, the Starbucks brew "was strong, but burnt and bitter enough to make your eyes water instead of open."

The March issue of the magazine, due out Monday, thus advises, "Try McDonald's, which was cheapest and best."

Actually, not all that much cheaper. McDonald's now charges $1.35 for what the magazine considers a "medium" sized cup of Joe. Starbucks gets $1.55 for about the same size cup. But of course, McDonald's has yet to offer half-cap lattes and it's hard to imagine Ronald in basic barista black.

Other fast-food coffees in the test included those from Burger King ("tasted more like hot water") and Dunkin' Donuts ("inoffensive").

No matter how much McDonald's revels in its win of the taste test, the company might be hard-pressed to use it in promotions. Consumer Reports, which takes no advertising, strictly prohibits companies from using its findings in ads.

If Everything is Premium...

The back to basics trend is coming.

We are being bombarded by an onslaught of premiumness. And it's begining to get so overblown that consumers are questioning this shouting match that trys to tell us that everything is now made from the finest ingredients and is the highest quality to be found.

These so-called premium brands are now exploiting themselves by becoming the staples of every new strip mall. They position themselves to be the category leader but then grow to be so common that their exclusivety is now lost in a sea of premium brand overkill.

Premium brands used to have an exclusive or unique quality that was supported by the old school theory of being "hand-crafted" in small batches in order to create a product that is not "mass". The current trend seems to destroy the premium positioning if everyone can access the brand and it is found in supermarkets, airports, drugstores and shopping malls.

If everything is exclusive, then nothing is exclusive.

The consumer can see through this overblown excess and will be looking for brands that are honest and humble in their presentation and origin. Look for a very Earth-friendly aspect to this trend as companies are also looking to exploit the less-processed and less impact to the environment trend. It's unfortunate because there will be a lot of good products out there that are truly striving to create a unique position in the market but get overshadowed by the big monster brands who will jump on this trend and oversaturate it.

Even the little guys who are putting an honest product on the market will get bought up and masss produced and thus watered down in an effort by the big brands to hop on this band wagon. It will be so wide spread that everybody will be driving a hybrid vehicle while drinking a Starbucks soy latte as they pull up to the GAP store to get a pair of hemp jeans.

-Ross Patrick

Branding with Attitude

Have you ever considered that the impression you get from going to Starbucks or In-n-Out Burger is better because the people that work there are nice to you?

The customer experience is such a huge part of the brand that these retail operations give their employees extensive training and look for candidates that have a "good attitude".

CiCi's Pizza, a Dallas based pizza buffet trains their managers to create a fun and friendly experience for their customers. Energetic employees yell "Hi, welcome to CiCi's" when someone enters the restaurant. They empower their employees to go the extra distance to make the dining experience enjoyable.

With 'Brand Experience' becoming a major component of how customers evaluate a brand, don't be surprised to see this trend taking off. Consumers have less and less time in their busy lives so the few minutes of interaction that they have with a sales person or drive thru window person are critical.

Brands that seem to be suffering are the large retail chains like Circuit City where uninterested red shirted staffers ignore shoppers and seem truly "bored" with what they are doing. McDonald's is probably the best example of the "Worst Brand Experience" on the planet.

In Southern California you would be lucky to encounter a McDonald's counter person or drive-thru operator that speaks english and has any enthusiasm for what they are doing. These companies need to wake up and realize that this is the front line and consumers are going to rebel against this lackluster customer service.

Watch for Experiential Branding to be a buzz word in the next few years.

— Ross Patrick