Walk, Run, Fly

2011-07-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

Basic Shopper Metrics Help Innovators Understand a New Product’s Place in the Retail Shopping Landscape

Anyone who has taken a new CPG product through concept testing and launch will be familiar with basic measures of new product success like Trial Rate – the percent of consumers who found the product offer appealing enough to try it and Repeat Rate – the percent of triers who were satisfied enough with the product’s performance to buy it again.

Now, with the rising importance of understanding the shopper as well as the consumer, innovators have a new set of basic shopping metrics to learn. Just as an architect needs to make a new building fit into the existing landscape of roads, buildings, and green space, innovators need to understand how their new product fits within the “landscape” of the retail shopping experience. In addition, just as the architect needs to satisfy design requirements both emotional (such as a warm and welcoming entrance) and quantitative (such as rooms with specific measurements), innovators need to understand the shopper emotions* associated with high versus low values of the new shopping metrics.

Here are three basic shopping metrics that provide valuable guidance for new product designers.

· Predetermination. This is the % of shoppers who know what category, brand, and SKU they’re going to buy before they even enter the store.

o In some categories, the purchase decision is often predetermined right down to the specific SKU and number of units bought. For example, when she buys milk, Mary always buys one gallon of Dean’s fat-free.

o In other categories, shoppers are more likely to enter the store with the general category on their list, but will select the specific brand, SKU, and quantity after examining the available assortment. For example, when visiting the cereal aisle, Sue may buy anywhere from 1 to 4 boxes, selecting from a consideration set of 10 different brands, with multiple factors impacting her choice such as sales, coupons, what varieties she bought last time, and what is still in the pantry.

The level of predetermination tells us several things about the shopper’s mindset, such as whether category shoppers are more likely to be on a finding mission or a selecting mission and also the extent to which the shopper is likely to notice and be influenced by in-store marketing.

o Mary buying milk is on a finding mission and needs only a few visual cues to navigate to the milk case, the fat-free variety, and the Dean’s brand; she is likely to block out everything else in the vicinity. Emotionally, Mary wants a sense of mastery, that she can immediately find her usual products within the complexity of the store.

Research Tip: Eye-tracking research is key to determine the specific visual cues used to find the best-selling products in the category, so that you can make sure your new product has its own unique “finding” cues.

o Sue buying cereal is on a selecting mission and is more likely to notice new products, displays, sale price signs, and at-the-shelf coupons. Emotionally, selecting can become a sport, where the shopper is looking for a win.

· Category familiarity. This is defined by the combination of two metrics: % household penetration and annual purchase frequency.

o The more widespread a product’s usage is, and the more often it is replenished (e.g., milk), the more likely shoppers are to know about all of the available options and to now shop the category on “auto-pilot,” blocking out in-store marketing. If you want to interrupt the auto-pilot, you generally need to do it outside the store.

o The less familiar the category, the more information the consumer is likely to seek, and the more assistance she needs to differentiate among options. The shopper is likely to feel insecure and seek the reassurance and safety of a well-known brand name or a trusted endorser, or, lacking that, she’s likely to choose the product with the best explanation of its features and benefits. If frustrated in determining the optimal product for her needs, she may resort to choosing on price or even delay her purchase.

· Category complexity. This is defined by four numbers, typically obtained from syndicated retail sales data: the number of unique SKUs carried in a typical store; the % of SKUs that are new each year; the absolute number of unique product attributes available, such as brands, forms, flavors, colors, scents, active ingredients, package types, sizes, and price/quality tiers; and the number of highly technical attributes which are harder to understand and compare, as in health care categories and functional foods. The more complex the category, the more time a shopper generally spends on both finding and selecting, making these categories prime targets for in-store marketing investments.

o In a category with high variety complexity -- even one with high familiarity, such as canned soup -- the shopper can easily become frustrated in even the most basic finding mission. Such categories present an opportunity to improve shop-ability (leading to higher sales) and to better satisfy the shopper’s emotional need for mastery (leading to higher brand and retailer loyalty). The Campbell’s Soup IQ Mazimizer is a success story in this regard, as is their new soup label design.

o In categories with high technical complexity and low familiarity – such as many health and personal care categories – the brand with the clearest story that most strongly taps into a shopper’s emotional needs is most likely to win. Remember that you have only seconds to tell your story at the shelf, so your package’s text and imagery are crucial.

o Categories with lower complexity are often ripe for innovation in packaging and marketing. Think about how you could tap into the shopper’s emotional needs for connection with family and friends, for playtime, for self-creation.

When you put these three metrics together, you have a good starting point for understanding the landscape of a category.

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SIDEBAR:

Package fronts need to address the questions a shopper needs answered in order to make her purchase decision. For example, when buying cold medicine, the symptoms treated and the number of days of relief in the package are critical facts to the shopper. When buying family meal components, the shopper really wants to know the number of servings in the package and perhaps the prep time. How do you figure out which features are driving purchase decisions? In-store shopper observation and interviewing is the place to start, because you need to see how much time the shopper spends reading package information, what parts of the package they look at, and then capture their thoughts immediately. You get the most realistic results by talking to real shoppers in real stores. Then, to test specific executions, try one of the virtual reality shopping systems offered by vendors such as Vision Critical, Red Dot Square, Fifth Dimension, and Decision Insight. For a review of the process Campbell’s Soup used to come up with their new label design, click here. (If this link doesn’t allow you to see the full article, just Google “emotional soup shopping.”)

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* Credit to shopper marketing agency SaatchiX for defining mastery, security/safety, sport/competition, and connection as the most important shopper emotional needs in 2009. Less important but still in play are dreaming, self-creation, sanctuary, and playtime.

2011-07-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Can Something as Amorphous as “Shopper Engagement” and “Shopper Inspiration” Really Be Measured?

Researchers say, “yes!”

Picture in your mind your most recent shopping trip. What did you see when you first entered the store? How did that make you feel about the store? (I remember being at one grocery store and seeing a tall stack of cases of pop with no signage over it, just sitting there next to the lines of shopping carts, and thinking how empty and boring the store looked.) Now think about the rest of the store. Was there any product or display or signage that captured your interest, anything that inspired an unplanned purchase on that trip? (I remember being at a second supermarket and seeing little signs over each stack of apples describing the unique flavor of each variety. I liked that, because I want to eat more fruit but am hesitant about trying new things. I ended up buying several new varieties to try.)

Now consider these questions:

Was there anything in the store that caught your attention and thus INFORMED you of a particular product’s existence and/or some feature/benefit of the product? That’s Shopper Marketing 1.0.
Was there anything that ENGAGED you emotionally? That’s Shopper Marketing 2.0.
Was there anything that INSPIRED you to act, i.e., to make a specific purchase? That’s Shopper Marketing 3.0.

As an innovator, one of the ways you can help a new product succeed is to make sure that the product packaging – and the combination of messages and visuals used in any other in-store marketing efforts -- achieves the shopper marketing 3.0 level, to not only inform the shopper about the product but to engage the shopper emotionally and inspire them to purchase.

But how can you measure something as emotional and ambiguous as engagement and inspiration? Here are four rapidly evolving techniques to consider.

· Eye Tracking in Real Stores. In 2009, the research firm Sheridan Global launched a new continuous syndicated research service dubbed the Marketing At Retail Initiative (MARI), backed by a consortium of companies that includes POPAI, 7-Eleven, ampm, Ahold/Stop & Shop, Walgreen’s, PepsiCo, McKee Foods, and Hershey’s. This service aims to create a measurement standard for shopper engagement, enabling both retailers and manufacturers to evaluate the relative effectiveness of different retail lay-outs, displays, and promotional offers. In 24 participating U.S. stores, all displays and promotional offers are photographed and databased. Participating shoppers wear glasses mounted with a tiny video camera, capturing their journey around the store and what they look at and what they touch; these shoppers also complete interviews on lifestyle, trip mission, and purchases. The data is then analyzed to learn which marketing vehicles are most effective in capturing shopper eyes, interaction (e.g., reading a package or promotional sign), and conversion to purchase. This system promises to reveal the extent to which consumers engage with different offers in a real-world setting full of complexity and distractions.

· Eye Tracking in Simulated Stores. A “simulated store” can be as simple as projecting a 2D image of a 12-foot section of store shelf onto a wall, and tracking where a consumer’s eye goes as she attempts to find a particular product. Or it can be as complex as a 3D replication of an entire store on a large computer screen, with the consumer using a steering device to “walk” through the store and “handle” products. Such methods are typically used to identify the best of several design options for a package or display.

· Neuromarketing. Companies like Sands Research and NeuroFocus use EEG or fMRI technology to monitor brain wave activity (sometimes combined with eye tracking or other techniques) to pinpoint the specific messages and images that capture and hold consumer attention, engage their emotions, and embed in memory. This technology can be employed while consumers watch video ads, handle packages, or shop in a real or simulated store.

· Facial Coding. If you’ve seen the Fox TV show Lie to Me, you are familiar with this concept. In shopper research, the typical approach is to videotape the faces of research participants while they are exposed to various marketing stimuli; this is often done in combination with eye-tracking. The video files are then analyzed to determine the degree of emotional response (if any) to each marketing stimulus. Typically, seven core emotions are recorded: surprise, happiness, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and contempt.

Most importantly, business-building results have emerged from these leading-edge research techniques, when combined with in-depth qualitative interviews to understand why consumers are reacting to certain elements of your creative (e.g., recalling emotions of past experiences). Frito-Lay, for example, used neuromarketing research to study female brains and learned they should avoid pitches related to "guilt" / “guilt-free” and instead play up "healthy" associations. Bonduelle, a European packaged salad brand, used eye-tracking research to ensure that their new packaging enabled shoppers to find the desired item and answer decision-relevant questions more quickly, resulting in a 15% increase in sales. With both manufacturers and retailers competing for differentiation and shopper attention, these are valuable insights – and ones that are unlikely to have been found via a simple survey.

2011-07-18T10:44:00.000-07:00

Shopper Insights for Innovation?

There was a time when innovators only talked about consumer insights, but shopper insights are now considered equally important. Important enough that Procter & Gamble, who popularized the term first moment of truth, last year introduced the term store back, meaning that any innovation must succeed at the store first and work back from there to succeed in consumer usage. So, what kind of shopper insights do innovators really need, and why, and how do you get them?

Some of the most important shopper insights are found by studying the Path to Purchase. The process that leads to a purchase is critically important to understand, but is not easy to reveal and it varies significantly by product category. Every research vendor has their own way of describing the steps, but the user-shopper-buyer cycle generally goes like this:

Recognizing a need and deciding to look for a solution --whether that’s as simple as buying just another gallon of milk that gets poured on every morning’s cereal breakfast or as complicated as a 50-year-old studying the beauty department for ways to look younger for a special event such as wedding or job interview
Perhaps doing some research such as reading product reviews or checking for coupons/specials
Deciding where to shop
Finding and considering the products available in that store
Applying prior experience and knowledge to evaluate product claims
Making the final decision of which item(s) to put in the cart
Using the product(s), and either being satisfied with the solution or not
Cycling back through the process to buy more of the same or to find a new solution as needs change

Why is this important? The innovator benefits from understanding the path to purchase in several ways.

You understand the types of missions shoppers are trying to fulfill, which enables you to ideate ways to make it easier for shoppers to successfully complete their missions.
You learn about features that need to be included in the product and/or package design specifications that might be crucial to the purchase decision but which would not be revealed if you were only doing consumption-oriented research. For example, the number of pieces in a bag of candy is vitally important for a mom who has to fill 30 goodie bags, and the number of rolls in a bag is critical information to the woman who is in charge of bringing the bread for a family gathering.
You gain insights into the comparisons that shoppers make, which might cause you to change your competitive set and redefine the criteria you use to determine whether your innovation proposition is unique and superior enough to gain traction with consumers. More than one new product has done well in concept testing but failed in-store because shoppers felt the price was too high relative to nearby options.
You identify the consumer touchpoints that directly impact shopper decisions – and most importantly, which touchpoint is the last one prior to the purchase decision – which will in turn guide your launch marketing and media decisions. For example, just prior to shopping for a moisturizer, what percent of women had researched options online, read a magazine ad, or got a coupon from the Sunday paper?

How can you get these insights? To understand the path to purchase, you need to interview shoppers pre-shopping and combine that with shopper interviews conducted in-store during or immediately after they have made a category purchase decision. Traditionally the interviewing is done by ethnographers who interview shoppers both in their homes and on actual store shopping trips, but increasingly the pre- and post-shopping interviews are done online in combination with virtual reality shopping systems. Four major suppliers are providing virtual shopping services, and you can read more about their capabilities and relative merits in this white paper. Another new approach to consider is BVI Networks’ RetailNext system, which uses in-store videocameras linked to analytic software to observe and count shoppers as they walk through each category and look at, handle, and/or buy individual items.

(side bar)

INNOVATION: Mobile Marketing and Research. By mid-2011 (just 18 months from now), about 50% of U.S. adults will have smartphones with high-speed internet access. This gives researchers a new way to overcome one of the biggest challenges of shopper insights work: the need for immediacy, to capture a shopper’s thoughts at the moment of decision. Today, shopper intercept interviewing requires high-cost interviewers and technology to be placed in a limited set of pre-selected stores. In the future, imagine a pre-recruited panel of shoppers who could answer a survey while shopping anywhere, any time.

It’s partly about facts. The path to purchase is, in part, logical and fact-based, so you want to make sure your research asks about all of the variables that shoppers might consider when making a purchase decision. For example, a shopper seeking an anti-aging solution is likely to want some scientific or visual proof of an anti-aging cosmetic’s efficacy before spending $20 or more on a solution. Click here for a checklist of variables that you’ll want to capture in your path to purchase research. But one variable has often been overlooked in innovation research, causing a product that did well in concept testing to fail in-store: the manner in which a shopper compares alternative solutions in-store. Click here to see products that did well in concept testing but failed in-store

It’s mostly about emotions. One of the leading authorities on Shopper Marketing, Andy Murray of SaatchiX, stresses that the vast majority of final purchase decisions are driven by emotions, not facts. So make sure your research goes beyond the facts and also helps you understand when, where, and how that emotional spark occurs.

5 Recommendations for the Olympics Organizers

2010-02-18T08:52:00.000-08:00

1. Get the commentators from snowboarding to do figure skating, just to spice things up a little. Instead of the Peggy Fleming *gasp* at a competitor's mistake, we could hear a comment like, "that dude biffed." When I heard a snowboarding commentator remark "that dude went down," I had to rewind it just to make sure I heard correctly. It cracked me up!

2. Competitions like snowboard cross and the speedskating relay, where multiple competitors are going head-to-head on the same course and risk wiping each other out, are much more exciting than individuals competing for a score or time. Create more events like that.

3. Use even more computer graphics to help us compare each competitor against the "gold standard" in height, distance, form, etc. We want to be awed, but it's hard when we aren't expert enough to spot the key differences that separate the participants from the podium.

4. Update the commentators' garb and hair styles, especially Bob Costas's. The suit and tie with the Ken doll plastic-mold hair just do NOT fit with the Winter Olympics style. Maybe bring in Ralph Lauren as a consultant.

5. Speaking of Ralph Lauren, do NOT let him put hats on the American team any more. The knit caps with the moose on them? I would love to have heard the muttered remarks among the American snowboarders about those hats! Wonder what Stacy and Clinton have to say about them. Yet I hear people have been paying as much as $400 to get their hands on one of those goofy toques. I'm not one of them and I won't apologize for it. Not to mention, it was 70 degrees inside the stadium where the opening ceremony was held, yet another reason why I was very surprised how many U.S. Olympians kept the hats on. But to give credit where due, I do think Ralph did a commendable job on the snowboarder's outfit that looked like faded jeans with a plaid flannel shirt.

Review: The Best Rolling Cases for 17” Laptops

2010-01-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

If you’re one of the many people who has chosen a larger-sized laptop, and you don’t have the strength and endurance of a Sherpa, you’ve probably been shopping for a rolling laptop case. Unfortunately, many bags on the market are not large enough to hold a 17” laptop, and those that are large enough are often too unwieldy to be carried when necessary. This makes shopping for a suitable bag a real chore.

After sorting through the features and customer reviews of dozens of bags, we finally found three great options. These three bags have met all of our criteria for size – all hold a 17” laptop yet still fit into airplane overhead compartments jets and beneath seats; ease of handling in both rolling and carrying modes; and features – all feature durable nylon fabric, zip-down front organizer pocket, padded laptop compartment, high-quality wheels, sturdy 36” telescoping handle with multiple lock-in settings, and good warranties. Only those features that vary significantly between models are called out in the descriptions below. These rolling laptop cases are well worth their price ($70-120), but shop around as prices can vary as much as $50 from one store to another. Also, be sure to confirm the model number and specifications before buying, because each manufacturer makes several similar-but-different bags with similar names.

Kensington Contour 17” Rolling Laptop Case - model 62348

BEST FOR: ease of carrying
Dimensions: 13” H x 17.5” W x 9.5” D

Weight: 7.4 pounds
Ratings: over half of 131 Amazon buyers gave this bag 5 out of 5 stars
Body-hugging contour panel on carrying case and weight distribution system reduce shoulder fatigue by 35% when carrying
Shock-absorbing shoulder strap resists slipping
4 main pockets: Zip-down front organizer pocket, quick-access pocket for travel documents; third pocket holds books/papers; fourth pocket holds laptop
Expandable utility pockets on the sides for water bottles

Targus XL Rolling Laptop Case - model TXL717

BEST FOR: everyday rolling
Dimensions: 16” H x 19” W x 8.5” D
Weight: 8 pounds
Ratings: over half of 300 Amazon buyers gave this bag 5 out of 5 stars
3 pockets. Zip-down front organizer pocket; middle laptop pocket; third pocket holds books/papers
Two removable accessory pouches for cords and small electronics

Wenger / Swissgear Patriot Wheeled Case with Removable Notebook Case – model WA-7953-02F00

BEST FOR: travel rolling
Dimensions: 15.5” H x 17” W x 12” D (if not overloaded, fits under airplane seats except commuters)
Weight: 10.1 pounds
Ratings: half of 20 Amazon buyers gave this bag 5 out of 5 stars
Trolley strap keeps bag in place atop a rolling suitcase.
5 pockets. Zip-down front organizer pocket; quick-access pocket for travel documents; third pocket is a mini filing cabinet divided into three sections; fourth pocket holds the laptop (includes a removable case that only fits a 15.4” laptop and must be removed to hold a 17” laptop); fifth is a spacious overnight compartment for a change of clothes.

Still not sure which of these three rolling laptop cases is best for you? Do a web search for the brand and model number to see pictures and read reviews; Amazon and eBags are two good sites to use.

The only drawback on these three rolling laptop cases is color: they only come in black. If you must have color, check out the CalPak Persuader 2; it didn’t quite qualify for the top 3, but it does come in red, blue, orange, and green.

Christmas Greetings from the Compound

2009-12-29T15:36:00.001-08:00

A belated Merry Christmas and best wishes for a Happy New Year!

2009 was a tough year for most of us (decline in home values, stock market drop, unemployment), but we can always find something to be thankful for, right? Here's my list of thankfuls.

We had no law enforcement, fire department, or EMT interactions. At least not that I know of. And not for lack of trying. Bob did go to jail once, but it was only for the grand opening of a new law enforcement facility for which he did some engineering work.
Our rodent control program continues to be quite successful thanks to the combined efforts of Moose and Bob. Notable eliminations this year included a possum and a badger.
Everyone in my family remains financially afloat and I'm the only one on the dole. The VPE index (Val's Paid Employment) continues to underperform versus year ago. Hard to believe, but I haven't found a single job-posting for a Grammar Nazi or "How to Speak Minnesotan" speech coach. On the plus side, I did become quite adept at sock and washcloth knitting and am often now able to put a three-course meal on the table all at once with little or no injury to myself and others.
Even with our depleted income, we managed to cover the cost of at least 6 unique fishing/hunting licenses and the usual quantities of new gear and ammo. We enjoyed eating a lot of fish, duck, and venison this year, too. Our firearms owned / pounds harvested ratio remains a little higher than I'd like, but since my only contribution was a couple of bass, I won't complain. For those who might be concerned, #2 does NOT overlap with #4!
Keep an eye on the news for word of the next Illinois government scandal, as I won an uncontested election for Public Library Board Trustee and was sworn in in June. I haven't yet found any opportunity to give out patronage jobs or to take bribes, but this is Illinois, so I'll do my best to uphold our state's historical standards of integrity among government officials. I am pleased to report, however, one important perk in my job: I'm exempt from paying late return fees.
Our once-25-pound cat, Fat Patrick, is now down to 23 pounds thanks to a rigorous diet and exercise program. Patrick's food was moved upstairs and he is encouraged to run the whole way up the stairs without stopping to rest. We are quite amused at his reaction to the sound of food hitting his dish without human intervention; he can move much more quickly than you would expect given his bulk. In contrast, Muffin Top eats in a Patrick-proof feeding station: a Rubbermaid tub securely fastened to a railing, with a small door cut into one end and the food dish bolted down at the back, out of Patrick-paw reach. Patent pending?

God bless you and keep until we meet again!

-- Val

Freelance: The New Way to Work

2009-09-17T20:39:00.001-07:00

I can't remember where this came from, but I remember it well: a humorous list titled "How Work is Like Prison." In prison, you're kept in a windowless cell most of the day; at work, you're kept in a windowless cell euphemistically called a cubicle most of the day. In prison, you have parole hearings, which rarely result in the release you want; at work, you have annual performance reviews, which rarely result in the raise you want. In prison, you have to stay on the warden's good side or he can throw you in solitary; at work, you have to stay on your boss's good side or he can fire you or at least stop inviting you to the "good" meetings. It went on from there, but you get the gist -- and I'll bet you're already drawing your own comparisons. The general theme of the work-prison is LACK OF CONTROL: over your clothes, your surroundings, your equipment, your lighting, the level of background noise, and so on.

When you change from being an employee to a freelancer, you experience not only a renewed sense of control but also an actual improvement in the quality of your daily life in many respects. Instead of leaving your house at oh-dark-hundred for an hour-long commute (involving your choice of a trainload of loud-talking cell-phone addicts or drivers trained at the I-Drive-For-Maximum-Annoyance school), you can roll out of bed and fire up the laptop in your jams. Instead of spending the day working up a Vitamin D deficiency in a dark cubicle in a dirty city with nary a blade of grass in sight, with dinged furniture and a shabby chair, you can work in your bright living room and look out over forests, fields, and gardens, with your pets for company and the option to breathe fresh air any time you want. (Your lungs physically reacted to that description, didn't they?) You can make a personal phone call without half the office finding out when your next OB/GYN appointment is. You don't have to have whispered discussions with friendly co-workers as to whether and how to address the behavior of the guy in the cube across from you, who cuts his toenails at his desk and "cuts the cheese" at a predictable time every afternoon (and I swear on my souvenir copy of a certain company's Employee Handbook that that is a true story).

As a freelancer, you can structure your work life in a way that is life-giving rather than spirit-sucking. And that is what's known as change for the better.

-- Val Walker, skalawalker@yahoo.com (Elance User ID: skalawalker)

Building an Active Online Community for your Brand

2009-09-09T15:34:00.001-07:00

I've been a member of several online communities (restaurants, product manufacturers, etc.) over the past couple of years, and from my experiences, I offer the following tips.

1. Have a designated owner/moderator for the board.

This person should have their name and picture on the home page. Just knowing that there's a real person at corporate headquarters who cares about what the community is saying makes members feel this effort is legitimate and worth their time.
S/he should be doing the following types of tasks: make sure there are appropriate sections within the forum / message board to cover the key topics you want people to talk about, and add new sections as appropriate, check the board daily, answer questions (researching to find answers if necessary), post links to relevant information, contribute "thank you" and "we're sorry" comments on the board (which should also promise that you'll pass the information onto the store manager, brand manager, whoever can act on the feedback), start new threads by posing a question and explaining why the community's answers will help the company serve the customers better, and solicit subject matter experts in the company to answer questions that come up on the board.
This person should also regularly summarize activity on the board and present it to the rest of the company, ensuring that the community's opinions and suggestions are being heard and acted upon.

2. The website should include the following elements to make the community members feel engaged and stay active:

A forum / message board – of course! – where members post comments.
A way to give members points for their activity, such as starting discussion threads and contributing their opinions when the moderator poses a question.
A "leader board" to show community members how many points each member has racked up, and help a member see what "level" they're at. Moving up a level or ranking high on the leader board is positive reinforcement for competitive personalities.
A page that shows members what rewards or benefits they have received in the past or can receive in the future. Some community members will expect rewards just for showing up once in awhile, other members will want the chance to earn more rewards for contributing more, some community members won't expect anything. But somehow, you have to make the members feel like they're being heard and that their effort is appreciated. One low-cost reward that benefits all: a Suggestion Box or Scoreboard graphic displaying a running total of how many suggestions have been offered by the community and how many the company has implemented.
Occasional comments from top decision makers at the company, whose decisions are being impacted by the community's feedback. For a restaurant, bring on the head development chef; for a manufacturer, the head of new product development or at least a brand manager.
Pictures! Of new products, new stores, your charitable works, what's new in the broader industry that your fans might be interested in. Just make sure that whatever non-brand-specific stuff you post – including ads that appear on your site -- are in keeping with the overall brand image. If you have a hip bar/restaurant, you don't only have to talk about for food and drinks, you can branch into things like the latest music you're playing – but don't post about or allow ads for the latest in vacuum cleaners!

Learn About One of My Favorite Animals, the Giant Panda

2009-09-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

Is it their unusual symmetrical black & white coloring? Their roly-poly, furry bodies? The fact they're about the same size as an American black bear (200-300 pounds and 5-6 feet long), yet so much more rare and mysterious? Whatever the reason, there’s no question that the giant panda is popular!

The giant panda has many intriguing traits which contribute to their allure. Their diet is one unusual trait, consisting 99% of bamboo, a degree of specialization that is rare among mammals. Yet the panda’s digestive system is not well adapted to process all of that plant fiber, so they spend much of their time eating in order to get enough nutrients, and they also poop a lot, as much as 48 pounds per day. Here’s another thing that might surprise you. Because of their solitary nature, you might think pandas are non-communicative, but they have two ways of communicating. With their voices, they will greet each other with a bleating sound like a young goat or sheep would make, and when frightened may make gruff, growling sounds. Pandas also communicate with each other through scent marks made by rubbing their hind ends against tree trunks and rocks. Scientists believe pandas can tell sex, age, and readiness for mating from these scent marks. In fact, their sense of smell is so highly developed that their zoo caretakers can tell that each panda has different favorite scents, such as cinnamon and lavender.

Sadly the giant panda is very rare, with just 200 in zoos worldwide and 1600 in the forested mountains of southwest China, according to a 2004 census survey by the Chinese government. While pandas are still considered endangered, their future looks brighter today than it did even 10 years ago. Nearly half of their remaining habitat has been placed into protected reserves by the Chinese government, and panda breeding programs are now producing as many as 30 cubs per year. However, pandas still face a difficult life in the wild. Although they have no natural predators, pandas are still subject to threads such as drought and illness and natural events such as earthquakes that affect their habitat. Pandas require a very specific type of habitat with plenty of bamboo. When their habitat gets broken up by roads, it is harder for the pandas to reach each other at their annual breeding time, when each female is fertile for only 3 days. Since a female giant panda typically has just one cub every other year, and only 5 to 8 cubs total in her lifetime (which is about 15 years in the wild, or up to 30 years in captivity), the population is slow-growing even under the best circumstances.
No one outside China even knew of the giant panda until 1869, when a French missionary brought home photographs. Today, China remains very protective of these bears, loaning them out to other countries’ zoos only under stringent conditions and for fees averaging $1 million per year.

If you’d like to see one of the 7 giant pandas currently in the U.S., you will need to travel to Atlanta, San Diego, or Washington, D.C. Each zoo has a breeding pair and, if your timing is right, a cub or two. You can also watch the pandas on camera on each zoo’s website. Unlike other bears, pandas do not hibernate, so you can watch the pandas year-round.

What will you see if you watch a panda? They spend about half their day eating and the other half napping), with occasional bursts of energy for running, somersaulting, and tree climbing. But their life is mostly eat, nap, eat, nap … sounds like a good life to me!

2012: The Rapture or What?

2009-09-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

Since I've been freelance writing, I've seen a lot of interesting job postings and have gotten to wondering about a few things.

(1) There are a LOT of people writing their own eBooks these days, and apparently some people are making some good coin off of it. I need to start putting my eBook ideas on paper.

(2) There are far more blogs out there than I ever imagined. A lot of the content is total junk, leading me to wonder if blog landfills be our next major problem on this planet, JK. On the other hand, you have the "Julie and Julia" success story to motivate all these would-be Bestselling Authors to keep trying.

(3) There are people blogging and building websites about some really WEIRD topics. One of the job postings requested someone knowledgeable about – I kid you not – "the prophecy of the end of the world on December 2012, bilderbergs, illuminatis, planet X, paranormal, spiritualism, etc." My first reaction was, "people love diasters and conspiracies, could be some big money in this 2012 thing." On the other hand, I'm looking for things with long-term growth potential, and there's a big risk that knowledge will be obsolete in, let's see, 3 years and 3 months.

But I have to admit, I was curious. I had heard something about the Mayan calendar ending in 2012, but it was only a vague impression. I considered that I could just wait for the "2012" doomsday movie to come out in November, but being the curious and helpful person that I am, I decided to investigate and share my findings with you.

Turns out, there are several websites devoted to this 2012 malarkey. And that's what it is, a big bologna sandwich. The Mayan calendar cycles, it doesn't end. 2012 may be the end of a big cycle of some sort, but not the end of life on Earth as we know it.

What about the galactic alignment that is supposed to occur in 2012? Apparently, galactic alignment happens once every 26,000 years. The "alignment" is between Earth's sun and the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Supposedly, the energy of the black hole could affect solar activity and create disastrous weather on earth. However, experts point out that because stars move through space pretty slowly, the galactic alignment doesn't occur in one day or even one year, it occurs over a 20 year period. So really, we should be thinking about 2012 as the year when we will allegedly enter into a period of great change. But nobody has any idea what KIND of change: meteorological, political, spiritual, etc.

Here's my take on the whole 2012 business. Nobody predicted 9/11 and all the domestic and international events that stemmed from that. Why worry about stuff we can't control? I'd say the same thing we've been told for the last 2000 years, from Jesus's time to the Virgin Mary's messages to the world given through the shepherd children at Fatima in 1917: get right with God today, because you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.

Can you be TOO green?

2009-07-30T11:07:00.001-07:00

Can you be TOO green? I think so, based on my recent experience with Propel flavored water. Earlier this year, they introduced new bottles made of one-third less plastic. Unfortunately, the 6-pack holder doesn't hold the bottles securely enough. I've had bottles drop out and land on my feet in the store, while loading groceries into my car, and while stocking the fridge at home. Bruised feet are not a price I'm willing to pay for green-ness. I called their customer service line, and in the mail I got coupons for other Gatorade products that I don't use. I'm not a very happy consumer right now.

How CPG Will Be Affected by 2008 Scientific Discoveries

2009-07-28T10:32:00.001-07:00

I just read Discover magazine's top 100 science stories of 2008 and thought it would be interesting to summarize the discoveries that are most likely to impact the CPG industry in the next 5 years.

Containers, wraps, connectors:
- Self-healing rubber – if you break the rubber band, you can put the ends together and they bond back together with their original strength.
- Nanopaper made of wood pulp ground so fine that it weaves together so tightly it's almost bulletproof.
Better, cheaper energy:
- Microbatteries – viruses covered in metal pack a lot of power into a space the size of a skin cell.
- New developments in capturing and storing solar energy are making this more cost effective.
- Wind power could supply 20% of the U.S.'s electrical demand by 2030.
- New generation of electric cars: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will run 40 miles after being charged off a standard household outlet, and after that a combustion engine powers the onboard battery, overcoming the limitations of even the current generation of hybrids. The 100 mpg Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius PHEVs are slated for 2010 release, as is a fully electric Nissan vehicle.
Healthcare:
- Affordable analysis of your individual DNA to identify your risk for a wide range of ailments so you can take steps to reduce your risk. ($500 to $2500 from companies such as Navigenics, decode, and 23andMe).
- A drug that strengthens muscles without exercise.
- Compounds in human saliva that hasten healing of wounds.
- Memory training techniques that can actually raise your IQ.
Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak?
- Wonder materials that can deflect light, sound, or water waves away from the cloaked object.

ScrapMania!

2009-07-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

Every so often, this blog is going to talk about scrapbooking, one of my favorite pastimes.

Today, I want to tell you about 3 great finds that I discovered while cropping with my JammieSisters friends at Archiver's this week.

1. Tim Holtz snip scissors -- My friends swear these stay sharp longer than any other scissors. I'm so sick of my Cutterbee scissors that will barely cut ribbon any more! The Tim Holtz scissors also have a non-stick surface, so if you need to trim off a sticker, you won't gunk up your blades. $11.49 at store.scrapbooking-warehouse.com

2. Inkssentials Cut-n-Dry 8" x10" sheet of stamp foam. Use in place of more expensive foam daubers for inking and distressing tasks. I don't like to use the Ranger Distress inks direct to paper; I prefer to ink a piece of foam and use the foam to apply ink to paper. The large sheet lets you cut pieces as needed. $4.99 at Archivers, lower on a few websites.

3. PeachyCheap.Com -- This site sells one product for one day at a clearance price. A new item everyday, only available til it sells out or until the 24 hours is up. I know, I know, you already have too many different sites to check every day. But if you like a bargain, check this one out.

How do you put a pet on a diet?

2009-07-24T16:23:00.001-07:00

Our Moose is too big. Moose is a 115-pound Chesapeake Bay Retriver. Our vet says he needs to get below 110.

How do you put a cat or dog on a diet when very few of the pet products have calorie counts on them? Is it better to feed the dog less of their regular food, or the recommended amount (based on dog's weight) of a dog food labeled "weight control formula"?

The best information I found came from the Drs. Foster & Smith (retailer) website. They said you should use a food labeled "weight control formula" to ensure that the dog is getting the right amount of nutrients per serving. The weight control formula will have a lower proportion of fat and thus will have fewer calories per serving, since fat has more than twice as many calories as protein and carbs. I would definitely recommend reading the weight loss FAQs on their site if you need to help your dog lose weight.

According to Purina Pet Institute, a fit and trim dog can live 15% longer than an overweight one. In other words, a dog could live to be 17 instead of 15. To many people, an additional 2 years of healthy life for man's best friend might be worth the effort.

I saw a web post suggesting that you replace 1 cup of the dog's food with 1 cup of low-sodium green beans; the dog will feel as satisfied, but his body won't digest the beans into calories. But how do you confirm whether something like that really works and is recommended? I guess you'd better ask your vet.

Consumer Unmet Need: Calorie information on all pet food packages, and diet tips on weight loss formula products.

Consumer Unmet Need: Probiotics Outside Yogurt

2009-07-24T15:59:00.001-07:00

Are you in one of the 20% of American homes who don't buy yogurt? Or one of the non-eaters in a buying household? For those of us who are convinced of the value of probiotics but don't like the taste and texture of yogurt, why aren't there better alternatives for getting probiotics into one's diet? I loved the Dannon Activia yogurt commercials, so I bought it for my husband, and it has worked for him. Now I want a probiotic product that I can eat every day. I thought the Kraft LiveActive cheese products tasted okay, but they were short-lived: introduced in 2007 and discontinued just recently. Kraft says the sales of the cheddar and co-jack products weren't high enough.

I wish: they could put the probiotics into America's favorite snacking cheese: mozzarella sticks.

Consumer Unmet Need: Do you brush your pets' teeth?

2009-07-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Am I the only person who missed the memo on toothbrushing for cats and dogs?
80 percent of dogs and 70% of cats over age 3 show signs of gum disease, and less than half of dog and cat owners are brushing their pets' teeth regularly.

Dogs and cats don't commonly get cavities like humans, but our pets are susceptible to gum disease just like adults. It starts with plaque on the teeth, which leads to red/swollen/painful/bleeding gums, which eventually leads to tooth loss. Plus, this infection can spread to other areas of the body, causing kidney, liver, and/or heart problems.

Our 5-year-old dog's teeth are in great shape, because he eats at least one compressed rawhide stick per day. We were merely using the rawhides to get 15 minutes of peace so we could eat supper, and didn't know they were ideal for dental cleaning until recently. Raw bones are also good.

But our two 8-year-old cats have developed red/swollen gums. Our vet recommended dental cleaning under anesthesia -- and one cat needs two teeth extracted -- for a total cost of over $600!

Unmet consumer need: better products and instruction on dog/cat dental preventative care.