1 - Is the Jennifer
business model out
of date?
I'll be sitting
in the front row
when Glenn Omura
unveils the
completion of this
new study in Vegas
next March. Looks
like very actionable
information will be
coming.
But Stephanie
Fisher of PMA
reminds us "What he
presented in Canada,
it should be noted,
was Canadian
data....for all your
U.S. readers out
there, we'll see you
in Vegas."
Even if Gen Y
buyers are more
important than ever,
smart retailers
aren't going to
ignore Jennifer!
How many dumb
people are there in
this world? Can
you imagine going to
PMA and not
attending the
educational
sessions? Sure, the
speakers are top
notch but get there
early and pick the
brains of the people
in the audience. One
genius is Martin
Wood of Delkin
Devices. Martin has
built that company
into something way
beyond just memory
cards. He's a bright
guy. He was sitting
next to me in Glenn
Omura's session. So
I asked him, "What's
he hearing that's
exciting?" He tells
me of a Delkin
customer that is
giving away free 1GB
cards with every 100
prints. It lets the
retailer continue
the "free film"
model. The customers
think it's a huge
deal; the cost of
the card is about
what free film was
in the old days.
Great idea and
all you have to do
to pick up ideas
like this is to get
to the convention
sessions early and
strike up a
conversation with
the person sitting
next to you - You
never know who it
will be or what you
can learn.
Fuji has new
photo paper (wet
chemistry) that you
can write on with
any pen. Think of
all the
"traditional" photo
applications that
can really grow
because of this.
Imagine, "real"
photo calendars
customers can write
on. That's just the
beginning.
In reflecting
what the speakers
were saying about
technology in
Canada, Information
overload is a real
problem - couple
that with attempting
to communicate while
your intended
listener is
multi-tasking and
you lose context of
the message. The
risk of
miscommunication is
bad now and only
going to get worse.
Makes it
important to get
feedback to insure
your message was
correctly understood.
To close on
a somber note . . .
Some of my favorite
retailers aren't
with us anymore.
It's very sad.
Tragic. Others look
like they are
sliding. What's
happening? In too
many cases the
leadership has
retired in place.
"Frozen in amber" is
how Greg Kearnan
(HP) identified it.
Dirty shelves.
Displays that are
months old. Windows
that need washing.
(Dare we talk about
bathrooms?) These
are all signs that
management has lost
that drive and
enthusiasm they used
to have.
There's a
widespread tendency
to blame digital for
putting these folks
out of business. No
question, digital
made it harder a
while ago - now it
opens up more
opportunities than
we can handle.
But without
invigorating
leadership at the
top, there is no
future. If you're
burnt out, that's
understandable. If
you can't cure it
then move over so
someone with the
passion can take
your company to the
next level.
The good news is
there are people out
there making things
happen. Here's a
final plug for the
DIMAcast from
Canada.
If you read the
transcript of this
weekend's upcoming
DIMAcast, you'll see
pictures of displays
of inkjet printers
from L L Lozeau. One
of their employees
told me their sales
went up 400% the
instant they put up
this display. Very
impressive - lots of
pictures in this
week's transcript.
Lisa Otto (and
hubby, Doug) were
chartered
accountants. They
saw an opportunity
and now they own all
the competitors that
were operating when
they started their
business. How?
They didn't know the
good ole days.
They didn't wait for
D&P to come through
the door. They saw
the marketplace for
what it was, not
what it used to be.
This is hard to do,
to learn, un-learn
and re-learn what we
used to know but
isn't current
anymore. It's why
PMA has these
knowledge events.
Plan now to attend
Vegas in March. Much
will change between
now and then.
Did
you know that
every single issue
of the McCurry
Marketing Idea
Exchange is archived
on line - going all
the way back to
Issue 1? 
