Musings V - Locals Only
Rants and Opinions that deserve more than a 140 character response and deeper reflection.
Latest Pilote Podcast
In which Cory Smith and I talk about Apple’s vision for reality. For those who remember the launch of the Macintosh - you will know that the Mac was a Business to Business (B2B) product. Professionals have always used Apple products as a tool of the trade. So a $3500 price point for a new professional tool is quite on-brand for Apple.
We also talk about how classified sights like Gumtree and Facebook marketplace are treasure troves of data about trends at a local level.
I noticed on my flight from Athens to Melbourne that everyone was watching Netflix. The global reach and brand recognition of Netflix should not be underestimated.
And we talked about my new project too.
Rounding Failure
I find it interesting that sometimes decisions are made because of a change in circumstances, but those decisions are rarely reversed when circumstances change back.
Yesterday I walked into a supermarket and bought a single item. The price marked on the shelf was $3.49.
A while back, Australia took all the 1 cent and 2 cent coins out of circulation. This meant that if you walked into a store with $5 in cash and bought a an item for $3.49, the store would not be able to give you the correct change. So the POS technology was changed to round the total up or down to the nearest 5 cents.
Today, most people use cards or even their phones to pay. But the rounding still happens. Yesterday, when I bought a single item advertised at $3.49, I was charged $3.50 even though I was paying with card and there was no need to provide 1 cent in change.
It’s not just me… back in 2000 (23 years ago), the Australian competition and consumer commission (ACCC) said…
"However the Guideline clearly stated that where a consumer elected to pay by way of cheque, credit card or EFTPOS it was unnecessary for businesses to round the total value of the transaction.
"The ACCC is concerned by the continuing nature of these complaints, particularly as it suggests that items are not available for the price at which they are advertised. This may contravene the consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and businesses should be aware that the Act gives consumers rights of private action in relation to such matters".
Can AI Fix Australian Advertising - Please!
Those of you who have read my thoughts about modern day marketing will know that in some ways, markets haven’t changed for 4000 years.
Imagine a busy meat market. Sellers competing for business by trying to yell out their deals more loudly than the seller on either side and across the way. It seems that nothing has changed - now the yelling selling types are screaming from your TV instead.
Australian TV and Radio advertising is just yelling - and jingles. Don’t forget the jingles. Oh and the strange accounting based sales. Does EOFY mean anything to anyone?
EOFY stands for End of Financial Year. In a cubicle somewhere, the accountants have to do the tax returns and they don’t really want to have to count how much stock is sitting in the warehouse or in 300 stores or on the forecourt of a car dealership. So in order to make the accounting easier - they try and sell it all.
But I think my favourite piece of advertising copy on TV at the moment is for a vitamin… basically it goes something like…
“These pills are 24% smaller, so they are easier to swallow.”
Okay that’s great, but they are still 24% smaller!
Can AI please take over the role of copywriting for Australian marketers?