Converting BOGOFs to BOGOFs: Buy-One-GIVE-One Free?

Students from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Clifton have developed a clever solution aimed at reducing the mountains of grub going to waste every year, while helping deliver more meals to food banks. They say online supermarket customers should be given the option of sending one of their BOGOF items directly to food banks.

In fact, given that those who have to resort to food banks are also in need of all the other aids to wellbeing that we promote in our advertising, why not extend the idea to all online BOGOFs, and really make a difference…?

Safety contradictions at Heathrow?

                                                                                                            pic: Brian Moore
As my plane lands and taxis to the end of the runway, it always strikes me as bizarre that aircraft fuel is stored in massive tanks on, rather than underneath the side of the runway, a mere wing-tip away from a plane that might happen to land clumsily and a little off-centre…(especially if the pilot is awake but absentmindedly following the safety instructions ("..head in lap, uncrossed legs..." )

In fact almost as silly as forcing one through the government's £500m "e-borders" leaky programme* of security checks before encouraging the purchase of 2x1 litre glass bottles of inflammable liquid for carriage/abuse onboard…

* More on e-borders here 

A Flatline Saturday Afternoon in Whiteleys Queensway...

Saturday 5th October 2013, 1400: Whiteleys Shopping Centre, Queensway, London W2 4YN,
Previously busy to crowded...

                                                                                            pics: Brian Moore

Meanwhile, 'up North'......

Northern shoppers lead UK’s spending bonanza: Shock as London is outshone while confidence rises to post-crash peak 

...but nothing beats a store-visit...

How a daydreaming Buyer could be sending a smart buying signal

Given that lack of time often causes a NAM to attempt 100% engagement with a buyer, only to be distracted in mid-flight as the buyer’s attention seems to wander, such ‘lack of attention’ may in fact be a strong buying signal.

Latest research indicates that daydreaming can actually make you smarter…

In fact, apparently mind-wandering can offer significant personal rewards, including self-awareness, creative incubation, improvisation and evaluation, memory consolidation, autobiographical planning, goal driven thought, future planning, retrieval of deeply personal memories, reflective consideration of the meaning of events and experiences, simulating the perspective of another person, evaluating the implications of self and others’ emotional reactions, moral reasoning, and reflective compassion...

From this personal perspective, it is much easier to understand why people are drawn to mind wandering and willing to invest nearly 50% of their waking hours engaged in it.

So next time the buyer ‘wanders off’, prepare for the moment by front-loading your presentation with needs-based benefits and welcome the signs that the buyer is devoting 100% attention to optimising the business application, leaving you time to daydream about a mutually profitable outcome...  

Optimised multi-device access: helping people buy?

Following an era of making products available and selling to potential shoppers, perhaps it is time for retailers to help people buy?

This means adjusting the dimensions of the shop ‘doorway’ to enable access in whatever way people want to buy. In fact, latest research from Venda reveals that retailers are failing to adapt to the shifts in online consumption and purchasing habits. In fact, just one of the UK’s top 50 most visited retail sites, Currys, currently hosts a responsive website – where content on the site automatically adapts according to the device being used.

Consumers now use phones, televisions, laptops, desktops and soon even glasses and watches to access their favourite brands and retailers. In fact, the wearable device market has been tipped to ship 485 million devices annually by 2018.

But how can we deliver a consistent user experience across such a range of devices and capabilities? The answer lies in a suite of technology and design techniques which are collectively referred to as Responsive Web Design.

With the actual site content and functionality being determined by the dimensions and capabilities of the device being used, customers are kept more engaged by no longer having to navigate a site designed for desktop PCs. With consideration also given to the speed of the device and its connection, further improving user experience, the solution encourages repeat site visits, higher conversion rates and ultimately sales.

Operating on a single responsive site, retailers’ SEO authority is maximised, with all mobile traffic being directed to one consistent URL, allowing customers to share links knowing that, when viewed, the content will always be optimised for the viewing device and not the device the link was shared from.

Not just retailers..
Given that a supplier’s site can be the first port of call for a curious consumer, are brand owners missing a trick in serving up one dimensional access, translating into ‘take-it-or-leave-it' for the savvy visitor?

Plastic discovered on Saturn's moon Titan

Details here

Instore display in a minimal footprint. A Box That Will Blow Your Mind!

Given that instore display has to be assessed in terms of its ability to exceed the selling intensity of the 'lost' selling space, what better than to achieve the 'instore theatre' impact by going all the way to projected displays, with a difference?

...and all within the footprint of a projection screen...

Opportunity or Threat for other retailers - (and suppliers!)?

"Amazon.co.uk:
We're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company"

Source: Instant Refund notice on 'no quibbles' returned order....