Google Us

In recent times, Google has become the ‘go to’ source for nearly all
types of information. People  hardly make a decision now without
consulting their trusty search companion, especially when making
purchases. Filled with all sorts of third party information, customers
are now able to study the company, brand, and product, at home before
purchasing. Not only are they learning about your company and product,
but they are forming opinions on what your brand really is.


Brand Perception
One of the most important aspects of a brand is perception. The 4 P's
of marketing (product, price, place, and promotion) are all designed
to ensure the market perceives your brand how you intended. However,
with the growth and influence of Google, those 4 P's are not the only
thing influencing the market's perception of your brand. What's also
worrisome is you don't have control over those other factors.


We live in an age where information is a commodity and freely
available. There are loads of information online about your company,
brand, and product. However the majority of it was not created by you.
News reports, blog articles, customer forums, and third party
companies are all talking about your brand and product. Even customer
remixes of your brand flagship (logo) are out there(see Pepsi post).
What appeals to the customer is transparency and unbiased information
and this content and information is influencing how your customer
perceives your brand. Which, in essence, is your true brand, not what
you say it is.


 This may be scary for some, as your company didn't create the
content, and thus can't manage it. It however does not mean you can't
influence it.


The solution?


Become your brand
A well designed marketing strategy and brand devised in the board room
is great. Proper  implementation and roll out is also needed. However,
in the new online world this is not enough. Companies must now become
their brand. Everything about the company needs to reflect the brand
and its values. From hiring practices, business practices, production
practices, and management, everything about the company and the brand
must be the same throughout. Some other steps that you can take to
ensure positive brand perception:

• Interact with people online who discuss your brand and become a member of that community

• Hire employees that are part of your target market. That way you can stay up to date with how your brand is being perceived

• Play an active role in ensuring that everything that reaches Google accurately portrays your brand

That way when people ask, who are you, you can  say 'Google us', and
not be worried about brand perception

Why I run - via Asics

We marketers usually talk about truly connecting with your customers through your advertising. However, in all honesty, though I've liked ads before, I have never felt any ad was speaking specifically to me. Though recently I saw an ad from asics and for the first time I felt that elusive connection. It is an amazing ad and spoke directly to the runner in me. (see video below)

Besides the obvious message in the ad, I like that they did not explicitly push their product. Instead they highlighted the message/connection (motivation for running) and tastefully placed their product.  I once saw a statement from asics that they were "for runners by runners". With ads like this, I believe it.


Have you ever felt like an ad was speaking directly to you?

New Pepsi Logo

I recently came across some adaptations of the new Pepsi logo online. Besides being quite funny, I think it is shows that everyone sees and interprets a design differently. And people who altered these logos definitely saw the logo differently than Pepsi Co. and the design studio.

The only problem is, every time I see the Pepsi logo, I see these guys lol.


What's your view on interpreting design (and these alterations)? 

Science, Art, Strategy, and Advertising

Art and science have always been considered polar opposites. However marketing is an interesting blend of science and art.
Science is seen as a methodological approach where logic triumphs. Hypotheses are put forward and are tested repeatedly to ensure credibility and validity. Correct answers backed up by facts and experiments.
Art on the other hand is more of an expression. Seen as the manifestation of our imagination, it is appears free and without restrictions. However it does have a method to its beauty. As an artist is about to create he must first decide on what he wants to portray, what mood and what expression he is trying to convey.
Marketing is where these two disciplines are perfectly blended. Marketing strategy is a science, from marketing research, segments, and deciding on targets, it requires that the marketer is methodological in his approach, and unbiased. The decisions made need to be logical and based on facts and proper information. Advertising and communication on the other hand is an art. With an idea of what is wanted and needed, what the marketer wants to portray, the advertiser then uses his imagination and his creativity to bring it to life. So for any company to be well placed to market its product it must blend both science and art.

Tangibles in Tourism

When designing a tourism product there are two things we think about, the tangible and intangible elements. Undeniably one of the biggest aspects of tourism is service, which is, an intangible element. Beyond this though are the tangible aspects such as, F&B(restaurants and bars), hotel rooms, and pools. When deciding on these we tend focus on getting the highest quality within our budget. However designing and choosing these, we must remember they are not a stand alone.


These elements and products are merely tools to achieve intangible benefits. Intangible benefits being feelings such as comfort, relaxation, and excitement. This means people may choose a hotel suite because it gives them the feeling of isolation and not because of the actual quality of its tangible elements. It is an issue of the total being larger than the sum.


This is why we must be fully aware of our high fit customers, and their motivation for the vacation. We also need to be aware of what our brand represents and out core offering(benefit to customers). When we understand this, we realize we do not nessecarily need the 'best' products. Rather the products that embody the intangible benefits our customers are looking for.

Sustainable Mobility

What comes to mind when one thinks of sustainable mobility? Is it electric and hydrogen cars, light rail systems and bicycles? If you thought of these things essentially you would be right, but is that everything? Does the whole issue of transportation on the journey of sustainable development boil down to just our dependency on oil and its impacts?

If we are to achieve sustainability in tourism then the environment and the issue of climate change are just pieces of the puzzle. I will attempt to look a little bit on the social and economic aspects of this issue of mobility. Taking the issue of the environmental damage out of the picture I will examine two aspects of sustainable mobility often overlooked.First I would look at mobility within destinations and then between destinations.

In tourism there is a term called 'multiply effect', which in essence, is how money is circulated through the local economy without any leakages (e.g. money leaving the destination). Having a high multiply effect is imperative for true economic development and for the multiply effect of a destination to be high, locals and tourists need to purchase from local shops and vendors. This helps the local economy by promoting linkages throughout the economy and encouraging entrepreneurship. Because of this the act of patronizing these shops should be easy and convenient. This is where the issue of walk-able cities and destinations come into play. In destinations not conducive to walking and cycling, especially cities, there is vehicular traffic and parking is always at a premium. This has a direct impact on the likelihood of someone randomly going into a store and purchasing an product or service. For this reason, destinations in the Caribbean should try to become as walkable as possible so tourists allowing them to explore the area with ease. In doing so, contribute to the development of the local economy. Someone who is walking along the street is more likely to stop and support local business than someone who is stuck in traffic or searching for a park.

Another hindrance to sustainable mobility is that of vertical integration. Vertical integration in tourism refers to when international tour companies have links with international airlines and hotel chains. These tour companies then promote their linkages and most times only recommend their partners to their customers. How does this affect the sustainability of island states? The answer is that these island states are then not in control of their own destiny. Neither do they reap all of the economic benefits of the vacations they facilitate. In other words, a tourist attraction or hotel in the Caribbean may be at the pinnacle of sustainability charts, yet how its guest arrives at the site may not be sustainable. Research done by the United Nations Economic Council of Latin America shows that the host nation only gets 40-45% of the retail cost of the organized holiday tours. Even if they used local hotels and visit locally own sites. The 55%-60% is lost with the use of foreign airlines. This percentage drops even further when the tourist utilizes foreign owned hotels and other foreign owned attractions.

With foreign airlines taking that much money, it forces us to look as sustainable mobility beyond just its environmental impacts. The use of foreign airlines to get to a vacation destination can deny the country of approximately half of the money they help generate. With this in mind, no matter how clean air fuel gets, can it really be considered sustainable? The answer is no. The dependence on international airlines can in some cases can ruin a country’s tourism product, by deeming that route 'unprofitable'. However it is impossible for all island states to have their own national carrier as they are a drain on national funds. We have seen a perfect example in the case of Air Jamaica.

I’m not quite sure how we are going to deal with this issue but I do know that the current system is not doing small island developing states any justice. Hopefully though, we can begin to look at this issue from a wider perspective and help us achieve sustainable tourism.

What are your thoughts?

Running at Your Pace

I was anxious to start back running after some time off, due to knee injuries. Excited and rearing to go, I went running with my two brothers(both in much better shape than me) around the nearby university. After one lap though, I had to stop to walk and fell behind. However, my pride could not let me fall so far behind so I started back running, pushing myself to reach my brothers. Because I was pushing myself beyond my limit I was not maintaining proper running form.


I did temporarily meet them, but it was not to last. I was so exhausted when I caught up, I had to stop again and they went on to finish the lap. At the time, reaching them for that one second was enough for me. After the run however, I felt the true consequences of my actions. In pushing myself way beyond my level of fitness, I lost form and did more harm than good, as my old injuries resurfaced.


I believe there are parallels between my running predicament and personal development. Sometimes in life we get caught up trying to emulate what we see from others and sacrifice everything for the end result. When we do this, we are doing ourselves a disservice. We need to be true to ourselves and focus on our own development. We also need to recognize that those running ahead of us were once like us and reached there through hard work and effort.


In terms of running this means maintaining proper form and progressing steadily. However in life, it may mean putting extra hours at work or school. We need to constantly be improving ourselves rather than trying to live the life of others.


I am happy to report that I was able to control my pride during my last run. I kept my pace and maintained proper form even though I was behind again.
Regarding the fact that I'm always behind, well, I'm working on that. Lol